Database Users

Which model to buy for full freedom

I am on ATT but I am tired of ATT BS and locked bootloaders and ROM work arounds. I want to be able to use international ROMs. Plus I want to have my ATT LTE.
I want freedom to have me device my way and with any carrier sim. With this said money is not the issue. So what do I buy. If I am reading things right the answer is a T-Mobile Version and then cancel the contract and put my ATT SIM in the Note 3.
Can anyone confirm or advise?

Want your cake (international version) and eat it too (non-international LTE) AND complain because getting both requires a bit of work? LOL
No carrier is going to let you have full freedom w/o you going behind their back (i.e. unlocking bootloaders and custom ROMs)

weirdingway said:
Want your cake (international version) and eat it too (non-international LTE) AND complain because getting both requires a bit of work? LOL
No carrier is going to let you have full freedom w/o you going behind their back (i.e. unlocking bootloaders and custom ROMs)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The T-Mobile appears to have an unlocked Bootloader and unlocked if paid in full. So that sounds like a clean unit to me. That I am free to load Intonational ROM's etc...

If you don't mind 32GB only of internal storage, which effectively translates into ~24GB of user available space - T-Mobile GN3 is your best bet. Pay in full, to get it unlocked and put your AT&T sim into it. Then you will have unlocked bootloader, no carrier network lock, no regional lock and it will work with AT&T LTE. You will be able to use international roms as well, as long as they're not for the octa-core version. You will also be able to flash AT&T modem to it, if you wish.

I just got the T-Mobile Note 3 from Negri (unlocked) It is $689 with no tax here in CA

boilerkim said:
I just got the T-Mobile Note 3 from Negri (unlocked) It is $689 with no tax here in CA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, how did you get yours already?

Apo11on said:
If you don't mind 32GB only of internal storage, which effectively translates into ~24GB of user available space - T-Mobile GN3 is your best bet. Pay in full, to get it unlocked and put your AT&T sim into it. Then you will have unlocked bootloader, no carrier network lock, no regional lock and it will work with AT&T LTE. You will be able to use international roms as well, as long as they're not for the octa-core version. You will also be able to flash AT&T modem to it, if you wish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to order a Note 3 from Negri to use it with AIO. I would like to have the unlocked bootloader but I'm worry about something I read in another thread here (Note 3 Carrier Selection):
"The main difference between the 1700 band being used by AT&T or TMO device is that AT&T version will use that 1700 for LTE signals where as Tmobile variant will use the 1700 for their HSPA signals."
What if ATT is using 1700 in my area for LTE? I will have the unlocked bootloader and no LTE? Where can I find what frequencies ATT is using in what areas? I made some searches without luck.
Any help will be appreciated.

T-Mobile note3 bootloader appears to be locked. Can't flash CWM

jmarquesh said:
I want to order a Note 3 from Negri to use it with AIO. I would like to have the unlocked bootloader but I'm worry about something I read in another thread here (Note 3 Carrier Selection):
"The main difference between the 1700 band being used by AT&T or TMO device is that AT&T version will use that 1700 for LTE signals where as Tmobile variant will use the 1700 for their HSPA signals."
What if ATT is using 1700 in my area for LTE? I will have the unlocked bootloader and no LTE? Where can I find what frequencies ATT is using in what areas? I made some searches without luck.
Any help will be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some search without luck? You've got to be kidding me! I have personally posted AT&T's LTE frequencies in at least 3 threads in Note 3 forums. It takes about 2 seconds to google a wiki page with LTE frequencies by carrier worldwide...FYI AT&T operates it's LTE network on both bands 4 and 17 in most areas. However, I don't understand why do you think there is a problem with AT&T & T-Mo using the same frequency in a certain area. There are 2 absolutely independent carriers, each with their own towers and your phone will get service from a carrier, based on whatever SIM you put in. What difference do these overlapping frequencies make to you?

eclipxe said:
T-Mobile note3 bootloader appears to be locked. Can't flash CWM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a source for this?
serialtoon said:
Wait, how did you get yours already?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't, just ordered it

