Need help finding a specific phone

[Roomsaver]

Hi all! I'm getting a new phone but I haven't been able to find this anywhere. I'm looking for a Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 (preferably not edge). I was also wondering if a CDMA phone be "unlocked"? So, for instance, can I buy an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S6 with a CDMA antenna and use it with Virgin Mobile? I'd also like to know if, if I were to buy a Canadian Virgin Mobile (Virgin Mobile uses CDMA, not GSM) phone, could I use my American SIM card in it? Thanks and sorry about my probably-very-easy-to-answer questions.

 

[OfficialBrony]

I'm with Bell, Canada. I went to the states for a few weeks and bought an prepaid sim from T-Mobile. My phone is unlocked and it worked great.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk

 

[Roomsaver]

I'm with Bell, Canada. I went to the states for a few weeks and bought an prepaid sim from T-Mobile. My phone is unlocked and it worked great.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk

T-Mobile is GSM, though. I know that if your phone is GSM and unlocked you can use different GSM carriers but I wanted to know about CDMA phones.

 

[OfficialBrony]

T-Mobile is GSM, though. I know that if your phone is GSM and unlocked you can use different GSM carriers but I wanted to know about CDMA phones.

I'm not that tech savvy with phones, but what is the difference between them? Shouldn't it be the same?

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk

 

[Deleted User]

It should work just fine. It should still catch GSM signal.

 

[GerbilSoft]

In the US, Verizon 4G phones are all unlocked as per some requirement in a spectrum auction a while back. Verizon uses CDMA, so any Verizon 4G phone will work with any carrier. (The phones all support GSM, but may have issues with different carriers' 4G service due to supporting different bands.)

That having been said, Verizon models are also usually bootloader locked, so you can't install a custom ROM unless they've been hacked.

 

[Roomsaver]

In the US, Verizon 4G phones are all unlocked as per some requirement in a spectrum auction a while back. Verizon uses CDMA, so any Verizon 4G phone will work with any carrier. (The phones all support GSM, but may have issues with different carriers' 4G service due to supporting different bands.)

That having been said, Verizon models are also usually bootloader locked, so you can't install a custom ROM unless they've been hacked.

So If I purchased a Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6 and put my Virgin Mobile SIM in it it would work? Just checking.

 

[GerbilSoft]

So If I purchased a Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6 and put my Virgin Mobile SIM in it it would work? Just checking.

This site says yes: https://www.frequencycheck.com/carr...t]=G920V&q[device_brand_id_eq]=&commit=Search

Technical details: The Verizon Galaxy S6 (G920V) supports CDMA 800/1900, HSDPA (UMTS, aka GSM) 850/900/1900/2100, and LTE bands 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 13.

Virgin Mobile in Canada uses UMTS 850/1900 and LTE 4, 7. All four of those bands are supproted by the Verizon Galaxy S6.

 

[mituzora]

If it works on sprint's network it 'should' be able to be used. Virgin Mobile USA uses Sprint's networks. I would dig around and see if they support BYOP(Bring your own Phone) because even if a phone can use sprint's towers, Virgin may tie IMEI numbers with SIM cards, but I'm not sure.

 

[Roomsaver]

This site says yes: https://www.frequencycheck.com/carrier-compatibility/52xbn/virgin-mobile-canada/devices?utf8=✓&q[full_name_cont]=G920V&q[device_brand_id_eq]=&commit=Search

Technical details: The Verizon Galaxy S6 (G920V) supports CDMA 800/1900, HSDPA (UMTS, aka GSM) 850/900/1900/2100, and LTE bands 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 13.

Virgin Mobile in Canada uses UMTS 850/1900 and LTE 4, 7. All four of those bands are supproted by the Verizon Galaxy S6.

Do you know if the bands Virgin Mobile USA uses are supported? I'm in the US with a US SIM card.

 

[GerbilSoft]

Do you know if the bands Virgin Mobile USA uses are supported? I'm in the US with a US SIM card.

Virgin Mobile USA uses Sprint's network: https://www.frequencycheck.com/carriers/sprint-united-states

CDMA: 800/1900
LTE: 25, 26, 41

The CDMA portion *might* work, but Sprint is usually a bit finicky with activating non-Sprint devices. I don't know if that would be the same with Virgin Mobile USA.

 

[Roomsaver]

Virgin Mobile USA uses Sprint's network: https://www.frequencycheck.com/carriers/sprint-united-states

CDMA: 800/1900
LTE: 25, 26, 41

The CDMA portion *might* work, but Sprint is usually a bit finicky with activating non-Sprint devices. I don't know if that would be the same with Virgin Mobile USA.

Thank you so much for everything but after calling Virgin Mobile (which I do not recommend, it took me 12 minutes just to talk to a human) I was told that they wouldn't activate the device even though it uses the same frequencies.

 

[Durelle]

Bell and Virgin mobile uses GSM now, and their framework uses CDMA as well, but all newer phones you buy unlocked will work. I work for Rogers and my phone is a phone i got from Bell, and after i unlocked it i switched to Koodo, and they all work fine with different sim cards.

I use a Nexus 6P incase you wondered.

 

[mituzora]

Bell and Virgin mobile uses GSM now, and their framework uses CDMA as well, but all newer phones you buy unlocked will work. I work for Rogers and my phone is a phone i got from Bell, and after i unlocked it i switched to Koodo, and they all work fine with different sim cards.

I use a Nexus 6P incase you wondered.

He is using VM USA, not VM Canada. VM in USA still operates on CDMA. either way sadly VM and sprint are horrible when it comes to BYOP activation, so they wouldn't activate it for him anyways. the 6P also has bands for all four major US carriers, CDMA and GSM

 

[Deleted User]

The best would be just to root it and do most stuff yourself like SIM-unlocking it.
I did it three times [and broke warranty 3 times with Orange] because they put a SIM-lock on a Dual-SIM phone ._.

 

[Roomsaver]

I've purchased the phone and decided to just switch to Boost Mobile. Thanks for your help everyone!