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Got a lot of conflicting info on this.
1.Are different sims given for smart vs dumbphones? 3G vs 4G? Etc
Ie: will a smartphone not access 4g on a GoPhone sim?
2.Can a Rep on the phone identify your phone by the imei?
Thank you for any enlightening!
I may be wrong but I think the gophone sim works differently than a regular sim, there are att sims that say 3g but they work just the same as the new sim cards att is using, as far as the rep being able to tell ur phone make and model by the imei that's a yes for sure, they can detect what phone you have without you giving them that info and slap the $25 2gb data plan on your account.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
To put it simply- if the network system knows that X phone has X IMEI or even model code it shows when it connects (I777 vs say I9100) and its endorsed by them, then they'll know what it is.
Do you want to know this to avoid paying ridiculous data fees? If so, get an international unlocked/unbranded phone that your carrier never had/in their system. I've been milking dumbell data rates on my Nokia E series phones for years now and not because I use the balls out of the data, but to have that unlimited/cheap peace of mind.
When I upgraded from my Captivate to the SGS2, the AT&T clerk said I needed the 4G sim card and installed one.
retnuh said:
When I upgraded from my Captivate to the SGS2, the AT&T clerk said I needed the 4G sim card and installed one.
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I received the same treatment. With my last five phones, I've only been able to swap out the SIM cards twice — once because I bought a phone on Craigslist.
Really? I'm still on my, what is it, 4-5 year old 3G sim and no problems whatsoever.
Skv012a said:
Really? I'm still on my, what is it, 4-5 year old 3G sim and no problems whatsoever.
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I was on my old 3g Sim card as well but when i got the sgsii it wouldn't connect to the "phone" APN, i had to use the old "wap.cingular" APN. The old 3g Sims aren't provisioned on AT&T's network to access hspa.
Before getting a new Sim card, i would never get over 3Mbps down. Now i average 5 and on good days it'll peak to 7-10.
to answer the question about different Sim cards for smart phones or dumb phones; pretty sure they use the same card because when i went the other day to get a new Sim, the rep just grabbed one from a stack and activated it, there was only one stack. Also it would cost more and bee more confusing for them as company to do that.
And at&t can identify a phone over the network only if that phone is familiar to them. So if you bought an AT&T sgsii off craigslist/ebay/friend and plug in your Sim card, they'll be able to tell.
If you buy a phone that isn't sold/recognized by AT&T, most of the time they can't tell what the device.
A good check is after you put the Sim in your phone, wait a couple hours then log onto your account online and if it shows a picture of the phone your using, they can detect it.
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I have this as a gophone. They gave me a normal sim card not the go phone sim card. It has hspa + also.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
Well sim doesn't really determine what your plan allows you to do, so sims are dime a dozen. I may consider upgrading my sim if they'll be able to put my current number on a newer sim, else I'm not really concerned too much. (and, for your laughs, I'm still only using Edge to avoid having gutter battery).
bbubel said:
as far as the rep being able to tell ur phone make and model by the imei that's a yes for sure, they can detect what phone you have without you giving them that info and slap the $25 2gb data plan on your account.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
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this is only partly true. IF you have a att phone they can detect what type of phone you have by your IMEI #. that number is cataloged in their systems however if you have a European phone or a unlocked phone from another carrier then no they cannot tell what phone you have.
as for sims there are 2 different types of sims (go phones I dont know) there is the regular sized sims and the micro sims. Micro's for att are used for iphone 4 and up and I believe they are the only phone for att that uses the micro sim. As for functionality of the sims no the old sims (3G) work with thier HSPA+ just the same.....
retnuh said:
When I upgraded from my Captivate to the SGS2, the AT&T clerk said I needed the 4G sim card and installed one.
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Click to collapse
Same thing when I upgraded. But my sim was a few years old and pretty scratched up from being put in different phones so I figured even if it would work it was time to be replaced anyway.
When I bought the sgs2 the clerk was surprised I still had my Cingular Sim card and suggested I get the new one. I got to keep my Cingular relic.
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The only problem I've run into is my mms stopped working a few days after using the phone and I'm on a gophone account. My inspire works fine. Not sure if they ran an imei sweep and the sgii doesnt play nice with gophone accounts. They still had my imei as an old nokia flip phone. You don't have to have data on a gophone, but if you want internet you'll need to buy a gophone data package.
You mean you need an unlimited $50 type GoPhone account right? No one needs a data account above and beyond that.