Apo11on said:
Some search without luck? You've got to be kidding me! I have personally posted AT&T's LTE frequencies in at least 3 threads in Note 3 forums. It takes about 2 seconds to google a wiki page with LTE frequencies by carrier worldwide...FYI AT&T operates it's LTE network on both bands 4 and 17 in most areas. However, I don't understand why do you think there is a problem with AT&T & T-Mo using the same frequency in a certain area. There are 2 absolutely independent carriers, each with their own towers and your phone will get service from a carrier, based on whatever SIM you put in. What difference do these overlapping frequencies make to you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did find information about the frequencies used by each carrier. What I was looking for is what frequency is used in a given area, say near my house. Maybe that is not the right question since I'm new to all this problem.
In another thread (Note 3 Carrier Selection) people is recommending to buy the TMobile version over the ATT version even if you want to use it with ATT (AIO). Because the bootloader in TMo may be unlocked. But then cheols46 posted this:
The main difference between the 1700 band being used by AT&T or TMO device is that AT&T version will use that 1700 for LTE signals where as Tmobile variant will use the 1700 for their HSPA signals.
I have 2 HTC One from each carrier and while AT&T version will pick up LTE at my house with the AT&T sim card in it, while T-mobile version only picks up HSPA+ with the AT&T sim card. It really depends on the tower frequency you use in your area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to know if that will happen to me if I buy the TMo version to use it with AIO.
Thanks in advance for any help you may provide.

That guy is getting only HSPA with AT&T SIM card because his APN for AT&T LTE is not configured correctly on the T-Mo phone. He probably didnt change the APN settings, or maybe T-Mo stock firmware doesnt even have those settings, since the network didnt support LTE when that phone was bought?
If your phone is configured correctly, and you use AT&T SIM you should get LTE service.

Apo11on said:
That guy is getting only HSPA with AT&T SIM card because his APN for AT&T LTE is not configured correctly on the T-Mo phone. He probably didnt change the APN settings, or maybe T-Mo stock firmware doesnt even have those settings, since the network didnt support LTE when that phone was bought?
If your phone is configured correctly, and you use AT&T SIM you should get LTE service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will you advice to buy the sim unlocked TMo version instead of the ATT version, because of the unlocked bootloader and the support for TMo bands (again this is just something I read)? I'm planning to use it with AIO but after spending all that money it will be good to know that I could use it with TMo if I wanted.

jmarquesh said:
Will you advice to buy the sim unlocked TMo version instead of the ATT version, because of the unlocked bootloader and the support for TMo bands (again this is just something I read)? I'm planning to use it with AIO but after spending all that money it will be good to know that I could use it with TMo if I wanted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If i were you I'd wait a week or two, until other people do it, and you can find enough feedback on how well things work. The question, you should be asking yourself is not a choice between T-Mo vs AT&T version, but T-Mo vs international LTE version with unlocked bootloader, because getting AT&T one with locked bootloader will severely cripple what you can do with your phone. Keep in mind if you have any LTE version with unlocked bootloader you should be able to flash AT&T modem onto it, once it becomes available, regardless of what LTE bands it currently supports.

Apo11on said:
If i were you I'd wait a week or two, until other people do it, and you can find enough feedback on how well things work. The question, you should be asking yourself is not a choice between T-Mo vs AT&T version, but T-Mo vs international LTE version with unlocked bootloader, because getting AT&T one with locked bootloader will severely cripple what you can do with your phone. Keep in mind if you have any LTE version with unlocked bootloader you should be able to flash AT&T modem onto it, once it becomes available, regardless of what LTE bands it currently supports.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sort of forced to get an AT&T version (have unlimited data) but considering taking chance that someone will figure out N3 bootloader unlock for future versions of AT&T roms. Is that wise?

sonicthoughts said:
I'm sort of forced to get an AT&T version (have unlimited data) but considering taking chance that someone will figure out N3 bootloader unlock for future versions of AT&T roms. Is that wise?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give you a hint: http://www.androidoverload.com/bootloader-bounty-exceeds-5k-verizonatt-samsung-galaxy-s4/

boilerkim said:
I just got the T-Mobile Note 3 from Negri (unlocked) It is $689 with no tax here in CA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Negri still shows preorder, did they start to ship phones?
And by the way it's 669.5 with code ne20offcart

[Q] Galaxy S5 Active on T-Mobile

T-Mobile uses the 1700MHz and 2100MHz frequencies for 4G LTE data, and the Galaxy S5 Active supports 1700 and 2100, according to GSMArena.
1) Why then is the phone listed everywhere as "For AT&T"?
2) If I buy an S5 Active without a contract, how will data work on T-Mobile? 3G? 4G? 4G LTE?

dandv said:
how will data work on T-Mobile? 3G? 4G? 4G LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any given S5 model has the hardware capability to operate on all of the GSM and LTE bands. But Samsung can sell more phones, and carriers can deter you from jumping ship too readily by marketing lots of different S5 models that have various incompatibilities.
The S5 Active or SM-G870ADGEATT is a ruggedized variant, exclusive to ATT. So why is it said to be for ATT? Marketing.
As to compatibility with TMobile, assuming that you SIM unlock it, it can operate on most of the TMB bands. But again ATT has put a lot of thought into how to discourage you from moving to a different carrier. To wit, they have omitted support for TMB's 3G 1700 and LTE band 8.
You'd have to find out how widely TMB uses those bands to know if that would be a large impact on data use or not.
.

