While I was working in Korea, I bought a Galaxy s3 SHV-E210 (Korean Model) cell phone. When I bought, I was told that I would be able to use it over here in the States. AT&T was able to put a sim card and activate it on their network, however I only get 3G. The Sales rep told me that the bands for 4G/LTE are different in Korea than stateside carriers, so I may, or may not pick up 4G/LTE. I've done some research and found that the band in the phone can be changed using certain codes. When I enter *#9090# it brings up a menu, I've tried changing some of the 4G/LTE, 3G options in that menu but I never get 4G. I know how to root and put custom firmware on devices, so if that is something I need to do then I am comfortable with that. Can this phone be changed to get a 4G/LTE signal? are there any more "codes" that I can enter in to get any other options that will help me? has anyone here ever change the band on their phone to work on 4g? Thank you for any and all help.
AT&T uses LTE band 1 for service.
since E210S only supports band 3 and 5, and 3 and 8 for E210K, there's no way to access AT&T LTE network with your device.
It is reported to support band 1 for newer devices like S5 and G3 and AT&T LTE devices might work in Korea since May 2014,
LTE won't be available with Korean S3 in US.
adamijin said:
While I was working in Korea, I bought a Galaxy s3 SHV-E210 (Korean Model) cell phone. When I bought, I was told that I would be able to use it over here in the States. AT&T was able to put a sim card and activate it on their network, however I only get 3G. The Sales rep told me that the bands for 4G/LTE are different in Korea than stateside carriers, so I may, or may not pick up 4G/LTE. I've done some research and found that the band in the phone can be changed using certain codes. When I enter *#9090# it brings up a menu, I've tried changing some of the 4G/LTE, 3G options in that menu but I never get 4G. I know how to root and put custom firmware on devices, so if that is something I need to do then I am comfortable with that. Can this phone be changed to get a 4G/LTE signal? are there any more "codes" that I can enter in to get any other options that will help me? has anyone here ever change the band on their phone to work on 4g? Thank you for any and all help.
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its working for me after covert the the os to international version
I am looking at buying a tmobile H901 to unlock and use on Cricket (AT&T MNVO)
I know the tmobile version does not list band 17 as supported.
However I hear that the hardware for all the US variants is the same and it will activate bands according to the SIM that is installed.
My question is, If you have the H901 and put in an AT&T sim card, will band 17 work?
The towers near me use band 17
Based on what I read so far, only unlocked version of AT&T will work only with GSM provider. Would like confirmation of this. Thanks!
jklny said:
Based on what I read so far, only unlocked version of AT&T will work only with GSM provider. Would like confirmation of this. Thanks!
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No, unfortunately.
Sent from my SM-G935U using Tapatalk
Uh... If it's an unlocked phone there is no reason it wont.
http://www.droid-life.com/2017/03/08/unlocked-galaxy-s8-plus-s8-fcc-smg950-smg955/
Optimumind... can you provide any explanation for your answer?
Unless something has changed, Sprint is CDMA, not GSM.
eatmeimadanish said:
Uh... If it's an unlocked phone there is no reason it wont.
http://www.droid-life.com/2017/03/08/unlocked-galaxy-s8-plus-s8-fcc-smg950-smg955/
Optimumind... can you provide any explanation for your answer?
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An unlocked AT&T GS8 will work on other GSM networks but not on Sprint b/c Sprint won't add the AT&T GS8 IMEI to their system.
Sent from my SM-G935U using Tapatalk
The hardware on all the s8's are the same so technically it will work but the imei isn't white listed so you won't be able to activate it on sprint but the sprint version can be activated on att or any other gsm provider.
Sprint galaxy s8 works with tmobile and verizon
The hardware on all the s8's are the same so technically it will work but the imei isn't white listed so you won't be able to activate it on sprint but the sprint version can be activated on att or any other gsm provider.
