Sprint S4 GSM use India - Sprint Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshoot

I am getting an Sprint S4 for use in Asia. Any idea/guide to make it as a proper phone for GSM Use? What are the things I need to do to make that as a GSM Phone since I will be using the S4 with majority of carriers in India. I will be requiring 3G/Data/Voice
Many thanks for your time.

The only way I know is to have a sprint account and have then unlock it or use the thread by autoprime. But for that you need to have MDC modem which I don't think is possible to achieve after being on MK2 or NAE.
I don't understand why people buy a sprint phone to use overseas. It can be a pain to unlock. So why not just buy an already unlocked Galaxy s4?
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

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[Q] Possible to Unlock?

Hi I wanted to buy this pone from amazon, but the thing is that I would buy the sprint versiĆ³n with no contract and I don't live in the US, so my question is, can I unlock this pone to use it with any other company? like Movistar? I read that the pone was GSM so I thought it would be posible, however I won't take the risk of paying 590 dollars for a pone that I can't use, thanks
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Won't work. Sprint is NOT gsm
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
hyelton said:
Won't work. Sprint is NOT gsm
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you dont know dont tell !! sprint s4 (gsm-cdma) but gsm its locked (low level lock )
LIAM83 said:
if you dont know dont tell !! sprint s4 (gsm-cdma) but gsm its locked (low level lock )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean if I dont know dont tell? What does that supposed to mean?
I KNOW my Cellular Networks!
Sprint is a CDMA Network!
The ONLY part about sprint that is NOT CDMA is LTE which the sim card slot is LOCKED to sprint.
They MIGHT be a fix but right now there is NOT. Some of the older phones like the Moto Photon its not LTE but its a world phone and people could flash a few things and make it work, But only EDGE in the USA anyway.
But as of right now and problay for a while its NOT going to work.
hyelton said:
What do you mean if I dont know dont tell? What does that supposed to mean?
I KNOW my Cellular Networks!
Sprint is a CDMA Network!
The ONLY part about sprint that is NOT CDMA is LTE which the sim card slot is LOCKED to sprint.
They MIGHT be a fix but right now there is NOT. Some of the older phones like the Moto Photon its not LTE but its a world phone and people could flash a few things and make it work, But only EDGE in the USA anyway.
But as of right now and problay for a while its NOT going to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats right sprint CDMA provider YES! but sprint announce more cdma-gsm phones (like blackberry) now sprint sell locked phones (htcone , S4)and this man need know maybe he unlock phone for him country(i think he live in spain(movistar as i know its spain company! right now he not can use gsm in this phone but i think i found solution maybe via nv maybe via modem patch !
sorry for my english )its not my own language !
LIAM83 said:
Thats right sprint CDMA provider YES! but sprint announce more cdma-gsm phones (like blackberry) now sprint sell locked phones (htcone , S4)and this man need know maybe he unlock phone for him country(i think he live in spain(movistar as i know its spain company! right now he not can use gsm in this phone but i think i found solution maybe via nv maybe via modem patch !
sorry for my english )its not my own language !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Modem patch is not even possible with this phone right now... The phones are ONLY meant to run on GSM for LTE data and NOTHING ELSE
hyelton said:
Modem patch is not even possible with this phone right now... The phones are ONLY meant to run on GSM for LTE data and NOTHING ELSE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bro you not right ! not only for lte data ! if we unlock this phone we can use it in at&t voice and data and t-mobile too ! belive me i know all about samsung phones !!
LIAM83 said:
bro you not right ! not only for lte data ! if we unlock this phone we can use it in at&t voice and data and t-mobile too ! belive me i know all about samsung phones !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I expect Sprint will provide a method soon to unlock the GSM and UMTS functions in the phone to be able to use it internationally. However, I don't expect the GSM and UMTS functions to operate inside the US. Sprint has always disabld them on GSM capable Android and iOS devices it sells.
I don't see why it wouldn't work for you as long as you can get it unlocked.
Sprint is not going to unlock it for you unless you are a long time customer or have the phone with them for 90 days.
hyelton is completely wrong though.. the sim does authenticate lte on sprint but also acts as a gsm sim internationally.
you can also remove the sim and insert any international sim once unlocked providing the carrier uses the correct bands.
hyelton said:
Modem patch is not even possible with this phone right now... The phones are ONLY meant to run on GSM for LTE data and NOTHING ELSE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are all kinds of WRONG.
