Develop Bugs

International Unlocked Note 7 with AT&T

First and foremost, I'm a noob.
Anyways, I'm giving this whole Android thing a go for the third time. I had an S7 and an S7 Edge, both were great phones but they were also carrier versions. I've owned pretty much everything Apple and coming to the realization that Apple is dropping the ball. It's time to switch it up.
I ordered an International Unlocked 930F Note 7 and I'm currently with AT&T. After researching, I'm aware that I'll be losing a few things like Samsung Pay and VoLTE. Few questions I have: When the Note comes in the mail, shall I remove the SIM out of my iPhone SE and insert it into the new phone? Or go to an AT&T store and ask for another SIM?
Your feedback/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Someone will correct me if I am wrong but I don't believe you will lose Samsung Pay. It should work. And yes, just plug your SIM (if its a nano) and go. I plan on getting the same phone and I had the S7 Edge international version and it worked fine on AT&T. I never tried Samsung pay though.

Thanks for the quick reply.
Not too worried about Samsung Pay, as I don't even use Apple Pay. But the VoLTE is what I'm mainly concerned about.
Also what about visual voicemail? I understand it can be downloaded from Google Play, but will it still work and keep my same greeting, etc..?
Brings me to next question: Samsungs website offers the micro SD card as a free gift when purchasing the phone, do you know if they honor purchases from eBay and/or international devices?

Yeah I don't use Samsung pay either. Not sure about VoLTE.
Visual voice mail works fine. Just download the app from the Play Store like you said but not sure about the greeting. Don't know if that stored in the app or on AT&T's server.
From what I've been reading, when you register your phone, regardless of where you got it, you will be able to take advantage of the current promotion. LETS HOPE!

Samsung pay should still work, and so will the VVM app from the play store.
Eventually if a root/flashing method should come out for the international model which could let you flash over AT&T stuff such as HD voice. Not 100% sure on that but maybe someone else can verify that.
When you get the phone, go to the store and ask for a sim.
As for the free gift, it only applies if you buy it from a carrier store, or certain stores. I'm assuming the guy you bought it from already got the promo gift from Samsung. If you really want it maybe cancel the eBay order and get it from Samsung.

As far as I know you can't buy the international version straight from Samsung. If that would have been an option, I'd been all over that.
Would the SIM in my iPhone not work?

Seems you may be right, the only options I see on their site are carrier models. If you go to the promotion site though, they have an option for "other" retailers so you can try with your eBay invoice as proof of purchase.

I like where your heads at.
I suppose what I can do with the SIM is try swapping it into the Note and if it doesn't work, go to the store.

mattjewell said:
I like where your heads at.
I suppose what I can do with the SIM is try swapping it into the Note and if it doesn't work, go to the store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll pop in with a lil info for you. I use a international Note 4 on AT&T now with zero issues. A few reasons why I went with this version instead of a carrier branded phone. First one was the unlocked bootloader, since the AT&T version was locked up and still locked to this day. My 4 still works perfectly fine with a custom S7/Note 7 Rom on it. So you decide if you want it..
Now in regards to the crapple sim going into the N7, if I'm not mistaken you're going to have to get that changed from the crapple set-up. Think they need to put it back to regular data or whatever all the other phones use. You know it's always something special with crapple! I would say try the sim if no data you'll know why.
Good luck
Bajan

mattjewell said:
I like where your heads at.
I suppose what I can do with the SIM is try swapping it into the Note and if it doesn't work, go to the store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned above, I believe Apple uses different settings for data with their sim cards. When my brother switched from a 4S to Android he had to get a new card. I also just got his LTE working for him by contacting support and registering his Sim card with the one I from a store display phone. I just took a picture of the IMEI of an S7 in store and used the "ATT Phone" APN settings. The NXTGENPHONE APN will not work for some reason when I tried it.

cadcamaro said:
As mentioned above, I believe Apple uses different settings for data with their sim cards. When my brother switched from a 4S to Android he had to get a new card. I also just got his LTE working for him by contacting support and registering his Sim card with the one I from a store display phone. I just took a picture of the IMEI of an S7 in store and used the "ATT Phone" APN settings. The NXTGENPHONE APN will not work for some reason when I tried it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I'm at the store, I'll snap a pic of the back of an S7 as well just to be safe. Can you clarify "ATT Phone" in the APN settings? Where is this located?

Go into the phone settings and get the IMEI and IMEISV
I needed both when talking to tech support.
As for the APN I used the same ones as the OP from this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-s7-edge/how-to/verizon-s7-edge-sm-g935v-att-lte-tip-t3429897

What are the drawbacks to buying the unlocked S9 for Verizon?