Hey there. I have an S7 Edge unlock from t-mobile running the unlock firmware from G935U. Sprint SIM cards are lock, I have a friend who works for sprint. I have 3 Sprint S8 and S8+, 2 unlock and running on T-Mobile network. I took 1 of the SIM card and put in my Unlock S7 Edge, the phone just keep trying to connect to network and repeating the same process. Didn't work at all, but the Sprint S8's works excellent on T-Mobile network after flashing the UNLOCK firmware.
---------- Post added at 03:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:53 AM ----------
I got 111.71 mbps download, 20 mbps upload speed from my Unlock Sprint S8+ running G955U1 unlock firmware on T-Mobile network. Couldn't ask for anything more than that.
I will provide my non Sprint S8 variant experience.....for any US S8, they all have the same hardware. I have noticed that ATT and TMO models have CDMA hardware, but are turned off in the carriers version of the firmware . Flashing the stock unlocked S8 firmware or the Sprint/VZW FW will enable the phones for use with CDMA and all LTE bands. I had an ATT version sim unlocked and attempted this on Verizon FW with a VZW sim and it worked perfect....but there is a major roadblock with Sprint. Sprint is the only carrier that I have tried that requires an update of the IMEI to the account (ie you cant just pop a sim in and the device works). VZW for example shows Unknown device on the account instead of an S8, but all the services still work. Sprint shows 3G for about 5 minutes, then you get a message that the sim is locked and to reboot or call support (not the same as the phones sim slot being locked, but more that the system cant register the sim/device combo). Sprint stores have the capability of adding IMEI's to the Sprint database, as long as the IMEI does not come back as ineligible. Well, I took the S8 to several stores and none of them could add it to the system. Several employees advised me that the IMEI's from other carrier's are blacklisted so that it can not be added and the only ones that the system would allow to add are IMEI's that were sold as unlocked or Sprint branded. If the IMEI can be white listed, then I am certain it would work.
mellojosh said:
I will provide my non Sprint S8 variant experience.....for any US S8, they all have the same hardware. I have noticed that ATT and TMO models have CDMA hardware, but are turned off in the carriers version of the firmware . Flashing the stock unlocked S8 firmware or the Sprint/VZW FW will enable the phones for use with CDMA and all LTE bands. I had an ATT version sim unlocked and attempted this on Verizon FW with a VZW sim and it worked perfect....but there is a major roadblock with Sprint. Sprint is the only carrier that I have tried that requires an update of the IMEI to the account (ie you cant just pop a sim in and the device works). VZW for example shows Unknown device on the account instead of an S8, but all the services still work. Sprint shows 3G for about 5 minutes, then you get a message that the sim is locked and to reboot or call support (not the same as the phones sim slot being locked, but more that the system cant register the sim/device combo). Sprint stores have the capability of adding IMEI's to the Sprint database, as long as the IMEI does not come back as ineligible. Well, I took the S8 to several stores and none of them could add it to the system. Several employees advised me that the IMEI's from other carrier's are blacklisted so that it can not be added and the only ones that the system would allow to add are IMEI's that were sold as unlocked or Sprint branded. If the IMEI can be white listed, then I am certain it would work.
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Yup, Sprint sucks very well in this regard.
Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk
This phones are listed among eligible phones for Sprint's BYOD 1 year free plan. Does it say something?
Samsung Galaxy S8 (Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile)
Samsung Galaxy S8+ (Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile)
Yes it will work, i put a freedom pop sim in, and it restarted with at&t logo
mellojosh said:
I will provide my non Sprint S8 variant experience.....for any US S8, they all have the same hardware. I have noticed that ATT and TMO models have CDMA hardware, but are turned off in the carriers version of the firmware . Flashing the stock unlocked S8 firmware or the Sprint/VZW FW will enable the phones for use with CDMA and all LTE bands. I had an ATT version sim unlocked and attempted this on Verizon FW with a VZW sim and it worked perfect....but there is a major roadblock with Sprint. Sprint is the only carrier that I have tried that requires an update of the IMEI to the account (ie you cant just pop a sim in and the device works). VZW for example shows Unknown device on the account instead of an S8, but all the services still work. Sprint shows 3G for about 5 minutes, then you get a message that the sim is locked and to reboot or call support (not the same as the phones sim slot being locked, but more that the system cant register the sim/device combo). Sprint stores have the capability of adding IMEI's to the Sprint database, as long as the IMEI does not come back as ineligible. Well, I took the S8 to several stores and none of them could add it to the system. Several employees advised me that the IMEI's from other carrier's are blacklisted so that it can not be added and the only ones that the system would allow to add are IMEI's that were sold as unlocked or Sprint branded. If the IMEI can be white listed, then I am certain it would work.
