Hello, I recently visited the USA (Las Vegas) and discovered that my UK bought (UNLOCKED) Samsung Galaxy S3 could not make nor receive calls in the USA. Roaming WAS enabled and I had an R symbol over the signal strength indicator. I have a Vodafone pay as you go sim card which I have used (as my main sim) over numerous years now. I have used it in other phones previously (HTC, Samsung, LG, etc.) over the years and they have all made and received calls in the USA (roaming) no problem. I did get a text message (eventually) when I was in the USA saying welcome to USA and calls cost £1.50, etc, etc. Yet when I tried making a call, I had an automated voice message asking me to contact my operator for some reason (can't remember the specifics). I've never had a problem using my Vodafone sim roaming in the USA and with previous phones, always made and received calls without any hassle (i.e. found a network automatically, e.g. AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.). Also, I visited Las Vegas last year with the same sim card but a different phone (HTC Desire HD) and was able to make and receive calls. I recall my brother saying that he had read something on the internet about the UK spec. S3 having hardware differences with the rest of the world versions, including not being able to work in the USA for calls. However, he could not find the site again. Has anybody else had this problem or know about it?
Yee1 said:
Hello, I recently visited the USA (Las Vegas) and discovered that my UK bought (UNLOCKED) Samsung Galaxy S3 could not make nor receive calls in the USA. Roaming WAS enabled and I had an R symbol over the signal strength indicator. I have a Vodafone pay as you go sim card which I have used (as my main sim) over numerous years now. I have used it in other phones previously (HTC, Samsung, LG, etc.) over the years and they have all made and received calls in the USA (roaming) no problem. I did get a text message (eventually) when I was in the USA saying welcome to USA and calls cost £1.50, etc, etc. Yet when I tried making a call, I had an automated voice message asking me to contact my operator for some reason (can't remember the specifics). I've never had a problem using my Vodafone sim roaming in the USA and with previous phones, always made and received calls without any hassle (i.e. found a network automatically, e.g. AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.). Also, I visited Las Vegas last year with the same sim card but a different phone (HTC Desire HD) and was able to make and receive calls. I recall my brother saying that he had read something on the internet about the UK spec. S3 having hardware differences with the rest of the world versions, including not being able to work in the USA for calls. However, he could not find the site again. Has anybody else had this problem or know about it?
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I have no idea about roaming in the USA...
However, I do know that the phone works on AT&Ts network, because I live in the USA & use the I9300 on AT&Ts network. The I9300 will not work on T-Mobile's data network, but should work on T-Mo's voice network.
That probably wasn't much help to you. I just wanted to confirm for you that the phone does work on AT&Ts network here.
brkshr said:
I have no idea about roaming in the USA...
However, I do know that the phone works on AT&Ts network, because I live in the USA & use the I9300 on AT&Ts network. The I9300 will not work on T-Mobile's data network, but should work on T-Mo's voice network.
That probably wasn't much help to you. I just wanted to confirm for you that the phone does work on AT&Ts network here.
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Thanks brkshr, that was helpful. Good to know that a GT-I9300 does work in the USA.
I thought the USA had different models (SGH-T999 and SGH-I747). What made you decide to get a GT-I9300?
I may try again (next time I go back to USA) and if still the same, will try an AT&T sim. I must admit, I don't know anything about the different networks in the USA. Can I get a pay as you go sim for free? In England, you can get sim cards for different networks free and then obviously pay to top up.
Yee1 said:
Thanks brkshr, that was helpful. Good to know that a GT-I9300 does work in the USA.
I thought the USA had different models (SGH-T999 and SGH-I747). What made you decide to get a GT-I9300?
I may try again (next time I go back to USA) and if still the same, will try an AT&T sim. I must admit, I don't know anything about the different networks in the USA. Can I get a pay as you go sim for free? In England, you can get sim cards for different networks free and then obviously pay to top up.
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You are correct. The U.S. does have it's own variations. I decided to buy the I9300 for the quad-core & I was hoping that Samsung would be more likely to release sources for it & update it faster. They do update the I9300 faster, but I prefer AOSP (Google's stock Android) over Samsungs TouchWiz & that's where sources come in to play. So now I wish I would have gone with a U.S. variant, because sources for the US variant are released. Oh well! (Sorry for the rant)
Unfortunately, we don't get free SIM cards here. The best thing to do is buy an AT&T SIM card online ahead of time. Then activate it on a prepaid plan when you get here. You need a Micro SIM card. They should cost anywhere from $5 to $15. Otherwise, you have to go into an AT&T store & buy their 'SIM Starter Kit' for $25... Complete BS.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=at&t+sim+card
Thanks again, the link (to Amazon) is very useful. I think I will get an AT&T pre-paid sim card as suggested. At least that way I can use mobile data (when wi-fi is not available) and not have to pay extortionate data roaming charges. Especially useful for mobile data assisted GPS.
One last question though. In the UK, you can keep your number even if you don't top up for ages. In the US, can you buy a pre-paid sim card, use it once, not top up for say a year and still be able to use the sim again, i.e. it won't be deactivated will it? That way I can have it as a holiday sim (I visit the US every year).