dandv said:
T-Mobile uses the 1700MHz and 2100MHz frequencies for 4G LTE data, and the Galaxy S5 Active supports 1700 and 2100, according to GSMArena.
1) Why then is the phone listed everywhere as "For AT&T"?
2) If I buy an S5 Active without a contract, how will data work on T-Mobile? 3G? 4G? 4G LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was a rumor posted 2 months ago on the Android Community that a T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S5 Active (model SM-G870T vs the AT&T model SM-G870A) would be out in late July. Here's a link.
http://androidcommunity.com/samsung-galaxy-s5-active-availability-leaks-out-20140529/
Obviously it's late July now and we haven't seen it but I'm wondering if AT&T got an exclusive on the Galaxy S5 Active for a few months and T-Mobile will release it after the exclusivity period expires.

fffft said:
Any given S5 model has the hardware capability to operate on all of the GSM and LTE bands. But Samsung can sell more phones, and carriers can deter you from jumping ship too readily by marketing lots of different S5 models that have various incompatibilities.
The S5 Active or SM-G870ADGEATT is a ruggedized variant, exclusive to ATT. So why is it said to be for ATT? Marketing.
As to compatibility with TMobile, assuming that you SIM unlock it, it can operate on most of the TMB bands. But again ATT has put a lot of thought into how to discourage you from moving to a different carrier. To wit, they have omitted support for TMB's 3G 1700 and LTE band 8.
You'd have to find out how widely TMB uses those bands to know if that would be a large impact on data use or not.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to dredge up an old topic, however you mentioned that the S5 active has the hardware capability to support all TMB bands, 1700 included, but then say "To wit, they have omitted support for TMB'S 3G 1700 and LTE band 8". Does this just mean the stock AT&T ROM is the only limiting factor? So, were I to flash the AT&T stock ROM and install a Tmobile ROM for example I could then utilize ALL of Tmobile ' 3G and LTE bands? (And wifi calling to boot).
Thanks

S5 Active is pretty limited on Tmobile network
"Sorry to dredge up an old topic, however you mentioned that the S5 active has the hardware capability to support all TMB bands, 1700 included, but then say "To wit, they have omitted support for TMB'S 3G 1700 and LTE band 8". Does this just mean the stock AT&T ROM is the only limiting factor? So, were I to flash the AT&T stock ROM and install a Tmobile ROM for example I could then utilize ALL of Tmobile ' 3G and LTE bands? (And wifi calling to boot).
Thanks"
I NEED to do something with my S5 Active to get it working better on Tmobile. I love the S5A... its a perfect phone for me. Not too big, but big enough. Rugged, waterproof, good camera, uSD card, etc. Without WiFi Calling and support for all of Tmo's freq & channels, its severely limiting.
I'd pay someone to help me convert my phone to Tmobiles stock S5 5.1.1 ROM and baseband radio firmware.
Help!
Jim

Also having the same problem with an unlocked S5 Active originally setup for AT&T. It uses the EDGE network only.
Has anyone successfully modified the phone to utilize the TMB 1700 band or the LTE band 8 as mentioned in this post? (either through ROM upgrade or other)?

I love the S5 Active, but using it with T-Mobile is such a hassle. I have the $30/mo. prepaid plan that includes unlimited text and data, so I'm not changing carriers anytime soon, but I have to buy new phones outright. When I bought this for myself last December, I saw it was compatible with T-Mobile so I pulled the trigger - a mistake in retrospect.
I'm from a large metro-area but T-Mobile's 4G signal is nearly impossible to get with this phone. Aside from never being able to connect to the internet when out of my apartment, sending/receiving MMS texts are a chore. I also discovered today that my android OS with this phone hasn't updated itself since I bought it - it's still running 4.4.2 and when I try to check for updates to Android through my device settings, it tells me AT&T has no new available updates at this time (there have in fact been 3 new updates AT&T released during this time).
So while I really love the phone, I'm going to have to sell it and look for a new device that's actually compatible with T-Mobile's network.

