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Okay, so I'm going to buy an m8, but I'm on At&t but they are selling verizon. It's a really good deal so i wanna buy it. How much does unlocking a phone cost and where is a a safe place to do it?
gainstatom said:
Okay, so I'm going to buy an m8, but I'm on At&t but they are selling verizon. It's a really good deal so i wanna buy it. How much does unlocking a phone cost and where is a a safe place to do it?
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Bad idea buying a Verizon phone to use on AT&T. The two carrier use totally different technology for both phone service and Data
At&t is GSM and Verizon is CDMA so it won't work
jball said:
At&t is GSM and Verizon is CDMA so it won't work
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The Verizon variant actually supports GSM and CDMA bands. Its also not SIM locked (the only US variant I know of, that is not SIM locked). So it will work on AT&T on GSM and HSPA (it has the required 850 and 1900 MHz ands), but only some of the bands required for LTE on AT&T. So depending on what band AT&T is using in the OP's area, they may or may not get LTE.
I agree, if the OP wants a phone that works out-of-the-box on AT&T, then its best to get the AT&T variant or alternately, the US Dev Edition, US unlocked, or US GPE. All of these are intended to be used on AT&T.
And OP is better of getting just about any GSM variant over the CDMA variants (Sprint or Verizon) due to possible hardware differences. Any GSM M8 should be able to be converted to AT&T bands, although s-off is required. Just getting the AT&T version is safest/easiest.
@redpoint73
Thank you again sir.
I'm sure the OP will appreciate as much as I do the detailed information you've posted.
Posted this in the TMobile release thread but hasn't gotten any responses (might be the wrong place for such a question). Someone on another place I frequent posted this and I'm wondering if it's something one should be concerned about or if the bands missing are pretty much useless and won't make a difference to me? If it will be an issue for me, I will return the phone and wait for the official AT&T one to be released.
Thanks!
It will work in tmobile, yes. But won't you be losing some bands cricket/att use? I use cricket too and was trying to get the international model for this reason. With the tmobile version your missing some of the 3g and LTE bands that att uses.
H810 AT&T
GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
UMTS 850/1900/2100
LTE Bands 2, 4, 5, 17, 29, Roaming 1, 3, 7, and CA
H811 T-Mobile USA
UMTS: Band I (2100), Band II (1900), Band IV (1700/2100)
LTE: Band: 2, 4, 7, 12, 17;
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Click to collapse
It won't make a difference.
Thanks for asking this question as I am bout to do the same. Just want to be sure that I will be OK w the T-Mobile phone on AT&T. I live in NY and will be using the phone mostly in the USA. If anyone has done this, your feedback would be appreciated!
IlyaKol said:
Posted this in the TMobile release thread but hasn't gotten any responses (might be the wrong place for such a question). Someone on another place I frequent posted this and I'm wondering if it's something one should be concerned about or if the bands missing are pretty much useless and won't make a difference to me? If it will be an issue for me, I will return the phone and wait for the official AT&T one to be released.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no release thread for this phone by carrier yet?...
IlyaKol said:
Posted this in the TMobile release thread but hasn't gotten any responses (might be the wrong place for such a question). Someone on another place I frequent posted this and I'm wondering if it's something one should be concerned about or if the bands missing are pretty much useless and won't make a difference to me? If it will be an issue for me, I will return the phone and wait for the official AT&T one to be released.
Thanks!
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Looking at your list, if you use a T-Mobile G4 on AT&T you will not get LTE bands 5 or 29, or GSM 850/900/1800.
Dennisg34 said:
There is no release thread for this phone by carrier yet?...
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Click to collapse
It's in the general sub-forum. Here is the thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/g4/general/t-mobile-version-available-t3119636
geoff5093 said:
Looking at your list, if you use a T-Mobile G4 on AT&T you will not get LTE bands 5 or 29, or GSM 850/900/1800.
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I know but my question is will this degrade performance or affect my ability to use data and voice, etc.? I don't understand anything about bands.