I bought a cheap GoPhone $50 plan today...using that sim in my Note AI get tomorrow.
gadget069 said:
The only problem I've run into is my mms stopped working a few days after using the phone and I'm on a gophone account. My inspire works fine. Not sure if they ran an imei sweep and the sgii doesnt play nice with gophone accounts. They still had my imei as an old nokia flip phone. You don't have to have data on a gophone, but if you want internet you'll need to buy a gophone data package.
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Ok so over spring break I'm going to be going away, specifically, the Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, and I went before and ran up like a $100 or something on data charges and texting.. But now my SIM card is unlocked as per the guide with the app off the market, so will I still get charged for roaming data, voice and sms? I just want to find out if anyone knows if I still need to go to AT&T and get it worked out there or what?, I'm just not sure exactly how this works.
thanks
If roaming charge not being applied then international rate will do
Or you can use the local network in Bahamas, hope they have GSM there.
androidobsessed said:
Ok so over spring break I'm going to be going away, specifically, the Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, and I went before and ran up like a $100 or something on data charges and texting.. But now my SIM card is unlocked as per the guide with the app off the market, so will I still get charged for roaming data, voice and sms? I just want to find out if anyone knows if I still need to go to AT&T and get it worked out there or what?, I'm just not sure exactly how this works.
thanks
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Click to collapse
No, you have to unlock your sim and use a sim card from the local network that they have there (and if you used their network before, it should be compatible anyways)
votinh said:
If roaming charge not being applied then international rate will do
Or you can use the local network in Bahamas, hope they have GSM there.
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If the OP has used their device there previously then I'd say they support GSM.
Just make sure your phone has been unlocked and buy a SIM from a local carrier there and you should be good to go to use their network.
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I'm not concerned with compatability with the network, Im mostly just wondering about data charges, Im guessing I'll just have to either plan it out at the store or deal with international charges whatever that's gonna be
You can get the international packages from at&t for a month (its prorated, so if you pay for a week, you only get 1/3 of the whole month), just don't forget to cancel it after you're done. It depends on how much data you use... and 50mb is not alot, I would rather just face the overage charges and try to use as little as you can (use wifi alot or something).
http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp#data
problem is im pretty sure at a hotel like this its gonna be like 30 dollars a day for wifi haha
androidobsessed said:
problem is im pretty sure at a hotel like this its gonna be like 30 dollars a day for wifi haha
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Just grab a local Sim and use their data network.
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twiggums said:
Just grab a local Sim and use their data network.
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Any idea how I could get my hands on a local Sim?
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Go to your destination resort, ask them what mobile phone companies they use there. Or go to a gas station @ your destination & maybe they will sale prepaid mobile phone cards there.
androidobsessed said:
Any idea how I could get my hands on a local Sim?
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Just about every airport I've been through lately has a kiosk for the local cell phone company. Easiest to grab one there.
Yeah, to clarify you sim card is not unlocked, your phone is sim unlocked. Meaning you can use other carriers sim cards. Even if you unlock, if you have the att sim in while international, you are still roaming, and att will bill you. You should remove your att sim before you depart the us, then look for local Sims upon arrival. As others mentioned make sure the local sim includes data. Also note your phone number will change, and you may need to add the international prefix to text and call people in the us. I would set up a textfree + skype account or similar and use that while traveling for texting or calling, that way you can use your contacts as-is and it uses data vs texting. You can send someone a text via textfree to tell them to hop on Skype, and video call over data or wifi.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
androidobsessed said:
I'm not concerned with compatability with the network, Im mostly just wondering about data charges, Im guessing I'll just have to either plan it out at the store or deal with international charges whatever that's gonna be
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Your data charges will be for whatever network you buy a SIM for, look at that carrier's pricing.
SIM-Unlocking an AT&T phone and then continuing to use an AT&T SIM changes *nothing*.
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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Click to collapse
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
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hey guys just found out that I got orders to Italy, will my s4 work there? I'm assuming it will but what if any are my best options to use it oversees? thanks!
http://businessportals.verizonwireless.com/assets/files/Available_Global_Servies.pdf
thank you
The phone is carrier unlocked so you suits be able to put in a SIM card from there abd bit have to pay Verizon's global charges.
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Get a prepaid Sim here. http://www.ritesim.com/simcards/italy.html?___SID=U
I got one for Germany and worked great. Incomming calls where all free...
Don't pay Verizon costs...
It should work. According to what i've seen on this forum, you just pop in the european SIM card in order to get voice, and for data you go change your APN under your network settings (can only be done though once you have already put in your new european sim).