The Fix
I would go in the VPN settings and manually reset the ports and frequencies the phone reads and when it reads the T-Mobile sim card that it reads upon boot up.
Now, I'm running similar set up with Samsung Galaxy S4 & S5 (At&T variants), it seems like it works, have tried it on friend's S5 Active and it works perfectly.
The only problem is that you won't get to enjoy the freedom of wifi calling even though u have T-Mobile sim card and service, But at least u will be guaranteed to use T-Mobile 4G LTE speed and signals. Occassionally, T-Mobile will blackout or a region without T-Mobile and automatically the phone will roam with no charge and use AT&T signals for up to 15 minutes or depending to circumstances of the situation.
---------- Post added at 05:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:04 PM ----------
ActiveS5 said:
I love the S5 Active, but using it with T-Mobile is such a hassle. I have the $30/mo. prepaid plan that includes unlimited text and data, so I'm not changing carriers anytime soon, but I have to buy new phones outright. When I bought this for myself last December, I saw it was compatible with T-Mobile so I pulled the trigger - a mistake in retrospect.
I'm from a large metro-area but T-Mobile's 4G signal is nearly impossible to get with this phone. Aside from never being able to connect to the internet when out of my apartment, sending/receiving MMS texts are a chore. I also discovered today that my android OS with this phone hasn't updated itself since I bought it - it's still running 4.4.2 and when I try to check for updates to Android through my device settings, it tells me AT&T has no new available updates at this time (there have in fact been 3 new updates AT&T released during this time).
So while I really love the phone, I'm going to have to sell it and look for a new device that's actually compatible with T-Mobile's network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To get the At&T updates, I would advise you to go to Ebay and buy a prepaid At&t sim card for the phone and use it temporarily just to update it all the up to 5.1 Android OS and your phone will be running up to date. (cost anywhere from $3.99 to $15.99)

rossionQ!va said:
I would go in the VPN settings and manually reset the ports and frequencies the phone reads and when it reads the T-Mobile sim card that it reads upon boot up.
Now, I'm running similar set up with Samsung Galaxy S4 & S5 (At&T variants), it seems like it works, have tried it on friend's S5 Active and it works perfectly.
The only problem is that you won't get to enjoy the freedom of wifi calling even though u have T-Mobile sim card and service, But at least u will be guaranteed to use T-Mobile 4G LTE speed and signals. Occassionally, T-Mobile will blackout or a region without T-Mobile and automatically the phone will roam with no charge and use AT&T signals for up to 15 minutes or depending to circumstances of the situation.
---------- Post added at 05:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:04 PM ----------
To get the At&T updates, I would advise you to go to Ebay and buy a prepaid At&t sim card for the phone and use it temporarily just to update it all the up to 5.1 Android OS and your phone will be running up to date. (cost anywhere from $3.99 to $15.99)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the AT&T updates by going into a Best Buy where they have a Samsung Experience center, took about 10 minutes but they updated my phone. I'll have to look into the VPN settings and see if there's anything I can do, but after purchasing the phone online I did have the folks at a T-Mobile store set the phone up for me so I would've figured they would have set it up proper.

Thinking of going to TMobile
ActiveS5 said:
I got the AT&T updates by going into a Best Buy where they have a Samsung Experience center, took about 10 minutes but they updated my phone. I'll have to look into the VPN settings and see if there's anything I can do, but after purchasing the phone online I did have the folks at a T-Mobile store set the phone up for me so I would've figured they would have set it up proper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a S5 Active and I was considering making the jump to TMo, but I really would like the functionality of the wi-fi calling and text, since I work in a hospital and can get no reception or texts. Pardon me if this is a dumb question as I have no experience in jumping carriers with rooted phones, but would I get the features if I had the TMo sim, applied the TMo APN's, flashed a TMo stock or custom rom that has the features baked in? Would I just flash the 870a kernel to make it work? Anybody that has any ideas, I would love to hear them. Thanks

I'm on T-Mobile, would it be worth getting the S5 Active? I currently have the S4 Active.

Sprint best GS 7 to buy for most carrier support?

I am leaving post paid service and going pre paid.
I since majority if prepaid US carriers are Sprint, T-Mobile and some AT&T. I want a GS 7 that will support all three carriers with as much bands possible.
Any suggestions or does the Sprint version support (once unlocked) support AT&T and T-Mobile.

Technically, any GSM unlocked phone would work on any GSM network, but that wasn't your question.
I ordered the sprint version to use with cricket (at&t network). What I read, the sprint version will support AT&T better than tmobile. In the end, once rooted, you could add in the band's not supported by default.

Music to my ears!
Will have to get the Sprint version and hope for the best.

S7E's sprint version can't turn off shutter camera. But im still happy with the 50%off promo

Has it been confirmed that the s7 uses sprints LTE advanced signal. I can't find a place where it says for sure like the g5's page .
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

bdsullivan said:
Has it been confirmed that the s7 uses sprints LTE advanced signal. I can't find a place where it says for sure like the g5's page .
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to know this as well. I seem to get better 4G coverage in my area with the advanced signal enabled compared to my friends who don't support it.

