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Hello,
I have just purchased an unlocked international version of the Galaxy s3 from newegg.ca
I'm not allowed to post the link to the product as I am a new member.
Before I bought it I noticed that it will work on Rogers (in Canada, where I am from) so I went ahead and ordered it. I went back to the site a few days later and noticed that in the details it says that this phone will only work on the AT&T 3g network. In Canada we don't use AT&T so basically I am stuck with a smart phone that I can't connect to a data network with. A useless phone. I can send it back and get a refund so it's really not a big problem. I am wondering however, if there is a way that I can get the phone to work on a rogers network? Is there anything I can do, or do I just have to send it back? Thanks.
HaZe905 said:
Hello,
I have just purchased an unlocked international version of the Galaxy s3 from newegg.ca
I'm not allowed to post the link to the product as I am a new member.
Before I bought it I noticed that it will work on Rogers (in Canada, where I am from) so I went ahead and ordered it. I went back to the site a few days later and noticed that in the details it says that this phone will only work on the AT&T 3g network. In Canada we don't use AT&T so basically I am stuck with a smart phone that I can't connect to a data network with. A useless phone. I can send it back and get a refund so it's really not a big problem. I am wondering however, if there is a way that I can get the phone to work on a rogers network? Is there anything I can do, or do I just have to send it back? Thanks.
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So i am unsure about your carrier networks over there, but usually when a phone is locked to a carrier here in Australia, you really just need to pay an unlocking fee to use the other networks. Sure there might be some difference between their networks, but overall you should be able to get a working phone, maybe just not on the fastest mobile infrastructure.
TheFatHobbits said:
So i am unsure about your carrier networks over there, but usually when a phone is locked to a carrier here in Australia, you really just need to pay an unlocking fee to use the other networks. Sure there might be some difference between their networks, but overall you should be able to get a working phone, maybe just not on the fastest mobile infrastructure.
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Hey thanks. It is already unlocked. But for some reason, which I don't understand, the 3g will only work with AT&T networks. I'm sure there is a way to fix it if it's rooted or something like that but I just don't know how.
strange, according to wikipedia both AT&T and Rogers use 850/1900MHz for their 3G, so if you buy a phone for the AT&T network, the 3G should work fine on Rogers..
omniwolf said:
strange, according to wikipedia both and use 850/1900MHz for their 3G, so if you buy a phone for the AT&T network, the 3G should work fine on Rogers..
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yeah I wish I could post the link to the product. I even called the company and they said it would be AT&T only. I guess this is why noobs should just stick to carriers and contracts.. I can't sign a contract because I may be headed overseas (hence the international version of the phone) but I am just not knowledgeable enough to navigate this situation without risk, I suppose
Hey guys, I've searched Google and the forums and I couldn't find my answer. I apologize if I overlooked anything.
I'm on Verizon and I understand that GSM phones cannot work with CDMA which made me bummed out since this phone is what I really want to use. I was even planning on going to a different carrier but decided not to.
Anyway, at Best Buy a mobile associate told me that as long as the phone supports Verizon's LTE bands, I can just slip in Verizon's sim card and I'll be able to use the phone. Now I told him that I'm sure he was wrong about it and he insisted that it's a fact and wouldn't change his mind about it at all.
So basically, since the Sony Xperia Z1 supports Verizon's LTE bands, can I just pop in a Verizon sim card and everything will work?
Thanks in advance.
Sorry, but you cannot simply slip a Verizon Sim card into a GSM phone and expect it to work 100%. You may get LTE but I don't believe you'll get anything else (such as phone calling capabilities and what not).
The Best Buy associate is only half right. It's unfortunate because it's guys like him that make us look like we don't know what we're talking about (I'm am employee as well).
Good luck though! At this point, Verizon can offer all the LTE they want, they can't provide customers with all the amazing phones that are available. The Nexus 5 will be another big deal breaker for Verizon customers, as it won't fully with with Verizon either.
Sent from my C6906 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Hi guys, just a quick question, although all signs point to yes and I’ve done my research, there’s no real loss in asking here.
