FCC wants to make carriers unlock phones within 60 days of activation

[TRG]

If you travel overseas, you can request your carrier unlock your device

When I travel overseas I use a cheap "pay as you go" phone. You can "top up" your minutes in practically any shop or on the internet. I don't use the phone that much so it's only 20 Euro's or Pounds at a time for me. Plus even the cheap phones are capable of WiFi calling so you don't get charged for any minutes when connected that way.

My wife calls it my "burner phone."

 

[TRG]

It also depends what frequencies they use over seas

All the details for Europe are in this link. I don't know about Asia though.

Which US Cell Phone Carriers Work in Europe: A Handy Guide - TechYouLike

 

[Juan]

All the details for Europe are in this link. I don't know about Asia though.

Which US Cell Phone Carriers Work in Europe: A Handy Guide - TechYouLike

Sorry GSM and CDMA have been gone for years in the United states (known as 3g)...most modern American cellphones won't work..the 3g frequencies over here are reused for 5g...if you had a 10 year old phone..that would work

 

[Juan]

The easiest way to use a cellphone overseas is just buy an international calling plan from att or verizon...as long as there is 5g around it will work..

 

[klang]

It's only temporary though, right?

I don't think the phone goes back to being locked later. At least not with AT&T.

I get my iPhones directly from Apple, pretty sure they don't come locked nowadays.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I get my iPhones directly from Apple, pretty sure they don't come locked nowadays.

The exception:

 

[klang]

The exception:

View attachment 172345

AT&T is not involved with my purchase other than porting the number to the new phone when I activate.

I have had both Visible and Mint as secondary services in the past. Never had any issues with the phone being locked. Not sure how long this has been the case though.

 

[HipKat]

It's only temporary though, right?

Not if you don;t tell them to lock it again when you come back.
In the world of unlocking bootloaders and rooting phones, this has been a long-standing method to have a carrier unlock a device

 

[Almighty1]

Verizon was forced to do this years ago

Here's the kicker

Cell phones can be built for specific carriers
The phone has to be capable of using the frequencies of the new carrier

Unlocking it won't change anything

Unless it's a verizon phone that was built after they were forced to make their phones compatible with all carriers

You need to pay attention to the actual model of the phone and read the fine print on the frequencies it supports

Samsung s 24 isn't enough.. you need the global version of the phone not the t mobile version

Samsung's phones are all the same hardware and same frequencies. You just need to define the correct CSC code and it will load the correct profile, more on this at xdaforums.

 

[Juan]

Samsung's phones are all the same hardware and same frequencies. You just need to define the correct CSC code and it will load the correct profile, more on this at xdaforums.

No..not at all...North american phones work on North American frequencies...you can buy a global phone that should work everywhere..but it's not standard in a Samsung phone...if you connect by WiFi in Europe...it should work like it would in the US

Should look like this...

 

[Almighty1]

No..not at all...North american phones work on North American frequencies...you can buy a global phone that should work everywhere..but it's not standard in a Samsung phone...if you connect by WiFi in Europe...it should work like it would in the US

Should look like this...

That was not what Ì meant... I was talking if you bought a carrier branded US Model vs the unlocked no carrier branded model, the hardware is exactly the same with the same exact band support and it's the CSC code that determines what carrier specific things to load as Samsung phones all has something called a cscfeature.xml file which defines all the features that are enabled/disabled that are specific to the carrier you are using.
Settings -> About Phone and then SW version will show you the three letter CSC (Country Specific Code) of the phone as shipped, XAA means it's the carrier free unlocked model for the US model.

To change the CSC code as listed in About Phone's Software Revision listing:
1) Navigate to /efs/imei and select 1st file, mps_code.dat, open in a text editor and change the 3 letter code to whatever desired code you want and then save. The CSC code determines what carrier specific apps such as voicemail and settings are on the phone when the phone is used including the cscfeature.xml feature file as mentioned earlier.
2) Select the 2nd file, omcnw_code.dat, open in a text editor and change the 3 letter code whatever desired code you want and save.
3) Select the 3rd file, prodcode.dat, open in in a text editor and (note 3 letter code at end of the string), change the 3 letter code what you want and then and save.

The 3 letter codes are as follows:
ACG”, “Nextech / C-Spire branded”
“ATT”, “AT&T branded”
“BST”, “BST (unknown)”
“CCT”, “Comcast branded”
“GCF”, “GCF (unknown)”
“LRA”, “Bluegrass Cellular branded”
“SPR”, “Sprint (CDMA) branded”
“TFN”, “Tracfone branded “
“TMB”, “T-Mobile branded”
"USC”, “USA unbranded”
“VMU”, “Virgin Mobile USA branded”
“VZW”, “Verizon branded”
"XAA”, “USA unbranded (default)”
“XAS”, “XAS (unknown)”