Yes, my new s7 uses lte adavanced
Splash screen says so

VandyCWG said:
Yes, my new s7 uses lte adavanced
Splash screen says so
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sweet. I have the nexus 6 now and considering getting one for the SD card access alone. Is there a noticeable difference in data speeds with the LTE advanced, does it offer data and voice at the same time?
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

TehPirate_ said:
I'd like to know this as well. I seem to get better 4G coverage in my area with the advanced signal enabled compared to my friends who don't support it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It just seems that way, or it's because it has a better antenna in general. LTE Plus doesn't get you a stronger signal. The beamforming that helps at the cell edge is a tower-side enhancement. As long as your phone supports band 41, you're able to take advantage of LTE Plus - just not the Carrier Aggregation component.

I am very eager to see what happens in this regard as well. Sprint is notorious about locking down their phones to include very few LTE modes so that the phone is truly only for Sprint. Samsung's CDMA version of the Galaxy phones have been crippled in this way all the way up to the S6.
You can see various phones like the S4, S6, LG G4 and the S7. The S7 CMDA variant does not appear on this comparison chart yet but I'm hoping that it won't need to.
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/compare.php?p=4066,4769,4773,5081,4928
The last phone in that comparison is the iPhone 6s Plus, which is the same no matter which carrier you use worldwide. I really, really hope Samsung does the same thing.
The only other phones with lots of LTE bands like the iPhone on Sprint is the Nexus 5s/6p and Moto X Pure.
PLEASE let LG and Samsung include all the default LTE modes by default on the CDMA versions of their phones!
Edit: nope, Sprint made Samsung get rid of the most important worldwide LTE band, 7, along with 13 and 20. LAME.
More info here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=65825260&postcount=14

I'm thinking of buying the SM-G730P (Sprint) version of the Galaxy S7 even though I was all the years on Verizon and they are for sure the better service and have more coverage, at least here where I live, but the reason I wanna buy Sprint is just because Verizon just makes Samsung phones much more secure, and locks the boot loader, now the question is, First of all does Sprint still lock their LTE phones? And second of all, will an unlocked Sprint phone work on the Verizon network, and will it work overall perfectly when I'm aboard, on the International GSM network? And last of all is there a different in the build of this 2 phones, Verizon S7 and the Sprint S7, besides the bands

YankyA said:
I'm thinking of buying the SM-G730P (Sprint) version of the Galaxy S7 even though I was all the years on Verizon and they are for sure the better service and have more coverage, at least here where I live, but the reason I wanna buy Sprint is just because Verizon just makes Samsung phones much more secure, and locks the boot loader, now the question is, First of all does Sprint still lock their LTE phones? And second of all, will an unlocked Sprint phone work on the Verizon network, and will it work overall perfectly when I'm aboard, on the International GSM network? And last of all is there a different in the build of this 2 phones, Verizon S7 and the Sprint S7, besides the bands
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Today's news concludes that all US (Qualcomm) variants of the S7 indeed have a locked bootloader except for a select few apparently. Verizon and AT&T lock the bootloader tighter than others, such as Sprint. Sprint and T-Mobile didn't lock the bootloader themselves but rather Samsung. Samsung locked the bootloader to better add security to their consumers and there's been hints they may release an unlock kit/tool for developers but this hasn't been confirmed.
I got Sprint to unlock my G930P and works perfectly with AT&T. The S7, at a hardware level, is the same phone for all US variants where the only thing that changes is the software. Meaning a Sprint phone on the Verizon network would essentially have the same network performance as if you were to use an actual Verizon variant. Once the device is unlocked, at least for me, it knew my sim was on the AT&T network and switched the bands to AT&T on reboot.
Internationally, I'm not sure. There is an option to enable Global bands in one of the hidden menus in self-service but I'd assume it'll cover enough bands to provide you with what you need minimally. (I've never gone international before so can't say from experience)

TehPirate_ said:
Internationally, I'm not sure. There is an option to enable Global bands in one of the hidden menus in self-service but I'd assume it'll cover enough bands to provide you with what you need minimally. (I've never gone international before so can't say from experience)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GSM will work as expected.
LTE, however, will be crippled depending on the country you go to.
The updated spec list:
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=5081
According to that list, Sprint purposely took out three very important LTE bands: 7/13/20. Why does that matter? Because much of the world uses these three bands, especially band 7 and especially Europe! Sprint purposely crippled the LTE radio modes for this phone and I cannot understand why.
So yes, you'll probably get normal GSM and some LTE if they offer one of the other bands but Sprint purposely disabling or deleting the commonly used international LTE modes abroad is just anti-competitive and backwards.

