May have found my reason to go to Apple :'(

[Sala_]

Hey all,

I travel to the US quite frequently and now that they have turned off their 3G masts I can not use my phone for phone calls in the US which is a pain. My SIM provider is o2 and they use AT&T and Tmobile is the states, AT&T whitelist their phones and do not allow non-US samsungs, Tmobile does not whitelist but I could not connect to them while there for some reason.

AT&T accepts iPhones as there is only one version of each model. WHY does Samsung still make UK/UK/Asia versions? Will they keep doing this or are UK users doomed to never use 5g abroad forever more?

I really don't want to go to Apple, but the thought of walking around the US needing 2 phones to do the work of one phone is really off putting!

[Glenntech]

iphones in the U.S are actually slightly different.
Apart from no physical sim card now, they have a different antenna for 5G there.
I'm a bit puzzled that you cannot use 4G to make phone calls with. Should work OK.
3G is something that will be turned off here shortly as well.
It could be if you got the phone through O2, maybe worth asking if they can help with the connection side of things, or maybe you need an updated SIM card.
The 5G service is a slightly different version in the states, so not all phones will be able to access this

[Sala_]

My phone should be able to make calls on 4g, but AT&T only allow their whitelisted phones to access their 4g and 5g. With 2g and 3g there was an agreement standard that all phones could access the network for calls if they had the right technology, this is not the case with 4g and 5g. 

I got my phone from Samsung direct,  o2 say they can't do anything as its up to AT&T but o2 iPhones are working fine over there as they have the settings for both US and UK network frequencies. The issue is not just with o2 though, as I've asked on a holiday forum, if it was, it would be as simple as getting a new sim. 

[-Robot-]

It's the US carrier issue not Samsung, they use different frequencies than we do here for 3G

I had issues too when I was there, tried to stay on TMobile and still getting flaky service

All UK phones will have issues out there, and our carriers have to sort out agreement

This has been a known issue since at&t announced removal of 3g Frequencies

Their networks won't let us on not on.

My brother is in HK right now and having no issues

I will be in the states next month and will try get a local sim to test and tell you what happens

If anyone else is over there get a local sim and tell us if you can connect

[Sala_]

It's a Samsung issue to the point that they make different regional versions. If they made the same version, the phone would be on the whitelist, like Apple, and there would not be an issue, as they would design the phone to work in both markets

[-Robot-]

Dude they do work in all regions, its the carriers issues

If you google it, all UK carriers say they can not guarantee you will be able to connect after at&t turned off 3g as they don't control foreign networks, why would they say that?

Why not say you phone has issue so not my problem so they look good? Make sense?

If your overseas why not get a local sim and test it?

My phone worked before at&t turned off 3g and won't let me connect to their network after, so phone is not at fault. I travel to the US almost once a month so I know what I'm taking about

Oh yeah network frequencies in UK and US are different, with prioritisation for own users

[BandOfBrothers]

Ive known people use local sim cards when abroad or lock into free WiFi and make calls via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger etc.

[-Robot-]

I haven't tried getting a local sim yet, as I was really busy last trip and my office gave me a mifi device, for when I lost connectivity and needed it

[-Robot-]

OK here is an update on using UK phone in the USA as promised.

So I have the S22Ultra and am a Vodafone customer in the UK

Arrived in New York yeaterday, I got a sms from Vodafone with usual blurb, but also it mentions that service maybe flaky due to AT&T , just as I mentioned previously.

I was able to connect to AT&T, I didn't select it, I have mobile operators on auto. And have been able to get data and calls with decent quality.

It is only just the first day here but its all very promising.

[Sala_]

Awesome. How had it fared the rest of your trip?