Sprint's GS4 is fully capable of voice and data on international GSM/HSPA+/UMTS 850/900/1900/2100MHz networks. You have to request Sprint to unlock your phone's sim (or find a work around if you're not a Sprint customer), but once unlocked you can pop in any international sim and it will WORK JUST FINE on international GSM networks, they don't have to support LTE. Heck the only thing preventing the SG4 from working on US GSM networks is Sprint locked the Sim from using USofA GSM carrier sim cards.
As long as the OP can get their Sprint SG4 sim unlocked, they can pop in their international sim and use the GSM in their country NO PROBLEM like any other GSM phone.
SO ONCE AGAIN, Sprint's SG4 has a fully functioning GSM modem that supports international carrier GSM/HSPA+/UMTS 850/900/1900/2100MHz bands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You would think someone with almost 2,000 posts and who made a statement like "I KNOW my Cellular Networks!" would know better. Do yourself a huge favor and actually know what you're talking about before you go spouting off again, because you really made yourself look like an ignorant fool.
BamAlmighty said:
You are all kinds of WRONG.
Sprint's GS4 is fully capable of voice and data on international GSM/HSPA+/UMTS 850/900/1900/2100MHz networks. You have to request Sprint to unlock your phone's sim (or find a work around if you're not a Sprint customer), but once unlocked you can pop in any international sim and it will WORK JUST FINE on international GSM networks, they don't have to support LTE. Heck the only thing preventing the SG4 from working on US GSM networks is Sprint locked the Sim from using USofA GSM carrier sim cards.
As long as the OP can get their Sprint SG4 sim unlocked, they can pop in their international sim and use the GSM in their country NO PROBLEM like any other GSM phone.
SO ONCE AGAIN, Sprint's SG4 has a fully functioning GSM modem that supports international carrier GSM/HSPA+/UMTS 850/900/1900/2100MHz bands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You would think someone with almost 2,000 posts and who made a statement like "I KNOW my Cellular Networks!" would know better. Do yourself a huge favor and actually know what you're talking about before you go spouting off again, because you really made yourself look like an ignorant fool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well YES you can easily use your phone overseas, But it was POSTED in the Sprint Forum which is ONLY in the USA and in which using it does NOT apply in the USA. And to get the phone unlocked I`m not sure if a regular unlocking company would be able to do it someone with a sprint account would and it would be MUCH more trouble than just to pick up a ACTUAL GSM carriers Version of the phone.( I should had just said that to begin with) Its VERY pointless to TRY and want to use the sprint Version when they are SEVERAL OTHER varrients that are GSM they could have got to use.
EXCEPT... the op specifically said they wanted to purchase it from Amazon America to use on their country's GSM network.
Why they want to do that? WHO KNOWS, maybe it might be cheaper doing it this way, but that is what they want to do and despite all your unnecessary wrongful information, the OP can do what they asked as long as they can get the sim unlocked.
BamAlmighty said:
EXCEPT... again EXCEPT the op specifically said they wanted to purchase it from Amazon America to use on their country's GSM network.
Why they want to do that? WHO KNOWS, maybe it might be cheaper doing it this way, but that is what they want to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sell on Amazon and Most people wont ship out of the USA on Amazon. Mostly only Candia but Ive tried ordering a lot of things overseas and 90% I cant as they wont ship here
Amazon sells the Sprint for $599 this is probably why. I bought mine at Best Buy and had them price match Amazon for that price.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
Yea but out of country cant buy FROM sprint...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Looks like everyone here is an expert in this matter but so far haven't seen a single link to reputable sources... OP call sprint international department and get answer straight from the carrier (888) 226-7212
Even IF the phone is capable of being used in GSM bands internationally, you would have to get it unlocked by sprint and they change policies all the time so just call..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
I got my phone unlocked for international use. I contacted sprint international services. I was initially told that you have to be activated for at least 90 days before they could unlock the phone but would forward my request to some department. After one day I got a email that my phone has been unlocked.
fusiondynamics said:
I got my phone unlocked for international use. I contacted sprint international services. I was initially told that you have to be activated for at least 90 days before they could unlock the phone but would forward my request to some department. After one day I got a email that my phone has been unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They unlocked Sprint Galaxy 4?
mkang said:
They unlocked Sprint Galaxy 4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea.... but it ONLY works internationally AND you have to be a sprint customer.
The POINT I have been trying to get across is that people need to understand Sprint is a CDMA carrier and ONLY relies on GSM for LTE. I think what people think is that they are solely a gsm carrier like most of the world is but its NOT
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda premium