Will rooting or unlocking this phone allow the use of the bands that were locked by Sprint?
asuh said:
The updated spec list:
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=5081
but Sprint purposely disabling or deleting the commonly used international LTE modes abroad is just anti-competitive and backwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

gigadigit said:
Will rooting or unlocking this phone allow the use of the bands that were locked by Sprint?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/general/how-to-add-rf-lte-frequency-bands-to-t2886059

VandyCWG said:
Yes, my new s7 uses lte adavanced
Splash screen says so
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The splash screen says LTE Plus, not LTE Advanced. LTE Plus is simply the new branding for Sprint SPARK. Was that the OPs question?

LTE Plus is not Sprint Spark , its more in depth. Carrier aggregation by antenna beam forming.

For those interested, Sprint is releasing an unlocked S7 that works on all the carriers and has a full range of US LTE bands:
http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=17870

sm-g935f does it work with verizon ??

Can anyone tell me if this will work on verizon carrier ? Don't want the locked down verison

I'm pretty sure the International (GM935F) version does NOT support Verizon's CDMA.

Verizon and sprint are the only reason USA doesn't have the faster exynos processor.
Sent from my Star-Tac

Use the following site to check
http://willmyphonework.net
according to this site you should get 4g LTE, but does not work on 2G or 3G
full spec of samsung model is here
http://www.samsung.com/uk/business/business-products/smartphones/smartphones/SM-G935FZKABTU
also note the foot note at the bottom of the results from http://willmyphonework.net,
******
"How To Interpret The Results
When performing a search, you will be presented with three networks: 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE.
For the technical savvy, we have included the network frequencies that match between the mobile device and the network carrier. Also, we consider HSPA+ to be 3G.
Note: Will My Phone Work assumes that your device is unlocked or allowed to be run on the desired mobile network. Certain carriers such as Verizon USA have an "approved list" of devices. This means that although the phone is compatible with the carrier's network frequencies, the device is blocked. Also, some carriers make frequencies/bands available only to specific geographical regions."
********

Has anyone confirmed this?
5teve0 said:
Use the following site to check
http://willmyphonework.net
according to this site you should get 4g LTE, but does not work on 2G or 3G
full spec of samsung model is here
http://www.samsung.com/uk/business/business-products/smartphones/smartphones/SM-G935FZKABTU
also note the foot note at the bottom of the results from http://willmyphonework.net,
******
"How To Interpret The Results
When performing a search, you will be presented with three networks: 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE.
For the technical savvy, we have included the network frequencies that match between the mobile device and the network carrier. Also, we consider HSPA+ to be 3G.
Note: Will My Phone Work assumes that your device is unlocked or allowed to be run on the desired mobile network. Certain carriers such as Verizon USA have an "approved list" of devices. This means that although the phone is compatible with the carrier's network frequencies, the device is blocked. Also, some carriers make frequencies/bands available only to specific geographical regions."
********
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I'm also interested in this. I'm thinking of buying a G935F so I can root and have complete control over the recovery and ROMs.
I assumed the international (global) variant would support everything. My Galaxy S5 works everywhere including the US and also drops to 3G if necessary on Verizon. The ultimate question is, if I buy a G935F, can I make/receive calls, texts/mms, and get data using a Verizon SIM card? If I'm in a fringe area and it drops 4G, what will happen? Will it just have no service? I have to think it would support 3G/2G. If a person from Europe comes to the US with the G935F and uses a verizon SIM or is in a verizon only area, they would be screwed.
Again, I would think it should just work, no?

It will not work on Verizon because
1. Verizon relies on using the outdated CDMA standard so you can't connect to their "3G" network.
2. Verizon uses non standard version of the VoLTE IMS (so does T-Mobile it seems), so you can't place calls over LTE even if you flash a VoLTE enabled firmware on your GS7
3. Verizon as a carrier is a control freak that doesn't let its costumers use devices that have not been "approved" by their services, therefore, your devices' IMEI have to be white-listed in order to connect to their network.

mathieulh said:
It will not work on Verizon because
1. Verizon relies on using the outdated CDMA standard so you can't connect to their "3G" network.
2. Verizon uses non standard version of the VoLTE IMS (so does T-Mobile it seems), so you can't place calls over LTE even if you flash a VoLTE enabled firmware on your GS7
3. Verizon as a carrier is a control freak that doesn't let its costumers use devices that have not been "approved" by their services, therefore, your devices' IMEI have to be white-listed in order to connect to their network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already started the process of moving to AT&T...waiting on my work to confirm it. I hope Verizon reads this. It would have been some much simpler if they just unlocked their bootloader and didn't put a ton of crap (bloat) on their stock ROM...then they would have retained this customer.