IlyaKol said:
I know, but my question is will this degrade performance or affect my ability to use data and voice, etc.? I don't understand anything about bands.
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AT&T uses bands 2/4/5/17/29/30 for LTE and 850/1900 for GSM. If you use a T-Mobile G4 on AT&T, going by your first post, you will not get LTE bands 5 or 29 or 850 for GSM.
This means is you will not be able to take advantage of AT&T's 850MHz LTE or 700MHz lower D/E LTE spectrum, or 850MHz GSM. AT&T's main bands are 5 and 17, so in some areas you will get reduced LTE performance, especially indoors and when far from the tower. You may run into markets that you only get 2G/3G in as well if they are using only bands 5 and/or 29.
In short, it will work, but it's not ideal.
geoff5093 said:
AT&T uses bands 2/4/5/17/29/30 for LTE and 850/1900 for GSM. If you use a T-Mobile G4 on AT&T, going by your first post, you will not get LTE bands 5 or 29 or 850 for GSM.
This means is you will not be able to take advantage of AT&T's 850MHz LTE or 700MHz lower D/E LTE spectrum, or 850MHz GSM. AT&T's main bands are 5 and 17, so in some areas you will get reduced LTE performance, especially indoors and when far from the tower. You may run into markets that you only get 2G/3G in as well if they are using only bands 5 and/or 29.
In short, it will work, but it's not ideal.
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Click to collapse
The B/I/U text is the answer I was looking for. I appreciate it.
I'm going to rock it for a few days until the AT&T phone comes out and return the T-Mobile one since I have 14 days to do so.
IlyaKol said:
The B/I/U text is the answer I was looking for. I appreciate it.
I'm going to rock it for a few days until the AT&T phone comes out and return the T-Mobile one since I have 14 days to do so.
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Click to collapse
Depending on your market, you may be perfectly fine, since you have the T-Mobile version I'd wait and see how happy you are with the service. The AT&T G4 costs a lot more.
Well, it just came. So I'll test it out with my Cricket SIM and see how it goes. But I'm leaning towards swapping it out.
Update, probably last one.
1) Put my Cricket SIM into the new LG G4.
2) Got a message saying phone was locked to network. Call support to get it unlocked.
3) Called support and they said because I don't have a T-Mobile account, they cannot unlock it. I'd need to go through a 3rd party to do that. BUT, if I do that, I can no longer return the phone.
I'm not going to bother with 3rd Parties and will just get an AT&T phone which will allow me to use my Cricket SIM without issue, plus have all of the missing bands. So, I am starting the return process on my T-Mobile LG G4, unless someone wants to buy it from me?
thanks for reporting all this. I'm on att but am out of contract, deciding if i upgrade to the att g4 or switch to tmo and upgrade there.
still not decided but I'm definitely not going to run the tmo on att, because my signal at home is 1 bar of lte if I'm lucky. the only hold back is obviously the bootloader. I've never had a stock phone for more than a day, eeesh.
VR32 said:
thanks for reporting all this. I'm on att but am out of contract, deciding if i upgrade to the att g4 or switch to tmo and upgrade there.
still not decided but I'm definitely not going to run the tmo on att, because my signal at home is 1 bar of lte if I'm lucky. the only hold back is obviously the bootloader. I've never had a stock phone for more than a day, eeesh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. That's why we're all here.
Same here. Now that I'm going to be waiting till June 5th for the G4 (AT&T release date), I'm hoping some progress is made in the next week for unlocking the bootloader. Must have root (for XPosed and a bunch of other apps).
IlyaKol said:
No problem. That's why we're all here.
Same here. Now that I'm going to be waiting till June 5th for the G4 (AT&T release date), I'm hoping some progress is made in the next week for unlocking the bootloader. Must have root (for XPosed and a bunch of other apps).
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I did the att preorder last week. I'm kind of hoping since I'll get it later that there will be root and stuff by the time I get it too lol.
frigidazzi said:
I did the att preorder last week. I'm kind of hoping since I'll get it later that there will be root and stuff by the time I get it too lol.