I am in Mexico and went to some Telcel centers here and even the Samsung stores and they just don’t have the phone down here at the moment, it’s all sold out except for colors I don’t want, so I went online and found a good deal on a completely unlocked T-Mobile version and I am about to pull the trigger but I just want to make sure T-Mobile and telcel are 100% compatible when it comes to voice, 3g and LTE. As far as I know now that T Mobile has a different LTE infrastructure it is now compatible with ATT, Telcel and Rogers but I rather ask the experts here.
If it is compatible I will pull the trigger on this offer instantly because I really like this phone.
Is the Q&A section closed?
This phone sounds amazing, but theres some conflicting information i've heard on it from multiple different sources.
1. Does the phone work on verizon? My current phone plan is on verizon, and it would be so much easier to just change out phones rather than move my entire wireless company to get this phone. I've heard that it does and it doesn't. Is it the chinese versions that don't? I'm american, so do the versions sold in America work with verizon? I went to my local verizon store, and they said it wouldn't, but the lady had to look it up on her phone but the article she saw might have been talking about the tencent version or something.
2. If it doesn't work on verizon, what other network would work better? I've heard that T-Mobile wouldn't work well for this phone, so maybe AT&T? Again, I would greatly prefer to just stick with Verizon.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE answer my questions, I've asked these questions in multiple places but no one has answered a reliable answer in any of them.
JegusChrist said:
This phone sounds amazing, but theres some conflicting information i've heard on it from multiple different sources.
1. Does the phone work on verizon? My current phone plan is on verizon, and it would be so much easier to just change out phones rather than move my entire wireless company to get this phone. I've heard that it does and it doesn't. Is it the chinese versions that don't? I'm american, so do the versions sold in America work with verizon? I went to my local verizon store, and they said it wouldn't, but the lady had to look it up on her phone but the article she saw might have been talking about the tencent version or something.
2. If it doesn't work on verizon, what other network would work better? I've heard that T-Mobile wouldn't work well for this phone, so maybe AT&T? Again, I would greatly prefer to just stick with Verizon.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE answer my questions, I've asked these questions in multiple places but no one has answered a reliable answer in any of them.
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No on Verizon. Yes to tmobile and att. Chinese and international versions have different lte band support. Talk to your local tmobile and att reps to see which bands you need and verify on the Asus site for rog phone 2.
A few users here say they got it working on Verizon as a data only device, and it does support their LTE bands. For calls, they mostly use Google Voice but one buys a cheap subscription on an AT&T MVNO for calls.
It doesn't have band 71 support for TMO, which could make coverage an issue. AT&T has the best support from what I've seen.
Something else to note is this is not VoLTE certified in the U.S. It can only make calls on the GSM networks, and those will be shutting over the next few years. If you plan to keep the phone long term, expect to lose the ability to make any phone calls. You could move to Google Voice at that point, but you'd still be left with no 911 access. Asus has so far indicated they have no plans to certify it for VoLTE in the U.S. (even other region versions that do have VoLTE wouldn't be able to use it here).
Mr_Mooncatt said:
A few users here say they got it working on Verizon as a data only device, and it does support their LTE bands. For calls, they mostly use Google Voice but one buys a cheap subscription on an AT&T MVNO for calls.
It doesn't have band 71 support for TMO, which could make coverage an issue. AT&T has the best support from what I've seen.
Something else to note is this is not VoLTE certified in the U.S. It can only make calls on the GSM networks, and those will be shutting over the next few years. If you plan to keep the phone long term, expect to lose the ability to make any phone calls. You could move to Google Voice at that point, but you'd still be left with no 911 access. Asus has so far indicated they have no plans to certify it for VoLTE in the U.S. (even other region versions that do have VoLTE wouldn't be able to use it here).
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I'm not exactly the best at phone lingo, i just stumbled across this website while looking up things about the phone.
