How would I change Samsung s5 - sm-g900f - to use it in the United States?

[AC Question]

Long story short, my phone shattered (past warranty) and a friend gave me a Samsung s5 - sm-g900f - to replace it. However, I just realized I can't get it to work here for my Verizon plan in the USA. Is there any way I can activate this model for use on the USA carriers?

Thanks!

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! That is not a CDMA-compatible variant, which is what you need for it to work on Verizon. You might be able to use it on AT&T and T-Mobile, it would only be able to access 4G on LTE band 2, which is not strong on either network. So the phone would probably be stuck on 3G for most of the time (although HSPA+, which is 3G, is fairly fast on both of those networks). There is no way for you to change the phone's supported bands.

 

[Feldon]

You might be able to use it on AT&T and T-Mobile, it would only be able to access 4G on LTE band 2, which is not strong on either network.

Are you sure? AT&T users are reporting they have four LTE bands depending on market: 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5 (850), 17 (700)

The S6 and S7 international versions would work a lot better in the US as they support all the bands that AT&T wants...

SM-G900F (S5):

• LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800)

SM-G920F (S6):

• LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 26(850)

SM-G930F (S7):

• LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)

 

[ironass]

The answer is... NO. The G900F Global model is for GSM networks only and Verizon uses the old CDMA network. You, "may", be partially compatible on 4G/LTE only on Band 2 = 1900 MHz. Not much use to you I am afraid.

 

[B. Diddy]

Are you sure? AT&T users are reporting they have four LTE bands depending on market: 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5 (850), 17 (700)

I'm going primarily off of this article: Cheat sheet: which 4G LTE bands do AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint use in the USA?. They note that Band 17 remains the backbone for AT&T, while the strength of other bands may depend on the region.