Hello,
I wanted to see if anyone has successfully SIM unlocked a T-Mobile Galaxy Note 3 to Sprint and everything working functionally.
Thank you,
Crap, I just wrote you like a page on this and the app crashed and lost all of it.
In short, it's definitely impossible. The GSM phones do not support any CDMA2000 2.5/3G frequencies which is what the US CDMA carriers use exclusively for voice and SMS.
Even if the T-mobile model supported the necessary frequency bands / CDMA2000 standard, Sprint would never allow it on their network. Sprint and Verizon only allow their own carrier branded phones on their networks. They each have a database of IMEIs for every phone they've ever sold. If your phone isn't on the list, they won't allow it on their network PERIOD. It doesn't matter if it's fully hardware compatible. They want to control every aspect of your mobile experience to extort more money out of you.
Related
If we buy the Verizon version, unlocked, will it work on AT&T? Is this going to be an option, or just importing it from uk etc?
Could of swore i read somewhere that att's lte will work on a slightly different mhz that it won't be compatible with verizon's lte, someone correct me if im wrong.
ekerbuddyeker said:
If we buy the Verizon version, unlocked, will it work on AT&T? Is this going to be an option, or just importing it from uk etc?
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peachpuff said:
Could of swore i read somewhere that att's lte will work on a slightly different mhz that it won't be compatible with verizon's lte, someone correct me if im wrong.
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Click to collapse
The "AT&T" one, which at the moment is the same as the "world" version will NOT work on VZW.
As of now there are 2 models of the Galaxy Nexus: 1) CDMA/LTE (for Verizon in the USA) and 2) GSM/HSPA+ (for the rest of the world, yes including AT&T and T-mo in the USA).
As of now, there are no GSM/LTE versions (I'm assuming this is what you're looking for on AT&T). If you use the GN on AT&T, it will have HSPA+, but not LTE. And no, the VZW version will not be able to be unlocked and used with an AT&T LTE SIM card, because AT&T is only operating data on LTE, and you'd get no voice/text (assuming you somehow got the device unlocked to accept the SIM in the first place).
Unless Samsung/Google have some kinda curveball lined up to announce a 3rd model with GSM/LTE for AT&T, that will come in the future. As of now we're not aware of this model.
martonikaj said:
And no, the VZW version will not be able to be unlocked and used with an AT&T LTE SIM card, because AT&T is only operating data on LTE, and you'd get no voice/text (assuming you somehow got the device unlocked to accept the SIM in the first place).
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You are correct in saying the Verizon Galaxy Nexus will not work with an AT&T SIM. However, the reason you provided is incorrect. Currently, both AT&T and Verizon operate data only LTE networks. Neither provide LTE voice (Voice Over LTE aka VoLTE) but both plan to (Verizon in 2012 and AT&T in 2013). Whether or not the Galaxy Nexus can take advantage of VoLTE is another open question but it will be able to use CDMA voice either way.
The real reason your Galaxy Nexus will not work on the AT&T network is the LTE frequency bands are different as well as the obvious 2G and 3G CDMA/GSM incompatibilities. A Verizon Galaxy Nexus with the an AT&T SIM (assuming you can unlock the device) will never be able to find the AT&T network. Hopefully, future devices will offer software programmable radios that can be unlocked to interoperate on multiple bands. There are plans for some 43 LTE bands worldwide!!!
So I'm guessing that by the same token in Canada, if your with bell, getting the LTE version is pointless?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
ianwood said:
You are correct in saying the Verizon Galaxy Nexus will not work with an AT&T SIM. However, the reason you provided is incorrect. Currently, both AT&T and Verizon operate data only LTE networks. Neither provide LTE voice (Voice Over LTE aka VoLTE) but both plan to (Verizon in 2012 and AT&T in 2013). Whether or not the Galaxy Nexus can take advantage of VoLTE is another open question but it will be able to use CDMA voice either way.