That being said, can you tell me whether or not the phone is worth it? It seems like theres wayy too many disadvantages to this phone, and that kinda bugs me. I've been wanting this phone for a while, so I'd much rather get this than anything else.
If it's not really worth it, can you mention any other phones that are similar? mainly one that can emulate games just as good if not better than the ROG 2?
"Is it worth it?"
That is such a loaded question if you're in the U.S. That's something you'll have to decide for yourself based on your needs. If it had VoLTE here, then it would be worth every penny. All I can say is that for me, it isn't worth it. Yes, you get a ton of value for the phone. I'm on Verizon and would've been ok switching calls and texts to Google Voice. I also planned to keep it long term, likely after the GSM network shutdowns. I also drive for a living, hauling hazardous materials. So in my case, the inability to make a 911 call once those networks shut down is a very big concern. For me, that one reason alone is why I've decided to hold off on it.
On the flip side, if you don't have a problem with the 911 issue, or plan to switch phones in a year or two anyway, then this may very well be worth it in your case.
As for other options, I think the Nubia Red Magic 3s is likely the closest in terms of features and performance. It's not quite as bleeding edge as the ROG 2, but it's also a lot cheaper and has VoLTE calling. The Razer Phone 2 is another known option, but it's a generation older too and support may be questionable (rumor has it there may not be a Razer 3). I don't know a ton about either phone other than what I've read on their specs.
Long time lurker, first time poster here. First of all, a massive THANK YOU to everyone here. You guys and gals are Awesome! <3
So, I bought a Samsung S10 (SM-G973F/DS) on Ebay recently and flashed it to Lineage OS 19.1. All was fine until I tried to activate it. We did everything...manually changing the ASP settings, and a bunch of other stuff to try and get this thing to connect to the mobile network. Even placed the SIM card in another phone just to confirm the SIM card was fine, which it was.
Long story short, I think the device was perhaps locked even though the seller claimed it was unlocked. Whatever, I'm over it. I flashed stock back on it and re-locked the boot loader, sent it back. Not worth the aggravation. However, I am questioning if there wasn't something else I could have done?
I was trying to activate the S10 on Mint Mobile USA (a T-Mobile reseller, so GSM) it should have been fine. The default language on the device was German. I don't think that should matter, but maybe it does? Do European phones have problems activating in North America?
My question is: If I decide to get another S10 (SM-G973F/DS) from the secondary market (if its even worth it at this point, since the SM-G973F/DS is really hard to find), is there anything I can find out from the seller first so I don't end up having to send it back?
Or, should I just give up my dream of having an S10 installed with Lineage OS and it's glorious headphone jack and expandable storage forever? If so, are there any worthy alternatives to the S10 worth considering, given my affinity for headphone jacks and expandable storage?
Hello PhonePerfection, all a novel why you speak S10 G973F / DS in the United States.
Already your model S10 G973F/DS exynos 5G or the first 4G model so if these this Europe chip model, if now installed Samsung phone info look at who is scoring at worst take screenshots.
I don't understand your question United States, locked unlocked the seller.
You buy in the back market refurbished and unlocked telephone all operator therefore for sim card, the concern these the chip to install network either US or ASIA controls your model if these good SM-G973F/DS and not SM-G973U or G973U1.
Don't forget to say hello
I think what @meric57 is trying to say is that your phone doesn't have the right chips to communicate on the frequencies in the USA. It's made for other markets and other frequencies... so it won't work here.
If you use FrequencyCheck you can see what carriers support what frequencies on your specific model: https://www.frequencycheck.com/comp...m-td-lte-512gb-samsung-beyond-1/united-states
Scroll down to the "United States" area and you'll see it doesn't support the frequencies used in the USA (except for GSM 2.5, which is old and dead here in the USA). The US is primarily on LTE... and you can see that phone model doesn't support ANY of the available frequencies.
Bottom line "GSM" doesn't tell you enough. You have an incomatible phone model for the USA market. No SIM card will fix that.