Converting Sprint S4 to ATT

I get my wife a used S4 today that was previously on the Sprint network. We are on ATT and i planned on rooting the phone any ways. What all do i need to change to get rid of the sprint phone number that is on the phone, and what do i need to flash to make it work with the att network?
Don't believe it's possible. ..Sprint is CDMA and dont use SIM cards ATT uses GSM and SIM cards
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 09:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 PM ----------
Only other carrier that uses CDMA is VZW
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
it has a sim card slot on the phone. They said it was unlocked and would work with all carriers. When i put the sim card in, it says Invalid SIM card
Twiztidunreal said:
it has a sim card slot on the phone. They said it was unlocked and would work with all carriers. When i put the sim card in, it says Invalid SIM card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because its for international SIM cards. Your Sprint S4 WILL NOT WORK on any US carrier other than Sprint.
MattMJB0188 said:
Because its for international SIM cards. Your Sprint S4 WILL NOT WORK on any US carrier other than Sprint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm this. I work as a Sprint wireless consultant. A sim unlocked phone from Sprint is not compatible with any domestic carriers.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Its true.. Sprint is the only greedy company that goes out of their way to block gsm domestically within the USA.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
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worthless sprint is sprint and sprint only...sorry, no ATT for you.
Febby said:
Its true.. Sprint is the only greedy company that goes out of their way to block gsm domestically within the USA.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry to have to disagree with this but I own a blackberry 9630 world phone from sprint and the sim slot works both with at&t as well as tmo. I understand ad long as contract is fulfilled and any etf's are paid Sprint will unlock sim slot and it will work with any carrier, gsm and CDMA alike. Check Sprint forums and speak with cs agents... :good:
onebenadams said:
I'm sorry to have to disagree with this but I own a blackberry 9630 world phone from sprint and the sim slot works both with at&t as well as tmo. I understand ad long as contract is fulfilled and any etf's are paid Sprint will unlock sim slot and it will work with any carrier, gsm and CDMA alike. Check Sprint forums and speak with cs agents... :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using an Att/T-Mobile sim on an s4. It will be blocked even if the phone has been unlocked. Previous phones from sprint did not block USA native gsm but as of lately they do.
My good ol htc touch pro was a lucky one to work on USA gsm as of course your old black Berry.
You get it now? Its an accepted fact sprint has been going out of their way to block USA native gsm access on their latest phones. Perhaps some new ones aren't but the s4 is unless a work around is done but it doesn't work for everyone.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
HTC One
This isn't entirely true. I unlocked my Sprint HTC One to run on aio wireless which is on the ATT network. I haven't unlocked my Galaxy S4 but I intend on giving it a shot.
Call sprint and ask for a subsidy unlock code.
You'll need to provide the IMEI
*#06# on the keypad. After they give you the code, try a gsm sim. Hope this helps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Or buy an unlock code from Amazon or ebay if they wont give it to you ofcourse
CuhThooLoo said:
This isn't entirely true. I unlocked my Sprint HTC One to run on aio wireless which is on the ATT network. I haven't unlocked my Galaxy S4 but I intend on giving it a shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thinking of doing the same with my s4 on sprint and going to aio. Been with sprint over a decade and finally over it. In houston and lte sucks.
wow that sucks, because even Verizon who is the greediest of them all will let you use their phone on both AT&T and T-Mobile. I have the AT&T Galaxy S4 and I can use my phone on T Mobile as well.
sleekgreek said:
thinking of doing the same with my s4 on sprint and going to aio. Been with sprint over a decade and finally over it. In houston and lte sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried and tried to unlock my Sprint S4 for domestic SIM but I have failed time and time again. I got it unlocked for International but Sprint has somehow managed to block the S4 from working on a Domestic carrier. I'll let you know if I have any luck.
CuhThooLoo said:
I tried and tried to unlock my Sprint S4 for domestic SIM but I have failed time and time again. I got it unlocked for International but Sprint has somehow managed to block the S4 from working on a Domestic carrier. I'll let you know if I have any luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I've read about people unlocking for use on metro pcs which is tmobile. Thanks for heads up though, probably gonna have to buy one when I switch.
I unlocked a Sprint s4 and I am able to make calls with a AT&T micro sim in but cannot get data and texts working. I had to downgrade the baseband to get into hidden menu, but I stopped there. In the hidden menu you have to make some changes but I was scared that if I got it to work on at&t I wouldnt be able to get it back working on Sprint. Everyone does say that Sprint doesnt allow anyone to use other domestic carriers.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
sprint lost
cyrusalmighty said:
I unlocked a Sprint s4 and I am able to make calls with a AT&T micro sim in but cannot get data and texts working. I had to downgrade the baseband to get into hidden menu, but I stopped there. In the hidden menu you have to make some changes but I was scared that if I got it to work on at&t I wouldnt be able to get it back working on Sprint. Everyone does say that Sprint doesnt allow anyone to use other domestic carriers.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here is a video I made for on sprint 4g to att h+ back to sprint 4g with no problems no sound in the video tho and no need for root inless you want data then you need to edit apns no you should get on E or 3g maybe with this without apn.
tNoobYsYL8o <--- end of youtube link just made an acc so can't post the whole link
how you do it
eheilner said:
here is a video I made for on sprint 4g to att h+ back to sprint 4g with no problems no sound in the video tho and no need for root inless you want data then you need to edit apns no you should get on E or 3g maybe with this without apn.
tNoobYsYL8o <--- end of youtube link just made an acc so can't post the whole link
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you provide how you do it to unlock the s4 sprint use in att
thanks in advance

