Help me understand what "Unlocked" does?

jimbl

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2010
1,010
37
0
Visit site
I see a lot of listings on eBay for "factory unlocked" S4's and generally they claim they work on carries with a correct SIM card for that network. My understanding though is they may "work", but may not support all bands / frequencies. Meaning technically it will "work", but may not work on 4G, or work for voice, etc. So is there such a device that is Unlocked that will work completely on Verizon that isn't made for Verizon's network? Thanks.
 

paintdrinkingpete

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2009
2,917
276
0
Visit site
I see a lot of listings on eBay for "factory unlocked" S4's and generally they claim they work on carries with a correct SIM card for that network. My understanding though is they may "work", but may not support all bands / frequencies. Meaning technically it will "work", but may not work on 4G, or work for voice, etc. So is there such a device that is Unlocked that will work completely on Verizon that isn't made for Verizon's network? Thanks.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any "unlocked" phone will work on Verizon regardless of what bands it supports. I'm pretty sure you need a Verizon version if you want to use it on their network, primarily because their CDMA network is completely locked down to outside phones.

EDIT: The caveat to that is, however, that you can use Verizon phones on *some* other networks.
 

jimbl

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2010
1,010
37
0
Visit site
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any "unlocked" phone will work on Verizon regardless of what bands it supports. I'm pretty sure you need a Verizon version if you want to use it on their network, primarily because their CDMA network is completely locked down to outside phones.

Thank you, and that does sound right to me. That's how I've always thought it's been. It's frustrating to see sellers "false advertise". Many list the "32GB S4" with no mention of any SD card. When I contact them for confirmation they reply "16GB with 16GB SD Card". Thanks again.
 

Trending Posts

Forum statistics

Threads
942,380
Messages
6,913,777
Members
3,158,386
Latest member
Agentirish