Note, in SOME cases, you can activate other frequencies by loading different ROMs into the phone. My old LG V30 did this, for example. I have heard that you can run some Exynos phones here in the USA, but I don't know the details to help. FrequencyCheck may help you figure that out. Be sure the look for the complete model number, not just "Galaxy S10" or something... the naming is worthless for figuring this out.
schwinn8 said:
I think what @meric57 is trying to say is that your phone doesn't have the right chips to communicate on the frequencies in the USA. It's made for other markets and other frequencies... so it won't work here.
If you use FrequencyCheck you can see what carriers support what frequencies on your specific model: https://www.frequencycheck.com/compsomethingatibility/RdEkS7k/samsung-sm-g973f-ds-galaxy-s10-global-dual-sim-td-lte-512gb-samsung-beyond-1/united-states
Scroll down to the "United States" area and you'll see it doesn't support the frequencies used in the USA (except for GSM 2.5, which is old and dead here in the USA). The US is primarily on LTE... and you can see that phone model doesn't support ANY of the available frequencies.
Bottom line "GSM" doesn't tell you enough. You have an incomatible phone model for the USA market. No SIM card will fix that.
Note, in SOME cases, you can activate other frequencies by loading different ROMs into the phone. My old LG V30 did this, for example. I have heard that you can run some Exynos phones here in the USA, but I don't know the details to help. FrequencyCheck may help you figure that out. Be sure the look for the complete model number, not just "Galaxy S10" or something... the naming is worthless for figuring this out.
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schwinn8 said:
I think what @meric57 is trying to say is that your phone doesn't have the right chips to communicate on the frequencies in the USA. It's made for other markets and other frequencies... so it won't work here.
If you use FrequencyCheck you can see what carriers support what frequencies on your specific model: https://www.frequencycheck.com/comp...m-td-lte-512gb-samsung-beyond-1/united-states
Scroll down to the "United States" area and you'll see it doesn't support the frequencies used in the USA (except for GSM 2.5, which is old and dead here in the USA). The US is primarily on LTE... and you can see that phone model doesn't support ANY of the available frequencies.
Bottom line "GSM" doesn't tell you enough. You have an incomatible phone model for the USA market. No SIM card will fix that.
Note, in SOME cases, you can activate other frequencies by loading different ROMs into the phone. My old LG V30 did this, for example. I have heard that you can run some Exynos phones here in the USA, but I don't know the details to help. FrequencyCheck may help you figure that out. Be sure the look for the complete model number, not just "Galaxy S10" or something... the naming is worthless for figuring this out.
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Hey, this is great info. Good to know. It looks like that S10 could only communicate on 1 of 8 bands used by Mint/T-Mobile. That 1 usable band appears to have been deprecated by T-Mobile as it is. I think that explains it perfectly. Thank You!
You're welcome.
Yeah, frequencies/bands are very important to watch, particularly if you're buying out of market devices. You have to know model numbers and carriers to be sure of anything, and unfortunately this info is relatively hidden.
schwinn8 said:
You're welcome.
Yeah, frequencies/bands are very important to watch, particularly if you're buying out of market devices. You have to know model numbers and carriers to be sure of anything, and unfortunately this info is relatively hidden.
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The CSC on that device was DBT (Germany). I had to find that out in order to put the correct stock OS back on there.
Makes me wonder if the ebay seller even knows this. They appear to specialize in mobile phones with tens of thousands of transactions, so I would hope they've encountered this situation before. They were more than happy to accept a return on the device. Sent me a prepaid shipping label immediately.
Back to the CSC... Let's say I look for another S10 (SM-G973F/DS) but I ask what the CSC is for that device. Are there any regions outside the lower 48 states with reasonably good chances of it working? I suppose I would need to study the mobile frequency website for the answer to that.
I did some quick searching, and supposedly there are websites that say the 973F/DS will work on MM (mint mobile)... but they don't detail how. For example: https://de-googled.com/blogs/news/a-word-on-network-compatibility-of-our-degoogled-phones
and https://www.ebay.com/p/15030406771 (in the description).