Then there are the other CSC codes:
Canada carriers CSC product codes: Multi-CSC contains
“BMC”, “Bell Mobile branded”
“BWA”, “SaskTel branded”
“CHR”, “Canada (unknown)”
“ESK”, “EastLink branded”
“FMC”, “Fido Mobile branded”
“GLW”, “Globalive Wind Mobile branded”
“KDO”, “Koodo Mobile branded”
“MTB”, “Belarus branded”
“RWC”, “Rogers branded”
“TLS”, “Telus branded”
“VMC”, “Virgin Mobile branded”
“VTR”, “Vidéotron branded”
“XAC”, “Canada unbranded (default)”
Vodafone carriers CSC product codes: Multi-CSC contains
“ATL”, “Spain Vodafone branded”
“AVF”, “Albania Vodafone branded”
“CNX”, “Romania Vodafone branded”
“CYV”, “Cyprus Vodafone branded”
“MOB”, “Austria A1 branded”
“MTL”, “Bulgaria MTL branded”
“OMN”, “Italy Vodafone branded”
“PRO”, “Belgium Proximus branded “
“SIM”, “Slovenia Si.mobile branded”
“SWC”, “Switzerland Swisscom branded”
“TCL”, “Portugal Vodafone branded”
“VD2”, “Germany Vodafone branded (default)”
“VDC”, “Czech Republic Vodafone branded”
“VDF”, “Netherlands Vodafone branded”
“VDH”, “Hungary Vodafone branded”
“VDI”, “Ireland Vodafone branded”
“VGR”, “Greece Vodafone branded”
“VIP”, “Croatia VIP-Net branded”
“VOD”, “United Kingdom Vodafone branded”
“XFV”, “South Africa Vodafone branded”
List of CSC (Country specific codes) for Samsung Galaxy Android Global
Afghanistan (AFG)
Algeria (TMC)
Austria (TTR)
Austria (3 Hutchison) (DRE)
Austria (A1) (MOB)
Austria (T-Mobile) (MAX)
Austria (Telering) (TRG)
Baltic (SEB)
Belgium (Proximus) (PRO)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (TEB)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH TELECOM) (BHT)
Bulgaria (GBL)
Bulgaria (BGL)
Bulgaria (MTL) (MTL)
Bulgaria (VVT) (VVT)
Cambodia (CAM)
Caucasus Countries (CAU)
Croatia (Bonbon) (DHR)
Croatia (T-Mobile) (CRO)
Croatia (TELE2) (TWO)
Croatia (VIPNET) (VIP)
Cyprus (CYV)
Cyprus (Cytamobile Vodafone) (CYO)
Czech Republic (ETL)
Czech Republic (O2C) (O2C)
Czech Republic (T-Mobile) (TMZ)
Czech Republic (Vodafone) (VDC)
Egypt (EGY)
France (XEF)
France (Bouygues) (BOG)
France (Orange) (FTM)
France (SFR) (SFR)
Germany (DBT)
Germany (1&1) (XEG)
Germany (Congstar) (DDE)
Germany (O2) (VIA)
Germany (T-Mobile) (DTM)
Germany (Vodafone) (VD2)
Greece (EUR)
Greece (Cosmote) (COS)
Greece (Vodafone) (VGR)
Hungary (XEH)
Hungary (T-mobile) (TMH)
Hungary (Telenor) (PAN)
Hungary (VDH) (VDH)
India (INS)
India (INU)(unbranded)
Indonesia (XSE)
Indonesia (XID)
Iran (THR)
Iraq (MID)
Ireland (TSI)
Ireland (Meteor) (MET)
Ireland (Three) (3IE)
Ireland (Vodafone) (VDI)
Israel (ILO)
Israel (Cellcom) (CEL)
Israel (Orange/Partner) (PTR)
Israel (Pelephone) (PCL)
Italy (ITV)
Italy (H3G) (HUI)
Italy (TIM) (TIM)
Italy (Vodafone) (OMN)
• Italy (Wind) (WIN)
• Kazakhstan (SKZ)

• Kenya (AFR)

• Kenya (KEN)

• Libya (BTC)

• Luxembourg (LUX)
•Nepal.(NPB)

• Macedonia (VIM)

• Macedonia (T-Mobile) (MBM)

• Malaysia (XME)

• Mauritius (MRU)

• Montenegro (TMT)

• Morocco (MAT) (MAT)

• Morocco (MWD) (MWD)

• Netherlands (PHN)

• Netherlands (Ben NL) (DNL)

• Netherlands (T-Mobile) (TNL)

• Netherlands (Vodafone) (VDF)

• Nigeria (ECT)

• Nordic countries (NEE)

• Norway (Telenor) (TEN)

• Open Austria (ATO)

• Pakistan (PAK) (PAK)

• Philippines (Globe) (GLB)

• Philippines (Open Line) (XTC)

• Philippines (Smart) (SMA)

• Philippines (Sun Cellular) (XTE)

• Poland (XEO)

• Poland (Heyah) (DPL)

• Poland (Orange) (IDE)

• Poland (PLUS) (PLS)

• Poland (Play) (PRT)

• Poland (T-mobile) (TPL)

• Portugal (MEO)

• Portugal (Optimus) (OPT)

• Portugal (TPH) (TPH)

• Portugal (Vodafone) (TCL)

• Romania (ROM)

• Romania (Cosmote) (COA)

• Romania (Orange) (ORO)

• Romania (Vodafone) (CNX)

• Russia (SER)

• Saudi Arabia (KSA)

• Saudi Arabia (ACR)

• Saudi Arabia (WTL)

• Saudi Arabia (STC) (XFU)

• Serbia (Telekom) (TSR)

• Serbia (Telenor) (MSR)

• Serbia (VIP) (TOP)

• Slovakia (ORX)

• Slovakia (TMS)

• Slovenia (SIO)

• Slovenia (Mobitel) (MOT)

• Slovenia (Si.mobil) (SIM)

• South Africa (XFE)

• South Africa (XFA)

• South Africa (Vodafone) (XFV)

• South East Europe (SEE)

• Spain (PHE)

• Spain (Movistar) (XEC)

• Spain (Orange) (AMO)

• Spain (Vodafone) (ATL)

• Sweden (VDS)

• Sweden (Tre) (HTS)

• Switzerland (AUT)

• Switzerland (Swisscom) (SWC)

• Thailand (THL)

• Tunisia (TUN)

• Ukraine (Kyivstar) (SEK)

• United Arab Emirates (XSG)

• United Arab Emirates (LYS)

• United Kingdom (VIR)

• United Kingdom (BTU)

• United Kingdom (EE) (EVR)