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Lol good luck with root in one week before phones are officially released.
Sent from my S5 using your mom
Dennisg34 said:
Lol good luck with root in one week before phones are officially released.
Sent from my S5 using your mom
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It comes out on June 13 at best buy. Over a week after att stores. So that's a week after it releases. Not before
frigidazzi said:
It comes out on June 13 at best buy. Over a week after att stores. So that's a week after it releases. Not before
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I spoke to the guy at my local AT&T store who said they aren't doing an official pre-order but that he'll put me on the list to reserve one and I'll come get it when it arrives.
Man, I'm so indecisive lol. This is by far the 'craziest' a phone has gotten me since smart phones were invented.
I scrapped my plan of getting an AT&T H810 (which would work perfectly with my Cricket SIM) and decided to spend a tad bit more ($60 or so) and get a fully unlocked H815 model that has all the AT&T bands + others. Ordered it on EBay, should be here by the 4th which is actually a day earlier than the AT&T release (which is June 5th).
IlyaKol said:
Man, I'm so indecisive lol. This is by far the 'craziest' a phone has gotten me since smart phones were invented.
I scrapped my plan of getting an AT&T H810 (which would work perfectly with my Cricket SIM) and decided to spend a tad bit more ($60 or so) and get a fully unlocked H815 model that has all the AT&T bands + others. Ordered it on EBay, should be here by the 4th which is actually a day earlier than the AT&T release (which is June 5th).
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Are you still eligible for the free battery and such from lg?
frigidazzi said:
Are you still eligible for the free battery and such from lg?
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Click to collapse
Not sure. I'll try the links for the promo's when I get the device...and find out.
So I want to buy this phone straight out. AT&T is charging more than other carriers, should I just buy the T-Mobile version? Do I have any other options for where to buy or which model to buy?
The T-Mobile version will be locked to T-Mobile, and AFAIK, unless you have a T-Mobile account, they won't unlock it for you.
Plus, it looks like the the T-Mobile phone lacks at least two LTE bands that AT&T runs (and vice versa).
I am in the same boat, and for now I see the choice as between buying the AT&T phone (leather) through BestBuy and collecting their $100 gift card for the final cost of $669-100=569, or buying the unlocked international version at ebay (currently $605) or amazon ($655), which has all the advantages of not being a carrier version, but also lacks one of AT&T's bands (30). Plus, there are risks associated with buying a $600+ phone from companies you don't know.
Quite a few people from here have ordered their phones from ebay, so I'm hoping they have a good experience, so I can jump on the bandwagon.
Makster said:
The T-Mobile version will be locked to T-Mobile, and AFAIK, unless you have a T-Mobile account, they won't unlock it for you.
Plus, it looks like the the T-Mobile phone lacks at least two LTE bands that AT&T runs (and vice versa).
I am in the same boat, and for now I see the choice as between buying the AT&T phone (leather) through BestBuy and collecting their $100 gift card for the final cost of $669-100=569, or buying the unlocked international version at ebay (currently $605) or amazon ($655), which has all the advantages of not being a carrier version, but also lacks one of AT&T's bands (30). Plus, there are risks associated with buying a $600+ phone from companies you don't know.
Quite a few people from here have ordered their phones from ebay, so I'm hoping they have a good experience, so I can jump on the bandwagon.
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Click to collapse
Good to know I'm not in this boat alone lol. How much do you know about the band its lacking and how that may affect signal?
I wanted T-Mobile for that brown leather.... But it makes sense that you'd need an account lol.
I just looked at specs for the two models:
AT&T Model H810, bands 2,4,5,7,17,30.
T-Mobile Model 811, bands 2,4,5,7,12
International Model H815, bands 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,17,20,28
So, the TMO model lacks AT&T's bands 17&30, and the International one only lacks 30. I really have no idea how wide-spread those bands are, and how much we would lose by not having them.
Makster said:
I just looked at specs for the two models:
AT&T Model H810, bands 2,4,5,7,17,30.