I'm trying to figure out why the Verizon S9 is $80 more than the unlocked one. I used to have the unlocked S7 on Verizon and I understand that some carrier features such as VVM and VoLTE will not work. You also lose some of the Verizon specific apps that are preinstalled. I'm trying to find out if the unlocked phone will support all frequency bands used by Verizon for the best speed and coverage. I tried contacting Samsung through thier web site and here is my conversation:
Murtuza MD, SAMSUNG Care Pro
Them - Please excuse us for the long hold. We have had an unusually high volume of chats coming in. I would be happy to assist you with any questions you have about our products.
Me - What are the drawbacks to buying the unlocked S9 to use on Verizon. I understand that VVM will not work but will the phone support all of the bands used by Verizon to get the best call reception and data speeds?
Them - Please give me a few minutes to review the information you have shared.
Them - I see that the Unlocked S9 phone will be compatible with all the carrier's including Verizon.
Me - I understand that it will be compatible but will it perform the same as the Verizon branded S9? Why is the Verizon S9 $80 more expensive? What does the additional $80 buy for me?
Them - It will get you the Verizon specific feature's and applications that will be Pre installed on the phone.
Them - Please let me know if you have any more questions or queries for me.
Me - So the unlocked S9 will support all available Verizon radio bands?
Them - Yes, you are right.
Me - OK Thank you.
So it appears that the unlocked phone will work properly. Do anyone else find it ridiculous that the carrier locked phone would cost more? I would expect it to cost less unless there is some advantage to the carrier branded phone I am missing. Can anyone think of any other drawbacks to buying the unlocked phone? I could also note that the updates for the unlocked S7 were actually slower than the Verizon branded S7's updates.

unlocked bootloader is the must as well as aosp !!
usa and Canada will get the worst version again !!

I used a prepaid Verizon SIM on an Verizon S8 and lost VVM and WiFi calling but had HD Calling and I then purchased the unlocked Unlocked Pixel 2 XL directly from Google and it worked with with the Verizon prepaid SIM with the same downfalls of no VVM or WiFi calling but again I had HD calling. Not sure if this info helps but I WILL be buying the unlocked version S9 because I don't gain anything due to me using my prepaid SIM.

I don't think we can find such details early on. On websites like GSMarena and Phonearena the S9 doesn't have yet the model specific features (such as for Verizon and Unlocked version) so you should wait a bit more.

For those that had HD calling still usable with the unlocked versions of other devices, were you able to take calls and browse the web at the same time? I used an unlocked S7 with Verizon service for a while, but every time I was on a call I was not able to browse the web at the same time. Unfortunately for the kind of work I do I need to be able to do both.
That may be a drawback from not having the Verizon version of the S9 on their network.

So if you order the unlocked S9 on samsung you don't get visual voicemail ? Even if I use a sim from a verizon S8 model?

xgman said:
So if you order the unlocked S9 on samsung you don't get visual voicemail ? Even if I use a sim from a verizon S8 model?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it is a Verizon postpaid (contract) SIM? Yes
If it is a Verizon prepaid SIM? NO

Everything I have seen on the web indicates that no matter what sim or contract (full here) that you simply can't get the visual voicemail app with an unlocked Galaxy. That is so unreasonable so they get the extra $100 and you are stuck with the bloatware. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think this is the case.

xgman said:
Everything I have seen on the web indicates that no matter what sim or contract (full here) that you simply can't get the visual voicemail app with an unlocked Galaxy. That is so unreasonable so they get the extra $100 and you are stuck with the bloatware. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think this is the case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No Sir. A Verizon prepaid SIM on a Verizon S8 will not allow use of VVM

Throwinrocks said:
No Sir. A Verizon prepaid SIM on a Verizon S8 will not allow use of VVM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not a pre paid sim. It is a contract sim, but it won't make any difference. VVM won't work on a locked Verizon phone since the actual app won't even be on the phone and can't even be downloaded from the app store apparently.