• United Kingdom (H3G) (H3G)

• United Kingdom (O2) (O2U)

• United Kingdom (Vodafone) (VOD)

• United Kingdom / Ireland (XEU)

• Unknown (TPD)

• Unknown (ANP)

• Uzbekistan (CAC)

• Vietnam (XXV)

• Zambia (MTN Zambia) (MTZ)

• Argentina (ARO)

• Argentina (ANC)

• Argentina (Claro) (CTI)

• Argentina (Movistar) (UFN)

• Argentina (Personal) (PSN)

• Australia (XSA)

• Australia (Optus) (OPS)

• Australia (Telstra) (TEL)

• Australia (Vodafone) (VAU)

• Bangladesh (BNG)

• Bolivia (BVO)

• Brazil (ZTO)

• Brazil (Claro) (ZTA)

• Brazil (Oi) (ZTR)

• Brazil (TIM) (ZTM)

• Brazil (VIVO) (ZVV)

• Chile (CHO)

• Chile (CRC)

• Chile (Claro) (CHL)

• Chile (Entel PCS) (CHE)

• Chile (Nextel) (CHX)

• Chile (Telefonica) (CHT)

• Chile (VTR) (CHV)

• Colombia (COO)

• Colombia (Comcel) (COM)

The Global Network mode you are talking about means nothing in reality as the European model of the phone is global to a point, it will not support 4G/5G in North America especially in the U.S. if you look at the frequencies itself while the phones are bootloader unlocked and ofcourse it does not support Japan as well as that requires the Japan version of the same phone. The North American model will support all the frequencies for full support on all the North American carriers for 4G/5G but there will be some bands missing for the rest of the world. Samsung is actually the 2nd best when it comes to band support. Apple usually has full support in the carrier free unlocked model which is the same as the Verizon version of the phone as far as the U.S. models go but it will still not support the Japanese frequencies which is only on the Japanese model but the Japanese model will lack support for the rest of the world.

For Qualcomm, the manufacturer like Samsung has to pay Qualcomm for using each band. Other brands of phones like Motorola, LG, etc usually has limited band support for 4G/5G outside North America and most of the time, it will only work as 3G because they only enable the 4G/5G bands in North America.

North American models of phones has 3 extra 5G bands for US, 2 extra LTE bands for Canada which are not on the global models.

So even with Apple:
US Version is the only one with mmWave
CA/JP Version has 1500 MHz bands only used in Japan
World Version is missing 600 MHz and some 700 MHz bands
CN Version is additionally missing some 2500 MHz bands

As for Verizon unlocking, all 4G and newer phones are unlocked by default.

So for the Samsung S24 Ultra for example...The SM-S928U (US) and the SM-S928U1 (US factory unlocked) are intended for use in the US. The bands it may support are not listed on samsung.com , so some other high quality source to be looked at SMS928U Portable Handset RF Exposure Info Samsung Electronics – of a high quality source but its scope is limited to US bands. https://www.t-mobile.com/stores/pd/t-mobile-la-grange-tx-78945-961f/samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra

The SM-S928W is intended for use in Canada. It may support 2G 850, 900, 1800, 1900; 3G B1, B2, B4, B5, B8; 4G B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B18, B19, B20, B25, B29, B30, B38, B39, B40, B41, B66, B71; 5G N1, N2, N3, N5, N7, N8, N20, N25, N38, N41, N66, N71, N77, N78. [[source](Specs | Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | Samsung Canada)

The SM-S928N is intended for use in Korea. It may support 2G 850, 1900, 1800, 1900; 3G B1, B2, B4, B5, B8; 4G B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B17, B18, B19, B20, B25, B26, B28, B38, B39, B40, B41, B66; 5G N1, N2, N3, N5, N7, N8, N12, N20, N25, N26, N28, N38, N40, N41, N66, N77, N78. [source]

The SM-S9280 is intended for use near China. It may support 2G 850, 900, 1800, 1900; 3G B1, B2, B5, B8; 4G B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B18, B19, B20, B25, B26, B28, B34, B38, B39, B40, B41, B66; 5G N1, N2, N5, N7, N8, N12, N20, N25, N28, N38, N40, N41, N66, N77, N78, N79. [source]

The SM-S928E is extrapolated and does not exist. [source], [source]

The SM-S928B 'international'/'global' model is intended for use in many other countries. It may support 2G 850, 900, 1800, 1900; 3G B1, B2, B4, B5, B8; 4G B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B17, B18, B19, B20, B25, B26, B28, B32, B38, B39, B40, B41, B66; 5G N1, N2, N3, N5, N7, N8, N12, N20, N25, N26, N28, N38, N40, N41, N66, N75, N77, N78. [source]

Despite the bands listed, for the best experience with cellular and warranty, the phone should still ideally be intended for use in your location, but because you could be in many locations, this complicates things. Capabilities like the ability to make and receive calls on 4G/5G/Wi-Fi without switching to 3G/2G for the duration of the call; 5G (regardless of bands); features that improve speeds; features that improve the quality of calls; etc may vary. On newer Samsung devices, compatibility seems to have improved though. On previous devices, users have, on threads like this one and this other one discussed capabilities that are unavailable when a Samsung device is used in some other location, and certain users have also attempted to enable the capabilities anyway. The capabilities are not to be enabled anyway, because they might not work correctly and they are less likely to have been approved. Even if the modem supports something, cellular works because there are many components between the modem and the antennas, and the components vary in what they support, so capabilities cannot not be determined from the modem alone.

Menus only tell you so much but until you actually do the mods and use it from experience, you will not know exactly what is supported and what is not when it comes to frequencies. That's the same reason why I didn't buy the Global International version of the phone as while it will work great outside the U.S., the 4G/5G support will be lacking as the bands will not be supported for the carriers used.