So, maybe it is possible? I don't know, so maybe someone else can chime in.
Personally, I stuck with U-version phones and gave up rooting/romming. It's just getting too hard to find phones that offer this, so I figured I'd just adapt back to a stock ROM, since choices are limited. I had done a bunch of that in the past, but I found that stock roms (today) are pretty good... and allow enough customization that made root/rom unnecessary... for me. My current is an SM-G975U1 (unlocked, USA, Snapdragon S10+) on Total Wireless (VZ MVNO)... it works great and I don't miss root/rom at all.
Rumor is that the Galaxy S23 will only be offered as Snapdragon, so maybe that will open up more options... but I doubt it. Samsung loves it's Knox system, and will likely lock down the phone even more with every generation.
schwinn8 said:
I did some quick searching, and supposedly there are websites that say the 973F/DS will work on MM (mint mobile)... but they don't detail how. For example: https://de-googled.com/blogs/news/a-word-on-network-compatibility-of-our-degoogled-phones
and https://www.ebay.com/p/15030406771 (in the description).
So, maybe it is possible? I don't know, so maybe someone else can chime in.
Personally, I stuck with U-version phones and gave up rooting/romming. It's just getting too hard to find phones that offer this, so I figured I'd just adapt back to a stock ROM, since choices are limited. I had done a bunch of that in the past, but I found that stock roms (today) are pretty good... and allow enough customization that made root/rom unnecessary... for me. My current is an SM-G975U1 (unlocked, USA, Snapdragon S10+) on Total Wireless (VZ MVNO)... it works great and I don't miss root/rom at all.
Rumor is that the Galaxy S23 will only be offered as Snapdragon, so maybe that will open up more options... but I doubt it. Samsung loves it's Knox system, and will likely lock down the phone even more with every generation.
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Thanks for the link. I think I may try for an S10 again if the seller can tell me what the CSC is. That page on De-googled.com affirms that American devices are more restrictive than their European counterparts.
It just doesn't make any sense to me personally to use a device with an open source OS that has loads of telemetry, spyware, bloat, etc. Which is a contradiction that I am not comfortable with. It's like installing a Linux distro that comes bundled with Facebook.
To me, being proactive about privacy is the equivalent to standing up for yourself in the real world. Sure, you can use a stock ROM and there is nothing wrong with that. It's having the freedom to choose which is most important. So long as that choice is available, I will happily go that route.
I like the added bonus of an Android device that seems faster with a longer lasting battery as well. I mean, I paid for this device. I should have the right to decide what apps are running on it.
No argument there... I agree with why we should be allowed to root/rom. Unfortunately, the carriers pull the strings in the USA (business over people) so we are losing options. Frankly, it pisses me off that they can still prevent phones from connecting to their network just because the IMEI doesn't match (even if the software is correct). In the end, if the device CAN work on the network, the carrier should have no say in allowing/disallowing it on the network. They like to claim that a "bad" device could "hurt" the network, but if that happens, they can lock out that phone and figure it out. I doubt that's even ever happened, but whatever. (They prevented me from using my already-working V30 US998 phone on the network, even though it ran as VS996 with no issues for years... they only later saw the IMEI wasn't "theirs" (original SIM card failed) so they prevented me from re-registering it. So stupid.)
Good luck, and let us know if you figure it out... I'm always curious to learn!
yes, most japan and europe phones do not have the correct radios channels in them for 4g and 5g. i ran into this same problem with my xperia phones that i bought overseas. this is a common problem that can happen.
The S10 and all it's variants is a world compatible GSM phone. So yes, the F variant should work with most GSM carriers and resellers in N. America.
There are various websites that will tell you what frequencies and carriers any particular model will work with if you do a search. Like this one.
WillMyPhoneWork.net - Check if your phone works on a network
Check 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE Network Frequency Compatibility for a Smartphone, Tablet, and Mobile Device in any Country and Mobile Network Carrier
willmyphonework.net
According to that site the SM-G973F/DS supports all 2G, 3G, and 4G frequencies used by Mint.