T-Mobile Model 811, bands 2,4,5,7,12
International Model H815, bands 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,17,20,28
So, the TMO model lacks AT&T's bands 17&30, and the International one only lacks 30. I really have no idea how wide-spread those bands are, and how much we would lose by not having them.
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Click to collapse
Appreciate you looking that up. That's some good info. I was gonna research when I got a chance later tonight lol. I did read earlier that if you get the tablet from ATT you can get an LG tablet with 2 yr contract for $0.99... That's kinda cool? I don't have a tablet so it'd be neat to have one haha.
HaVoK C89 said:
Appreciate you looking that up. That's some good info. I was gonna research when I got a chance later tonight lol. I did read earlier that if you get the tablet from ATT you can get an LG tablet with 2 yr contract for $0.99... That's kinda cool? I don't have a tablet so it'd be neat to have one haha.
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Click to collapse
The small print on that tablet is that you have to put it on that 2 yr contract for $10/mo.
I don't need an LTE-enabled tablet bad enough to pay $240.99 for it. It might be a good tablet, but I doubt it's that good.
Plus, I am going to pay full price for the phone mostly to be free. Why would I tie myself to a contract for a tablet?
I'm in the same boat, sort of. I'd like to avoid a carrier version and was set on the International but now don't know how that one missing band will affect service.
Question though, if I have a carrier model and get it unlocked to use with another carrier, I'm guessing I'm still stuck with the previous carrier's bloat and start up screen, correct?
Makster said:
The small print on that tablet is that you have to put it on that 2 yr contract for $10/mo.
I don't need an LTE-enabled tablet bad enough to pay $240.99 for it. It might be a good tablet, but I doubt it's that good.
Plus, I am going to pay full price for the phone mostly to be free. Why would I tie myself to a contract for a tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha you make a good point!
Well I can't be 100% sure on the info I'm reading.... But it looks like Band 30 is either a 3g band or a lower mhz LTE band. I can't find much, or I may not be using the right "key words".
Sammae7 said:
Question though, if I have a carrier model and get it unlocked to use with another carrier, I'm guessing I'm still stuck with the previous carrier's bloat and start up screen, correct?
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Yep.
Unless you root and debloat it, but that very ability is more likely to come to non-carrier versions, which are not bloated in the first place.
Sammae7 said:
I'm in the same boat, sort of. I'd like to avoid a carrier version and was set on the International but now don't know how that one missing band will affect service.
Question though, if I have a carrier model and get it unlocked to use with another carrier, I'm guessing I'm still stuck with the previous carrier's bloat and start up screen, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct on that. At least till you root/ROM it!
I think I'll stay away from rooting and romming for a bit. I bricked my three month old LG G3 romming it and had to rebuy a new one last month. So when I get the G4, I'll have two G3's which look brand new but one is a paperweight.
Sammae7 said:
I think I'll stay away from rooting and romming for a bit. I bricked my three month old LG G3 romming it and had to rebuy a new one last month. So when I get the G4, I'll have two G3's which look brand new but one is a paperweight.
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Click to collapse
Lol I understand. That's a pretty cool looking paperweight! But yea, international versions don't come with much bloat at all.
That's my main attraction to it. I'm picky about my phones and hate branding and bloat. Looks like the International model lacks bands with both my current carrier (AT&T) and the carrier I may be jumping to (Verizon).
Now I'm stuck between two rocks and a hard place. I can either chance it with the International, go for the AT&T model knowing I may be dropping them in a few months, or just wait it out until I switch carriers.
HaVoK C89 said:
So I want to buy this phone straight out. AT&T is charging more than other carriers, should I just buy the T-Mobile version? Do I have any other options for where to buy or which model to buy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makster said:
I just looked at specs for the two models:
AT&T Model H810, bands 2,4,5,7,17,30.