And this is how you select bands on a Samsung if you know how to enable the secret menu...

Otherwise, you can use the Service menu to enable bands you want but that's only if the bands were actually enabled in the firmware.

I had been using and testing cell phones since 1989. And there is a difference between AT&T and Verizon. AT&T is known as System A which was McCaw and the wireless carrier while Verizon is known as System B which is the wireline carrier, both are known as Cellular carriers. Everyone else are PCS carriers originally and didn't exist until 1995-1997. Verizon's PCS came from PrimeCo which was PCS. AT&T had 2 networks, one is known as AT&T Blue which is the original cellular carrier and AT&T Orange which was known as Cingular before that is a PCS carrier. And when it comes to international, the US models have a locked APN(Access Point Name) while the non-North American models APN's that can be edited so even if you had the band support, without being able to set the APN correctly, you will not have data working as that's the gateway for whatever carrier you are connected to. A good example is you have a phone that is on Verizon which uses Verizon's APN of VZWINTERNET,while this will work for Verizon, it will not work for Xfinity Mobile as it will be blocked from Verizon and one has to use COMCAST.RSLR.VXWENTP in order to even use data successfully.

 

[Juan]

That was not what Ì meant... I was talking if you bought a carrier branded US Model vs the unlocked no carrier branded model, the hardware is exactly the same with the same exact band support and it's the CSC code that determines what carrier specific things to load as Samsung phones all has something called a cscfeature.xml file which defines all the features that are enabled/disabled that are specific to the carrier you are using.
Settings -> About Phone and then SW version will show you the three letter CSC (Country Specific Code) of the phone as shipped, XAA means it's the carrier free unlocked model for the US model.

To change the CSC code as listed in About Phone's Software Revision listing:
1) Navigate to /efs/imei and select 1st file, mps_code.dat, open in a text editor and change the 3 letter code to whatever desired code you want and then save. The CSC code determines what carrier specific apps such as voicemail and settings are on the phone when the phone is used including the cscfeature.xml feature file as mentioned earlier.
2) Select the 2nd file, omcnw_code.dat, open in a text editor and change the 3 letter code whatever desired code you want and save.
3) Select the 3rd file, prodcode.dat, open in in a text editor and (note 3 letter code at end of the string), change the 3 letter code what you want and then and save.

The 3 letter codes are as follows:
ACG”, “Nextech / C-Spire branded”
“ATT”, “AT&T branded”
“BST”, “BST (unknown)”
“CCT”, “Comcast branded”
“GCF”, “GCF (unknown)”
“LRA”, “Bluegrass Cellular branded”
“SPR”, “Sprint (CDMA) branded”
“TFN”, “Tracfone branded “
“TMB”, “T-Mobile branded”
"USC”, “USA unbranded”
“VMU”, “Virgin Mobile USA branded”
“VZW”, “Verizon branded”
"XAA”, “USA unbranded (default)”
“XAS”, “XAS (unknown)”

Then there are the other CSC codes:
Canada carriers CSC product codes: Multi-CSC contains
“BMC”, “Bell Mobile branded”
“BWA”, “SaskTel branded”
“CHR”, “Canada (unknown)”
“ESK”, “EastLink branded”
“FMC”, “Fido Mobile branded”
“GLW”, “Globalive Wind Mobile branded”
“KDO”, “Koodo Mobile branded”
“MTB”, “Belarus branded”
“RWC”, “Rogers branded”
“TLS”, “Telus branded”
“VMC”, “Virgin Mobile branded”
“VTR”, “Vidéotron branded”
“XAC”, “Canada unbranded (default)”
Vodafone carriers CSC product codes: Multi-CSC contains
“ATL”, “Spain Vodafone branded”
“AVF”, “Albania Vodafone branded”
“CNX”, “Romania Vodafone branded”
“CYV”, “Cyprus Vodafone branded”
“MOB”, “Austria A1 branded”
“MTL”, “Bulgaria MTL branded”
“OMN”, “Italy Vodafone branded”
“PRO”, “Belgium Proximus branded “
“SIM”, “Slovenia Si.mobile branded”
“SWC”, “Switzerland Swisscom branded”
“TCL”, “Portugal Vodafone branded”
“VD2”, “Germany Vodafone branded (default)”
“VDC”, “Czech Republic Vodafone branded”
“VDF”, “Netherlands Vodafone branded”
“VDH”, “Hungary Vodafone branded”
“VDI”, “Ireland Vodafone branded”
“VGR”, “Greece Vodafone branded”
“VIP”, “Croatia VIP-Net branded”
“VOD”, “United Kingdom Vodafone branded”
“XFV”, “South Africa Vodafone branded”
List of CSC (Country specific codes) for Samsung Galaxy Android Global
Afghanistan (AFG)
Algeria (TMC)
Austria (TTR)
Austria (3 Hutchison) (DRE)
Austria (A1) (MOB)
Austria (T-Mobile) (MAX)
Austria (Telering) (TRG)
Baltic (SEB)
Belgium (Proximus) (PRO)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (TEB)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH TELECOM) (BHT)
Bulgaria (GBL)
Bulgaria (BGL)
Bulgaria (MTL) (MTL)
Bulgaria (VVT) (VVT)
Cambodia (CAM)
Caucasus Countries (CAU)
Croatia (Bonbon) (DHR)
Croatia (T-Mobile) (CRO)
Croatia (TELE2) (TWO)
Croatia (VIPNET) (VIP)
Cyprus (CYV)
Cyprus (Cytamobile Vodafone) (CYO)
Czech Republic (ETL)
Czech Republic (O2C) (O2C)
Czech Republic (T-Mobile) (TMZ)
Czech Republic (Vodafone) (VDC)
Egypt (EGY)
France (XEF)
France (Bouygues) (BOG)
France (Orange) (FTM)
France (SFR) (SFR)
Germany (DBT)
Germany (1&1) (XEG)
Germany (Congstar) (DDE)
Germany (O2) (VIA)
Germany (T-Mobile) (DTM)
Germany (Vodafone) (VD2)
Greece (EUR)
Greece (Cosmote) (COS)
Greece (Vodafone) (VGR)
Hungary (XEH)
Hungary (T-mobile) (TMH)
Hungary (Telenor) (PAN)
Hungary (VDH) (VDH)
India (INS)
India (INU)(unbranded)
Indonesia (XSE)
Indonesia (XID)
Iran (THR)
Iraq (MID)
Ireland (TSI)
Ireland (Meteor) (MET)
Ireland (Three) (3IE)
Ireland (Vodafone) (VDI)
Israel (ILO)
Israel (Cellcom) (CEL)
Israel (Orange/Partner) (PTR)
Israel (Pelephone) (PCL)
Italy (ITV)
Italy (H3G) (HUI)
Italy (TIM) (TIM)
Italy (Vodafone) (OMN)
• Italy (Wind) (WIN)
• Kazakhstan (SKZ)

