moving from verizon to new carrier, keeping phone

[Myra Richards]

is it possible for me to move from verizon to straight talk and keep the same galaxy s3? how do i unlock it so that it is compatible? also, is there a way to keep the phone from randomly dialing numbers when i am using it and it is against my face? the buttons are super sensitive and so they dial when i hold the phone and am talking. many thanks!!!

 

[anon(238680)]

There's a toggle to make the screen go black when you have the unit against your face. It should have been set as default.

 

[Myra Richards]

thank you!! i found it and fixed the setting.

does anyone know if i can change out the sim card to another us carrier and have the phone work properly on the other network? the network i want to move to is a gsm one and since i can set the gs3 to be gsm, it should work in theory. does anyone know if it will work in practice?

 

[rxgadget]

thank you!! i found it and fixed the setting.

does anyone know if i can change out the sim card to another us carrier and have the phone work properly on the other network? the network i want to move to is a gsm one and since i can set the gs3 to be gsm, it should work in theory. does anyone know if it will work in practice?

Myra,

Verizon CDMA/LTE are not compatible with other networks in the USA. Even though there is a switch fur GSM the GS3 sold by Verizon doesn't utilize that as GSM like ATT or T-Mobile.

In the US you can only swap sims of T-Mobile and ATT as they are GSM.


Sent from my VZW Samsung Galaxy S 3.

Old has beens.. LG flip - Droid X - Droid X2 - Droid Charge (3 days) - Droid Incredible 2

 

[Myra Richards]

thanks so much again!!! is there anything i can do to the phone to make it work on another network? i just want to make sure as i am a cell phone idiot. so i apologize in advance for being a dunce if this is what the previous person who responded meant.

 

[rxgadget]

I looked up Welcome | Straight Talk and the # 1 statement of how to Bring and use your current phone is only if it is/was on AT&T or T-Mobile. Verizon phones are not GSM they are CDMA and thus not compatible with straight talk.

This is only capitalized because it was copied direct from the website itself. "BRING AN AT&T OR T-MOBILE COMPATIBLE GSM PHONE, OR AN UNLOCKED GSM PHONE"

 

[nyry]

I looked up Welcome | Straight Talk and the # 1 statement of how to Bring and use your current phone is only if it is/was on AT&T or T-Mobile. Verizon phones are not GSM they are CDMA and thus not compatible with straight talk.

This is only capitalized because it was copied direct from the website itself. "BRING AN AT&T OR T-MOBILE COMPATIBLE GSM PHONE, OR AN UNLOCKED GSM PHONE"

Verizon GS3s have GSM capability. The thing you have to worry about is the lock that verizon put on their software so you won't be able to use it with t?mobile or att

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[NotJustAPhone]

You can use the Verizon GSIII with a GSM network. I tested my T-Mobile SIM card with my rooted GSIII a couple of weeks ago. Voice, SMS, MMS and data all worked (although data was Edge only). Verizon locks down the APN menus so root is required to add the proper settings for data and MMS to work. I've seen reports that 3G data works with AT&T, but haven't confirmed that myself.

So while it's possible, it's a process I recommend only to those who are both technically inclined and willing to modify the software on their phone.

 

[Myra Richards]

thank you all so much for the answers. rx, i had seen that on the site which is why i was asking if i can unlock the gs3 to get around that. i had seen that it was gsm capable and thought there might be a way to unlock it.

notjustaphone, if i follow the instructions i have found for rooting the gs3, will it work like it always has with a new sim? i am probably going to switch to virgin mobile instead of my straight talk now, but before i root the phone, i want to make sure it will still function the same way. you said data was edge only. i don't know what that means.

 

[NotJustAPhone]

Virgin Mobile runs on the Sprint network. The Verizon S3 won't operate on Sprint's network.

Edge is a 2G data network. Data speeds are extremely slow and impractical for nearly everything except emails.