[Q] International travel questions

[mynameistory]

Hey guys,

I tried searching on the topic but I'm hoping for more information specific to this phone.

I'm traveling to Germany in September. This will be my first time out of the country. I just called Sprint and requested for the phone to be unlocked for international travel. Since I've had the GS4 less than 90 days, I'm told this process will take a few days.

My questions are:

• Now that my phone is unlocked, I can use international/locally bought micro-SIM cards, correct?
• If I use these SIMs, will I still be subject to Sprint's high usage billing or will it operate entirely independently of Sprint's service?
• If I flash a ROM, should I stick to the TW-based variants to ensure international capability? Or is it safer to leave the phone entirely stock until my trip is over?

If you have any tips and tricks for traveling (best SIM card, how to save money, the ROM you used while traveling, best apps for using minimal data, etc.) please do so! I appreciate your advice, everybody.

Thanks
-Tory

 

[mynameistory]

Edit:

D'oh! Thought I was in the Q&A forum. Mods, please move.

-Tory

 

[obender]

Edit:

D'oh! Thought I was in the Q&A forum. Mods, please move.

-Tory

If you lucky and your unlocking will go through without issues that some of us here are having then you should be able to use any non-US sim cards while outside the US. You will be subject to those carriers charges only. Just don't forget to turn off CDMA roaming and switch the phone to GMS/UMTS mode.
I cannot comment on the ROMs though.

 

[buck1623]

I'm currently delpoyed with the military. Had my gs4 remotely unlocked and I now use a rebelphone sim card for my local area. Just turn your phone to gsm and I turn off data because its not included in my rebel phone package. Should be all good to go once u get that done.
Oh and I use blue kabans ROM
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

 

[KennyG123]

Please read forum rules before posting
Questions and help issues go in Q&A and Help section
Thread moved
Thank you for your cooperation
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator

 

[kate98]

Possible to use US sim?

If you lucky and your unlocking will go through without issues that some of us here are having then you should be able to use any non-US sim cards while outside the US. You will be subject to those carriers charges only. Just don't forget to turn off CDMA roaming and switch the phone to GMS/UMTS mode.
I cannot comment on the ROMs though.

Is it possible to use a US sim card from another carrier in the US to check that the phone has successfully been unlocked before traveling? Sprint's told me that they unlocked my phone, but I want to be absolutely sure before I step on a plane in two weeks. I also have an update procedure to unlock the phone - I'd like to do that here in the US before I leave so that if there's any problem, I can work them in advance.

 

[mynameistory]

Thanks for moving Kenny!

Kate, from what I've been reading, under no circumstances will Sprint allow the phone to connect to a US GSM network using a T-Mobile or AT&T SIM card. I think this is analogous to "unlocking" the phone from its carrier, which carriers do not tolerate.

Buck, I will look at rebel phone among others. It seems data will be expensive, no matter what SIM card I choose. I expect things like Facebook updates and photo uploads should wait until I connect to wireless at hostels or my friend's place.

 

[obender]

Is it possible to use a US sim card from another carrier in the US to check that the phone has successfully been unlocked before traveling? Sprint's told me that they unlocked my phone, but I want to be absolutely sure before I step on a plane in two weeks. I also have an update procedure to unlock the phone - I'd like to do that here in the US before I leave so that if there's any problem, I can work them in advance.

I'm in the same boat as you are, from what I could gather from forums and Sprint itself, the answer is NO, you cannot verify that you phone was unlock while here in the US with _ANY_ SIM card.

 

[mynameistory]

I'm in the same boat as you are, from what I could gather from forums and Sprint itself, the answer is NO, you cannot verify that you phone was unlock while here in the US with _ANY_ SIM card.

Hey obender, when you use international SIM cards, you lose your phone number for one they provide, correct?

 

[obender]

Hey obender, when you use international SIM cards, you lose your phone number for one they provide, correct?

Yes, that's correct.

 

[RhinoDoc]

And does the phone need to be rooted? It sounds like maybe not for voice, probably for data? I will want both when we go to Spain in a few months. I don't have the phone yet but plan to pick one up this week - love my S3 but I can't use it internationally, and I don't think I can go back to my Photon for the trip.

 

[obender]

And does the phone need to be rooted? It sounds like maybe not for voice, probably for data? I will want both when we go to Spain in a few months. I don't have the phone yet but plan to pick one up this week - love my S3 but I can't use it internationally, and I don't think I can go back to my Photon for the trip.

People report issues with data but according to sprint once it is unlocked it should work just fine both gsm voice and data, no rooting should be needed.

 

[autoprime]

You can verify your UICC(sim) slot is unlocked by sticking in any "non-Sprint" sim card... if you get an error saying "Invalid Sim" then it's not unlocked... if you see no error.. you are probably unlocked. You can further verify this by going into About Device > Status and seeing if it's reading the ICCID of your new sim card.

You can test this with domestic sims too(ATT/Tmo etc).. though you will not get service due to Samsung blocking them. But yes.. the phone will read the ATT/Tmo ICCID if unlocked.

 

[obender]

You can verify your UICC(sim) slot is unlocked by sticking in any "non-Sprint" sim card... if you get an error saying "Invalid Sim" then it's not unlocked... if you see no error.. you are probably unlocked. You can further verify this by going into About Device > Status and seeing if it's reading the ICCID of your new sim card.