• Kenya (AFR)

• Kenya (KEN)

• Libya (BTC)

• Luxembourg (LUX)
•Nepal.(NPB)

• Macedonia (VIM)

• Macedonia (T-Mobile) (MBM)

• Malaysia (XME)

• Mauritius (MRU)

• Montenegro (TMT)

• Morocco (MAT) (MAT)

• Morocco (MWD) (MWD)

• Netherlands (PHN)

• Netherlands (Ben NL) (DNL)

• Netherlands (T-Mobile) (TNL)

• Netherlands (Vodafone) (VDF)

• Nigeria (ECT)

• Nordic countries (NEE)

• Norway (Telenor) (TEN)

• Open Austria (ATO)

• Pakistan (PAK) (PAK)

• Philippines (Globe) (GLB)

• Philippines (Open Line) (XTC)

• Philippines (Smart) (SMA)

• Philippines (Sun Cellular) (XTE)

• Poland (XEO)

• Poland (Heyah) (DPL)

• Poland (Orange) (IDE)

• Poland (PLUS) (PLS)

• Poland (Play) (PRT)

• Poland (T-mobile) (TPL)

• Portugal (MEO)

• Portugal (Optimus) (OPT)

• Portugal (TPH) (TPH)

• Portugal (Vodafone) (TCL)

• Romania (ROM)

• Romania (Cosmote) (COA)

• Romania (Orange) (ORO)

• Romania (Vodafone) (CNX)

• Russia (SER)

• Saudi Arabia (KSA)

• Saudi Arabia (ACR)

• Saudi Arabia (WTL)

• Saudi Arabia (STC) (XFU)

• Serbia (Telekom) (TSR)

• Serbia (Telenor) (MSR)

• Serbia (VIP) (TOP)

• Slovakia (ORX)

• Slovakia (TMS)

• Slovenia (SIO)

• Slovenia (Mobitel) (MOT)

• Slovenia (Si.mobil) (SIM)

• South Africa (XFE)

• South Africa (XFA)

• South Africa (Vodafone) (XFV)

• South East Europe (SEE)

• Spain (PHE)

• Spain (Movistar) (XEC)

• Spain (Orange) (AMO)

• Spain (Vodafone) (ATL)

• Sweden (VDS)

• Sweden (Tre) (HTS)

• Switzerland (AUT)

• Switzerland (Swisscom) (SWC)

• Thailand (THL)

• Tunisia (TUN)

• Ukraine (Kyivstar) (SEK)

• United Arab Emirates (XSG)

• United Arab Emirates (LYS)

• United Kingdom (VIR)

• United Kingdom (BTU)

• United Kingdom (EE) (EVR)

• United Kingdom (H3G) (H3G)

• United Kingdom (O2) (O2U)

• United Kingdom (Vodafone) (VOD)

• United Kingdom / Ireland (XEU)

• Unknown (TPD)

• Unknown (ANP)

• Uzbekistan (CAC)

• Vietnam (XXV)

• Zambia (MTN Zambia) (MTZ)

• Argentina (ARO)

• Argentina (ANC)

• Argentina (Claro) (CTI)

• Argentina (Movistar) (UFN)

• Argentina (Personal) (PSN)

• Australia (XSA)

• Australia (Optus) (OPS)

• Australia (Telstra) (TEL)

• Australia (Vodafone) (VAU)

• Bangladesh (BNG)

• Bolivia (BVO)

• Brazil (ZTO)

• Brazil (Claro) (ZTA)

• Brazil (Oi) (ZTR)

• Brazil (TIM) (ZTM)

• Brazil (VIVO) (ZVV)

• Chile (CHO)

• Chile (CRC)

• Chile (Claro) (CHL)

• Chile (Entel PCS) (CHE)

• Chile (Nextel) (CHX)

• Chile (Telefonica) (CHT)

• Chile (VTR) (CHV)

• Colombia (COO)

• Colombia (Comcel) (COM)

The Global Network mode you are talking about means nothing in reality as the European model of the phone is global to a point, it will not support 4G/5G in North America especially in the U.S. if you look at the frequencies itself while the phones are bootloader unlocked and ofcourse it does not support Japan as well as that requires the Japan version of the same phone. The North American model will support all the frequencies for full support on all the North American carriers for 4G/5G but there will be some bands missing for the rest of the world. Samsung is actually the 2nd best when it comes to band support. Apple usually has full support in the carrier free unlocked model which is the same as the Verizon version of the phone as far as the U.S. models go but it will still not support the Japanese frequencies which is only on the Japanese model but the Japanese model will lack support for the rest of the world.