This way, you dont have to pay verizon's ridiculous $25/100mb charges
Can't really find a straight answer on this. Has anyone been able to setup their Gear S sim to have the same number as their mobile sim?
I guess this could be a different story for each carrier...
It usually has to be paired with you mobile device to share your mobile devices number.
Jay-Taicho said:
Can't really find a straight answer on this. Has anyone been able to setup their Gear S sim to have the same number as their mobile sim?
I guess this could be a different story for each carrier...
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Click to collapse
On AT&T if you are paired via BT it will show as your primary phone's number. If you are connected remotely and make a phone call, of course the Gear S is going to use and display it's phone number. However, I've been texting people from my Gear S while my phone is at home and it shows as my Primary Phone number as the source for the text.
Overall, I'll say that in the past 3-4 weeks it hasn't made a bit of a difference as no one has questioned anything or gotten confused. Working as I expected and hoped. In the case of a different phone number showing up, people have recognized it as me without worry. My Gear S has the same area code and prefix which I think helps.
dawgboy1783 said:
It usually has to be paired with you mobile device to share your mobile devices number.
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Click to collapse
Sorry, realised I wasn't clear enough. So what I want to do is have a sim in the Gear s that shares the same number as the sim in my mobile. So if I wanted to leave my phone home, I could.
Don't want to pay for a separate mobile plan for the Gear S, but don't want to switch my mobile number to the watch either.
Jay-Taicho said:
Sorry, realised I wasn't clear enough. So what I want to do is have a sim in the Gear s that shares the same number as the sim in my mobile. So if I wanted to leave my phone home, I could.
Don't want to pay for a separate mobile plan for the Gear S, but don't want to switch my mobile number to the watch either.
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Click to collapse
I don't think this is possible in the U.S. I'm on T-Mobile and my SIM that came with T-Mobile Wearable Plan has its own number.
Here is how it normally works:
1) When Gear S and the Samsung phone are connected using Bluetooth, all calls are placed and received using the PHONE. The watch simply acts as a Bluetooth headset
2) When Phone and Watch are not connected, you can configure the gear manager to forward calls to your watch. It works similar to forwarding your calls to another phone or voice mail. So, after a couple of rings, your Gear S would ring and you could pick up the call on it.
All in all it works pretty well. Also, in Europe, I think you can have two SIM cards associated with the same number but not in the U.S.
I think that would be considered Sim cloning. An illegal process in US... even if you are the #'s user.
Remember, we NEVER own our phone number. It's basically leased to us, and have sole use of it...as long as we pay for it.
With that said, I do remember reading an article about a year back, of a patent filed for a virtual SIM that would be for this purpose.
The OP is talking about multi-sim . Multi-sim is a service offered by many providers around the world. It gives you multiple identical sims with the same number and you can seamlessly share minutes and data. The watch even has a toggle for multi-sim setting. That would be the ideal seamless way to use this watch as your outgoing number from the watch is the same as the phone.
Here's an example: http://www.du.ae/mobile/mobileplans/multi-sim
I ordered a nano sim adapter for my Galaxy S5, and plan on asking att to issue me a nano sim.
Then I can pop it out of the phone and into the watch and go.
Btw, The watch will still call ems even without a sim. Score for me, I am an early am runner and there is only 1 number that can help me.
No monthly plan needed.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Free mobile app
I live in the Netherlands and just ordered a DualSIM which should make it possible for me to use both my S4A and GearS with the same phone and Sim number.
One of the Sims will be nano to fit the watch.
Can't wait for testing!
That's awesome, I wish the US would allow Dual sim cards.
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Jay-Taicho said:
Sorry, realised I wasn't clear enough. So what I want to do is have a sim in the Gear s that shares the same number as the sim in my mobile. So if I wanted to leave my phone home, I could.
Don't want to pay for a separate mobile plan for the Gear S, but don't want to switch my mobile number to the watch either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My carrier in Thailand allows me 2 sims, same number. However, not so with carrier in Afghanistan where I work, so depends on the carrier. I presently have Thai sim in gear s, and AFG in phone. Works OK with calls being registered against AFG sim in phone, roaming and data off on gear s.
Hope this helps.
ampm325 said:
That's awesome, I wish the US would allow Dual sim cards.
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Same for the UK.
Apparently some of the networks used to offer it years ago but primarily as a business service.
I've heard that Samsung have approached networks in markets such as the US and the UK about possibly introducing such a service but I doubt we'll see such a change.