I was considering the G935FD (dual sim) since my personal phone is AT&T and my work phone is Verizon. I want to consolidate to a single phone. Honestly I only need Verizon for calls and text, not even data, since my AT&T is unlimited. Looks like the international S7 Edge support Verizon's primary LTE band 13 which would technically work for data, but won't connect to their CDMA calling network according to mathieulh.. Now here's the kicker.. the new ZTE Axon 7 is supposedly compatible with Sprint and Verizon, AND it's a dual SIM phone. I know Verizon has to give the final "okay" to have a device activate on their network, but looking at the specs between the Axon 7 and the G935FD (dual sim S7 Edge) on GSMArena, there are essentially NO DIFFERENCES between 2G/3G/4G(LTE) bands between the two devices. The only difference I really see is Cat 6 LTE (300/50Mbps) on the Axon 7 and Cat 9 LTE (450/50Mbps) on the S7 Edge.
Can anyone clear this up? ZTE is literally saying their Axon 7 will work on Verizon, with essentially the same network specs as the S7 Edge international... there MUST be some major defining issue with using the Exynos vs Qualcomm processor when it comes to CDMA connectivity, but I still can't see a spec difference online.

G930f won't work on Verizon
Hey guys so I see this last post is from almost 3 years ago but I like the s7 and I have verizon. I don't like the Verizon variant of the s7 and wanted to try this one, the g930f because it had the same bands for LTE that verizon uses. I thought I could just use Google voice and make calls with data. I've been messing around with it for a few days now and I'm using a pre-registered sim from a Motorola that I bought from Verizon. I cannot get it to register even with data alone. I've tried removing all AP names and then creating several different AP names using Verizon settings. It's a no-go. I'm getting the g930u.
Thank you for reading. Maybe you know a workaround?

How to enable GSM on GS7 (Smg930v)?

Hi,
I've found someone in Brazil who is selling a Verizon GS7 (smg930v) at a great price but he claims that it's not working here because it won't recognize the Brazilian mobile network (the bought the phone in the US). He says the phone connects to the 4G network but he is not able to navigate or make phone calls. I find this weird as I've read in many places that Verizon's GS7 are unlocked to work on GSM.
Any thoughts on what can be done?

rawfa said:
Hi,
I've found someone in Brazil who is selling a Verizon GS7 (smg930v) at a great price but he claims that it's not working here because it won't recognize the Brazilian mobile network (the bought the phone in the US). He says the phone connects to the 4G network but he is not able to navigate or make phone calls. I find this weird as I've read in many places that Verizon's GS7 are unlocked to work on GSM.
Any thoughts on what can be done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't connect in Brazil because they are GSM-only; whereas VZW is a CDMA-only network. South America is like the EU - mostly,l if not entirely, GSM-only; VZW and Sprint are using different (and not cross-compatible) types of CDMA. Tracfone (and their Safelink lifeline division) is an MVNO that uses T-Mobile and VZW towers for coverage (and thus support both GSM and CDMA phones). Tracfone has both GSM and CDMA SIM kits - however, the SIM kit you purchase must match the target phone. (Some phones, such as the Galaxy Nexus, for example, are available in both sorts - maguro for AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile/Deutsch Telekom, and toro/toroplus for VZW and Sprint; there are even "unified" ROMs (the Tuna versions are neutral in this fashion, and are available from JB to N - PureNexus 7.1.1 for Tuna is my default, and is just one such example). It may be possible to modify the radios to support GSM bands; however, I would not recommend it.

rawfa said:
Hi,
I've found someone in Brazil who is selling a Verizon GS7 (smg930v) at a great price but he claims that it's not working here because it won't recognize the Brazilian mobile network (the bought the phone in the US). He says the phone connects to the 4G network but he is not able to navigate or make phone calls. I find this weird as I've read in many places that Verizon's GS7 are unlocked to work on GSM.
Any thoughts on what can be done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the phone is gsm unlocked out of the box
my s7 is Verizon on att
flash the unlocked firmware to further unlock all the bands but Verizon unlocks out of the box
---------- Post added at 07:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:47 AM ----------
PGHammer said:
It won't connect in Brazil because they are GSM-only; whereas VZW is a CDMA-only network. South America is like the EU - mostly,l if not entirely, GSM-only; VZW and Sprint are using different (and not cross-compatible) types of CDMA. Tracfone (and their Safelink lifeline division) is an MVNO that uses T-Mobile and VZW towers for coverage (and thus support both GSM and CDMA phones). Tracfone has both GSM and CDMA SIM kits - however, the SIM kit you purchase must match the target phone. (Some phones, such as the Galaxy Nexus, for example, are available in both sorts - maguro for AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile/Deutsch Telekom, and toro/toroplus for VZW and Sprint; there are even "unified" ROMs (the Tuna versions are neutral in this fashion, and are available from JB to N - PureNexus 7.1.1 for Tuna is my default, and is just one such example). It may be possible to modify the radios to support GSM bands; however, I would not recommend it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you do know that almost all Verizon phones now are unlocked out of the box no mods needed
the reason is some of the bands that gsm carriers are not supported by verzion
mine is a Verizon on att rite now no mods at all other than root and stuff
---------- Post added at 07:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:49 AM ----------
rawfa said:
Hi,
I've found someone in Brazil who is selling a Verizon GS7 (smg930v) at a great price but he claims that it's not working here because it won't recognize the Brazilian mobile network (the bought the phone in the US). He says the phone connects to the 4G network but he is not able to navigate or make phone calls. I find this weird as I've read in many places that Verizon's GS7 are unlocked to work on GSM.
Any thoughts on what can be done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry for double posting kinda thing here
the reason its connecting to 4g there is the phone supports the 4g band obviously in brazil
but not some of the others I had this issue with my note 5 not supporting atts 4g band so I would get 2g and 3g but no 4g
again flash the g930u firmware and it seems to unlock all the bands
---------- Post added at 08:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:52 AM ----------
rawfa said:
Hi,
I've found someone in Brazil who is selling a Verizon GS7 (smg930v) at a great price but he claims that it's not working here because it won't recognize the Brazilian mobile network (the bought the phone in the US). He says the phone connects to the 4G network but he is not able to navigate or make phone calls. I find this weird as I've read in many places that Verizon's GS7 are unlocked to work on GSM.
Any thoughts on what can be done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u might try in mobile networks to switch it to global instead of anything else

