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.