Yee1 said:
Thanks again, the link (to Amazon) is very useful. I think I will get an AT&T pre-paid sim card as suggested. At least that way I can use mobile data (when wi-fi is not available) and not have to pay extortionate data roaming charges. Especially useful for mobile data assisted GPS.
One last question though. In the UK, you can keep your number even if you don't top up for ages. In the US, can you buy a pre-paid sim card, use it once, not top up for say a year and still be able to use the sim again, i.e. it won't be deactivated will it? That way I can have it as a holiday sim (I visit the US every year).
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I don't know the answer to that question. Sorry.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Question!!
I bought an unlocked i9300 the quad core international galaxy s3.. i'm using Simple Mobile micro simcard.. i wanted to use AT&T prepaid simcard the one amazon sell.. i 'm asking if anyone used the AT&T with this phone and make it work.. i went to AT&T store and they told me the simcard will never work on my phone so don't buy it..i live in Texas USA.
PS: i'm sorry if this question been asked before and thank you all for your time and help
Have you seen this thread?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1696025
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Hello guys,
this is the first time i write something here and it's because i really really need some help. Recently i got back to Romania (Europe) from USA and i decided to buy mom a Samsung SGH-i727 from the States to make her surprise. I am very sad because she loves the phone but you cannot actually use the SIM card. I've been in Hungary few days before with the phone i could use there, but in Romania no. You guys think it;s purely because the frequency ? As i studied the frequency problem it seems that it should'n be any because they are compatibile.
Please guys help me with this one!
Could you provide some more information.
You were saying it was working in Hungry but not in Romania.
So you could make and receive calls, and use it internet?
What happens when you put the Romanian SIM in? Does it show any reception or just emergency calls?
Do you have any connection? For example can you only make calls but no internet?
First things I would test are.
What happens with a different SIM pull one out of a friends phone and test it.
Because it could be the SIM card, sometimes older SIM cards dont work in newer phones. Most Telcos will do a SIM swap at no charge.
Or it could be you need to set up the network configuration.
Usually the phone will pull the settings down off the network but if your in a different locale you may have to manually do it.
I have a s2 unlocked I put o2 uk sim and I get no network same with voda tmobile and orange so my thinking is the phone as been blocked but thdn I put a 3 network sim in and the phone works fine makes and receives call I have debranded phone and updated via kies but still ssme so now im scratching my head
scot0114 said:
I have a s2 unlocked I put o2 uk sim and I get no network same with voda tmobile and orange so my thinking is the phone as been blocked but thdn I put a 3 network sim in and the phone works fine makes and receives call I have debranded phone and updated via kies but still ssme so now im scratching my head
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I have the same problem, today i rang samsung uk to confirm the phone was good for uk and they did confirm it was a uk phone and they suggested that i ring various network providers to check the imei against their database, after spending a long time talking to various support teams in "lost or stolen " i ended up with all the networks saying phone was not known on their network as lost or barred so now i am in the same boat as you, mine has jb 412 installed.
Hello, First post here on Xda, Nice to meet you all.
I'm looking for some serious help with my new samsung galaxy S3GSMH International version.
Long story short, My girlfriend lives in germany, While on holiday there I purchased a samsung galaxy s3i9300 and was told it will work in any region any network due to being factory unlocked.
In germany I was using a sim card from VIVA mobile or something of the like and it worked fine.
After I returned home, I switched in my UK Vodafone sim card, A message then popped up saying, Please select sim service:vodafone UK/Vodafone UK prepaid.
So I chose Vodafone UK and clicked on OK, I thought everything was fine untill i tried to make a call and got, Not registered on network.
Now I have searched for days in all types of threads to get this fixed, I have tried flashing stock firmware with odin/emergency recovery Via Kies/Flashing modems/flashing patched modems/patched kernals/Ariza patch/Ariza patch Jb.
My Imei is fine and matches under the battery, The S/N also matches under the battery.
So I just don't understand it, If it asked me to choose which sim service surely that means it has some type of connection with the network? I have full signal bars too.
Is there anything else i need to do to get this working? Because I am at a loss, And I obviously can't take it back due to the shop being in germany
Any help or input is extremely appreciated!
Hi,
I'm in South Africa and I bought a SM-G991U1 (US unlocked version) on Amazon Renewed and everything works fine except for mobile connectivity.
I get the "Your phone's not registered on a network" message if I try to make a call and mobile data does not work.
I've tried:
- Resetting network settings
- Manually setting APN details
- Tried a few other SIMs from different carriers as well that work in other phones
- Checked IMEI info, doesn't seem corrupted or 'null'
I suspect that the modem firmware or something else is region specific to the US on this model and not working on South African networks as the phone does support our network bands according to GSMarena.
Would it be possible to re-flash the modem firmware or fix the issue some other way?
Hello I'm having the same problem, have you find any info about it?
Not much, I went to a carrier store and the phone seemed to work alright there after rebooting the phone with the sim card installed. I am starting to suspect that the phone doesn't like my closest cell tower maybe? Or possibly doesn't like using another carrier's mobile tower?
No idea.
I've since bought an identical but South African version of the same S21 which works flawlessly.
As a quick rant for anyone considering buying from Amazon: I tried to return the phone, shipping it back to the US and everything, only for Amazon to refuse to pay the import duties on it once it arrived, forcing DHL send it right back and charging me for it again