You can test this with domestic sims too(ATT/Tmo etc).. though you will not get service due to Samsung blocking them. But yes.. the phone will read the ATT/Tmo ICCID if unlocked.

According to sprint what you just said is not true. It should show "invalid SIM" all the time while you are in US no matter if you unlocked or not.

 

[wolf1_o]

According to sprint what you just said is not true. It should show "invalid SIM" all the time while you are in US no matter if you unlocked or not.

Hi,

I got my sprint s4 unlocked by sprint for international use. I've got a europe orange sim, and when I put it in the phone, I don't get any error msg. (BTW, when I leave the phone without any sim card, it shows some small icon on top saying I'm missing a sim, also it won't let me go into network settings..) is it how it's suppose to be when Sprint unlock the phone for 3rd party sim (international) card? meaning If the phone was "unlocked" i would have get some error msg. saying the device "Can't access" the sim card etc.?

Thanks!

 

[obender]

Hi,

I got my sprint s4 unlocked by sprint for international use. I've got a europe orange sim, and when I put it in the phone, I don't get any error msg. (BTW, when I leave the phone without any sim card, it shows some small icon on top saying I'm missing a sim, also it won't let me go into network settings..) is it how it's suppose to be when Sprint unlock the phone for 3rd party sim (international) card? meaning If the phone was "unlocked" i would have get some error msg. saying the device "Can't access" the sim card etc.?

Thanks!

The error message would be the same small icon but it would just say "Invalid SIM", but this is just on my phone that was supposedly unlocked by Sprint, I cannot confirm that it actually works with non US SIM card since I haven't had a chance yet to travel outside the US. Your phone can be unlocked as well or not, you, unfortunately, have no way of telling this until you travel outside the US and try it.

 

[tarasator]

The error message would be the same small icon but it would just say "Invalid SIM", but this is just on my phone that was supposedly unlocked by Sprint, I cannot confirm that it actually works with non US SIM card since I haven't had a chance yet to travel outside the US. Your phone can be unlocked as well or not, you, unfortunately, have no way of telling this until you travel outside the US and try it.

Alright, If it says invalid sim after you put international card in it's definitely not unlocked. Me and me friend got the phone on the same day and called sprint about 100 time to get the phones working. After sprint told me and my buddy that phones are unlocked, we put it German sim card in and it said invalid sim, but sprint said it will change when you go to Germany. So i didn't believe them and called them another 100 times till about mid June I talked to some supervisor and she said that phone is unlocked. So I put it my German sim back in and it sent me an SMS about the rates of that German service in USA. After that my friend called those assholes another 100 times and they assured him that it will definitely work even though it says invalid SIM. Long story shor... we get there and he is screwed for 3 weeks. Even more so, he was willing to pay $10 per minute to roam in Germany with Sprint... NO SIGNAL ANYWHERE... AND my data did not work with different sim card. only calls and sms. Later i found out that it could be fixed by going to a local branch and downloading something but it was too late. SO Sprint sucks.

 

[mynameistory]

Here's the email I got upon requesting the unlock:
Hello Torrance,

This email is intended to confirm that Sprint has successfully processed the unlock request for your Samsung Galaxy s4 Device.* In order for the unlock to be completed, the device has to be connected to the CDMA Network or Wi-Fi connection for the update to finalize.

*Once the update has been completed, please follow the steps below to unlock the device after you have the third party SIM:

*Turn off device > Insert 3rd party SIM > go to Settings > More (tab) > System Update > UICC unlock.* You will receive the update and it should change to GSM Mode.* *

*Phone number: XXX-XXX-XXXX

*If you have any additional questions comments or concerns please contact Sprint World Wide care 24/7 at 888-226-7212

*Thank you,
Ayesha J.
Sprint eCare

 

[obender]

Alright, If it says invalid sim after you put international card in it's definitely not unlocked. Me and me friend got the phone on the same day and called sprint about 100 time to get the phones working. After sprint told me and my buddy that phones are unlocked, we put it German sim card in and it said invalid sim, but sprint said it will change when you go to Germany. So i didn't believe them and called them another 100 times till about mid June I talked to some supervisor and she said that phone is unlocked. So I put it my German sim back in and it sent me an SMS about the rates of that German service in USA. After that my friend called those assholes another 100 times and they assured him that it will definitely work even though it says invalid SIM. Long story shor... we get there and he is screwed for 3 weeks. Even more so, he was willing to pay $10 per minute to roam in Germany with Sprint... NO SIGNAL ANYWHERE... AND my data did not work with different sim card. only calls and sms. Later i found out that it could be fixed by going to a local branch and downloading something but it was too late. SO Sprint sucks.

What version of the firmware are you running, is it the latest OTA MF9?

---------- Post added at 02:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 AM ----------

Later i found out that it could be fixed by going to a local branch and downloading something but it was too late. SO Sprint sucks.

Could you be more specific?

 

[autoprime]

According to sprint what you just said is not true. It should show "invalid SIM" all the time while you are in US no matter if you unlocked or not.

Sprint doesnt know what theyre talking about half the time. that is incorrect info.

no matter what sim you put in... if its PROPERLY unlocked... then you wont see a "invalid sim error". even att/tmobile.

if you put a sim in and it says "invalid sim" then the OTA sim unlock was not properly done and despite saying unlocked in sprints system.. it's really not.

I have both a sprint gs4 and sprint htc one. it's exactly the same on both.