Can we use AT&T Gear S with TMobile as our carrier or vice versa?

[saiyolang]

No, AT&T did not unlocked my gears s because the device needs to be activated on there network first.

I went ahead a brought an unlocked code from the web. its about $25.00 to get it unlocked and I got the code within a day.

 

[xendula]

^ This information is not correct: my device was never activated on ATT. It sat in its box until they gave me the unlock code. I just opened up the box and put the Tmo sim card in it.

I guess every time one calls att/tmo, the answer will be different.

 

[dorrien12]

^ This information is not correct: my device was never activated on ATT. It sat in its box until they gave me the unlock code. I just opened up the box and put the Tmo sim card in it.

I guess every time one calls att/tmo, the answer will be different.

Did you have to get a special SIM card from T-Mobile to fit the gear? My primary service is thru AT&T and I have a AT&T gear s but want to use T-Mobile for gear s, how's that working for you?

 

[xendula]

Did you have to get a special SIM card from T-Mobile to fit the gear? My primary service is thru AT&T and I have a AT&T gear s but want to use T-Mobile for gear s, how's that working for you?

My primary service is with Tmo at the moment, but others are reporting that the Gear S works seamlessly with the T-mo $15/month ($5 for Tmo customers) plan connected to their ATT main phone. You need a Tmo nano sim card - I think it's $10.

Can't find a link to their wearables plan, but found this on the Gear S product page:
Call, text, and email on your Gear S with a wearable rate plan. The wearable plan has no overages, is unlimited and comes with up to 500MB of high speed data, as well as unlimited talk and text.

 

[jlczl]

My primary service is with Tmo at the moment, but others are reporting that the Gear S works seamlessly with the T-mo $15/month ($5 for Tmo customers) plan connected to their ATT main phone. You need a Tmo nano sim card - I think it's $10.

Can't find a link to their wearables plan, but found this on the Gear S product page:
Call, text, and email on your Gear S with a wearable rate plan. The wearable plan has no overages, is unlimited and comes with up to 500MB of high speed data, as well as unlimited talk and text.

I am using a T-Mobile Gear S with a wearable plan paired with a T-Mobile Note 4 that uses at&t service. Everything works. I would rather use my Gear S with one of my T-Mobile lines that I'm not using right now (I have the 4 lines for $100 plan but only use 3) but T-Mobile wouldn't let me do that. They insisted I had to have a wearable plan on it for it to work. What I'm thinking of doing now is returning the T-Mobile variant, buying an at&t S and putting my T-Mobile SIM (from the number I'm not currently using) in it. This way I'm not having to add another number to my T-Mobile account if I don't have to.

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[xendula]

If you have a friend with a Tmo nano sim card in their phone, just put it in and see what happens. Or if you have an extra SIM that has a regular plan (non wearable) on it. I can't imagine it NOT working.

But, then again, since you are an ATT customer, you may as well buy the ATT Gear S, which happens to be $50 cheaper anyway, unlock it, and do what you want to do with it. That way you are not stuck with Tmo if another GSM carrier comes up with a better plan. Anyway, that's what I would do

 

[foxbat121]

I finally got time to call AT&T support to request a unlock code for my watch since its web site still won't recognize my watch's IMEI. It went surprisingly smooth. No fuss. Case created and I'm waiting for the unlock code showing up in my email. We will see.

T-Mo's Gear S has the same bands as AT&T, e.g. it doesn't support AWS bands that T-mo still uses for 3G in many places. So, hardware wise, there is no difference between AT&T version and T-mo version. Software wise, you get different carrier branded firmware and update approval from either carrier. It is not clear whether T-Mobile or AT&T will be quick to issue firmware updates for the watch. If you buy AT&T version, you will be dependent on AT&T to release firmware updates even if you unlock and use on T-Mobile. And vice versa.

 

[xendula]

Didn't even think of that! Since Sammy gave out ATT devices at the conference, this may be yet another reason to pick up an ATT Gear S, in the hopes that their updates will come first.

 

[foxbat121]

Here is an update: my unlock code arrived via email. Boot the watch up with foreign SIM and put in the unlock code. Worked like a charm.

 

[Active55]

Here is an update: my unlock code arrived via email. Boot the watch up with foreign SIM and put in the unlock code. Worked like a charm.

If I have some time, I will take a family members Pay-As-You-Go Micro SIM card in and exchange it for a Nano SIM with the same phone number, then try it in my watch and report back. If it doesn't work, I'll call for an unlock code and try again. Afterwards I'll just put the Nano SIM in an Micro SIM Adapter before returning it to the family members phone...