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I had a similar experience with an Unlocked Galaxy S7 and Sprint. I actually had to get Samsung Tech support on a conference call with a Sprint Manager, because Sprint told my customer the the phone is incompatible with the Sprint network. After embarrassing the Sprint rep, he white listed the IMEI number on Sprint's network and the phone worked.
Also, MetroPCS has the same policy. You cannot just pop in a Metro Sim card. You have to call them and register the IMEI number. After about an hour tops, the phone will complete provisioning and be able to work on Metro's T-Mobile network.
T-Mobile is instant. You cab pop a T-Mobile Sim card into any sim unlocked variant and it will work. However you will need to go into settings and follow the T-Mobile instructions on how to set up the radio frequencies. The better way is to just flash the carrier's ROM version onto the phone. This way you will get the features and updates from the carrier. Carriers seem to get the Android updates faster than Samsung. A trade off for bloatware.
tempests said:
I had a similar experience with an Unlocked Galaxy S7 and Sprint. I actually had to get Samsung Tech support on a conference call with a Sprint Manager, because Sprint told my customer the the phone is incompatible with the Sprint network. After embarrassing the Sprint rep, he white listed the IMEI number on Sprint's network and the phone worked.
Also, MetroPCS has the same policy. You cannot just pop in a Metro Sim card. You have to call them and register the IMEI number. After about an hour tops, the phone will complete provisioning and be able to work on Metro's T-Mobile network.
T-Mobile is instant. You cab pop a T-Mobile Sim card into any sim unlocked variant and it will work. However you will need to go into settings and follow the T-Mobile instructions on how to set up the radio frequencies. The better way is to just flash the carrier's ROM version onto the phone. This way you will get the features and updates from the carrier. Carriers seem to get the Android updates faster than Samsung. A trade off for bloatware.
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Maybe I should try this approach with my Galaxy S9+ (AT&T, unlocked).
Sprint is a PITA.
tempests said:
I had a similar experience with an Unlocked Galaxy S7 and Sprint. I actually had to get Samsung Tech support on a conference call with a Sprint Manager, because Sprint told my customer the the phone is incompatible with the Sprint network. After embarrassing the Sprint rep, he white listed the IMEI number on Sprint's network and the phone worked.
Also, MetroPCS has the same policy. You cannot just pop in a Metro Sim card. You have to call them and register the IMEI number. After about an hour tops, the phone will complete provisioning and be able to work on Metro's T-Mobile network.
T-Mobile is instant. You cab pop a T-Mobile Sim card into any sim unlocked variant and it will work. However you will need to go into settings and follow the T-Mobile instructions on how to set up the radio frequencies. The better way is to just flash the carrier's ROM version onto the phone. This way you will get the features and updates from the carrier. Carriers seem to get the Android updates faster than Samsung. A trade off for bloatware.
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You may have been referring to me regarding the unlocked Galaxy S7 & Sprint. Many thanks for that one. I'm going through the same crap now with Universal unlocked IPhone 7. Sprint is a PITA!
I can confirm the SM-G955U from AT&T does work. I confirmed this via Sprint site. Just Google Sprint byod eligibility and you'll find the link.
My biggest roadblock was AT&T had a network lock on my phone so the sim Sprint sent couldn't be used. I then used the services provided by gsmzambia to network unlock the device. It's currently working on Sprint network.
