Help Using US Galaxy S3 internationally?

[crblanz]

So I'll be traveling to Italy this fall for 4 months to study abroad, and I was wondering if I would be able to use my Galaxy S3 while there as my phone, rather than a useless prepaid phone. I remember hearing a while back about the S3 possibly being available for use internationally (Mine is with verizon, if that matters). Some people seemed to say that we had to wait for an update to unlock the GSM radio, while others seemed to say that we can just call up our phone company and have them unlock the phone if we're in good standing.

No one seemed to know what they were talking about, and its been a while since then. I've tried searching and my results have been pretty inconclusive. So basically, I was wondering if anyone knows the truth about what we need to do to use the phone abroad, if its even possible.


Also, being on Verizon, I'm new to SIM cards... why can't I just take it out and put in a SIM card for an international provider? (If that question makes no sense, ignore it)

thanks!

 

[danglerwood]

the

 

[GTWalling]

You will need to call Verizon and request a Sim Unlock code to use a different providers sim. Also make sure the frequencys are compatible.

 

[luketek]

will the s3 At&t work on H2O Wireless prepaid?

 

[stragf]

root the s3 and purchase simcard in the country you are in

 

[parishmc]

this is new to me, i didn't think CDMA phones (verizon-sprint) used sim cards ?

 

[GoldenDiamond]

Here is a list of all the different types of SGS3's.

Samsung Galaxy S III - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

All you have to do is make sure that the SIM card you are buying from the other country supposes the frequencies your phone has.

 

[SUroot]

So basically, Europe use the international gsm gt-i9300. I did some digging for another user who wanted the opposite (international in USA)...

So obviously verizon roaming charges will cost the earth so you need a native SIM card. All of Europe operate in the same frequencies (infact most the world does) so all that matters is the price. All SIMS will be compatible in Italy.

Now I know that an international gt-i9300 will work on AT&T or Verizon fully upto Its HSPA+ capability (no LTE) so the reverse should also be true, although I am not sure what hspa+ is like in Italy.

You don't need root but I assume verizon sim lock the device so a sim unlock code will need to be obtained from verizon.

 

[Minimike]

I have a elated question.

The radio frequencies - are they software or hardwae dictated? That is, are all the US versions identical in hardware with sofware determing the radio capabilities?