Is it possible to unlock the Verizon version of the S4? I'm deploying in 4 weeks and would like to use my phone with international carriers. I have an SCH-I545 build and I'm still running on stock. Thanks
I think ATT has begun to unlock phones internationally when asked.
Verizon? Not sure... one think to check is if the Verizon GS4 supports a carrier in the country you travel to.
Take a look at Leo Laporte's Tech Guy show... he has callers ask this quetion on average every other week... I think he has show notes on his site now days... techguylabs.com
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
PetrichorXFi said:
I think ATT has begun to unlock phones internationally when asked.
Verizon? Not sure... one think to check is if the Verizon GS4 supports a carrier in the country you travel to.
Take a look at Leo Laporte's Tech Guy show... he has callers ask this quetion on average every other week... I think he has show notes on his site now days... techguylabs.com
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Verizon phones are unlocked out of the box, but you have to make sure that the country you are going to has a GSM network.
After a lot of searching, I decided to ask this here:
I have a Verizon S4, but I was wondering if it was actually unlocked out-of-box or if there is something I have to do in order to use it with, for instance, Cricket, or U.S. Cellular. I have done lots of rooting/developing for Android, but have never tried to use an Android phone with a differing carrier. Can anyone help or point me to a thread that helps? (Again, did lots of Googling and XDA-searching)
furballbeethoven said:
After a lot of searching, I decided to ask this here:
I have a Verizon S4, but I was wondering if it was actually unlocked out-of-box or if there is something I have to do in order to use it with, for instance, Cricket, or U.S. Cellular. I have done lots of rooting/developing for Android, but have never tried to use an Android phone with a differing carrier. Can anyone help or point me to a thread that helps? (Again, did lots of Googling and XDA-searching)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is GSM-unlocked. This means that you buy a SIM, plug it in, then add the proper APN to enable data. (Settings, Connections, More networks, Mobile networks, Access Point Names). The "+" (Add APN) button is disabled if you have a VZ SIM installed but will be enabled if you insert a non-VZ SIM.
Whoever you get the SIM from will tell you what to enter for the APN.
Whether or not it'll work and how fast a network you'll get depends on the bands that the local carrier uses.
k1mu said:
The phone is GSM-unlocked. This means that you buy a SIM, plug it in, then add the proper APN to enable data. (Settings, Connections, More networks, Mobile networks, Access Point Names). The "+" (Add APN) button is disabled if you have a VZ SIM installed but will be enabled if you insert a non-VZ SIM.
Whoever you get the SIM from will tell you what to enter for the APN.
Whether or not it'll work and how fast a network you'll get depends on the bands that the local carrier uses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HI k1mu,
So do you mean to say if I purchase this device with full price from VZW ~$400 (month to month plan),
the next thing I can do is take off VZW SIM and would it work on my AT&T GSM SIM in US?
malhotra.aakash said:
HI k1mu,
So do you mean to say if I purchase this device with full price from VZW ~$400 (month to month plan),
the next thing I can do is take off VZW SIM and would it work on my AT&T GSM SIM in US?
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Click to collapse
Maybe. While the VZW version is GSM-unlocked for international use, it is unclear how well it works with US GSM carriers. Some people say they can get it to work, some say they can't. Theoretically, it should only take you putting in an AT&T SIM then plugging in the APN data for it to work, but some people still say it won't.
So, you should be able to, but going by the accounts of XDA members, it doesn't always work, which may or may not come down to user error.
joshm.1219 said:
Maybe. While the VZW version is GSM-unlocked for international use, it is unclear how well it works with US GSM carriers. Some people say they can get it to work, some say they can't. Theoretically, it should only take you putting in an AT&T SIM then plugging in the APN data for it to work, but some people still say it won't.