When you put that post paid SIM into a Verizon S8 the VVM will appear on that phone along with 2 or 3 other apps plus Verizon phones aren't locked. My Verizon S8 had the VVM icon on my phone but it would not let me use it because I have a prepaid SIM. I have that icon on my phone.
There are two levels of VVM one is free with postpaid and the other is premium that cost $2.99 a month
Try this. Log in:
My Verizon>My Plans and Services>Blocks>Block Services>Block Visual Voice Mail>ON
Reboot and try a test call

I have the premium. I have not heard of anyone with premium or otherwise being able to get the visual voicemail with the slider etc working on an unlocked phone. I can't try the test because I don't have an unlocked phone to test it on yet plus it's on a work acct which I don't have admin access to. I don't know why they make it so difficult for such a mainstream feature.

xgman said:
I have the premium. I have not heard of anyone with premium or otherwise being able to get the visual voicemail with the slider etc working on an unlocked phone. I can't try the test because I don't have an unlocked phone to test it on yet plus it's on a work acct which I don't have admin access to. I don't know why they make it so difficult for such a mainstream feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. You'd think no matter if it's locked or unlocked phone or a post paid or prepaid SIM they would want to keep you as a customer and allow us to have a simple feature. I still remember when you had to buy text messaging like minutes. LOL
---------- Post added at 12:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:59 AM ----------
RossTeagan said:
I don't think we can find such details early on. On websites like GSMarena and Phonearena the S9 doesn't have yet the model specific features (such as for Verizon and Unlocked version) so you should wait a bit more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait for what? What details and specific features are you talking about?

I talked to Verizon tech support regarding the differences between the unlocked S9 and the Verizon branded S9. She seemed to be very knowledgeable on the subject and confirmed to me that you will not be able to use VVM on the unlocked phone just like I expected. She went as far as to say that since Verizon doesn't control the software updates that there is no guarantee that the phone would continue to work on their network. We all know that Samsung would never send out an update that would break the Verizon service but I could possibly see future software related network speed improvements not getting passed on to this phone. I'm really tossed up on which phone to buy. Are the Verizon tweaks and VVM worth $80?

skiddingus said:
I talked to Verizon tech support regarding the differences between the unlocked S9 and the Verizon branded S9. She seemed to be very knowledgeable on the subject and confirmed to me that you will not be able to use VVM on the unlocked phone just like I expected. She went as far as to say that since Verizon doesn't control the software updates that there is no guarantee that the phone would continue to work on their network. We all know that Samsung would never send out an update that would break the Verizon service but I could possibly see future software related network speed improvements not getting passed on to this phone. I'm really tossed up on which phone to buy. Are the Verizon tweaks and VVM worth $80?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon are a bunch of liars and crooks. Verizon tweaks nothing. They just make sure all their products and services work with the phone, that is all. I wouldn't pay $100 more for a phone that only has bloatware from Verizon. Not to mention Verizon phones are locked from factory now

Josh LaCelle said:
Verizon are a bunch of liars and crooks. Verizon tweaks nothing. They just make sure all their products and services work with the phone, that is all. I wouldn't pay $100 more for a phone that only has bloatware from Verizon. Not to mention Verizon phones are locked from factory now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I'm hearing Verizon hasn't started locking them yet but what difference does it make? AT&T and Sprint have been doing it for years. Once you activate the phone you can unlock it and in some cases they unlock once activated. They are locking them so when people steal them they're unable to use them. There's a ton of articles explaing why and I can't understand why everyone gets upset about it.

Now I take everything samsung says with a grain of salt and some hot sauce but the lady I just talked to (I recorded it) said that the snapdragon verizon s9+ had a unlockable bootloader (but she highly recommended against it). Has anyone else called samsung and asked them?

I can't say how true this actually is, but a vz rep just confirmed that all features will work exactly the same on both versions... see below for convo
Verizon: Thank you for contacting the Verizon Wireless Chat Team regarding your account. How can we help you today?
You: hi
You: what is the difference between the verizon S9 and the version of the S9 straight from samsung?
Meghann: Hello!
Meghann: There is no difference between the phones.
You: all features will work on both versions?
Meghann: Correct.
You: wifi calling, etc? We will just get software updates straight from samsung as oppose to from vz?
You: Please pardon my confusion here, but i was wondering what made the samsung version $80 cheaper!
Meghann: We do not make the phone, the difference is that Samsung sells us the phone and then we sell it to you. If you buy it straight from Samsung, you can use it on any carrier.
You: yes i am aware of that!
You: but i have heard that wifi calling doesn't work if international, mobile hotspot may not work, and we won't have access to some verizon features
You: is any of that true for this version of the phone?
Meghann: No, the device will still work the same.
Meghann: That would be true if you bought the phone from say Sprint and then brought it to us.
You: ok perfect!!
You: thanks for your help!

