[awilisch]

So Verizon is letting me out of my contract due to their crappy service in my area and I'm moving over to T Mobile. The T Mobile rep seemed to think my GS3 could simply be unlocked and would work on with their service, however the Verizon rep made it sound like it wouldn't (not that I was expecting anything different).

So I thought I would just ask the people that have probably done it. Here are the questions:

1. Can I take my VZ GS3 and make it work on T Mobile.

2. Assuming question 1 is yes, do I have to unlock my phone (Verizon seemed to suggest it wasn't locked in the first place).

3. Assuming question 1 is yes, can I take the T Mobile stock rom for the GS3 and flash it onto my phone to get rid of the bloatware, or would I have to go with a custom rom?

I'm still thinking I might get the Nexus 4, but it would be nice to have a 4G phone to play with now and then (and I might end up liking the GS3 better than the Nexus 4.

Thanks for all the help.

--Aric

[bunky1971]

Im kinda new to android, but I believe you can only flash I-605 roms on your device

Im sure someone more knowledgeable can answer better

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Android Central Forums

[Golfdriver97]

So Verizon is letting me out of my contract due to their crappy service in my area and I'm moving over to T Mobile. The T Mobile rep seemed to think my GS3 could simply be unlocked and would work on with their service, however the Verizon rep made it sound like it wouldn't (not that I was expecting anything different).

So I thought I would just ask the people that have probably done it. Here are the questions:

1. Can I take my VZ GS3 and make it work on T Mobile.

2. Assuming question 1 is yes, do I have to unlock my phone (Verizon seemed to suggest it wasn't locked in the first place).

3. Assuming question 1 is yes, can I take the T Mobile stock rom for the GS3 and flash it onto my phone to get rid of the bloatware, or would I have to go with a custom rom?

I'm still thinking I might get the Nexus 4, but it would be nice to have a 4G phone to play with now and then (and I might end up liking the GS3 better than the Nexus 4.

Thanks for all the help.

--Aric

I can try to answer all of your questions.

First a phone is locked to a carrier. Your carrier has to give authorization to unlock the phone and give you procedures as to how
.
Can your phone work on the T-Mo network? I don't think so. Yes they both have Galaxy S3s, but they both might have different radio chips for the signals they receive. In which case, the phone is essentially useless on T-Mo's network. The best thing to do is ask a T-Mo rep in a store. I rarely trust calling customer service with technical questions.

About ROMs, and if you can use T-Mo's network, A T-Mo service center would take your phone, wipe the Verizon ROM, and replace it with T-Mo's ROM, replacing all of Verizon's bloat with T-Mo's instead.

As for T-Mo's coverage, ask your friends who have it. How is their signal? Data speeds? (You can test this with an app called Speed Test from Speed test.net) Where do you live? T-Mo is great in large cities, but once you start traveling cross country, I have heard they are horrible. T-Mo has had their own version of 4G, but it isn't LTE. They just started rolling out LTE about a month ago.

I will reiterate, my answers may be incorrect. Good luck with the switch.

[awilisch]

Thanks for the info. The rep in store was the one who suggested it could be ported, so I'll check with them. I've used speedtest in the past so I'll see if I can check that out.

Thankfully I think T Mobile has a 14 day policy, so if I move my phone over and their service is just as bad or worse then I'll switch it again. I've heard their network isn't LTE but that's fine. If the phone ports it's an extra phone since I'm pretty sure I'm going with the Nexus 4, if not then someone in my office already expressed an interest in buying it Win win.

Thanks for the info.

[whatsitsname]

Yes you can use your Verizon galaxy s3 on T-Mobile. I use my T-Mobile SIM on my nephew's Verizon galaxy s3 and it v works fine. It will be missing the "3g/4g" T-Mobile frequencies unless you are in a refarm area. If not then you will only get 2g data speeds.
You can't just flash a T-Mobile rom on your Verizon gs3. There are plenty of multi-carrier roms you can try though. They work great.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[KreepyKen]

So Verizon is letting me out of my contract due to their crappy service in my area and I'm moving over to T Mobile. The T Mobile rep seemed to think my GS3 could simply be unlocked and would work on with their service, however the Verizon rep made it sound like it wouldn't (not that I was expecting anything different).

So I thought I would just ask the people that have probably done it. Here are the questions:

1. Can I take my VZ GS3 and make it work on T Mobile.

2. Assuming question 1 is yes, do I have to unlock my phone (Verizon seemed to suggest it wasn't locked in the first place).

3. Assuming question 1 is yes, can I take the T Mobile stock rom for the GS3 and flash it onto my phone to get rid of the bloatware, or would I have to go with a custom rom?

I'm still thinking I might get the Nexus 4, but it would be nice to have a 4G phone to play with now and then (and I might end up liking the GS3 better than the Nexus 4.

Thanks for all the help.

--Aric

1. Your Verizon GS3 will PARTIALLY work on T-Mobile (No LTE or 42Mb HSPA+). Verizon's GS3 is a "world phone," meaning it has GSM functionality (what T-Mobile and AT&T use). The frequency bands it supports are as follows:

• GSM - 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• UMTS/HSPA - 2100 MHz
• 4G LTE - 700 MHz

T-Mobile uses the 1900 MHz band for GSM, so you will be able to make phone calls and send/receive text messages. Data speeds are limited to EDGE (if at all). I believe that 3G and 4G data are out of the question. T-Mobile's LTE uses the 1700-MHz spectrum, so the Verizon GS3 will never be compatible with that. Basic HSPA (slow G3) *might* possible over the 1900-MHz band, but I'm not sure whether or not it works (I don't think it does, but it might). Right now HSPA+ is not possible (and certainly not the 42Mb variety that TMobile uses).

So basically, you can use the Verizon GS3 on TMobile for calls/texting, and possibly checking email periodically. But you're not really going to be able to use it for any real data connection.

2. It needs to be unlocked. Your specific phone might already be unlocked, but it's a switch that Verizon has to flip.

3. DO NOT USE A T-MOBILE ROM ON YOUR PHONE!!! You WILL brick it. If you want to flash a ROM, you'll have to find one that is MADE FOR the Verizon phone but that is configured for use on T-Mobile. The Verizon version is a CDMA phone, whereas the T-Mobile version is GSM...different radios, different software builds, different kernels, etc.

Why not just sell the Verizon version on eBay and get a whole new phone through T-Mobile?

[meyerweb]

Why not just sell the Verizon version on eBay and get a whole new phone through T-Mobile?

This. While you can use your Verizon GS3 on T-Mobile, it will be crippled, unable to take advantage of high speed data.