So, you should be able to, but going by the accounts of XDA members, it doesn't always work, which may or may not come down to user error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks joshm.1219,
It still leaves me in a dilemma.. I do really want to get a "S4 mini" model but don't want to stuck up with CDMA providers to be true. Might want to use with ATT or Tmobile or H2O.. I visited the VZW store and the model has option under networks as
1. Global
2. LTE/CDMA
3. GSM/UTMS
Now the Qs are,
1. If this model does have a SIM card slot, how at the first point VZW has lock on it
2. When i asked the VZW associate, he was not sure whether they ever do unlock the device or not
3. If I am ready to pay off complete price of the device which is ~400, what else I would need from them to really 'UNLOCK' it?
4. Is there any means by root/flashing to make such model work for US GSM carriers like H2O or even T-mobile.
Sorry to be so annoying but m new to all these things and quite confused :crying:
many Thx in advance..
malhotra.aakash said:
Thanks joshm.1219,
It still leaves me in a dilemma.. I do really want to get a "S4 mini" model but don't want to stuck up with CDMA providers to be true. Might want to use with ATT or Tmobile or H2O.. I visited the VZW store and the model has option under networks as
1. Global
2. LTE/CDMA
3. GSM/UTMS
Now the Qs are,
1. If this model does have a SIM card slot, how at the first point VZW has lock on it
2. When i asked the VZW associate, he was not sure whether they ever do unlock the device or not
3. If I am ready to pay off complete price of the device which is ~400, what else I would need from them to really 'UNLOCK' it?
4. Is there any means by root/flashing to make such model work for US GSM carriers like H2O or even T-mobile.
Sorry to be so annoying but m new to all these things and quite confused :crying:
many Thx in advance..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I can't be of more help, I've been on Verizon for 10 years now, but it is by all intents & purposes, fully SIM-unlocked. It's simply unclear as to why some people report problems of using Verizon phones on US GSM carriers. If you really don't want to worry about it & are willing to pay full price, purchase a device through the carrier you want to use it on.
here is the code to choose network
you might need to change the network frequency to gsm if you wanna use it on att or tmobile and when you wanna switch back to verizon choose wcdma try dialing *#*#4636#*#*:good:
joshm.1219 said:
Sorry I can't be of more help, I've been on Verizon for 10 years now, but it is by all intents & purposes, fully SIM-unlocked. It's simply unclear as to why some people report problems of using Verizon phones on US GSM carriers. If you really don't want to worry about it & are willing to pay full price, purchase a device through the carrier you want to use it on.
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Click to collapse
I've had people argue with me over this, but the fact is that NO Verizon LTE phone is SIM-locked. None. Nada.
People who claim differently are simply misinformed. (My I545 comes up on AT&T when I plug in my UK SIM and switch to GSM.)
Not to say that all VZ phones are unlocked - my Inc2 had to be unlocked before it would work with that same SIM. If I remember right, it wouldn't connect in the US, either, even after being unlocked. Not so for the GS4.
I appreciate the posts here from people who know. As for me, I am switching to tmobile and will attempt to use this there. If it doesnt work out, I will sell it on swappa and get a nexus 5!
Hi,
Verizon S4 with 4.3 is international unlocked by default.
You just need to select network mode 'GLOBAL'. Then add the right APN.
I am using Indian GSM SIM with the GLOBAL mode selected. All is well for me.
I can provide screenshots if anybody wanna see.
Verizon phones are unlocked out of the box and they DO work fine on US carriers I'm running my Verizon S4 right now on AT&T and I also ran it on tmobile for short time,
even works with Walmart straight talk and Net10 as those are just subsidies of T Mobile and AT&T anyway.
so don't sweat it if you have a verizon phone that uses a sim card, you can run it on any network that uses a SIM card US or international.
baseband issue
Doesn't the MK2 baseband with jb 4.3 block US Sim cards?
Or do I just have a weird s4?
kendonsh said:
Doesn't the MK2 baseband with jb 4.3 block US Sim cards?