 

[foxbat121]

You don't even need a working SIM card, as long as it is not from AT&T (or one using the AT&T network), it will do. I always keep a few foreign pre-paid SIM cards around (even though they already expired) for unlocking all my phones.

 

[dorrien12]

You don't even need a working SIM card, as long as it is not from AT&T (or one using the AT&T network), it will do. I always keep a few foreign pre-paid SIM cards around (even though they already expired) for unlocking all my phones.

Is AT&T the only one you don't need a working SIM card? I don't understand.

 

[foxbat121]

Is AT&T the only one you don't need a working SIM card? I don't understand.

We are talking about unlock. In order to enter network unlock code, you need a sim card that is not from your carrier. This applies only to AT&T and T-Mobile. There is no way to unlock Verizon or Sprint versions of watch.

 

[Ntchwaidumela]

I noticed there has been some conflicting info about the TMO plan. Here's what it is:

This plan includes:
- No annual service contracts.
- Just $5 monthly (after $10 monthly bill credit) when you also have a qualifying Simple Choice voice plan for a smartphone on your account.
- Unlimited talk & text while on our network with no overages. Ever.
- Up to 500MB of high-speed 4G LTE data.

- Unlimited international data and text while roaming in 120+ countries and destinations and calls are just $0.20 per minute.
- Music Freedom: unlimited streaming from great services like Milk Music™ that doesn’t count against your 4G LTE data allocation included at no extra charge with a Simple Choice Plan.

 

[wishiwas]

I have unlimited data with Verizon. They said I cannot use this device because you have to have a more everything plan, then the plan is only $5 a month.
My second line with Verizon is a 6 gb tiered but again, because it shares minutes and texts with the unlimited line, it's not available to me.
Seems silly to refuse someone's money.
I don't know how much this would be but if I got an account with T Mobile or AT&T for example will this watch and my Verizon Galaxy Note for work together? I realize they will Bluetooth together, but doesn't this watch essentially just take the call forwarded from your line to another?

 

[xendula]

I have unlimited data with Verizon. They said I cannot use this device because you have to have a more everything plan, then the plan is only $5 a month.
My second line with Verizon is a 6 gb tiered but again, because it shares minutes and texts with the unlimited line, it's not available to me.
Seems silly to refuse someone's money.
I don't know how much this would be but if I got an account with T Mobile or AT&T for example will this watch and my Verizon Galaxy Note for work together? I realize they will Bluetooth together, but doesn't this watch essentially just take the call forwarded from your line to another?

Yes. Others here have the Tmo 15/month wearables plan (the same plan is $5/month for existing T-mo customers), which includes unlimited talk and text and 500 mb data, paired with a non-Tmo compatible phone.

 

[Radim Svoboda]

Yes. Others here have the Tmo 15/month wearables plan (the same plan is $5/month for existing T-mo customers), which includes unlimited talk and text and 500 mb data, paired with a non-Tmo compatible phone.

Can you forward both calls AND SMS from that Tmo non-compatible Note4 (or other phone) to your Gear S? I know this has to be set up in the Gear Manager but wondering whether it is not a carrier specific feature...

 

[Fernando Asencio1]

Well I just discover that the 3G chip on the Gear S is not unified, I got my Gear S in Malaysia directly from a Samsung store, I pop in one of my local sim cards and it worked, I took it out, put another from a different carrier and it worked, I after a few weeks I went back home to florida and got a tmobile simcard, gues what, it did not work, I try a ATT prepaid and it didn't work either.
So disappointed on Samsung.

 

[xendula]

Can you forward both calls AND SMS from that Tmo non-compatible Note4 (or other phone) to your Gear S? I know this has to be set up in the Gear Manager but wondering whether it is not a carrier specific feature...

While I haven't tried it, I don't see why you couldn't, since that's all driven by Gear Manager, and not from within the Note's phone settings.

Well I just discover that the 3G chip on the Gear S is not unified, I got my Gear S in Malaysia directly from a Samsung store, I pop in one of my local sim cards and it worked, I took it out, put another from a different carrier and it worked, I after a few weeks I went back home to florida and got a tmobile simcard, gues what, it did not work, I try a ATT prepaid and it didn't work either.
So disappointed on Samsung.

Yup, they made different GSM versions for different regions. I was likewise disappointed, but luckily did my research beforehand... and bought it anyway, though I hate not being able to use a SIM in it when overseas.

If they do the same with the next iteration of the Gear S, I'll pass it up.

 

[foxbat121]

Gear S was listed as dual-band only from day one. It is a well known fact.