The real reason your Galaxy Nexus will not work on the AT&T network is the LTE frequency bands are different as well as the obvious 2G and 3G CDMA/GSM incompatibilities. A Verizon Galaxy Nexus with the an AT&T SIM (assuming you can unlock the device) will never be able to find the AT&T network.
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Thanks for a little more information, but I said just as much. Even if you somehow got it unlocked to accept a different LTE SIM card (don't think it'd ever happen), there are several reasons why the phone wouldn't work. Even if they did have the same LTE frequencies exactly (or you hacked it on), he wouldn't get any GSM functionality out of the VZW device.
Basically what I was trying to express is that the other things could theoretically be overcome with software/firmware hacks (VZW and ATT will operate in the same spectrum, just slightly different frequencies), whereas you can't ever overcome the fact that the CDMA does you no good on the AT&T network.
Overall I think the point has been made regardless...
dont forget sprint and other cdma carriers in US
Is the internal radio and SOC identical across all US carriers? (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint)
I am looking to unlock a Sprint GS3 that I can get as an employee and use it on AT&T. (Apple appears to include both CDMA and GSM support in their 4S units) and I am hoping Samsung did the same to get the device out to all the carriers.
Thanks in advance!
Unfortunately, sprint opted to make the sim internal so it can't be swapped. If you see some of the video reviews out right now, it shows the sim slot missing.
Protocols and frequencies
themyst said:
Is the internal radio and SOC identical across all US carriers? (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint)
I am looking to unlock a Sprint GS3 that I can get as an employee and use it on AT&T. (Apple appears to include both CDMA and GSM support in their 4S units) and I am hoping Samsung did the same to get the device out to all the carriers.
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I am not a professional on this but I believe that the SoC(processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc) is identical but the radios are different.
All the carriers use unique frequencies to communicate with their towers. Many carriers use separate protocols to communicate as well(HSPA+, CDMA, GSM) Its possible for 2 carriers to use the same protocol but they will always be using different frequencies.
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think its possible to re-program your phone to use a different frequency(i.e. change from 1900MHz to 800MHz)
I do not believe you can "unlock" a sprint phone. The radio simply will not work on any other carrier. Now, if said sprint phone were a "Global Phone", then it has an additional GSM radio in it as well. I don't know if this could be used to connect to another US carrier like AT&T though.
Hi, I am sorry if this has been asked already. I am wondering whether a Sprint Samsung S6 Edge PLUS can be unlocked(Via Sprint, not third party) to work on other networks? I am currently on Verizon and am considering buying my friend's S6 Edge plus because he gave me a good deal. Thanks for your time.
Sprint would unlock it . Its happened to a few people i know who purchased it outright . Call sprint and ask for the device to be unlocked domestically
USA Prepaid?
Can this be done to use a Sprint S6 on a USA prepaid carrier?
What if phone is brand new and never activated on sprint network?
It'll work in the USA but no lte support as of yet for sprint unlocked to gsm
Yes and No, the G925P is a Sprint phone meaning its a CDMA Phone, Verizon uses the same technology on their network, CDMA phones have to be reprogrammed to work on another carrier using a CDMA Network. But this phone is a dual GSM/CDMA Phone, meaning since GSM phones use a SIM Card so you can if Sprint Unlocks the phone because you own it outright you can go to another GSM carrier and some or all the features might work, this phone is different than the G925F international GSM phone which will work almost anywhere in the world as long as its connecting to a GSM Network. All you do then is just change the SIM card and your connected to that carrier. If you want to be on Verizon its best to just get a G925V from them because its already programmed for Verizon rather than trying to make this Sprint Phone work on their CDMA Network. It can be done but to reprogram the damn thing is not that easy and very time consuming for a newbie to tackle. Sell it, get a Verizon phone if you like it that much. or switch to Sprint.
