Galaxy S22 Ultra Sim Unlock not working

[craigandmandi]

Hello everyone,

I've got a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (SM-908U) that is reportedly unlocked from Verizon.  I just relocated to Germany from the US and for some reason the phone keeps cutting off my new SIM Card with an error Verizon can't explain.  

Here's what is happening:

1. I take the Verizon SIM card out of the phone.  Note it's roaming on deutsche telekom no problem.

2. I put the deutsche telekom sim into the phone.  

3. It asks me for the SIM PIN, which I enter.  Then it asks me to restart the phone, which I do.

4. After restarting, I put the SIM pin in again.  And the SIM registers with the network and I see 4 bars with 5G.  

5.  When I put my phone PIN in, it turns off the SIM and gives me this pop up message from Phone Services: Change Carrier.  Sorry, your device can't be activated on another carrier's network right now.  For help, contact Verizon at ...

Any ideas what's causing this and how to fix it?  I thought it may be a regional lock, but I've had this phone for over a year and have made numerous calls in the US.  Just to be safe I called a US number for 7.5 minutes with my US Verizon sim card and it's still having the same issue.

So far I've done numerous reboots and resetting of network settings, but nothing seems to be working.  I messaged samsung last night and they want me to take it into a repair center, but when I login to my samsung account it says it can only be serviced in the country it was purchased in. 

[KiwiBird97]

Foreign SIM cards don't play nice with newer US variants, especially when it comes to the CSC. Furthermore, since your phone was carrier unlocked (not factory unlocked), you can only add eSIMs that are the same carrier as the physical SIM.

The last three screenshots are the supported carriers for legacy eSIM transfers through wireless carriers from the USA, Germany, and Sweden. For other countries and carriers, use the Quick Transfer method (One UI 5.1 and up).

SUPPORTED CARRIERS FOR FINDING ESIM PLANS
New eSIM activations are US only starting with the S23 and A54.
• AT&T
• C Spire (since July 2023)
• Metro by T-Mobile
• T-Mobile USA
• US Cellular
• Verizon
• Xfinity Mobile
• Other US carriers and MVNOs

SUPPORTED CARRIERS FOR QUICK TRANSFER
Since the One UI 6 beta is not out yet, we only list those that may work for transfers.
• US/PR: AT&T, Cricket, C Spire, T-Mobile USA, US Cellular, Verizon
• Germany: Telekom Deutschland
• Sweden: Telia

SUPPORTED CARRIERS FOR LEGACY TRANSFER
Legacy Transfer is for iPhones, older Galaxy devices, and Android devices not from Samsung.
• US/PR: T-Mobile USA
• Germany: Telekom Deutschland
• Sweden: Telia

[KiwiBird97]

If you're having trouble, can you try turning the SIM PIN OFF and reinserting the Telekom Deutschland SIM card?

[craigandmandi]

I don't see an option to turn off the SIM PIN.  Since I have Verizon and Deutsche telekom, it looks like the "quick method" should work from me from your post above.  What is the quick method?

There are no eSIMs on my phone, only 2 physical SIM cards.

[KiwiBird97]

The Quick Transfer method is when you put two phones together and transfer eSIMs.
To turn off the SIM PIN, go to Settings > Security & Privacy > Other Security Settings > Set Up SIM Card Lock > Lock SIM Card: OFF and enter the SIM PIN.
(You only have three attempts to enter the correct PIN. If you mess up, you will have ten attempts to enter the PUK, or else bad things can happen!)

[craigandmandi]

SIM PIN Off, no change.  How exactly would I go about doing the eSIM transfer?  I have my phone (G22 Ultra) and my wife's iPhone, which has no problems.

Will this quick transfer work with OneUI 5.1?  Is the legacy transfer what I'm trying to do, but won't work because it's Verizon and Deutsche Telekom?  Is there a work around for this?

Thanks for the help!

[craigandmandi]

Another update: we tried loading an eSIM yesterday and the phone was more clear about what was going on.  New popup read: Phone locked to Verizon.  You can add this eSIM, but you won't be able to use it because your phone's locked to Verizon.  Contact Verizon to unlock your phone.  So I called Verizon to update my support ticket with this information.  They're still showing it unlocked on their end.

[craigandmandi · Accepted solution]

FYI, this was eventually resolved by Verizon.  They never told me what they did aside from a network ticket and I received an email saying my appeal to unlock my phone was approved.

[VerbumVeritum]

@craigandmandi Happy to hear everything got sorted out in the end, although I wish we knew what the source of the problem was so others could take advantage of a solution. When in doubt, call your mobile provider until they fix it! 😃

[Samsung_M71vLby]

I have the same issue, but Verizon support hasn't helped me. They say the device is unlocked on their end, but the device is carrier locked for me. Not sure what to do anymore.