A:AnswerYes all of Verizon smartphones these days are unlocked and world phones. That's why it has a U on the end of the model #.
People need to know what they are talking about before answering. Cause people that said no are very incorrect.
A:AnswerYes it is unlocked as long as it is purchased at retail price! A monthly payment contract for this phone wouldn't allow it to be unlocked however. Fortunately every cell phone purchased from Verizon at retail cost are all sold unlocked so yes it would work in the Philippines.
A:AnswerI don't believe Verizon offers two year contracts any longer. Although, spreading out payments for your device over 2 years is essentially the same thing. From what I can tell from Verizon's convoluted FAQs your service and data payments should stay the same, although your bill will now also include the payments for your new device until it is paid off.
A:AnswerPrevious answer incorrect, this phone is both GSM and CDMA. I've been told by both BestBuy and Samsung (instore rep) that it is unlocked, however Verizon only unlocks on GSM not CDMA (not sure on that). You can view the full specs here (for some reason, you have to scroll up a bit to see "Specs", then click the link to expand):
http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/galaxy-s8-verizon#fullspecs
A:AnswerWith my experience the activation wasn't on my first bill with the phone but the second. I would say it has to do with when you activate it during your billing cycle.
A:Answeryes you can, when you purchase the phone you will be given the option to Transfer your phone number. When that happens it will cancel your cricket account, and you will be responsible for the bill with cricket. Do not cancel the cricket phone account first, because you don't want to loose your phone number to cricket. Enjoy the phone, lots of fun :)
A:AnswerIf you are planning to use in Mexico, I would suggest the ATT version. Most companies uses GSM/LTE. Verizon uses CDMA/LTE. The chances of the phone having the required frequencies are greater buying the GSM variant.
Or just wait for the international unlocked version in a month or so.
A:AnswerNo, Verizon doesn't allow that.
You must have Verizon service hooked up to it to get the 24 month payment plan. If you cancel service, you must either pay off the phone in full to keep it, or turn it back in to Verizon.
A:AnswerUnfortunately the promo has ended. I have the Vr from the promo and it's not all that, it's not a must have just gimmicky.
It's a cool experience but again not a must.
A:AnswerI just went through this exact situation with Verizon. If you buy the phone and choose Verizon as your carrier you will have to change plans, regardless of whether you make payments or buy the phone outright. If you purchase an unlocked version of the phone, say through Best Buy or Samsung, then you can just switch the sim card over and keep your grandfathered plan. Word of advice though, I finally did just change to their new unlimited plan with 3 lines and it saves me $100 a month versus my grandfathered unlimited plan with 3 lines.
A:AnswerI've heard of that issue in the past and I believe it depended on where it's purchased. I would call best buy wireless at their store to find out. If they can't help I would check with verizon direct and another indirect store.
Verizon Direct "is" verizon and might have some pull? Or not. It seems to be luck of the draw with them.
Verizon Indirect is places like Best Buy who sometimes can do things Verizon Direct cant. So indirect stores could kinda do whatever they want, or at least in there somewhat altered options.
Good luck N have fun!