Unlocked or Carrier?

[Tim1954]

I always buy unlocked outright devices and never had issues. Samsung has done the right thing by me with all my phones.

 

[eshropshire]

I have an unlocked S8 on Verizon prepaid and VoLTE is working. It's worked on the last two unlocked phones I've had.

Do you have Verizon WiFi calling?

 

[anon(123856)]

That's cool. I still just find it easier to go through Verizon. The few apps installed don't bother me. The boot screen doesn't either since it's only on a reboot .

No worries. I was just providing information. Since I'm on prepaid I don't get much else feature wise but I don't need much else besides minutes, texts and data.

 

[Gunnyman]

I put the unlocked firmware on my S7Edge. I'm considering doing it on the S8+ because VZW wants to charge me for spam call screening. I can live without VVM and WiFi calling as long as VoLTE works.

 

[anon(123856)]

Do you have Verizon WiFi calling?

No I do not. At least not that I can tell. I don't see anywhere in my account to enable it either. But I'm not certain if that is because I'm a prepaid customer or if it's a limitation of unlocked devices. Prepaid customers get very few extra features compared to post paid customers.

 

[TylerLV76]

...Apple's software experience is same across all carriers, around the world .

And has been for 10 years.

 

[djepperson1]

As another reference point that having the branded/locked version is not a guarantee for getting updates, I also have the ATT branded LG G6 and its still on the MARCH security release.

Yes but that is LG I had v20 they aren't releasing monthly security updates with LG. Samsung has always been better when it comes to security patches compared to lg. Go to LG forums it's quite normal to only receive quarterly or less with any LG phone no matter what carrier or unlocked

 

[Soylent_Green]

Doesn't matter just flash the firmware to the carrier of your choice they're all unlocked, least here in the US.

 

[tattoogunman]

I went unlocked a few years ago and currently use Cricket Wireless. The wife and I only pay $70/month for both of our phones and that is with unlimited talk/text, and a 8 gigs worth of data (four for each of us - I'm not a heavy phone user and I don't even come remotely close to touching that 4gb, I may get 1gb on a high use month). I don't have a S8, but still have my old S4 and just ordered a Honor 6x. I'm not a big phone person, so I don't need high end phones and look more for battery life. As to why we went unlocked, it's because we save quit a bit of money per month. We are currently paying a bit less than half of what we used to pay using AT&T. Cricket uses AT&T's networks, so our coverage is fine for talk/text and data. Back when the main carriers used to offer free phones for using their service, we used them. When that stopped, we switched over because we cannot afford to pay $800 for new phones, etc.

 

[anon(7901790)]

I went with carrier. First, I got my phone quicker. Second, the Verizon bloatware isn't that bad and I can uninstall or deactivate most of it, and with 64GB internal memory, I still have plenty of space for apps. Third, I get all of the bells and whistles, like WiFi calling, video calling Advanced Calling (VoLTE), and relatively quick and RELIABLE updates. If my phone breaks, It's easier to get it replaced/repaired. I've never understood the dislike people have for certain carriers. I've always gotten reliable service and devices with Verizon. I could care less that I see the Verizon logo on boot up. What I care about is reliable service wherever I go.

 

[Doug Moffat]

Do you have Verizon WiFi calling?

Slightly off topic: if I turn on Verizon HD calling and video it prevents using my Verizon caller ID. I've opted for Caller ID.

 

[hjwjr1]

I buy from my carrier (T-Mobile). But I root and remove the bloat asap. Plus I use Nova Launcher which takes care of aesthetics. Plus T-Mobile is not to bad when it comes to bloatware...

 

[GingerGuy]

Unlocked from Amazon, really easy and because I'm on a SIM only contract, I can upgrade whenever I like

 

[anon(123856)]

NM.

 

[Dconn1975]

Unlocked. Carrier Splash screens on startup drive me nuts. And the less bloat the better.

This is why I had a friend unlock my phone and flash it for me. No bloat ware or branded screens anymore. Now I'm officially unlocked to any carrier. I'll probably go back to cricket and call it a day. I can't stand carrier phones. They come preloaded with so much garbage it's insane. Especially sprint. I don't know about the others. I'm sure they're loaded down too. I'm just glad mine has been flashed and it's all gone. Not a trace of it left.

 

[TylerLV76]

This is why I had a friend unlock my phone and flash it for me. No bloat ware or branded screens anymore. Now I'm officially unlocked to any carrier. I'll probably go back to cricket and call it a day. I can't stand carrier phones. They come preloaded with so much garbage it's insane. Especially sprint. I don't know about the others. I'm sure they're loaded down too. I'm just glad mine has been flashed and it's all gone. Not a trace of it left.

T-mobile wasn't bad. The only thing you couldn't remove was the unlock app to unlock the device to use with other carriers and the T-Mobile app. Package disabler took care of that one for me.

 

[Almeuit]

This is why I had a friend unlock my phone and flash it for me. No bloat ware or branded screens anymore. Now I'm officially unlocked to any carrier. I'll probably go back to cricket and call it a day. I can't stand carrier phones. They come preloaded with so much garbage it's insane. Especially sprint. I don't know about the others. I'm sure they're loaded down too. I'm just glad mine has been flashed and it's all gone. Not a trace of it left.

Glad it works for you. For me all that trouble to get rid of a carrier splash screen you only seen on boot .. Not worth .

 

[pankaj981]

I usually buy my phones unlocked, so did I for my previous S8 and now the Plus model. Only reason is the ability to not withstand carrier branding and not to be stuck on old software due to carriers, from past experience.

 

[JoshDunc]

I usually buy my phones unlocked, so did I for my previous S8 and now the Plus model. Only reason is the ability to not withstand carrier branding and not to be stuck on old software due to carriers, from past experience.

Samsung is a smidge slow when it comes to updates though. Carriers seem to be getting updates before unlocked models.

 

[pankaj981]

Samsung is a smidge slow when it comes to updates though. Carriers seem to be getting updates before unlocked models.

Yeah I agree. I believe Samsung delays updates for it's unlocked variants in the US on purpose as it relies on carriers to finish their testing before rolling it out. This obviously isn't the case outside the US.