For Qualcomm, the manufacturer like Samsung has to pay Qualcomm for using each band. Other brands of phones like Motorola, LG, etc usually has limited band support for 4G/5G outside North America and most of the time, it will only work as 3G because they only enable the 4G/5G bands in North America.

North American models of phones has 3 extra 5G bands for US, 2 extra LTE bands for Canada which are not on the global models.

So even with Apple:
US Version is the only one with mmWave
CA/JP Version has 1500 MHz bands only used in Japan
World Version is missing 600 MHz and some 700 MHz bands
CN Version is additionally missing some 2500 MHz bands

As for Verizon unlocking, all 4G and newer phones are unlocked by default.

So for the Samsung S24 Ultra for example...The SM-S928U (US) and the SM-S928U1 (US factory unlocked) are intended for use in the US. The bands it may support are not listed on samsung.com , so some other high quality source to be looked at SMS928U Portable Handset RF Exposure Info Samsung Electronics – of a high quality source but its scope is limited to US bands. https://www.t-mobile.com/stores/pd/t-mobile-la-grange-tx-78945-961f/samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra

The SM-S928W is intended for use in Canada. It may support 2G 850, 900, 1800, 1900; 3G B1, B2, B4, B5, B8; 4G B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B18, B19, B20, B25, B29, B30, B38, B39, B40, B41, B66, B71; 5G N1, N2, N3, N5, N7, N8, N20, N25, N38, N41, N66, N71, N77, N78. [[source](Specs | Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | Samsung Canada)

The SM-S928N is intended for use in Korea. It may support 2G 850, 1900, 1800, 1900; 3G B1, B2, B4, B5, B8; 4G B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B17, B18, B19, B20, B25, B26, B28, B38, B39, B40, B41, B66; 5G N1, N2, N3, N5, N7, N8, N12, N20, N25, N26, N28, N38, N40, N41, N66, N77, N78. [source]

The SM-S9280 is intended for use near China. It may support 2G 850, 900, 1800, 1900; 3G B1, B2, B5, B8; 4G B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B18, B19, B20, B25, B26, B28, B34, B38, B39, B40, B41, B66; 5G N1, N2, N5, N7, N8, N12, N20, N25, N28, N38, N40, N41, N66, N77, N78, N79. [source]

The SM-S928E is extrapolated and does not exist. [source], [source]

The SM-S928B 'international'/'global' model is intended for use in many other countries. It may support 2G 850, 900, 1800, 1900; 3G B1, B2, B4, B5, B8; 4G B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B17, B18, B19, B20, B25, B26, B28, B32, B38, B39, B40, B41, B66; 5G N1, N2, N3, N5, N7, N8, N12, N20, N25, N26, N28, N38, N40, N41, N66, N75, N77, N78. [source]

Despite the bands listed, for the best experience with cellular and warranty, the phone should still ideally be intended for use in your location, but because you could be in many locations, this complicates things. Capabilities like the ability to make and receive calls on 4G/5G/Wi-Fi without switching to 3G/2G for the duration of the call; 5G (regardless of bands); features that improve speeds; features that improve the quality of calls; etc may vary. On newer Samsung devices, compatibility seems to have improved though. On previous devices, users have, on threads like this one and this other one discussed capabilities that are unavailable when a Samsung device is used in some other location, and certain users have also attempted to enable the capabilities anyway. The capabilities are not to be enabled anyway, because they might not work correctly and they are less likely to have been approved. Even if the modem supports something, cellular works because there are many components between the modem and the antennas, and the components vary in what they support, so capabilities cannot not be determined from the modem alone.

Menus only tell you so much but until you actually do the mods and use it from experience, you will not know exactly what is supported and what is not when it comes to frequencies. That's the same reason why I didn't buy the Global International version of the phone as while it will work great outside the U.S., the 4G/5G support will be lacking as the bands will not be supported for the carriers used.

And this is how you select bands on a Samsung if you know how to enable the secret menu...
View attachment 172766


Otherwise, you can use the Service menu to enable bands you want but that's only if the bands were actually enabled in the firmware.
View attachment 172765

I had been using and testing cell phones since 1989. And there is a difference between AT&T and Verizon. AT&T is known as System A which was McCaw and the wireless carrier while Verizon is known as System B which is the wireline carrier, both are known as Cellular carriers. Everyone else are PCS carriers originally and didn't exist until 1995-1997. Verizon's PCS came from PrimeCo which was PCS. AT&T had 2 networks, one is known as AT&T Blue which is the original cellular carrier and AT&T Orange which was known as Cingular before that is a PCS carrier. And when it comes to international, the US models have a locked APN(Access Point Name) while the non-North American models APN's that can be edited so even if you had the band support, without being able to set the APN correctly, you will not have data working as that's the gateway for whatever carrier you are connected to. A good example is you have a phone that is on Verizon which uses Verizon's APN of VZWINTERNET,while this will work for Verizon, it will not work for Xfinity Mobile as it will be blocked from Verizon and one has to use COMCAST.RSLR.VXWENTP in order to even use data successfully.

 

[Juan]

I dunno why you are talking about GSM CDMA phones...3g in the US has been discontinued in the US for a few years now...your entire list is bogus...you just need to set your phone international data roaming and make sure it a global phone..and it will work

 

[Almighty1]

I dunno why you are talking about GSM CDMA phones...3g in the US has been discontinued in the US for a few years now...your entire list is bogus...you just need to set your phone international data roaming and make sure it a global phone..and it will work

No one is talking about GSM/CDMA phones. Yes, 3G in the US has been discontinued in the US but besides Apple and Samsung, most other brands phones will only work in 3G internationally and there is still 3G elsewhere in the world that is still being used and this would include China where one can end up using 2G and not even 3G. Don't go around claiming my list is bogus when you don't know what you are talking about in the first place, your statement about setting a phone to international data roaming and making sure it's a global phone and it will work is a misleading statement as you cannot claim it will work everywhere in 4G/5G either which is the objective of the discussion.