Or do I just have a weird s4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine dont? Im on mk2,
soon as I got my verizon s4 replacement from a damaged model that I turned in,
I threw a net10/att sim card in it.
completely stock phone not even rooted nothin, and it works fine, I did get a popup that said non Verizon SIM card but it works fine
calls in and out MMS works fine
---------- Post added at 01:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:53 PM ----------
CafeAdrutico said:
The S4 is supposed to work globally right out of the box, as long as you've called Verizon to enable International roaming on your account. But, used that way, you'll be paying Verizon for International roaming and it's bloody expensive.
The question is, can you remove the SIM and put in a SIM for a local carrier in the foreign country where you are and use the phone on that carrier? That is what being unlocked would allow you to do. Past Verizon phones have not been unlocked to allow this. But, if you called Tech Support and told them you were going to, for example, Europe and wanted to use a local SIM, they would walk you through unlocking (at no charge).
I read a report that the S4 is not locked and that you can use a SIM for a local carrier in Europe, as it comes out of the box. But, I would not trust that. I would call VZW Tech Support and tell them exactly what you want to do - i.e. don't say "can I use my phone in Europe?" The answer to that is yes, you can, at about $1/minute. What you should ask them is, "can I travel to Europe and purchase a SIM from a local carrier and use that in my phone?" If not, they should be able to walk you through unlocking the phone, so you can do that.
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Click to collapse
to answer your question simply yes.
let's say I take my phone to Spain are somewhere in the UK, I'll go to store buy a SIM card for local network and BAM local phone number in Europe making phone calls, you can even get Data to work if you have that local carrier's APN settings
no unlocking is required because it is not locked.
other companies AT&T, Sprint, t-mobile, yes you have to get The phone sim unlocked.
k1mu said:
I've had people argue with me over this, but the fact is that NO Verizon LTE phone is SIM-locked. None. Nada.
People who claim differently are simply misinformed. (My I545 comes up on AT&T when I plug in my UK SIM and switch to GSM.)
Not to say that all VZ phones are unlocked - my Inc2 had to be unlocked before it would work with that same SIM. If I remember right, it wouldn't connect in the US, either, even after being unlocked. Not so for the GS4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is 100% correct. NO LTE phones on verizon are sim locked. They are REQUIRED to keep them unlocked because of their agreement with the FCC for their use of the spectrum they lease. NO OTHER CARRIER must abide by these rules. Only VZW. Sprint I've heard will unlock ANY phone that is capable if you ask them too, and AT&T will NOT unlock any of their phones unless it 2 years old and out of contract (which makes no sense if you have to pay them while under contract anyway). There was a big deal about the Iphone 5 when it came out with LTE for verizon. If you bought a Verizon Iphone, you could put an ATT sim in it and it works, but not an ATT on VZW because ATT keeps them locked.
The Dinc 2 above was NOT an LTE device. Therefore no sim card....and it wouldn't work on most overseas networks anyway as it was a CDMA only phone. I believe VZW tested the limits of the "unlocked" SIM with their first few LTE phones. My Rezound worked with a GSM network sim....but voice and SMS only. It took some unlocking of the bootloader and rooting to run a special Rom to get Data to work on it.
I am heading to the Caribbean in a few weeks, and I will be using a rented SIM card to be able to message back and forth with my wife (with a data based messenger service as data rates are far cheaper than SMS rate there)
318sugarhill said:
This is 100% correct. NO LTE phones on verizon are sim locked. They are REQUIRED to keep them unlocked because of their agreement with the FCC for their use of the spectrum they lease. NO OTHER CARRIER must abide by these rules. Only VZW. Sprint I've heard will unlock ANY phone that is capable if you ask them too, and AT&T will NOT unlock any of their phones unless it 2 years old and out of contract (which makes no sense if you have to pay them while under contract anyway). There was a big deal about the Iphone 5 when it came out with LTE for verizon. If you bought a Verizon Iphone, you could put an ATT sim in it and it works, but not an ATT on VZW because ATT keeps them locked.
