Galaxy S3-I9300 stuck in roaming mode

[Joel Swanson]

I'm having the same problem with the international galaxy s3 and am new to the android network..I've tried everything but nothing works..any new updates as how to resolve this problem?????

 

[Matt Letto]

Any fixes on this yet? International S3 with T-Mobile service. Always stuck in roaming mode. Only EDGE data connection works when the allow data when roaming is checked.

 

[L350]

I have solve it on my phone.
I turned AirplainMode on. Waited 10 second and turned it off.
Then it couldn't find my network (3), and opted for a search. When found it registered and roaming R disappeared. Works normal now.

 

[cathaychris]

Same problem as OP.
Have tried everything in this thread with no success. APN settings as given by T-Mobile lacked proxies and ports compared to the example shown; adding them in and re-registering on the network did not help. Whenever registering on the network, by the way, the roaming 'R' doesn't pop up until about 10 seconds after a signal has been acquired.
T-Mobile says it's Samsung's problem.

 

[Hello Bapu]

I bought this Samsung Galaxy S III, GT-I9300 in January, It shows roaming while I am at home or at work or driving. Yesterday, I called Samsung, no help from them, on top of it, tech support told me to call Hong Kong and could not find IMIE number in their database. As per tech support, If I think my phone needs some repair, I need to send it to Hong Kong. I made some setting change as per Sabbir's instruction and reboot the phone. It is not showing R on signal bar at this time.

 

[naybot]

Hey everyone, I'm with verizon and I just started to have the same problem today. I called my carrier and they suggested a new sim card as well.. Did all the resets as well and I still have that stupid roaming notice.

 

[zuni2424]

Ok I've tried everything that people have posted on here none of the worked....here's what i did and it worked, dont ask me how but it did.


1. Go to settings

2. Go to Mobile Networks

3. Under Mobile Networks go to "Network Mode"

4. Now click ''wcdma only'' when prompted with something click ok, you will lose service for a moment. Now after that happens go back to Network Mode and click back to lte/gsm/wcdma(auto mode).. !!NOW THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROCESS'S!!! ------>

5. WHEN SWITCHING BACK TO lte/gsm/wcdma(auto mode) QUICKLY CLICK BACK AND HIT ACCESS POINT NAMES AND RESTORE TO DEFAULT (!!!YOU MUST DO THIS FAST!!!). It will run in what they call 2G for a moment then you will get full 4G back. I've done this two time now and it worked both times. It went to roaming mode again today so i did these wired steps and had 4G data again.. Your welcome Zuni out!

 

[Jay Bo]

I have an unlocked Galaxy S3 from Kuwait and bought a T mobile prepaid sim card when I got to the states. I get no data connection at all. Only roams and I can receive calls and texts sometimes. I've changed APN settings and all, no luck. Even had a professional check it out and still nothing works. Any help is appreciated.

 

[MadRick1965]

I have the same problem. I9300 always roaming and like a couple of the posters, I live in the Houston area. It's fixed all I had to do was change "Network Mode" to WCDMA only. I didn't do anything else and I am keeping this setting. Works great!!

 

[Mathieu Latulippe]

Hey, I have a similar problem, my Samsung s3 I747 is alaso stuck in roaming in Canada.

I am having a large issue with my S3. I bought a brand new S3 from a trusted friend, he explained to me that it was with Bell originally, (original carrier). So when he sold it to me he also said he unlocked it. When i got home i activated the Sim card with my Carrier wich is Videotron. I started receiving text messages but there was something strange, I was roaming data. Now this is where it gets weird, first off I had a double clock wich said roaming on one side and home on the other. Also on the top it said Rogers wireless. So i Disable data roaming. But it still seemed to be carrying the signal. When I went in mobile networks and searched for my carrier, All that showed up was Bell, Telus and Rogers. NO videotron?... So I call tech support and obv they have no idea what the problem is because it's not there signal coverage. So it's pretty easy for me to know the problem is within my unlocked phone but i seem to have hit a wall. I really need help and I don't know what to do. Maybe my friend didnt unlock it correctly? If anyone heard of this issue before or has anyways to help me please share. Im really sad on this sunday lolz...

 

[Jerome10]

Hello All-
I too have an unlocked international phone purchased in Germany in 2012. Constantly in roaming on T-Mobile USA....except when I was in Chicago, working perfectly.

I've tried all the above without success.

I've googled like a champion and cannot find a solution. Is there anything new out there regarding this issue? It is beyond frustrating.

 

[Jerome10]

Well, I think maybe I found the answer. Calling T-Mobile was no help.

I did find a thread floating around on the net somehwere. I cannot seem to locate it.

But the bottom line (and please excuse me if I mess up some of the technical details as I am not a guru...) is that, at least the international GS3 I9300 phones do not operate on the 1700 band that T-Mobile USA uses for its high speed data network. The phone then mistakenly thinks it is roaming....but in reality it isn't truly roaming, it just can't find the high speed network and throws up the roaming notification.

T-Mobile is apparently moving the high speed data to 1900, which the phone can handle just fine. I'm guessing that is why my phone worked fine in Chicago, no roaming, with the HSDPA at full speed. My guess is that Chicago area has already been switched to 1900, which is why everything worked normally.

So, I hope maybe this helps people out some. I simply turned on the data while roaming feature as I know that I am in T-Mobile data coverage area, so I'm not worried about it. It only runs at EDGE speeds though.

 

[pravee85]

Hi Forany, which method did you use to solve your roaming issue. I have the same problem here. Thanks

 

[arfanali]

hello, Man
sombody help me i bought a new samsung galaxy s3 when i did switch on it stuck on roaming .....how can i stop or disable roaming icon .....plz

 

[Robert Andrei1]

I have the same problem

 

[Hilm1]

Hi,
this is my first post ever and if I?m totally in the wrong place plz help me out.
I have a new Cubot One and it is acting the same way. It says " this is not a local SIM, you will roam" . If I don?t aloud roaming, nothing works. I have done resetting, forced it to use WCDMA only and other things suggested. When i look at SIM info it shows, "network locked". The card works fine in other phones. There is no additional cost so far, but If I get close to the boarder there will be. The phone couldn?t receive the settings from the carrier so we had to do it manually. So there are many different type of phones with this problem. Still looking for a solution.

 

[Pranit Prakash]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 and was getting same problem. I just searched for the network using 'Mobile Network' option and selected right network. It worked like charm.
Go to Settings-> More Settings -> Mobile Networks

Changed the network mode to 'GSM/CDMA to GSM Only' and searched for Network operator. Manually selected the right network and it worked fine.

The roaming R and dual clock went away.
Try it out, it may work for you too.

 

[Juergen Floss]

Same problem, enabling data roaming does not enable the 3G/4G network. Is this an Android issue rather than a Tmobile issue? It worked fine prior to the recent software update. Perhaps the update was not tested with the international phone on Tmobile's network?