Samsung Galaxy Sii on Neto10?

**DreadfulGlory** · 07-26-2012, 04:14 PM

Hello. I was browsing around the internet as I always do, and I ended up finding a few people saying that you can buy sim cards from Net10. I check this out, and sure enough, you can. It appears as though you can use them on any GSM phone.

So my question is, would I be able to buy a sim card, and use it on the Samsung Galaxy Sii from tmobile or att&t? Or do I have to buy the unlocked version?

Thanks for your help guys.

**whacker** · 07-26-2012, 07:23 PM

If you continue your browsing, specifically here on HoFo, you'll see that this offering is part of a broader deal from America Movil, the company that TracFone, Net10, and Straight Talk are subsidiaries of. Here on Howard Forums the offer/deal you mention is commonly referred to as the "BYOD (for bring your own device) - SIM" deal. It is offered on both Net10 ($50 monthly) and Straight Talk ($45 monthly), with a choice of either AT&T or T-Mobile service (determined by the choice of SIM). You should find out which of these carriers provides the best service in the area you intend to use your phone (live in and/or work/travel in), and choose the SIM accordingly. DO NOT select the "Unlocked" option, as you will then be giving the company discretion in choosing who IT thinks will be the best for you based on the zip code you input on the website, which is not always the way you would want it to go.

Also, for the carrier (the underlying one -- AT&T or T-Mobile) that you determine is best for your needs, you should pair up the SIM with a phone that is completely compatible with that carrier's 3G/4G radio frequencies, meaning use an AT&T SIM in an AT&T phone, or a T-Mobile SIM in a T-Mobile phone, OR use a phone (and yours might be one of them -- I don't know) that is SIM unlocked and is capable of use on either carriers' 3G/4G service.

Hope that all helps, and wasn't too much!

**DreadfulGlory** · 07-26-2012, 07:33 PM

Originally Posted by whacker

If you continue your browsing, specifically here on HoFo, you'll see that this offering is part of a broader deal from America Movil, the company that TracFone, Net10, and Straight Talk are subsidiaries of. Here on Howard Forums the offer/deal you mention is commonly referred to as the "BYOD (for bring your own device) - SIM" deal. It is offered on both Net10 ($50 monthly) and Straight Talk ($45 monthly), with a choice of either AT&T or T-Mobile service (determined by the choice of SIM). You should find out which of these carriers provides the best service in the area you intend to use your phone (live in and/or work/travel in), and choose the SIM accordingly. DO NOT select the "Unlocked" option, as you will then be giving the company discretion in choosing who IT thinks will be the best for you based on the zip code you input on the website, which is not always the way you would want it to go.

Also, for the carrier (the underlying one -- AT&T or T-Mobile) that you determine is best for your needs, you should pair up the SIM with a phone that is completely compatible with that carrier's 3G/4G radio frequencies, meaning use an AT&T SIM in an AT&T phone, or a T-Mobile SIM in a T-Mobile phone, OR use a phone (and yours might be one of them -- I don't know) that is SIM unlocked and is capable of use on either carriers' 3G/4G service.

Hope that all helps, and wasn't too much!

Thanks for your response man. So the phone has to be specifically SIM unlocked? So if I bought the samsung galaxy s3 from At&t's website, and bought a Net10 SIM, it would not work?

Thanks again man. +rep

**whacker** · 07-26-2012, 08:04 PM

No. A phone only has to be SIM unlocked if you're crossing carriers with it (so to speak). Meaning trying to use an AT&T branded phone with a T-Mobile assigned SIM on the T-Mobile network, and vice-versa. This would pertain only to U.S. sourced phones from those respective carriers, and not to phones typically obtained as "unlocked" foreign-sourced phones.

Reading your response again, I realize that we need to dispense with the concept of a "Net10" or "Straight Talk" SIM. They have no network of their own. They are reselling the services of the underlying carriers (AT&T/T-Mobile). Yes, they are selling you the SIM, but the SIMs are actually either real AT&T or T-Mobile SIMs, with some special coding that allows Net10 or Straight Talk to account for proper billing and terms of service compliance.

If you bought the aforementioned phone from AT&T (making it an AT&T branded/SIM-locked phone), you would need to obtain the AT&T SIM from Net10/ST. If you DID WANT to thereafter perhaps use it on Net10/T-Mobile (maybe for reasons of change of coverage) you would then have to get the phone SIM-unlocked and get a T-Mobile SIM from Net10 (or Straight Talk; or even T-Mobile itself).