Galaxy S9 AT&T yes but Consumer Cellular No? HELP

[FunknJunk]

Apologies if this has been answered, but I haven't seen it anywhere. I have an S9 SM-G960U1. Samsung says it's 4g compatible, AT&T pdf online says it's compatible and a support person on the phone also said it was. But Consumer Cellular tells me it is not. When I asked how it wouldn't be since they use the AT&T network, they couldn't say and had no higher up tech person to try to help. They just said their system says it is not compatible but I can wait to see if it will work.

Can anyone help me confirm or tell me how i could confirm myself whether it will work? I'm flummoxed as to why this might be. Of course I don't want to buy a new phone if I don't absolutely have to. Thanks in advance to everyone!

 

[Hadron]

The bottom line, as I understand it, is that there are precisely 2 US versions of the S9: the G960U (carrier branded) and the G960U1 (SIM-unlocked, not carrier branded). There are no technical differences, it's the same phone whichever carrier you buy it from or whether you buy the unbranded version, and the only difference between a U and a U1 is that the U would have been sold locked to a carrier and with a carrier splash screen and whatever bloatware that carrier added, while a U1 would not have any of that nonsense. Since a quick web search tells me that Consumer Cellular actually sold the s9 themselves, and there is no difference between their s9 and any other US s9 apart from the bloatware, I'm pretty sure it will work.

The most likely explanation is therefore that the "support" person's system didn't have this model listed (because it's not the model they sold) and hence they say "it's incompatible" because they don't actually know anything other than what their screen shows.

The way to confirm for yourself would be to stick a Consumer Cellular SIM in it.

 

[FunknJunk]

Thanks for the response! Just to be clear, I am already a Consumer Cellular customer. They're telling me that there's no way to confirm that it will work other than waiting and seeing. Their system tells them it is not compatible and they can't tell me anything other than that...which I thought was really weird, since they use the AT&T network, and this model is listed as compatible. I guess I'm more shocked that they just can't tell me and there's no one who CAN.

 

[kate]

AT&T pdf online says it's compatible and a support person on the phone also said it was. But Consumer Cellular tells me it is not.

Did Consumer Cellular say that on the phone? If so, what does their website say when you enter the phones IMEI number here:
https://www.consumercellular.com/shopping/details/sim/details

 

[svim]

Thanks for the response! Just to be clear, I am already a Consumer Cellular customer. They're telling me that there's no way to confirm that it will work other than waiting and seeing. ....

Just what are you 'waiting' for? Given you already have the phone in question and you're already a Consumer Cellular customer (so you presumably have their SIM card), is the problem that you cannot get their service to work? Reading through your postings it sounds like you simply haven't tried to just put the SIM in and tset it up. Please clarify.

 

[puppykickr]

This is a device from 2018.
It most likely will need to be replaced shortly for any number of reasons.
(Compatibility, age and wear of components, battery issues, etc.)

However, it will still be a viable device for use on Wi-Fi.