The Dinc 2 above was NOT an LTE device. Therefore no sim card....and it wouldn't work on most overseas networks anyway as it was a CDMA only phone. I believe VZW tested the limits of the "unlocked" SIM with their first few LTE phones. My Rezound worked with a GSM network sim....but voice and SMS only. It took some unlocking of the bootloader and rooting to run a special Rom to get Data to work on it.
I am heading to the Caribbean in a few weeks, and I will be using a rented SIM card to be able to message back and forth with my wife (with a data based messenger service as data rates are far cheaper than SMS rate there)
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Click to collapse
I just spent a week in the UK with an ekit.com SIM in my Verizon GS4 - no problem with getting service, no Verizon charge (even though I was on the Vodaphone network for at least some times.)
And the dinc 2, while not LTE, was CDMA/GSM - not just CDMA (yes, the dinc was CDMA-only), so it did accept a SIM card. I'm using that in the GS4 now that it's cut down to micro SIM.
That phone WAS SIM-locked, but VZ happily unlocked it. For the GS4, I didn't have to do anything with VZ to use it off their network.
bickin said:
Is it possible to unlock the Verizon version of the S4? I'm deploying in 4 weeks and would like to use my phone with international carriers. I have an SCH-I545 build and I'm still running on stock. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO
UNLFOK s4 UK VERSION sorry I'm new to the website
furballbeethoven said:
After a lot of searching, I decided to ask this here:
I have a Verizon S4, but I was wondering if it was actually unlocked out-of-box or if there is something I have to do in order to use it with, for instance, Cricket, or U.S. Cellular. I have done lots of rooting/developing for Android, but have never tried to use an Android phone with a differing carrier. Can anyone help or point me to a thread that helps? (Again, did lots of Googling and XDA-searching)
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Click to collapse
The phone is already unlocked for SIM and other carriers, all you need is the correct APN for the carrier. I currently have T-Mobile on my i545 and everything works on it.
Hello
I'm with ATT, but I want to switch to StraightTalk, since here in Miami, they use ATT anyways.
I also want to upgrade to the LG V10, but I want to get the T-Mobile variant (H901) since that one can be rooted.
So. Can I buy an H901 from ebay, wherever that is unlocked, and use the StraightTalk SIM on it? I will be able to root it, and get a sim card from StraightTalk that will work with ATT. Right?
Thanks
There should be no issue I have unlocked att phones I have use with t-mobile before might check to see what bands of lte att uses most In your area and check what bands the h901 uses
Buy an already unlocked Tmo phone if you can. If not, still OK, just get it unlocked. I would suggest buying from Amazon over eBay, better quality overall, less like to get ripped off, better sellers. As long as the device itself is fully paid they should unlock it. I've gone through major hassles getting my H901 unlocked, but it's done, as of today.
As far as Straight Talk, it should work. Tmo and ATT are mostly compatible with each other as far as networks are concerned. But check first. They both use SIM cards, so does ST. You should be able to switch pretty easily.
At work, we are affiliated with mywit.com, where we can buy refurbished phones in very good condition.
If I buy a T-Mobile phone that is locked to T-Mobile (as it says in the description), how would I use it on ATT until I decide to switch to StraightTalk?
The switch to Straight Talk involves our 3 phones, so it's something that I have to plan out; one of the phones lives in another city. So, I have to remain with ATT for now. How do I get this H901 to work with ATT? Can I do that somehow?
@nabril15: The answer is simple:
You cant use the phones with ATT or ST until they are unlocked from T-Mo's network. You can use T-Mo's Device Unlock app to get a temp unlock, but that only lasts 30 days. On the other hand, you should theoretically have no issues getting unlocks for all devices involved, if they are paid in full.
Unlock terms and conditions:
http://www.t-mobile.com/company/company-info/sim-unlock-policy/unlock-your-mobile-wireless-device.html
AnonVendetta said:
@nabril15: The answer is simple:
On the other hand, you should theoretically have no issues getting unlocks for all devices involved, if they are paid in full.