T-Mobile Model 811, bands 2,4,5,7,12
International Model H815, bands 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,17,20,28
So, the TMO model lacks AT&T's bands 17&30, and the International one only lacks 30. I really have no idea how wide-spread those bands are, and how much we would lose by not having them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LTE band 30 is upcoming, and not yet deployed. Chances are good that unless you live in the downtown area of a major city you probably will be moved onto the next device by the time you need band 30. Also, band 17 is AT&T's primary LTE band, so you probably don't want to get a device for AT&T without band 17. Stick with the AT&T version or the international. You can probably find the brown leather backplate by itself without buying a T-Mobile G4 that's missing the most important LTE band.
http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/atts-summer-lte-expansions-plans-2-3-ghz-wcs-lte-band-30-is-coming/
stl-soldier said:
LTE band 30 is upcoming, and not yet deployed. Chances are good that unless you live in the downtown area of a major city you probably will be moved onto the next device by the time you need band 30. Also, band 17 is AT&T's primary LTE band, so you probably don't want to get a device for AT&T without band 17. Stick with the AT&T version or the international. You can probably find the brown leather backplate by itself without buying a T-Mobile G4 that's missing the most important LTE band.
http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/atts-summer-lte-expansions-plans-2-3-ghz-wcs-lte-band-30-is-coming/
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Click to collapse
Awesome info! Thank you do much! Band 30 sounds like the real deal when it comes to speed lol. Might be worth it to stick with a more expensive ATT model... I love me some fast Internetz...
HaVoK C89 said:
Awesome info! Thank you do much! Band 30 sounds like the real deal when it comes to speed lol. Might be worth it to stick with a more expensive ATT model... I love me some fast Internetz...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you happen to be in an area that gets band 30, you should have incredible speeds until more devices are released that support it. It's just part of the consideration. I figure my speeds are fast enough for now, and it could be a year or more before band 30 is even up in my home area. I'm on AT&T and have the international version. I'd rather have the guaranteed unlocked/rooted international version than pay a lot more for the AT&T variant which might be locked for months. Whatever you do, just don't get the T-Mobile. Other than that, you can't really go wrong.
Sammae7 said:
That's my main attraction to it. I'm picky about my phones and hate branding and bloat. Looks like the International model lacks bands with both my current carrier (AT&T) and the carrier I may be jumping to (Verizon).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, if you are planning on going to Verizon, you don't really have a choice: You need to get the Verizon version.
Both AT&T and international G4's are GSM-only phones and will not work with Verizon.
Hey, I plan to buy my Galaxy so from Samsung rather than my carrier (ATT). I have a couple questions. Will I just be able to add the Sim currently in my Galaxy say or will I need a new one? Also, will I have to take it into the store?
Just put your existing soon card in and away you go. No need for anything else. It's what I did when I got my Note 8 from Samsung.
If you buy it from Samsung, the phone it's unlocked, so you can use any valid SIM (including the one you are currently using now).
Samsung has an unlocked model available on their website along with carrier specific models. I would think the carrier specific models are the same as the phones you would get at a AT&T or Verizon store. Correct me if I'm wrong.
dmb219 said:
Samsung has an unlocked model available on their website along with carrier specific models. I would think the carrier specific models are the same as the phones you would get at a AT&T or Verizon store. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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Click to collapse
I'd like to know this as I would like an unlocked bootloader but.... I would like the Carrier version for some additional features like VoLTE/VoWifi.
Right now I'm torn between just going to Best Buy (since in the states) or just getting it directly from Samsung.
The carrier versions will have the standard carrier bloat pre-installed.
I can't find the exact band specifications of each of the models... Does anyone know if the hardware/antenna chips will be the same on T-Mobile vs. unlocked from Samsung? I am assuming there are certain bands missing from the unlocked version if you plan on using T-mobile's network, but I can't confirm this....
Best Buy's doing a $100 off if you preorder on Friday just heads up.
StykerB said:
Best Buy's doing a $100 off if you preorder on Friday just heads up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And if you have an s8 or other qualifying phone you can get a total of $450 off I believe on Friday from Best Buy.