rawfa said:
Hi,
I've found someone in Brazil who is selling a Verizon GS7 (smg930v) at a great price but he claims that it's not working here because it won't recognize the Brazilian mobile network (the bought the phone in the US). He says the phone connects to the 4G network but he is not able to navigate or make phone calls. I find this weird as I've read in many places that Verizon's GS7 are unlocked to work on GSM.
Any thoughts on what can be done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be able to put in the GSM sim and set the APN to what the carrier recommends and it works. It may not support all of bands that that carrier uses but it should work. You could also flash the Verizon SM-930v to the firmware for the Unlocked SM-930u via Odin and unlock more of the GSM bands. Most like it is just a APN issue
PGHammer said:
It won't connect in Brazil because they are GSM-only; whereas VZW is a CDMA-only network. South America is like the EU - mostly,l if not entirely, GSM-only; VZW and Sprint are using different (and not cross-compatible) types of CDMA. Tracfone (and their Safelink lifeline division) is an MVNO that uses T-Mobile and VZW towers for coverage (and thus support both GSM and CDMA phones). Tracfone has both GSM and CDMA SIM kits - however, the SIM kit you purchase must match the target phone. (Some phones, such as the Galaxy Nexus, for example, are available in both sorts - maguro for AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile/Deutsch Telekom, and toro/toroplus for VZW and Sprint; there are even "unified" ROMs (the Tuna versions are neutral in this fashion, and are available from JB to N - PureNexus 7.1.1 for Tuna is my default, and is just one such example). It may be possible to modify the radios to support GSM bands; however, I would not recommend it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have no idea what you are talking about. All Verizon phones are sim unlocked and since the HTC Thunderbolt, they all support a lot but not all GSM bands. All newer Verizon phones are world phones and usually just need the proper APN of the Telecom being used. Again they do not support all GSM bands but the do cover a lot of them that are used internationally.

nrage23 said:
You should be able to put in the GSM sim and set the APN to what the carrier recommends and it works. It may not support all of bands that that carrier uses but it should work. You could also flash the Verizon SM-930v to the firmware for the Unlocked SM-930u via Odin and unlock more of the GSM bands. Most like it is just a APN issue
You have no idea what you are talking about. All Verizon phones are sim unlocked and since the HTC Thunderbolt, they all support a lot but not all GSM bands. All newer Verizon phones are world phones and usually just need the proper APN of the Telecom being used. Again they do not support all GSM bands but the do cover a lot of them that are used internationally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will second both of these post in every way. Lol. I was thinking it just tryin to keep to myself

Agreed. You could purchase the phone and flash the U firmware. That's what I have done. I have used my Verizon s7 on Att and TMobile through their mnvos respectively

To wrap up in a nutshell what everyone else was saying...
1) The G930V S7s have both CDMA and GSM radios, so will work on both types of network.
2) Verizon phones are NOT network locked.
3) You need to check the GSM frequencies for your local network. The G930V uses GSM 850/900/1800/1900 for 2G & UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 for 3G. If your local network doesn't use any of these bands, the phone won't work for calls/SMS.
4) Flashing the 'U' firmware will only add UMTS 1700. There used to be a way to get into the radio settings and add/remove frequencies using a service code, but I believe that Samsung have locked down that ability.

Great info
Great info!