Readers like you help support MUO. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More.

I've seen Galaxy S3 phones on eBay for cheap, but they are locked with carriers. Can I buy one and ship it to India, then unlock it and use it with my GSM carrier? If not, is there some other way to get the Galaxy S3?

Mike D
2013-04-18 18:09:12
Most people sell a phone because they have a new one or just want a new some , if they had that phone new, like most that are selling them private the phones is still locked by the carrier all you have to do request that they unlock it, free of charge if the contract have been full filled
MAKEUSEOF VIDEO OF THE DAY
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Qin Tang
2012-11-19 03:52:17
Ha, you may buy the Galaxy S3 in your local grey market with a lower price. But I guess it's much risking.
Aswin Kumar Nayakann
2012-11-16 17:01:48
Its a more risky thing.You dont have warranty.You may be caught in Customs.Try to buy with your local dealer.
Nikhil Chandak
2012-11-15 07:13:30
check out the links , these may help u out http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/398606/20121026/use-nfc-samsung-galaxys3-i9300-screen-locked.htmcheck all the pages of this link - [Broken URL Removed]
Kannon Y
2012-11-15 03:35:09
That's a really good phone!I believe that anytime a phone is sold locked on eBay, it's a good indication that it's either a stolen CDMA phone (which would be less useful in India) or that the phone was sold under contract, and there's balance remaining on the original account, which prevented the phone from being unlocked. Which means that the carrier will not give you the unlock codes. In short, the phone won't be usable unless you clone the phone (which may or may not be illegal, depending on your region).Unlike in other countries, US consumers tend to buy discounted phones under 1-2 year contracts. They typically pay absurd monthly rates in exchange for cheap phones. Unfortunately, carriers go to extreme lengths to prevent these phones from being resold in other markets. More or less, a locked phone is basically a brick.There are probably phones that are sold locked that have fulfilled their contracts, and therefore are elligible to receive an unlock code for international travel, but you would want the seller to unlock the phone before they sent it to you. It also would have the problem of broadcasting on a slightly different bandwidth as the Indian networks, so compatibility would not be 100% (this is anecdotal).
The same is true for a GSM phone - you'd want them to send you the unlock code before purchasing.Unfortunately, if the phone is stolen or if sold before its contract has been completed, you won't be able to unlock the phone.Anyway, sorry if my info is overly gloomy. :-( Hope you get an S3! Good luck!
Douglas Mutay
2012-11-15 07:39:09
What do you mean by "if the phone is sold before its contract has been completed, you won’t be able to unlock the phone"? Does it mean that these private service phone can only unlock a phone when its contract is finish?
Kannon Y
2012-11-15 18:36:56
So to answer your question: I've heard about how private services can unlock CDMA phones, even when you're under contract. They may or may not be using illegal means and I doubt they can reprogram all phones. So, yes they can unlock a phone, but with conditions.Some carriers have phones that can be easily reprogrammed (GSM only requires a SIM swap and if locked is only locked into one network). Others have phones that aren't so easily tampered with (Sprint/Verizon/CDMA).So if there's a balance remaining on the phone, the phone shouldn't be unlockable unless you use an exploit. And I'm not aware of any exploits for a Sprint/CDMA phone.If they're cloning, that's highly illegal. If they're running an exploit, that may cause retaliation on the part of the carrier, but isn't illegal.
Sean A
2012-11-15 03:16:26
I did a bit of looking on this topic and it appears that you cannot use locked devices in India. You did mention unlocking and I found this website.http://www.cellunlocker.net/unlock-samsung-galaxy-s3-iii.phpIt may help you in unlocking the device though they do charge a small fee. As long as you have a GSM sim card you should be able to use it in India.