Hello,
My wife's Galaxy Note 8 somehow boots to different firmware based on SIM card inserted into it which surprised me since I thought that phones are usually coming with single firmware for either provider. I'm considering switching to T-Mobile from ATT and I have ATT branded Galaxy S9+ unlocked. My question will it have the same experience I noticed on my wife's phone or I have to deal with flashing firmware etc to make it work properly with WiFI calling etc features of native T-Mobile ROM?
Below message I received from Ebay seller which sold Galaxy Note 8. Is it true?
Thanks for contacting us. Samsung integrated new firmwares on S8 and newer model phones. Means whatever sim card you insert, it will program according to it. If you insert T-Mobile sim card, phone will restart and will show T-Mobile logo and apps. Same for AT&T and other GSM carriers. If you are AT&T user. Please insert the AT&T sim card and phone will ask you to restart the device with AT&T logo and apps. Tap yes.
artisticcheese said:
Hello,
My wife's Galaxy Note 8 somehow boots to different firmware based on SIM card inserted into it which surprised me since I thought that phones are usually coming with single firmware for either provider. I'm considering switching to T-Mobile from ATT and I have ATT branded Galaxy S9+ unlocked. My question will it have the same experience I noticed on my wife's phone or I have to deal with flashing firmware etc to make it work properly with WiFI calling etc features of native T-Mobile ROM?
Below message I received from Ebay seller which sold Galaxy Note 8. Is it true?
Thanks for contacting us. Samsung integrated new firmwares on S8 and newer model phones. Means whatever sim card you insert, it will program according to it. If you insert T-Mobile sim card, phone will restart and will show T-Mobile logo and apps. Same for AT&T and other GSM carriers. If you are AT&T user. Please insert the AT&T sim card and phone will ask you to restart the device with AT&T logo and apps. Tap yes.
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Yes. It will work on any carrier. Even vzw or Sprint
Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk
If unlocked ATT branded GS9+ phone will work on any other carrier, what is the point of the threads below about flashing T-Mobile CSC (or whatever it's called) to ATT phone and vice a versa, etc if phone already supports switching between carriers on it's own?
Hello all,
Just bought a Samsung Galaxy S9+ dual sim (SM-G965F/DS) (G965FXXS7GSJ3) international model. Since I inserted my T-Mobile sim card I can only get the 4G signal and no LTE (also tried Verizon sim card and the same result). Speed test on 4G with a few different location (Northwest) and the result from 1.00mbps - 22 mbps max. I online chat with Samsung support and found out that USA don't support dual-sim and that's the reason I don't get the LTE service.
Is there a custom ROM or a way to flash my phone so that I can use the LTE service on my phone?
Thanks
supasieu said:
Hello all,
Just bought a Samsung Galaxy S9+ dual sim (SM-G965F/DS) (G965FXXS7GSJ3) international model. Since I inserted my T-Mobile sim card I can only get the 4G signal and no LTE (also tried Verizon sim card and the same result). Speed test on 4G with a few different location (Northwest) and the result from 1.00mbps - 22 mbps max. I online chat with Samsung support and found out that USA don't support dual-sim and that's the reason I don't get the LTE service.
Is there a custom ROM or a way to flash my phone so that I can use the LTE service on my phone?
Thanks
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Sorry but whoever told you they don't support DS sounds like BS to me, the carrier only see the phone signal, they don't know if it's coming from a single sim, dual sim or multi sim gateway device.
If you go into.....
settings --> connections --> mobile networks
and make sure both sims are set for LTE
1- 4G/LTE are the same. LTE/4G icon changes depending on ROM and carrier.
2- Samsung agent has no idea. It's a person on a generic building in India contracted by Samsung most probably.
If you own a dual sim s9+ you can get both modems/sims to work on 4G/LTE even at the same time.
If you see 4G you are working on LTE. Then what speed you get it depends on several factors, not just the phone or signal
Sent from S.G. S9 Plus Duos using Tapatalk