It seems like foreign SIM card support is ending for US variants after a ten year run with limited support.
WHAT'S NEXT
• You will no longer be able to use foreign SIM cards (except from a few European countries) with those variants. Foreign eSIMs will still appear in the SIM Manager, but they may no longer be usable.
(Puerto Rico is part of the US and SIMs from that region will continue to work.)
• Starting with the Galaxy S23 and newer devices, the US variants (whether carrier locked or factory unlocked) will stay locked to only work with SIMs from the US, Puerto Rico, and parts of Europe (first two screenshots). A network unlock code cannot be used to allow SIM cards outside those countries to be used. Furthermore, "Open" in the 1st screenshot refers to any other carrier or MVNO within the US and Puerto Rico.
(When we refer to "parts of Europe," we are referring to the eSIM transfer method, which is only available for carriers from Germany and Sweden.)
• The manual activation code entry method when scanning QR codes will no longer be available (3rd screenshot). As a result, any eSIMs that solely rely on manual activation code entry will no longer be supported.
Hope this clears up your concerns.
WHAT'S NEXT
• You will no longer be able to use foreign SIM cards (except from a few European countries) with those variants. Foreign eSIMs will still appear in the SIM Manager, but they may no longer be usable.
(Puerto Rico is part of the US and SIMs from that region will continue to work.)
• Starting with the Galaxy S23 and newer devices, the US variants (whether carrier locked or factory unlocked) will stay locked to only work with SIMs from the US, Puerto Rico, and parts of Europe (first two screenshots). A network unlock code cannot be used to allow SIM cards outside those countries to be used. Furthermore, "Open" in the 1st screenshot refers to any other carrier or MVNO within the US and Puerto Rico.
(When we refer to "parts of Europe," we are referring to the eSIM transfer method, which is only available for carriers from Germany and Sweden.)
• The manual activation code entry method when scanning QR codes will no longer be available (3rd screenshot). As a result, any eSIMs that solely rely on manual activation code entry will no longer be supported.
Hope this clears up your concerns.
The 3rd bullet point is in fact correct, when it comes to manual activation code entry. Here's some other information:
US VARIANTS (U/U1)
• S23, Flip 5, Fold 5, and newer: Only compatible with SIMs from the US and Puerto Rico, with limited support for a few European countries. Will stay region locked even after a carrier unlock or five minutes of voice calls. Manual eSIM activation code entry no longer supported.
• S22, Fold 4, Flip 4, and older: Full support for the US and Puerto Rico, with limited support everywhere else. Can be region unlocked after a carrier unlock or after five minutes of voice calls. Manual eSIM activation code entry supported.
• One physical, one eSIM.
• Can only designate one primary SIM for all from calls, texts, and cellular data.
INTERNATIONAL VARIANTS
• Full support in designated areas, limited support in others. Can be region unlocked after five minutes of voice calls.
• Two physical, one eSIM.
• Can designate primary SIMs for each function from calls, texts, and cellular data.
In all cases, roaming will continue to work as usual. It's only the SIM card support that matters.
INTERNATIONAL MODEL SUFFIXES
• B: Latin America, Europe, CIS, Middle East, India, Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, Taiwan
• N: Korea
• 0: China mainland
Here's what the QR code scanner looks like on an international variant. The major difference here is the manual activation code entry.
US VARIANTS (U/U1)
• S23, Flip 5, Fold 5, and newer: Only compatible with SIMs from the US and Puerto Rico, with limited support for a few European countries. Will stay region locked even after a carrier unlock or five minutes of voice calls. Manual eSIM activation code entry no longer supported.
• S22, Fold 4, Flip 4, and older: Full support for the US and Puerto Rico, with limited support everywhere else. Can be region unlocked after a carrier unlock or after five minutes of voice calls. Manual eSIM activation code entry supported.
• One physical, one eSIM.
• Can only designate one primary SIM for all from calls, texts, and cellular data.
INTERNATIONAL VARIANTS
• Full support in designated areas, limited support in others. Can be region unlocked after five minutes of voice calls.
• Two physical, one eSIM.
• Can designate primary SIMs for each function from calls, texts, and cellular data.
In all cases, roaming will continue to work as usual. It's only the SIM card support that matters.
INTERNATIONAL MODEL SUFFIXES
• B: Latin America, Europe, CIS, Middle East, India, Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, Taiwan
• N: Korea
• 0: China mainland
Here's what the QR code scanner looks like on an international variant. The major difference here is the manual activation code entry.