All you really have to do is visit the following site and it will tell you exactly where and what carriers your phone will work on internationally. You make statements and you have nothing to even back it up which is nothing more than misleading blanket statements as you had always done on this forum since it's like all you want to do is start a flame war or acting like a clueless troll when you only know some of the answers but not the in-depth knowledge and then when someone knows more than you, instead of learning to accept the truth and learning from it, you basically try to attack them which is pointless as you have no facts or sources to prove what you are saying is even remotely correct. You basically sound like another John Navas but atleast he knows what he is talking about. And just because you are a supporting founder does not give you the right to go offending people as there are still forum rules and you constantly violate rule #3:
"3. Harassment of other members
Acts committed on the SatelliteGuys.US forums that are found to be harassing other members or staff to invoke a reaction, achieve monetary gain or simply annoy members or staff will not be tolerated. This includes belittling, berating, or general harsh comments towards other members and staff." and if I am sure if you keep doing it, even Scott Greczkowski will not tolerate it.

Not to mention quoting someone's entire post in one comment without even your own comment is called excessive quoting and then the next comment is basically more of an attack on someone else as the post you quoted would already defend itself on it's own which others can judge since it is real proven content which can easily be verified from credible sources.

Will My Phone Work in Worldwide? 4G and 5G bands in Worldwide

If you have ever wondered if the mobile you are thinking of buying will work in Worldwide, this is the right site to answer your question. You can also find out if your mobile phone is compatible with the frequency bands that are used in Worldwide, or with the mobile phone operator you are...

www.kimovil.com

And to illustrate further about your statement about a Global or International model of a phone will work, let's look at the different models used in Japan alone and you will see many bands are not supported which is what the red line means. When you make any statement, until you have data to back up what you said, it means nothing.

 

[Juan]

No one is talking about GSM/CDMA phones. Yes, 3G in the US has been discontinued in the US but besides Apple and Samsung, most other brands phones will only work in 3G internationally and there is still 3G elsewhere in the world. Don't go around claiming my list is bogus when you don't know what you are talking about in the first place, your statement about setting a phone to international data roaming and making sure it's a global phone and it will work is a misleading statement as you cannot claim it will work everywhere in 4G/5G either which is the objective of the discussion.

All you really have to do is visit the following site and it will tell you exactly where and what carriers your phone will work on internationally. You make statements and you have nothing to even back it up which is nothing more than misleading blanket statements as you had always done on this forum since it's like all you want to do is start a flame war or acting like a clueless troll when you only know some of the answers but not the in-depth knowledge and then when someone knows more than you, instead of learning to accept the truth and learning from it, you basically try to attack them which is pointless as you have no facts or sources to prove what you are saying is even remotely correct. You basically sound like another John Navas but atleast he knows what he is talking about. And just because you are a supporting founder does not give you the right to go offending people as there are still forum rules and you constantly violate rule #3:
"3. Harassment of other members
Acts committed on the SatelliteGuys.US forums that are found to be harassing other members or staff to invoke a reaction, achieve monetary gain or simply annoy members or staff will not be tolerated. This includes belittling, berating, or general harsh comments towards other members and staff." and if I am sure if you keep doing it, even Scott Greczkowski will not tolerate it.

Not to mention quoting someone's entire post in one comment without even your own comment is called excessive quoting and then the next comment is basically more of an attack on someone else as the post you quoted would already defend itself since it is real proven content which can easily be verified from credible sources.

Will My Phone Work in Worldwide? 4G and 5G bands in Worldwide

If you have ever wondered if the mobile you are thinking of buying will work in Worldwide, this is the right site to answer your question. You can also find out if your mobile phone is compatible with the frequency bands that are used in Worldwide, or with the mobile phone operator you are...

www.kimovil.com

Call Samsung...Carriers can't change any of that...that stuff is all set up when they manufacture the phone

 

[Almighty1]

Call Samsung...Carriers can't change any of that...that stuff is all set up when they manufacture the phone

US Carriers do dictate what a phone is allowed to have and not to have to be approved on their network. That's why just because the phone supports the frequency, they do not have to allow it on their network as is the case with phones like OnePlus which work well elsewhere except inside the US because take a look at the frequency bands and you will notice it will not work well for 4G/5G. The only exception to this is Apple where they don't have to let the carriers control them, same reason you don't see carriers pushing software on Apple phones but with Samsung or any other manufacturer, the software is approved by the carrier and then pushed to the phone. Ofcourse with that being said, Carriers have an ability to control how certain features in iOS work through the carrier settings. even if thats the case your phone is processing and using that data, there is no need for the carrier to monitor that data, it doesnt mean you will go over your data limits.

Same reason bootloaders are locked in the U.S. as that's dictated by the carriers. If it was up to Samsung, they would build one model with all the frequencies used worldwide so they don't have to make different versions of the same model with different frequencies supported and also save in development costs and marketing as well as support. Before manufacturing a phone or even introducing it, do you really think Samsung did not already been in communications with the various carriers first? All any carrier has to say is we won't allow your phone on our network and no one will buy it. Since even if you don't include models outside the U.S., do you really think Samsung wants to manufacture the same model phone, one for each carrier if they really had the choice not to including buying the no carrier unlocked model from Samsung directly. Think about it from a business perspective and you will see how much weight the carriers really has since they will only be able to sell phones if the carriers are in their favor and do what the carriers want. You can look on various forums including HoFo which will show you what I said is true and not misleading. Call Samsung all you want as many have since atleast 2016 and it makes no difference. They only care what the carriers want, not what the consumer wants or else the bootloaders would no longer be locked on a the same model device with the no carrier branded unlocked version which means SIM unlocked.

