I am traveling to Spain for 3 weeks in August and plan to bring my Note 2 with me. I would like to be able to use data and make phone calls while there without getting hit with Verizon's roaming charges. I know I need to buy a SIM card over there and possibly tweak the APN settings? I was hoping some of you fellow XDA'ers could relate their experiences with doing this. FYI I am running Beans B14.
Thanks,
micah
I'm interested in this as well. I'm going to Estonia at the end of this month.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda premium
Have you looked into Google Voice with Groove IP? If you have wifi signal over in Spain, you can make and receive calls from your Google voice number. It's like having wifi calling from T-Mobile.
I was interested in the same thing and that is the easiest solution I have come up with. I'd like to know if there are other solutions as well, without using wifi because wifi might not be available everywhere.
mtrain said:
I am traveling to Spain for 3 weeks in August and plan to bring my Note 2 with me. I would like to be able to use data and make phone calls while there without getting hit with Verizon's roaming charges. I know I need to buy a SIM card over there and possibly tweak the APN settings? I was hoping some of you fellow XDA'ers could relate their experiences with doing this. FYI I am running Beans B14.
Thanks,
micah
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm traveling next month and it will be the first time with the Note2, however, I did this extensively with a previous phone. High level: You get a prepaid SIM for a wireless carrier of your choice. (Example - In France, I have an Orange SIM with minutes and data). Change this out when you land and replace your Verizon sim (put it somewhere safe). Then change your APN to the required settings for that carrier. I just searched on the internet to find the right settings. And that was that!
Hoping it is that easy with the Note2. :highfive:
jcollier said:
I'm traveling next month and it will be the first time with the Note2, however, I did this extensively with a previous phone. High level: You get a prepaid SIM for a wireless carrier of your choice. (Example - In France, I have an Orange SIM with minutes and data). Change this out when you land and replace your Verizon sim (put it somewhere safe). Then change your APN to the required settings for that carrier. I just searched on the internet to find the right settings. And that was that!
Hoping it is that easy with the Note2. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would love to hear your experience after you get back from your trip next month.
In Afghanistan right now with a local sim(roshan). It's works fine and I have Internet. Long as you're on a custom rom sim cards should just pop in and work. Far as Internet find apn settings and just add the apn. Haven't had any problems, also my Google voice is still linked to my Verizon number so I still get those voice mails and can still send text from my gv number
Except buying local sim cards overseas you can also buy one sim card with a wide coverage. F.ex MTXConnect data-only sim card covers more than 20 European countries. I use this one for travelling to Europe and I didn't have any problems with it.
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
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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)
Click to expand...
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)
Click to expand...
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.
I'm on AT&T,but just bought a rooted S4 off someone with a Verizon ROM on it. Would I just need to flash a AT&T ROM for the S4 to be able to get the SIM card to work with AT&T?
Any help appreciated.
Same here. My friend gave me his S4 today and it is Verizon and running on the stock ROM. However, I am on AT&T. From what I hear this phone comes factory unlocked so you just plug in the SIM and it should be okay. Is there anything else that I need to know if I want to use this phone as my main?
3volution said:
I'm on AT&T,but just bought a rooted S4 off someone with a Verizon ROM on it. Would I just need to flash a AT&T ROM for the S4 to be able to get the SIM card to work with AT&T?
Any help appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mpvsuperstar said:
Same here. My friend gave me his S4 today and it is Verizon and running on the stock ROM. However, I am on AT&T. From what I hear this phone comes factory unlocked so you just plug in the SIM and it should be okay. Is there anything else that I need to know if I want to use this phone as my main?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After a brief visit with AT&T today, they installed a SIM card from their carrier into my phone, but it would not get speeds grater than EDGE at the time. 3G may have been possible, but it didn't see it right away. Also, they had to update the APN settings in the Settings -> More settings -> Mobile networks -> Access Point Names. Lastly, after searching the internet, Verizon carrier locks the GSM in the states. In other words, they make it so you can use GSM OUTSIDE the US but not allow AT&T or T-Mobile SIMS to be used in their devices. This is a carrier lock, not SIM lock, so they can get around the whole "well, our phones are sold SIM unlocked" bs. After calling a level two tech support, he told me that there is no such thing as a carrier lock or SIM lock, and he could not give me a code. The phone was able to make a voice call and send a normal text, but data sucked.
ghost0001 said:
After a brief visit with AT&T today, they installed a SIM card from their carrier into my phone, but it would not get speeds grater than EDGE at the time. 3G may have been possible, but it didn't see it right away. Also, they had to update the APN settings in the Settings -> More settings -> Mobile networks -> Access Point Names. Lastly, after searching the internet, Verizon carrier locks the GSM in the states. In other words, they make it so you can use GSM OUTSIDE the US but not allow AT&T or T-Mobile SIMS to be used in their devices. This is a carrier lock, not SIM lock, so they can get around the whole "well, our phones are sold SIM unlocked" bs. After calling a level two tech support, he told me that there is no such thing as a carrier lock or SIM lock, and he could not give me a code. The phone was able to make a voice call and send a normal text, but data sucked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to disagree, but my SCH-i545 works on the AT&T network with an AT&T SIM installed.
I only get Edge because that's the only band that VZ and AT&T has in common in this area. Swapping out a SIM isn't going to fix that.
What you're finding about GSM locks applies to pre-LTE phones. The LTE phones are not SIM locked, aren't carrier locked. Period.
I'm overseas right now and I got a SIM card from work and slid it in to my VZW S4. I'm assuming I should have at least got a couple signal bars in the notification bar, as I have another phone with full signal sitting next to me. Also the SIM made a call from a GSM Galaxy note right before I put it in my phone.
With just the Cyta SIM in I get a message (that cannot be dismissed):
Phone activation
This SIM card is from an unknown source.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After changing my network mode to Global and adding the APN according to THIS, I am still not showing any signal bars. I was able to pull up a couple networks in the Network Operators menu, one being Cyta-Vodaphone but still no bars and no connection.
The phone is rooted and on 4.4.2.
Am I missing something?
QUESTION kind of related to the question below.
Hey Guys... If anyone is online, please reply.
I was wondering if there was a way to get the Verizon GS4 to be able
to work on the Metro PCS servers and towers. I know that they have
different types of network bands, but I was just trying to make sure
if there was any way to get the phone to work on that network with
a flashable something in ODIN. My Verizon GS4 is rooted and on the
ROM called Hyperdrive.
Any replies are welcomed. And for the question above, I'm sorry i do not
have an answer for you.
thepianoman77 said:
Hey Guys... If anyone is online, please reply.
I was wondering if there was a way to get the Verizon GS4 to be able
to work on the Metro PCS servers and towers. I know that they have
different types of network bands, but I was just trying to make sure
if there was any way to get the phone to work on that network with
a flashable something in ODIN. My Verizon GS4 is rooted and on the
ROM called Hyperdrive.
Any replies are welcomed. And for the question above, I'm sorry i do not
have an answer for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you might be able to get some 3g but i doubt any 4g