droideris1 said:
I can't say how true this actually is, but a vz rep just confirmed that all features will work exactly the same on both versions... see below for convo
Verizon: Thank you for contacting the Verizon Wireless Chat Team regarding your account. How can we help you today?
You: hi
You: what is the difference between the verizon S9 and the version of the S9 straight from samsung?
Meghann: Hello!
Meghann: There is no difference between the phones.
You: all features will work on both versions?
Meghann: Correct.
You: wifi calling, etc? We will just get software updates straight from samsung as oppose to from vz?
You: Please pardon my confusion here, but i was wondering what made the samsung version $80 cheaper!
Meghann: We do not make the phone, the difference is that Samsung sells us the phone and then we sell it to you. If you buy it straight from Samsung, you can use it on any carrier.
You: yes i am aware of that!
You: but i have heard that wifi calling doesn't work if international, mobile hotspot may not work, and we won't have access to some verizon features
You: is any of that true for this version of the phone?
Meghann: No, the device will still work the same.
Meghann: That would be true if you bought the phone from say Sprint and then brought it to us.
You: ok perfect!!
You: thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was told something similar by the first person I talked to at Verizon. When I started to ask specific questions, they transferred me to tech support and then I was told the opposite. The tech confirmed that VVM will not be available on the unlocked version. I guess we will find out for sure in a couple weeks.

Find me one person with an unlocked S8 on Verizon that has normal visual voice mail? S9 is no different. I need the VVM for my business, don't need or want a new activation, so I have no choice but to pay the ransom.

security update can't pair sim to unlocked phone

i think verizon can't keep up with samsungs monthly security updates. i have unlocked/unbranded s8+ that i have been using one year or so on V prepaid and when i want to access the verizon app or web site it says i MUST pair the sim to continue.
tech non-support says the phone isn't compatible with verizon i have to give up the phone. i told them the same story i've been using it and the sim is fine and how exactly is it all of a sudden not compatible after 1 year? sh wanted me a put sim in another phone my old phone. told here i dont have it and it was a different size sim and the verizon store activated my s8+. she named a date 9/2 as when their computers spotted the phone as not compatible which is the same date another samsung security update was installed.
and after 10 min of listening to foreign b.s. i hung up on her.
phone still works
she called back said sorry we got disconnected thanks for using V

i think the issue after some research is my s8+ when activated perhaps got a post paid sim instead of a prepaid sim. the difference as far as i can research is video is only 480p for prepaid plans and postpaid gets 1080p which i get. may also be certain areas of the country dont work with prepaid and roam although who knows for sure about that.
may also be a non-nfc sim which i haven't tried to use nfc
no one at V store can figure it out although one dude said he tried a few sims and all claim not compatible...

Does VZW allow N975F international variants on their network? [Update: YES!* (YMMV)]

I'm looking to get a Note 10+ phone that can be bootloader unlocked & rooted, but I'm tied to Verizon.
Anyone using either the N976F or N975F on VZW? Any issues or tricks in order to get them to accept something other than the "V" variant that is locked down and may never have root?
Trying to figure out which of these 3 Note 10+ phone variants to go with:
N975F
N976F
N9750/DS
TIA.
UPDATE: Not officially, but it seems possible. Keep reading below for my experience...

I'm on the n9750 on Verizon and it seems to be working well. I just got it so I haven't got to fully test quite yet.

Just for reference, I wanted to post this for others since I wasn't able to find true compatibility details other than VZW's ironfisted "certified" devices (ie the locked SM-N975U):
I recently purchased a Samsung Note 10+ (SM-N975F/DS) international variant online, and was able to get successfully attached to my VZW account. I have a grandfathered unlimited data plan, and was replacing an existing phone on my account.
Here's how it went down:
Initially when I tried to activate and attach the N10+ to my account via VZW website, it told me the phone couldn't be registered on their network.
Took my phone to a local VZW store.
Told the rep I bought a new phone and needed it attached to my account.
He validated my account details (he never asked for the IMEI of my new phone) & grabbed a new sim card, did his thing on the VZW tablet terminal and then popped the sim into my new phone.
At this point, the LTE data worked almost immediately, however the voice calling didn't work. Test calls just failed and quickly exited the phone app saying call failed/ended.
He said wait a couple minutes, sometimes it takes a bit, so we did. I think we also rebooted too. He was checking various things on my phone and the account.
He noticed that the VZW system said my phone couldn't be used on their network, but said there was something he could try...
He took the sim out of my phone and popped it into his already activated VZW phone. After a maybe 30 seconds, he made a test voice call, and it worked (my sim, his phone)
Then we swapped my newly activated sim back into my new phone and after about 30 seconds, I had both LTE data (as before) and now also had voice calling. A quick test call from my phone confirmed and I was good to go!
Obviously, YMMV, but it can be done, you just might need to find a VZW rep that is helpful and willing to go the extra mile to get the international version (SM-N975F/DS) activated onto the Verizon network.