[Q] Using an AT&T S4 with Verizon

Hey guys, I'm getting my hands on my friend's Galaxy S4. He is on an AT&T plan and got then phone from them through an upgrade. I personally prefer Verizon. I was wondering if I could get some help on making his phone work for me. I have a SIM card and everything, currently using a RAZR MAXX. I've done a little looking around, and from what I gathered, the phone is capable of working with verizon, but I'll have to load a different kernel and ROM onto it. I've looked through http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557 that thread and found some nice info, but I'm not yet confident enough in my knowledge to go through with it. I've decided on the http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2305781 CLEANROM 1.6.5, but I don't know what else I'm going to need to have in order to make this phone work for me. I also don't know if I'll need to download the Verizion or the AT&T version of this. Thanks for all the help, I'm really wanting to make this work for me so I can actually get a powerhouse of a phone.
Xray55 said:
Hey guys, I'm getting my hands on my friend's Galaxy S4. He is on an AT&T plan and got then phone from them through an upgrade. I personally prefer Verizon. I was wondering if I could get some help on making his phone work for me. I have a SIM card and everything, currently using a RAZR MAXX. I've done a little looking around, and from what I gathered, the phone is capable of working with verizon, but I'll have to load a different kernel and ROM onto it. I've looked through http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557 that thread and found some nice info, but I'm not yet confident enough in my knowledge to go through with it. I've decided on the http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2305781 CLEANROM 1.6.5, but I don't know what else I'm going to need to have in order to make this phone work for me. I also don't know if I'll need to download the Verizion or the AT&T version of this. Thanks for all the help, I'm really wanting to make this work for me so I can actually get a powerhouse of a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. it won't work.
xuanphucn said:
Nope. it won't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is what I read about on the post I linked not true then?
Xray55 said:
Is what I read about on the post I linked not true then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your link is to a thread regarding other variants of S4 roms. Although you can use other S4 roms on the i337, the phone wont work on verizon carrier.
Kaze105 said:
Your link is to a thread regarding other variants of S4 roms. Although you can use other S4 roms on the i337, the phone wont work on verizon carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure about that. ROM shouldn't matter too much, you just have to have it SIM unlocked and I believe it won't work too well due to the different frequencies between carriers and so you may not get LTE or something. Maybe someone can correct me though.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app
Verizon/Sprint phones use CDMA.
ATT/T-Mobile use GSM
I don't think you can use a CDMA phone on a GSM network and vice versa.
EDIT:
Per the replies below, it looks like it ispossible.
Here is a thread from the Verizon forums.
Also, if this WIKI page is correct, the Verizon S4 has both CDMA and GSM radio's where the ATT S4 only has a GSM radio.
The first thing to identify on the phone is whether or not it is on the stock AT&T ROM and what version that ROM is. If it is I337UCUAMF3 then changing the bootloader/kernal/rom is not even an option to begin with which means there would be no way to change out the modem to support other carrier bands (such as those used by Verizon). On top of that, although I have heard that the modem hardware is the same on all versions of the S4 I have not heard anyone confirm that they have successfully enabled CDMA services on the I337.