here is an easy way to look at this, LTE is built on GSM hence why the new sprint/verizon LTE phones have SIM cards, you can try to switch to AT+T or T-Mobile but you may loose 2g-3g connectivity, maybe, maybe not all depends on the phone variant, so lets look at Verizon
Verizon -
CDMA/LTE
uses 700 MHZ (band 13) and 1700 MHZ (band 4)
Sprint-
CDMA/LTE
uses 800 MHZ and 1900 MHZ (band 26 and 25)
and 2.5 GHZ for Sprint Spark (band 41)
so you see they operate on different bands, I noticed not all S6's have the same bands either, depends on the carrier and these phones are made for them to be different, so to find a phone that has all of these bands would work in theory on any network but with CDMA they have electronic serial numbers embedded in the device and you will have to reprogram the radio/chip in order to work on another carrier. So to answer can I use a sprint phone on verizon would be a simple NO.
I've tried reading a lot on multiple sites for a while now and see people saying you can put it on Verizon and other saying you can't. I've got the phone rooted and it's working on T-Mobile but I really want to put it on Verizon even if it loses some functionality maybe. Do I just need to flash s7 firmware now?
Verizon doesn't really use the same frequencies as they are a CDMA network and ATT/TMob is GSM.
themaxx69 said:
I've tried reading a lot on multiple sites for a while now and see people saying you can put it on Verizon and other saying you can't. I've got the phone rooted and it's working on T-Mobile but I really want to put it on Verizon even if it loses some functionality maybe. Do I just need to flash s7 firmware now?
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This device is an AT&T exclusive so it was built to function on AT&T's bands and services. The phone, when unlocked is easy to use on T-Mobile, or any of AT&T or T-Mobile's MVNO's such as Cricket or Metro as both use the same 3G tech, T-Mobile uses the 2G tech AT&T used to use and both use bands 2,4 and 12 on 4G LTE. However, Verizon uses entirely different 2G and 3G technology based on CDMA compared with AT&T/T-Mobile's GSM. Verizon does use bands 2 and 4 on 4G LTE so this phone may, in theory, be able to connect to Verizon 4G LTE on those two bands. However much of Verizon's LTE service is on a low-frequency band numbered 13 that is not accessible by Galaxy S7 Active. I don't think Verizon will permit this phone to register on the network even on Bands 2 and 4.
Hi,
If I take a AT&T S9, Unlock the bootloader (if possible), root it, and flash a custom rom on it will I then be able to use it on Verizon?
Thank you in Advance.
Kc0r8y said:
Hi,
If I take a AT&T S9, Unlock the bootloader (if possible), root it, and flash a custom rom on it will I then be able to use it on Verizon?
Thank you in Advance.
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ATz&T is GSM Verizon is CDMA incompatible
Perhaps @sw1173 is a dinosaur or a forum troll?
Verizon 4G LTE is not CDMA. It's 4G LTE and fully compatible with 4G LTE used by other carriers around the globe. Verizon 2g and 3g is CDMA, and only still exists to support older cellular data and IoT devices and some dinosaurs using ancients relics for devices. Verizon announced they were planning on completely shutting down their CDMA network the end of 2019, but just recently decided to postpone the shutdown for up to another year. Verizon has been permitting activation of an ever expanding list of unlocked phones for some time now, including devices like the OnePlus 6T that has no CDMA support, just 4G LTE. If you already have a 4G LTE device activated, you can swap the SIM into another 4G LTE device and as long as it has radio band support for Verizon's spectrum (use frequencycheck.com) as well as software support for Verizon's VoLTE settings, you're good to go. They don't seem to have a VoLTE whitelist like AT&T.