Question Is Esim enabled at launch in the USA?

Just need to confirm that Esim is enabled in the USA at launch. The fold 3 fiasco with Esim has me doubting, so need to confirm prior to ordering

I think it's safe to say yes as the S22 Ultra worked out of the box.
It BETTER be FFS!

Samsung has a mixed bag on this and the last fold did not work dual sim

They announced esim is available

Went to Best buy today to play with one. Flip 4 had Sim manager in the connections settings. Fold 4 did not. Guess will try a different best buy lol

zapote21 said:
Went to Best buy today to play with one. Flip 4 had Sim manager in the connections settings. Fold 4 did not. Guess will try a different best buy lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this may be carrier specific.
My Flip3 that I got from Verzion in June did NOT have sim manager. I flashed an unlocked ROM and got it.
If it doesn't have it out of the box (unlocked), that is going to make some heads roll, I will tell you that.

cpufrost said:
I think it's safe to say yes as the S22 Ultra worked out of the box.
It BETTER be FFS!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fold 3 didnt.

zapote21 said:
Fold 3 didnt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and neither did the S21 Ultra and Flip 3.
At this point in the game I would be very surprised if any Samsung flagship didn't have it out of the box.

Well, pre ordered today. Lets hope...lol

I went on BestBuy's site, and had a chat with a 'geek' named Olivia. They sell the TMO locked version ( I bought the unlocked, but plan to have TMO SIM in it, so my bet it will boot into a TMO environment like the locked ones). As per very SPECIFIC questions I was told that the Fold 4 supports eSIM. I asked in three ways , and 2 out of the three questions were , in short. a 'YES' , the fold 4 US version under TMO will support eSIM to cover non TMO USA territories. The third question, if she can tell me if the menu under setting->connections have a SIM manager menu, was ignored.
Did I learn something new? NO. Do I know eSIM is supported? NOT SURE. I guess we will know around August 24th to 26th when the pre-orders from Samsung come in... Or maybe someone who got his AMAZON order maybe kind enough and share if the menu indeed exists..
My fear, before entering a TMO SIM, it will be there, and as soon as a TMO SIM will be entered, the menu will be gone... I have no doubt Samsung has the hardware. I will check the setting BEFORE I place the TMO SIM and will see...

Best Buy's chat support are either AI bots or 3rd world employees being paid $1/day. I wouldn't put any faith in them whatsoever. They're about as reliable as Samsung chat support.

Also beware in order to use embedded sim the device cannot be locked to a different carrier. For example if you have TMO and buy a device from them on EIP, it will be locked to them. It should work with two lines but not with Verizon or ATT. The only exception is if you pay in full and wait 45 days for them to approve an unlock request. Of course if paying cash it makes sense to buy unlocked in the first place. ;-)

Yeah, I am fully aware they know nothing of the devices they sell.. and I am well aware this is for fully purchased TMO devices. I did speak to a real person, and I did not get the answers I trust to be the truth.. I really hope SOMEONE who got his unlocked device from Amazon already will share his experience. With all the things I bought in my life at Best Buy, service and warranty by their 'Geek' squad was never something I paid for..

Man, I currently use eSim on my S21 that I am trading in. You guys got me nervous that i won't be able to setup my Fold 4 when i get it haha. I might need to order a TMO sim just in case lol.

Confirmed by TMO at a US store that the TMO version has Esim enabled. Saw it myself with a TMO sim inserted

zapote21 said:
Confirmed by TMO at a US store that the TMO version has Esim enabled. Saw it myself with a TMO sim inserted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Confirmed for T-Mobile i just enabled my Esim.

Yup. I did mine yesterday when I got my Fold

When I got mine yesterday, I had to insert the sim card from the Fold3, then go online to chat with a rep to get it activated. Tmobile device.

Wow, in the UK, all I did was 'Transfer e-Sim" on EE's site/app and plonk away it went after scanning the QR. My watch 4 to watch 5 e-sim swap however.....

Just want to clarify....
Esim is live for T-Mobile only..
Atnt straight talk and Verizon don't connect, they can't. I've been told by Samsung directly to wait for an update like the fold 3 for esim support to go live for them...
Came from a OnePlus 8 pro running atnt and Verizon and was slapped in the face when I found out this 0hones 1sim+1esim I was under the assumption the unlocked one was going to be dual sim..
So I'm trying to deal with Verizon through sim card for the time being. Verizon also doesn't have a slightest clue what my device is either, it read the 8 pro, now it just shows nothing in my account for a phone.