 

[navychop]

The only exception to this is Apple where they don't have to let the carriers control them.

Sitting smug with a beer in my Walled Garden…..

 

[Juan]

US Carriers do dictate what a phone is allowed to have and not to have to be approved on their network. That's why just because the phone supports the frequency, they do not have to allow it on their network as is the case with phones like OnePlus which work well elsewhere except inside the US because take a look at the frequency bands and you will notice it will not work well for 4G/5G. The only exception to this is Apple where they don't have to let the carriers control them, same reason you don't see carriers pushing software on Apple phones but with Samsung or any other manufacturer, the software is approved by the carrier and then pushed to the phone. Ofcourse with that being said, Carriers have an ability to control how certain features in iOS work through the carrier settings. even if thats the case your phone is processing and using that data, there is no need for the carrier to monitor that data, it doesnt mean you will go over your data limits.

Same reason bootloaders are locked in the U.S. as that's dictated by the carriers. If it was up to Samsung, they would build one model with all the frequencies used worldwide so they don't have to make different versions of the same model with different frequencies supported and also save in development costs and marketing as well as support. Before manufacturing a phone or even introducing it, do you really think Samsung did not already been in communications with the various carriers first? All any carrier has to say is we won't allow your phone on our network and no one will buy it. Since even if you don't include models outside the U.S., do you really think Samsung wants to manufacture the same model phone, one for each carrier if they really had the choice not to including buying the no carrier unlocked model from Samsung directly. Think about it from a business perspective and you will see how much weight the carriers really has since they will only be able to sell phones if the carriers are in their favor and do what the carriers want. You can look on various forums including HoFo which will show you what I said is true and not misleading. Call Samsung all you want as many have since atleast 2016 and it makes no difference. They only care what the carriers want, not what the consumer wants or else the bootloaders would no longer be locked on a the same model device with the no carrier branded unlocked version which means SIM unlocked.

They order it from the factory to their specifications..but they can't change any of that..it's all firmware specific to an individual carrier....give Samsung a call ..I am sure they will get right on it

 

[Almighty1]

They order it from the factory to their specifications..but they can't change any of that..it's all firmware specific to an individual carrier....give Samsung a call ..I am sure they will get right on it

If you do the talk then do the walk, you should be the one who should give Samsung a call for repeatedly suggesting it and they will get right to ignoring you and blocking your phone number(s) faster than you can read this sentence. You are still not thinking from a business perspective, Samsung will only get as far as the carrier support they get as there is always a form of politics involved and Samsung which is known as Three Stars in both Korean and Chinese is owned 8% by the Korean Government. Would you be buying a phone from any company if the carrier will not activate the phone and they didn't approve it. Money Talk$, B.S. walks is the bottom line. You as a consumer are not Samsung's major customer to even to be taken into consideration for the most part, the carriers are as retailers also sell based on the carrier.

And instead of bursting your bubble, this will answer your question about firmware specific for each individual carrier as it no longer exists for the most part, similar to what you were saying about 3G not existing in the US and feel free to debate it over there should you disagree in whole or in part as it is not worth my time to respond to you when all you can do is make comments without anything to support it which is basically baseless statements as bottom line is that I said even a international/global phone will not support all 4G/5G frequencies worldwide like the phones specifically sold in their local markets would as I am not saying it will not work, just you will not get 100% of the best possible speeds due to the lack of frequencies and your last statement of calling Samsung already proves you indirectly agree that their phones *do not* have all the frequencies for 100% full support of 4G/5G speeds in the international locations one might need it which is what your argument is against and I rest my case:

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/USMobile/comments/1cofctd/comment/l3ezmlw/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

 

[Juan]

If you do the talk then do the walk, you should be the one who should give Samsung a call for repeatedly suggesting it and they will get right to ignoring you and blocking your phone number(s) faster than you can read this sentence. You are still not thinking from a business perspective, Samsung will only get as far as the carrier support they get as there is always a form of politics involved and Samsung which is known as Three Stars in both Korean and Chinese is owned 8% by the Korean Government. Would you be buying a phone from any company if the carrier will not activate the phone and they didn't approve it. Money Talk$, B.S. walks is the bottom line. You as a consumer are not Samsung's major customer to even to be taken into consideration for the most part, the carriers are as retailers also sell based on the carrier.

And instead of bursting your bubble, this will answer your question about firmware specific for each individual carrier as it no longer exists for the most part, similar to what you were saying about 3G not existing in the US and feel free to debate it over there should you disagree in whole or in part as it is not worth my time to respond to you when all you can do is make comments without anything to support it which is basically baseless statements as bottom line is that I said even a international/global phone will not support all 4G/5G frequencies worldwide like the phones specifically sold in their local markets would as I am not saying it will not work, just you will not get 100% of the best possible speeds due to the lack of frequencies and your last statement of calling Samsung already proves you indirectly agree that their phones *do not* have all the frequencies for 100% full support of 4G/5G speeds in the international locations one might need it which is what your argument is against and I rest my case:

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/USMobile/comments/1cofctd/comment/l3ezmlw/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

View attachment 172780

I posted a screen shot awhile back on how to make a 5g cell phone work on any network...it just has to be a global phone and international data roaming turned on....5g doesn't have to connect to old landline telephone networks...it's just internet based...so if you can get a data or internet connection it will work..3g and some 4g phones had to connect to a land line network to make a call