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And I can get this done by calling TMobile to unlock it even though I am NOT a customer of theirs?
Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA-Developers mobile app
nabril15 said:
And I can get this done by calling TMobile to unlock it even though I am NOT a customer of theirs?
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Click to collapse
No, t mobile won't unlock it for you if you're not a customer, feel free to try but i doubt they will
Check Swappa, usually on of the best prices and sellers will say if unlocked - also i believe i saw them on eBay for like 250$ unlocked and refurbished
I recently purchased the H901 unlocked from the guys at Mytecell on Swappa. I'm on att. Had to do some research on entering a new APN to get data and MMS to work, but overall satisfied.
Does anyone know if root or which roms will allow wifi calling on att networks?
To my knowledge you can only use WiFi calling on a Tmo-issued phone if you are on Tmo's network. Doesnt matter if you're rooted or what ROM you use, there is probably a server side check. And you generally can only use Tmo wifi-calling on stock based ROMs, no AOSP/CM.
Since the Galaxy S6 Edge days I've been getting AT&T branded Samsung phones. This time around due to initial perks of a trade in were better for the unlocked version of S23U, I went ahead and pre-ordered the unlocked version. Are there any drawbacks anyone has experienced with the unlocked version that would warrant me to cancel the order? Are there any AT&T features such as visual voicemail, personal hotspot or HD voice that isn't compatible with the unlocked, non carrier version? Any help would be appreciated as i believe I can still cancel the order.
Thank you.
With an unlocked phone, you cant call. But if you add a sim card into it you can do anything such as mobile data, call, hotspot, etc. An unlocked phone can work on any carrier. But it is still the same thing as an at&t version unless you add the sim card in it.
So I assumed if i insert my AT&T simcard it'll work just like an AT&T phone?
AeroSatan said:
So I assumed if i insert my AT&T simcard it'll work just like an AT&T phone?
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Click to collapse
That's what I have done for every phone I have had since the S7 Edge on T-Mobile. Still using the same simcard since I started out with the (S7 Edge), then Note 8, S20U, S22U and now S23U and has worked fine with T-Mobile but without the carrier bloat. The only downside is Unlocked versions always get the updates last.
You can always flash U (carrier firmware) that is bit different from from U1 (factory unlocked) firmware. This way you'll get exactly the same experience as for the phone of any carrier directly. You can always switch back and forth with data wipe.
AeroSatan said:
So I assumed if i insert my AT&T simcard it'll work just like an AT&T phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes. and sorry for the late reply.
irshansk said:
You can always flash U (carrier firmware) that is bit different from from U1 (factory unlocked) firmware. This way you'll get exactly the same experience as for the phone of any carrier directly. You can always switch back and forth with data wipe.
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Click to collapse
First time Sammy user here, so possibly a stupid question but... from my search it appears that other than carrier bloatware you don't loose anything by going to U1 firmware and possibly gain faster updates. Is that a correct? Seems to be the case for WiFi calling but what about ATT wifi hotspots for example?
Unlocked phones were useful for sticking local SIMs in them for international travel but with the new international plans pricing is actually reasonable so it is not worth the hassle.
AeroSatan said:
Since the Galaxy S6 Edge days I've been getting AT&T branded Samsung phones. This time around due to initial perks of a trade in were better for the unlocked version of S23U, I went ahead and pre-ordered the unlocked version. Are there any drawbacks anyone has experienced with the unlocked version that would warrant me to cancel the order? Are there any AT&T features such as visual voicemail, personal hotspot or HD voice that isn't compatible with the unlocked, non carrier version? Any help would be appreciated as i believe I can still cancel the order.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was in the same situation as you, and ordered the Unlocked version this time instead of the AT&T version. I am happy to report that everything is working. Visual Voicemail (Samsungs App), Personal Hotspot (aka Mobile Hotspot), HD Voice (VoLTE), and WiFi Calling.