Verizon Galaxy S3 and world phone capabilities?

[Nutzer]

All,

Wondering if you guys can give me the simplified directions as to how to turn my Verizon Galaxy S3 into a world roaming phone. I would like to either roam with my current Verizon LTE sim or plug a local country SIM into my phone.

Thanks for any info!

-Nutz

 

[ncc1701p]

As far as I know with Verizon devices since they aren't 'gsm' based so there is no type of SIM unlock even though it now uses a SIM for LTE... But this article SUMS it up
I can roam the world with a Galaxy S3. So why not the U.S.? | Common Sense Tech - CNET News

Remember with Verizon they want to keep as tight of control on our devices as possible. Usually when I go to a foreign country (like japan) I rent a phone. As far as I know you can activate roaming/data but i cant imagine how crazy expensive that gets. So inserting a different SIM into these phones is a 'no' I believe. If you had a regular GSM phone, piece of cake.
Also depends on where you go: Only place my vzw phones have ever worked is in Japan because they do have CDMA over there.

 

[npo]

That's incorrect... the phone's hardware can indeed handle roaming on international networks. Just call Verizon, & they'll tell you that. They'll also tell you that there will be a software update at some point in the future, to enable global roaming. They did the same with the Droid Razr. Last time I spoke with them (a month or so ago), there was no ETA. Originally they told me it would be out "before the London Olympics", so we've been waiting a while. My next overseas trip isn't until April, so I haven't tried any hacks.

In the meantime, though, there's no hardware-based reason a hack can't work. In fact, I'd speculate that Verizon's slowness has more to do with figuring out the billing side of things than the phone's ability to function.

As far as I know with Verizon devices since they aren't 'gsm' based so there is no type of SIM unlock even though it now uses a SIM for LTE... But

 

[NotJustAPhone]

There's a thread on xda with instructions on how to unlock the GSM capabilities of the Verizon SGSIII. It's not a simple process and only for users willing to risk breaking their phone.

Sent from my SGSIII

 

[Nutzer]

There's a thread on xda with instructions on how to unlock the GSM capabilities of the Verizon SGSIII. It's not a simple process and only for users willing to risk breaking their phone.

Sent from my SGSIII

Yes, I read the Loooong thread....wondering if there is a short easier process. Seems like it was create awhile ago.

 

[ncc1701p]

well heck yea. gr8 information. Will have to investigate it. Typically when I go to japan these days it costs less to rent a phone w/ a SIM than renting the sim itself. thx npo