Query

The Galaxy SIII for Verizon is CDMA/LTE and also has a GSM radio that uses a SIM.

AFAIK, Verizon somehow locks the phones so that the GSM radio can't be used in the US (on AT&T or T-Mobile's networks). But they recently signed an agreement with the FCC in the US when they bought some new spectrum band that they would unlock the GSM radios on the iPhones.

This update apparently unlocks the GSM radio on the GSIII so that it can be used overseas (at least for some GSM networks - they might need an agreement with Verizon and you might need to be on Verizon's international roaming plan, I dunno).

Verizon was notorious for years in locking their phones so that you would have to do things like buy ringtones from them if you wanted to change it on your phone. They seem to be doing less of that now, but one still needs to be careful.

http://www.pocketabl...e-bootloader.html

As great as it would be if Verizon had reversed their policy on locked bootloaders, that is not the case. Instead, the episode boils down to some confusion about the meaning of Âunlocked.Â What the Verizon representatives in the email and chat were referring to is not an update that will unlock the bootloader, but instead an update that will unlock the global GSM roaming capability built into the Galaxy SIII. With unlocked GSM roaming, users will be able to put a SIM card into the Verizon SIII and use it on most GSM carriers worldwide. It certainly isnÂt the same as an unlocked bootloader, but it isnÂt a bad update either.

Although it may disappoint those who were looking for an unlocked bootloader, unlocked GSM roaming is a nice feature to have, especially on a CDMA Verizon smartphone. Of course, it will be of little consolation to those with the SIII who wanted an unlocked bootloader, but it is a nice feature for those looking at the device. Going back to the communication error, this incident shows that rumors may not always be true, even when supposedly confirmed by employees or leaked documents. It also highlights the confusion over what ÂunlockedÂ actually means with regards to smartphones, but that is another topic entirely.

HTH a little.

Cheers,
Scott.

Post #367,837 by pwhysall 12/13/12 3:40:32 PM Reply	Query How does an OS update determine whether the SIM is network-locked?
Post #367,838 by Another Scott 12/13/12 3:51:05 PM Reply	The magic of the US wireless providers. :-/
Post #367,840 by pwhysall 12/13/12 4:17:06 PM Reply	More details? I'm confused.
Post #367,841 by Another Scott 12/13/12 4:33:21 PM Reply	Verizon in the US is CDMA/LTE. The Galaxy SIII for Verizon is CDMA/LTE and also has a GSM radio that uses a SIM. AFAIK, Verizon somehow locks the phones so that the GSM radio can't be used in the US (on AT&T or T-Mobile's networks). But they recently signed an agreement with the FCC in the US when they bought some new spectrum band that they would unlock the GSM radios on the iPhones. This update apparently unlocks the GSM radio on the GSIII so that it can be used overseas (at least for some GSM networks - they might need an agreement with Verizon and you might need to be on Verizon's international roaming plan, I dunno). Verizon was notorious for years in locking their phones so that you would have to do things like buy ringtones from them if you wanted to change it on your phone. They seem to be doing less of that now, but one still needs to be careful. http://www.pocketabl...e-bootloader.html As great as it would be if Verizon had reversed their policy on locked bootloaders, that is not the case. Instead, the episode boils down to some confusion about the meaning of Âunlocked.Â What the Verizon representatives in the email and chat were referring to is not an update that will unlock the bootloader, but instead an update that will unlock the global GSM roaming capability built into the Galaxy SIII. With unlocked GSM roaming, users will be able to put a SIM card into the Verizon SIII and use it on most GSM carriers worldwide. It certainly isnÂt the same as an unlocked bootloader, but it isnÂt a bad update either. Although it may disappoint those who were looking for an unlocked bootloader, unlocked GSM roaming is a nice feature to have, especially on a CDMA Verizon smartphone. Of course, it will be of little consolation to those with the SIII who wanted an unlocked bootloader, but it is a nice feature for those looking at the device. Going back to the communication error, this incident shows that rumors may not always be true, even when supposedly confirmed by employees or leaked documents. It also highlights the confusion over what ÂunlockedÂ actually means with regards to smartphones, but that is another topic entirely. HTH a little. Cheers, Scott.
Post #367,842 by pwhysall 12/13/12 4:38:01 PM Reply	Ah, I see I thought it meant that if you had a GSM GSIII with a Verizon-locked SIM card, upgrading to a new version of Android would somehow unlock it. What they're actually doing is just turning on the GSM bit. >nogs<
Post #367,853 by static 12/13/12 7:45:00 PM Reply	The US learnt from GSM rollouts elsewhere. And decided to charge for every little thing they could get away with, mostly the things people used a lot elsewhere in the world with a GSM device. That's why they charge for receiving SMSs. And data-sharing. And moving files on and off your phone. Wade. Just Add Story http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/
Post #367,843 by folkert 12/13/12 4:59:36 PM Reply	Driver support included or not. They do that kind of thing. Locking features by not including the support for them. -- greg@gregfolkert.net PGP key 1024D/B524687C 2003-08-05 Fingerprint: E1D3 E3D7 5850 957E FED0 2B3A ED66 6971 B524 687C
Post #367,844 by pwhysall 12/13/12 5:03:54 PM Reply	Openness is a two edged thing, it seems. Can't you just root the thing to get around such nonsense?
Post #367,849 by folkert 12/13/12 6:19:09 PM Reply	Yep. In fact you could just image the damned thing with a "Google" image for the device and be done with the whole Verizon crap. -- greg@gregfolkert.net PGP key 1024D/B524687C 2003-08-05 Fingerprint: E1D3 E3D7 5850 957E FED0 2B3A ED66 6971 B524 687C

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