Sadly, the bootloader on the US Snapdragon S9 can not be unlocked at this point (no hacks) like the foreign SM-G960F(D)/965F(D) (Exynos with unlocked bootloader) or the SM-G9600/9650 (Snapdragon with unlocked bootloader) in order to install custom ROMs. I suggest everyone avoid US Samsung phones, period, because of this, and be sure to share your discontent with Samsung. Personally, if I were you, I would get the SM-G9600 or SM-G9650 (China / Latin America Version), root it (easy), and flash the files here to get Verizon support:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s9/how-to/guide-sm-g9600-sm-g9650-verizon-t3890695
If you buy or have a carrier unlocked US S9, including from AT&T, you can use it with any US carrier, including Verizon. You'll probably want to flash the Verizon firmware on it to get Verizon features including WiFi calling though:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GalaxyS9/comments/85ci7c/convert_atttmosprint_to_unlocked_s9_guide/
Presently you can't unlock the boot loader on the n960u therefore you can't flash Verizon's firmware. Call Verizon and you will be told they are CDMA and are not changing but are adding capability for 5G after 1/1/2020, which will allow the use of various GSM devices to use their CDMA network.. I just spoke with Verizon sales and their technical support.
sw1173 said:
ATz&T is GSM Verizon is CDMA incompatible
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incorrect, this has been incorrect since the S8 when Sammy decided to not make different models for the US market. All S9's built for the US market are physically identical
mobileanimal said:
Perhaps @sw1173 is a dinosaur or a forum troll?
Verizon 4G LTE is not CDMA. It's 4G LTE and fully compatible with 4G LTE used by other carriers around the globe. Verizon 2g and 3g is CDMA, and only still exists to support older cellular data and IoT devices and some dinosaurs using ancients relics for devices. Verizon announced they were planning on completely shutting down their CDMA network the end of 2019, but just recently decided to postpone the shutdown for up to another year. Verizon has been permitting activation of an ever expanding list of unlocked phones for some time now, including devices like the OnePlus 6T that has no CDMA support, just 4G LTE. If you already have a 4G LTE device activated, you can swap the SIM into another 4G LTE device and as long as it has radio band support for Verizon's spectrum (use frequencycheck.com) as well as software support for Verizon's VoLTE settings, you're good to go. They don't seem to have a VoLTE whitelist like AT&T.
Sadly, the bootloader on the US Snapdragon S9 can not be unlocked at this point (no hacks) like the foreign SM-G960F(D)/965F(D) (Exynos with unlocked bootloader) or the SM-G9600/9650 (Snapdragon with unlocked bootloader) in order to install custom ROMs. I suggest everyone avoid US Samsung phones, period, because of this, and be sure to share your discontent with Samsung. Personally, if I were you, I would get the SM-G9600 or SM-G9650 (China / Latin America Version), root it (easy), and flash the files here to get Verizon support:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s9/how-to/guide-sm-g9600-sm-g9650-verizon-t3890695
If you buy or have a carrier unlocked US S9, including from AT&T, you can use it with any US carrier, including Verizon. You'll probably want to flash the Verizon firmware on it to get Verizon features including WiFi calling though:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GalaxyS9/comments/85ci7c/convert_atttmosprint_to_unlocked_s9_guide/
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in addition to this correct information, id like to add that phones can be debranded by flashing the U1 firmware, but will require a modded Odin in order to get around the write protections put in place meant to stop us from doing that
sw1173 said:
Presently you can't unlock the boot loader on the n960u therefore you can't flash Verizon's firmware. Call Verizon and you will be told they are CDMA and are not changing but are adding capability for 5G after 1/1/2020, which will allow the use of various GSM devices to use their CDMA network.. I just spoke with Verizon sales and their technical support.
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incorrect. Well, youre right in saying that it cant currently be unlocked or rooted, but you CAN flash verizons firmware. Verizon hasnt been a cdma carrier strictly speaking for a decade. LTE has always been GSM, and ever since vzw jumped on board, theyve been a hybrid at best. On top of that, with VoLTE becoming more and more popular, their cdma transceivers have been getting less and less usage every day. 5G isnt going to be the splash a lot of folks think it will either. New handsets to support a new communication method that just isnt needed in most places. And finally, most handsets produced in the last few years are hybrids, especially those sold in several countries. The biggest exception to that rule is the chinese phones that dont even have cdma radios in them.