Carrier vs Unlocked Note 9 Questions?

[jpiszcz]

This is a T-Mobile thing, they do not have HD Voice interoperability between them and AT&T or Verizon regardless of the phone used.

For T-Mobile <-> T-Mobile I have not tested it myself but they are pretty open on *their* network so I would presume it works intra-T-Mobile but I have not tested that scenario.

 

[OmegaSparks]

How about HD Voice?

 

[OmegaSparks]

The main thing with Verizon is you will lose wifi calling. I know there are some apps you can download that finds hidden features. When I had the V20 unlocked wifi calling is hidden but with one of the apps you can find it.

If you had tmobile I'd say go for the unlocked.

How about HD Voice?

 

[OmegaSparks]

I received my unlocked Note 9 couple days ago, and use T-Mobile prepaid (Mobile One, I think it's called).

I'm not sure if it uses band 71, but I'll check into it. I can't compare to the T-Mobile Note9 version, but will say that thus far performance is great. I live in a city area, so coverage is good.

I always buy the unlocked version over carrier version, and would recommend that if you can make it work financially. I use my phone for everything, work constantly on it. Power phone user, and this phone is a beast. 512GB/8GB ram version. I have a Note 8, and 64GB wasn't cutting it.

arent you worried about insurance? like what if something happens to your device?

 

[OmegaSparks]

So I got off the phone with a TMobile rep and he really didn't tell me anything except that hotspot may not work, like i care..but he could not confirm or deny if HD voice would work. He also said that the blue Note 9 512 gb is delayed until Sept 19 for new orders and you can't insure an unlocked phone.

 

[Mr Segundus]

The unlocked Note 9 does have Band 71: www.samsung.com/us/mobile/phones/galaxy-note/galaxy-note9-128gb--unlocked--sm-n960uzbaxaa/#specs

 

[kct1975]

Not sure if this is the correct thread for these questions, but here goes...

I am trying to decide between getting a Sprint Note 9 and an Unlocked Note 9.

Besides the fact that the Sprint version of the Note 9 only comes in the 128 GB version, the other reason that I am considering the Unlocked version is that my Wife is currently on AT&T, and when her contract expires in February of 2020, we are considering having a joint Wireless Account.

So, it would be nice if my Note 9 could be on Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc so that we could easily choose the Wireless provider that best fit our needs.

My questions are this...

If I get an Unlocked Note 9, will there be any way to get the Sprint Visual Voicemail on the phone?

Is there any chance that I would be able to to use WiFi Calling?

Would my current Asuron Phone Insurance, through Sprint, cover the Unlocked Note 9?

Or should I just go ahead and get a Sprint version of the Note 9, and then try to sell it or trade it in after February 2020?

Please let me know your thoughts

Thank you

 

[kct1975]

Not sure if this is the correct thread for these questions, but here goes...

I am trying to decide between getting a Sprint Note 9 and an Unlocked Note 9.

Besides the fact that the Sprint version of the Note 9 only comes in the 128 GB version, the other reason that I am considering the Unlocked version is that my Wife is currently on AT&T, and when her contract expires in February of 2020, we are considering having a joint Wireless Account.

So, it would be nice if my Note 9 could be on Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc so that we could easily choose the Wireless provider that best fit our needs.

My questions are this...

If I get an Unlocked Note 9, will there be any way to get the Sprint Visual Voicemail on the phone?

Is there any chance that I would be able to to use WiFi Calling?

Would my current Asuron Phone Insurance, through Sprint, cover the Unlocked Note 9?

Or should I just go ahead and get a Sprint version of the Note 9, and then try to sell it or trade it in after February 2020?

Please let me know your thoughts

Thank you

Just bumping this since nobody has responded yet

 

[mlbyanks11]

I bought an unlocked note 9 and had nothing but signal issues. I have AT&T and had the unlocked model replaced twice and it didn't hold on to the signal well at all. Plus no VOLTE or Wifi calling is a deal breaker. I returned it and got a carrier model. Disabled all the bloatware. Works fine for me since. My opinion and experience says go with carrier model. Can always unlock it yourself too nonetheless.

 

[anon(5719825)]

I bought an unlocked note 9 and had nothing but signal issues. I have AT&T and had the unlocked model replaced twice and it didn't hold on to the signal well at all. Plus no VOLTE or Wifi calling is a deal breaker. I returned it and got a carrier model. Disabled all the bloatware. Works fine for me since. My opinion and experience says go with carrier model. Can always unlock it yourself too nonetheless.

This. I tried using my unlocked S9+ with AT&T but of course, no WiFi calling and there's no VoLTE unlike with T-Mobile on an unlocked phone. The battery drain on the unlocked model because of the weak signal was bad.

I decided to get the AT&T Note 9 and it's greatly improved my weak signal at my house. On the AT&T Note 9, the battery lasts all day easily because it's not trying to constantly get a good signal because of WiFi calling.

 

[mlbyanks11]

This. I tried using my unlocked S9+ with AT&T but of course, no WiFi calling and there's no VoLTE unlike with T-Mobile on an unlocked phone. The battery drain on the unlocked model because of the weak signal was bad.

I decided to get the AT&T Note 9 and it's greatly improved my weak signal at my house. On the AT&T Note 9, the battery lasts all day easily because it's not trying to constantly get a good signal because of WiFi calling.

Exactly, buying an unlocked phone is risky for reasons as mentioned. I just don't have time to deal with that because I use my phone for work too. I got the unlocked model the week It launched. I got home and had no service in my home.

 

[Gayle Lynn]

I had to spend 90 minutes on the phone with AT&T, and all I was doing was going from an AT&T iPhone X to the Note 9.

 

[Gary02468]

Exactly, buying an unlocked phone is risky for reasons as mentioned.

It depends on the carrier. The unlocked US phone works great on T-Mobile, without sacrificing WiFi calling, hotspots, or any other feature. Other carriers may be less compatible.

 

[JimBay]

New to this forum because I was use a Google Pixel 2 XL for 20 months and never had a problem with the OS. I may have made a mistake to trade my pixel in for the Note 9 2 weeks ago (Best Buy had a great offer). I got the unlocked version and switched from T-Mobile to Verizon when I got the Note 9 because of the issues I was having before on T-Mobile with their customer service. That said, I am wondering if the problems I am having is because of the carrier on an unlocked phone or if it is the phone itself. See below. Any advice/help is appreciated.

1. There is a 3 ring delay on caller ID showing the contact information on incoming calls.
2. There is no button on the screen when on a call to switch to video calling. I have to download the Duo app and apparently, the other caller has to use the same app?
3. WiFi calling isn't working.
4. Phone runs very slow even though the Optimization results show 100% optimized.
5. I am used to using all Google native apps for photos, texts, Gboard, Email, etc. And these are giving me errors occasionally. Are the Samsung apps for calendar, email, etc recommended?
6. My hotspot is not putting out the same download speed as my handset. It is way off even though I have full bars.

I should have waited for the Pixel 3, but because of the Best Buy promo, I decided to go with the Note 9 and not happy about it after seeing the performance. Switch to T-Mobile, stay with Verizon or sell the Note 9 and get the Pixel 3?

 

[LCW]

VVM on T-mobile (via the app) works with unlocked Note9. No issues.