rayburne said:
Verizon/Sprint phones use CDMA.
ATT/T-Mobile use GSM
I don't think you can use a CDMA phone on a GSM network and vice versa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some that work on other networks without the need for modem changes. I read about some using the Verizon on AT&T, and I used the droid Bionic, a Verizon exclusive with a locked boot loader, on AT&T.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
The strange thing is you can use a Verizon S4 on AT&T but you can't do it the other way around. Verizon phones all come unlocked, allowing you to use the phone anywhere around the world.
The AT&T S4 does not contain the CDMA chip allowing you to use it on the Verizon network, plus it has to do something with IMEI. If you give the IMEI to Verizon, they won't be able to locate which device you are trying to activate because it's not in the system. But if you use a Verizon S4 and put in a AT&T SIM card, you don't have to register the IMEI with AT&T or T-Mobile.
emckai said:
The strange thing is you can use a Verizon S4 on AT&T b.
you can't do it the other way around. Verizon phones all come unlocked, allowing you to use the phone anywhere around the world.
The AT&T S4 does not contain the CDMA chip allowing you to use it on the Verizon network, plus it has to do something with IMEI. If you give the IMEI to Verizon, they won't be able to locate which device you are trying to activate because it's not in the system. But if you use a Verizon S4 and put in a AT&T SIM card, you don't have to register the IMEI with AT&T or T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm that this is true about the verizon s4. I have a Verizon s4 and have used AT&T and straight talk on it. My brother uses that phone daily on his AT&T account.
I will test my AT&T s4 when I get around to finding my sim card.
sundigen said:
I can confirm that this is true about the verizon s4. I have a Verizon s4 and have used AT&T and straight talk on it. My brother uses that phone daily on his AT&T account.
I will test my AT&T s4 when I get around to finding my sim card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure you won't be able to use an AT&T S4 on Verizon because the AT&T S4 doesn't have the CDMA capabilities.
emckai said:
I'm pretty sure you won't be able to use an AT&T S4 on Verizon because the AT&T S4 doesn't have the CDMA capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I noticed that the ATT S4 doesn't have everything that the Verizon S4 has in the service menu. Like I can turn on all the different bands in the service menu, but on my ATT S4 I get restrictions on wcdma.
I'm new to all this. I traded a iPhone for the ATT version because I couldn't figure out how to make the Verizon version work on straight talk..
Not two days after I have the ATT I somehow got it working... Lol. So now I have two with unlocked bootloaders and sum unlocked...
sundigen said:
Yea I noticed that the ATT S4 doesn't have everything that the Verizon S4 has in the service menu. Like I can turn on all the different bands in the service menu, but on my ATT S4 I get restrictions on wcdma.
I'm new to all this. I traded a iPhone for the ATT version because I couldn't figure out how to make the Verizon version work on straight talk..
Not two days after I have the ATT I somehow got it working... Lol. So now I have two with unlocked bootloaders and sum unlocked...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Methods used to obtain this?
I am I believe sim unlocked because I no longer see the prompt for password apon boot but the verizon doesn't connect.
Thank you in advance!

