Galaxy S3 Overseas

[BBcoach]

Travelling to South Africa and I know the S3 is GSM compatible do I just add a local sim card when I get there or does it make more sense to pay Verizon their subscription fee?

 

[jmm92108]

It will be 100000000 times cheaper to buy a local GSM SIM card and put it in your GS3.
I have a Verizon Galaxy S3 and it is indeed unlocked for international use. I have used it in Mexico, Thailand, and China. Of course you won't get fast 4G internet speeds. I get 3G speeds of around 100-150kbps when I'm overseas. I believe you have to change your APN settings to get internet data. When I buy a SIM card the person in the store verifies those settings are correct. I'm not sure how to do it...

 

[funkylogik]

^that seems like a great answer
I dont understand these american phones but if they do work outside the US (which Jimm can vouch for) then buying a local pre-pay sim will save you a fortune.
Just to add to what Jimm said.. go into Settings, More, Mobile Networks, Access Point Names (APN) and make sure your carrier hasnt locked the ability to create a new APN (the "+" sign at the top right) :thumbup:

 

[dmcjr22]

funky here in the united states we have to be different with the cdma networks while most of the world uses gsm networks. they say its cheaper to build cdma phones but truthfully its so the carriers can control you in the since of service and not being able to freely switch over to another provider...hence the contract phones its easier to spend a hundred or so dollars on a phone and have a certain service than to buy it flat out and choose your provider...

 

[javamann]

^that seems like a great answer
I dont understand these american phones but if they do work outside the US (which Jimm can vouch for) then buying a local pre-pay sim will save you a fortune.
Just to add to what Jimm said.. go into Settings, More, Mobile Networks, Access Point Names (APN) and make sure your carrier hasnt locked the ability to create a new APN (the "+" sign at the top right) :thumbup:

Hey funky...ur so right...when we sent to Europe last year I did get a sim card which worked for phone calls and texting; but no one told us to check the APN and we were blind to the internet for almost a month.
JM