cell phone experts?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Is there a reason why I can't take my Sprint issued Samsung smartphone and use it if I sign on with Verizon as a carrier?

[Steve Baumgartner]

Is there a reason why I can't take my Sprint issued Samsung smartphone and use it if I sign on with Verizon as a carrier?

Depends on whether Sprint has locked it to their system and, if so, whether you can get them to unlock it.

[Bill Huber]

You may want to do some searching on the net for unlocking your Samsung phone, there is a ton of info out there on it.

[roger wiegand]

I think you'd just need a new SIM card from Sprint. Call them and ask. I've stuck non-Verizon SIMs in my "locked" iPhone when traveling in Europe and they worked fine-- I think the locking is tied to the SIM.

[Bryan Rocker]

Sometimes sometimes not, in the past I have purchased unlocked phones when my contract phone died and it was cost prohibitive to buy one. As to Sprint, my wifes cousin is having a TON of problems with them including no signal and not paying the early termination fee they agreed to pay.........

[Chris Padilla]

Verizon has always been the most expensive carrier for me around here but yeah, it is just a matter of changing out the SIM card.

[John Huds0n]

Not sure why you would want to? A new account with Verizon - they would offer you a heavily subsidized phone for a 2 year contract.

For example, Costco has a promotion right now where they will give you a $150 cash card and give you a Samsung Galaxy S5 for free: (that is a $600 phone if you had to buy it outright)

http://membershipwireless.com/index.cfm/go/shop/do/browsePhones?utm_campaign=VZW_CostcoCashCard_12-11-14&utm_source=MEMBERSHIPWIRELESS&utm_medium=HOT_DEALS

Unless I misunderstood and your inquiring about porting your phone number over to Verizon?

[John McClanahan]

Not sure about today, but in the past, Verizon had a different network that did't use sim cards and was not compatible with other carriers phones.


John

[Duane Meadows]

It depends from a quick googlw search...
"GSM phones are the ones that utilize SIM cards while CDMA phones do not. SIM cards are the small cards which contains a chip that must be inserted into GSM phones before they will work. Without a SIM card, a GSM phone won't be able to tap into any mobile network."

Neither Sprint, nor Verizon, us SIM cards, at least on 4G.

I'd say ask Verizon, they should know.

[Tim Offutt]

There are two basic technologies in mobile phones, CDMA and GSM. This is the reason you can't use AT&T phones on Verizon's network and vice versa.

In the U.S., Sprint, Verizon and U.S. Cellular use CDMA. AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM. The rest of the world is mostly GSM. I think the European Union mandated GSM.

[Mike Henderson]

There are two basic technologies in mobile phones, CDMA and GSM. This is the reason you can't use AT&T phones on Verizon's network and vice versa.

In the U.S., Sprint, Verizon and U.S. Cellular use CDMA. AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM. The rest of the world is mostly GSM. I think the European Union mandated GSM.
I'm not absolutely sure of this, but I believe the CDMA phones also include GSM. At least the ones made recently - say in the last five years or so. I think I checked with Verizon and they told me that they can offer a voice service in Europe with your US handset. And if they can do that, the phone has to have the GSM software stack. It also has to be able to operate on the frequencies used in Europe.

Mike

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

back to the original question

if you own your phone outright, and are out of contract with Sprint - contact Sprint to have your phone unlocked.

If they ask why (they shouldn't ask) tell them your about to upgrade phones and you want to unlock yours so you can sell it.


once unlocked, you can use your phone on any compatible network.

[Steve Baumgartner]

I think you'd just need a new SIM card from Sprint. Call them and ask. I've stuck non-Verizon SIMs in my "locked" iPhone when traveling in Europe and they worked fine-- I think the locking is tied to the SIM.

No, the locking is set within the phone's firmware not the SIM. I've had to get a phone unlocked first before I could put a NZ or AU SIM into it. If this worked, your phone must have already been unlocked (it is the carrier's option to lock or not). Since Verizon does not use SIMs for their USA system (CDMA), they likely don't bother to lock the GSM side of the iPhone, which does use a SIM.

[Myk Rian]

The systems are different from carrier-to-carrier.
Verizon phones DO use a SIM card.
You would have to ask Verizon, or go to androidcentral com to get some great info.
Our Verizon accounts with smart phones are $60 for unlimited talk/text and 2gb data. I have yet to use 1gb in a month.

[Brian Elfert]

The systems are different from carrier-to-carrier.
Verizon phones DO use a SIM card.


Typically, only Verizon phones with LTE use SIM cards. Verizon also has some phones with SIM card slots so one can add a SIM card for use with GSM networks overseas. The Verizon iPhone starting with the 4S has a SIM card slot for GSM use overseas.

Verizon and Sprint phones may interchange, but they have to have the frequency bands for the other carrier. Verizon and Sprint do not use the same radio frequencies for all functions. These days a lot of CDMA phones are built to handle all frequency bands, but you need to check. Others have mentioned the issue with phones being locked to a carrier.

[Eric DeSilva]

I would just take it to a Verizon store and see. It isn't as easy as "GSM v. CDMA," since the phone has to be compatible with both the air interfaces (not just GSM/CDMA, but GSM, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, 1xRTT, EvDO, and LTE) and the radio bands the carrier uses. In the US, there are eight radio bands commonly used--one is specific to Verizon and two are specific to Sprint. Depending on how customized the phone was for the carrier, it may or may not work, and even if there is minimal compatibility, you may not have access to the full array of Verizon services (Verizon's main LTE deployment is in the Upper 700 MHz band, a band that only Verizon uses). Best to ask.

[Myk Rian]

Get a new phone from Verizon, transfer apps and data via Play Store, Odin or Kies, (or another BU app).
Then you restore the factory image to the old phone, and sell it.

[Jim Becker]

In addition to the "locking" thing already mentioned and transmission band/voice technology things..."which" SmartPhone will also matter. Some models will cross over all the carriers with no issue if provisioned with the proper SIM. (current iPhones are like that) They contain multiple radios and support multiple communication standards. Some Smartphones are "dedicated" to a particular carrier, either by technology or by contract. If your current phone is two or more years old, don't even bother trying to keep it if you move carriers...current phones are much better and may support technologies that an older phone can't understand. LTE, already mentioned, is one of them...and it's what all the carriers are moving to, not just for data (the initial rollout), but also for voice over the next year.

[Brian Elfert]

don't even bother trying to keep it if you move carriers...current phones are much better and may support technologies that an older phone can't understand. LTE, already mentioned, is one of them...and it's what all the carriers are moving to, not just for data (the initial rollout), but also for voice over the next year.

If they move entirely to voice over LTE they better roll out LTE everywhere then. I live in a major metro area and have no Verizon LTE service at my new house. I barely get 3G and voice service is bad too. I keep LTE turned off on my phone or my battery dies in no time.