Nightwind Hawk said:
I can't find the exact band specifications of each of the models... Does anyone know if the hardware/antenna chips will be the same on T-Mobile vs. unlocked from Samsung? I am assuming there are certain bands missing from the unlocked version if you plan on using T-mobile's network, but I can't confirm this....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too had the same questions and this is what I found. I don't know how accurate it is.
https://www.frequencycheck.com/models/Ar9mx/samsung-sm-g965u-galaxy-s9-td-lte-samsung-star-2
uzupan said:
I too had the same questions and this is what I found. I don't know how accurate it is.
https://www.frequencycheck.com/models/Ar9mx/samsung-sm-g965u-galaxy-s9-td-lte-samsung-star-2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like the answer to our question is on this page: https://www.techwalls.com/samsung-galaxy-s9-sm-g960-g965-model-number-differences/
The T-Mobile version seems to be missing the following, in comparison to the unlocked US version:
4G FDD LTE B71 (600 mhz) - This is T-Mobile's new spectrum... this seems important to have (just google t-mobile 600mhz)
2G CDMA and 3G CDMA - I don't believe this matters to us
3G TD-SCDMA B34 and B39 (2010 and 1880mhz) - I assume these will be missed if outside LTE coverage?
But in general, the unlocked version seems to support more bands than the Tmo version
So, it seems if one is on the T-Mobile network and plans to stay there, they really should get the T-Mobile version of the phone.... someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Deathman20 said:
I'd like to know this as I would like an unlocked bootloader but.... I would like the Carrier version for some additional features like VoLTE/VoWifi.
Right now I'm torn between just going to Best Buy (since in the states) or just getting it directly from Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do know that unlocked isn't meaning unlocked bootloader right? It's meaning unlocked bands
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk
I'm with AT&T and I'm pretty sure there will be no wifi calling on any phone other than the AT&T version. That's a feature I want. If it doesn't matter to you an unlocked phone may be for you. I don't know for a fact that wifi calling won't work on an unlocked S9 but if it does, it will be the first. I don't want the extra carrier apps but they aren't going to cause me any grief on a beast like this phone. I'd rather have the services the carrier provides if I'm going to use them. If It turns out that wifi calling works on the unlocked S9, I may revise my plan but I doubt that will happen. I'm pretty much done with the rooting/modding stuff so that isn't an issue. Even the master hackers are going with stock phones d/t the features and security.
I've really enjoyed my S7 and want to upgrade to the S9. Later in the year I'll be overseas for almost a year, so I want something that will work with all Verizon bands of LTE, but also not have a firmware lock that would cause it to not work on other bands of LTE overseas. (planning to just use prepaid dataplan sim cards overseas)
I think my two options are to either get a US 'unlocked' version or wait for the 'international' version. My understanding is the primary differences between the unlocked and international version is the 2G/3G coverage for CDMA and possibly slightly different hardware. I'd rather have a phone with CDMA backwards capability, but my prime concern lacking full access to all LTE bands available wherever I am.
I'm not really interested in going any route that would require me to root the phone if there is a way to do it without.
Well the only way to get VZW compatibility is the VZW phone or a US unlocked model. So you're looking at the US Unlocked model at this point.
A listing of all the different model numbers available (per country and carrier) is available here: https://www.techwalls.com/samsung-galaxy-s9-sm-g960-g965-model-number-differences/
You will probably want to get the phone that works with your primary location the most. I am not sure which countries use which frequencies for LTE in Europe; you will need to research that to see what you may be missing out on.
With my T-Mobile S7, I haven't had any issues when traveling in Europe or Asia. It connects to LTE usually.
So I just did a deep dive of that list:
It looks like the Verizon and Unlocked versions are almost identical (the unlocked US version has B46(5200) 4G TDD LTE, but I'm not sure anyone who uses it)
Looking at 4G FDD LTE it looks like a Verizon or US unlocked phone will have almost complete coverage around the world, notable gaps are B30(2300) in China/Canada/US AT&T, B32(1500) in UK and B71(600) (US Tmobile). I thought that was a bit confusing as you'd expect a US Unlocked phone to service all LTE bands available in the US yet it lacks AT&T and Tmobile bands.