[Q] sprint s4 on Verizon network

So I am picking up a sprint s4 and was wondering if I could use it on vzw network I have read into apns a Lil but never really messed with them so don't know how easy/hard it would b to do. And if I were to be able to do that would I have to use sprint roms or could I use vzw roms
spiderbolt said:
So I am picking up a sprint s4 and was wondering if I could use it on vzw network I have read into apns a Lil but never really messed with them so don't know how easy/hard it would b to do. And if I were to be able to do that would I have to use sprint roms or could I use vzw roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sell it and buy a Verizon s4. Sprint's s4 is not compatible with Verizon's LTE signal. You would only be able to use 3g.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk
cruise350 said:
Sell it and buy a Verizon s4. Sprint's s4 is not compatible with Verizon's LTE signal. You would only be able to use 3g.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK thanks n I'm OK with only 3rd working
I guess I should have told you it really isn't possible. Verizon won't activate a Sprint phone on their network. So you would have to clone an existing Verizon phone's esn in order for it to work. So basically you are better off with it on Sprint our sell it.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

Root Possible on Verizon 5.0.1??

I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 on Verizon (SCH-i545) running Android 5.0.1. I cannot find a way to root after searching and searching threads and online! Please help!! Would love to root this phone.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Did you look in the Verizon S4 forums? That is where you want to go for answers to your questions, as this is the international S4 forum, and we don't have a locked bootloader to prevent root.
Looked there, but didn't find anything. Maybe will post this there, thanks for your help. Can you explain locked bootloader or send me a link of a thread that does? I don't understand the difference of the international.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Actually I see that someone moved this thread to this category... I posted it elsewhere, what should I do? Noob, sorry!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Go back to your opening post and report it to the mods. In the text box that appears simply tell them it needs to be moved to the Galaxy S4 Verizon forums. They'll take care of it.
With a locked (i.e. encrypted) bootloader, rooting cannot be performed and custom ROMs cannot be installed. AT&T and Verizon are the largest of the carriers that do this, and they claim to do this in order to ensure consistent performance of the device on their networks. The reality is that they simply don't want you getting rid of their bloatware or working around their other restrictions by rooting and installing custom ROMs. International devices don't come with locked bootloaders, and customization is easy. However, an international phone in the US doesn't get LTE due to the international device not supporting the frequencies used in the United States.
In the US, if LTE is important, a T-Mobile device is the best option even though the device never received an upgrade to Android 5.x. But if you take it abroad, LTE will not function due to it not supporting international LTE frequencies. To the best of my knowledge, phones that support both sets of frequencies have yet to be released.
Thanks for your helpful reply! So... My provider is Verizon, if I get a "T-mobile phone" will it still work on Verizon's network and he rootable? There is some difference in Verizon and AT&T I know because Verizon and Sprint are CDMA and AT&T and others are GSM networks right? I'm not sure what all those mean, but I didn't think they were interchangeable. I thought T-mobile was GSM, but maybe I'm wrong...
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
You'd have to leave Verizon if you want a phone you can modify. Verizon and Sprint are CDMA networks, while AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM networks. GSM is the global standard. A CDMA device won't work on a GSM network and vice versa.

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