So based on all that information looks like I should just get an unlocked US phone to be totally safe, and I'd likely also be fine getting a Verizon version also.
StykerB said:
Well the only way to get VZW compatibility is the VZW phone or a US unlocked model. So you're looking at the US Unlocked model at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Relcan said:
So I just did a deep dive of that list:
It looks like the Verizon and Unlocked versions are almost identical (the unlocked US version has B46(5200) 4G TDD LTE, but I'm not sure anyone who uses it)
Looking at 4G FDD LTE it looks like a Verizon or US unlocked phone will have almost complete coverage around the world, notable gaps are B30(2300) in China/Canada/US AT&T, B32(1500) in UK and B71(600) (US Tmobile). I thought that was a bit confusing as you'd expect a US Unlocked phone to service all LTE bands available in the US yet it lacks AT&T and Tmobile bands.
So based on all that information looks like I should just get an unlocked US phone to be totally safe, and I'd likely also be fine getting a Verizon version also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I'm new to Android but i use Verizon prepaid. Will I lose anything by going with the unlocked version or should i stick with a Verizon S9?
I don't use video calling. All i do is text and talk but I've heard that people on Verizon prepaid have issues with unlocked Android phones.
Thanks
Would Wifi Calling work with the US unlocked on verizon? I thought that required a Verizon FW to be flashed. I imagine all the other features such as voLTE / HD calling, etc to work on the US unlocked.
testinguser said:
Would Wifi Calling work with the US unlocked on verizon? I thought that required a Verizon FW to be flashed. I imagine all the other features such as voLTE / HD calling, etc to work on the US unlocked.
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Curious about that also
testinguser said:
Would Wifi Calling work with the US unlocked on verizon? I thought that required a Verizon FW to be flashed. I imagine all the other features such as voLTE / HD calling, etc to work on the US unlocked.
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Throwinrocks said:
Curious about that also
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I did a cursory review of the wifi-calling FAQ on their website. They don't mention anything about compatibility with Unlocked versions of phones (that I saw). I'd call tech support to ask, but I'd expect there to be a 50% chance of getting the wrong answer from the tech based on my interactions with their support.
There might be some good experience based anecdotes in the Galaxy S8 forum, if it works on an unlocked S8 its a safe bet it will work on an unlocked S9
I think I'll ask in the Verizon subreddit, it seems like they normally have really good information as well.
I'm mostly curious about the LTE TDD Band 46 (5200) - its the only band an unlocked US phone has that a Verizon phone doesn't. 5200 is in the U-NII frequency range, no cellphone service providers use it, but I wonder if it may be used for local LTE networks in the near future. The other advantage is avoiding all the verizon bloat wear, but that may be what allows the Wifi Calling to work!
All this has me thinking I might have to add the extra $80 and just buy the Verizon version. I don't get phones on contract and I've always just paid full price. (Page 2 404 error?)
Apparently the Nov/Dec Samsung s8 firmware update added an option for BYOD carrier provisioning for unlocked s8. Given the similarity, I'd imagine the same to be true for s9. Can someone who has an unlocked s8 confirm?
Well after a little more research I see that if you use Verizon prepaid you lose visual voicemail and WiFi calling even if you use a Verizon phone so there's no need in me paying extra for a Verizon S9. Unlocked it is.
Throwinrocks said:
Well after a little more research I see that if you use Verizon prepaid you lose visual voicemail and WiFi calling even if you use a Verizon phone so there's no need in me paying extra for a Verizon S9. Unlocked it is.
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You might wanna check this as Verizon is starting to implement network locks on some devices as to deter thefts more
Dont know when or what devices but it was a statement Verizon made
So, you're saying the prepaid SIM might not work in an unlocked S9?
I don't think Verizon is keeping Verizon prepaid SIMS from working in unlocked phones they are just locking their phones like Sprint and AT&T still do.
I had no problems with my unlocked Pixel 2 XL that I purchased from Google and my Verizon prepaid, just no visual voicemail.