Will an Unlocked Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G work on Xfinity

[matt96teg]

I currently have a Note 10+ through Xfinity but I want to purchase the unlocked version through Samsung. Will just swapping my SIM card over work?

[NEWcam30era]

Yes it will.  I did exactly the same a couple of months ago.

Obviously, I made a mistake here.  I have a Note 20 Ultra 5g.  Sorry about the confusion. 

If last year was any indication, it takes about 3 months before new Samsung devices show as compatible.  But you can generally do a SIM swap.

[bri637]

It should since they're selling it. I just received mine from Samsung today but at the moment the website shows the IMEI isn't supported on XM, I'm hoping it's because the phone doesn't officially release until Friday.

[brfo]

I also received my 21 Ultra from Samsung today. I did a chat with an agent and she said the IMEI wasn't compatible but said to check back on Friday. I'm hoping that it works after Friday or I'll be in a sticky situation.

[lacie1221]

I'm hoping it will work on Friday, the agents I've talked to today haven't said anything about that.  😞

[TheMarf]

Got my S21+ from Samsung in today and popped the sim in and it worked no problem.  Currently RCS features in Android Messages arent working but I would assume those would kick on in the next couple of days.

[fredderf81]

received my unlocked 2x ultra 5gs today - spent 1 hour on phone with rep who couldn't add it. website says not compatible imei. 

will try friday / monday. if not guess i'm off to Fi 😕

[KDoutt]

I'm in the same boat as everyone here, I have an unlocked S21 purchased directly from Samsung, but the website and customer service is saying it's not compatible.

I swapped the sim over and it does actually work, but it's still showing my old phone on the line, and I'm scheduled to trade that in to Samsung. I don't feel comfortable sending it away when it's still showing as active on my line, so hopefully when Friday rolls around this will be an easy switch.

[dgrabs · Accepted solution]

Same exact boat. Got my regular S21 yesterday, tried multiple times to get it to work but unfortunately it's the IMEI not being accepted into their system. Bizarre since it was literally showing my Xfinity phone number on the S21 when looking at the phone info, etc. I'm also trading in back to Samsung. Hopefully this clears up tomorrow.

[matt96teg]

Thanks for the input. Samsung promised it would work but after hearing this (I know it's been an issue with Samsung and Xfinity for a while), I'll probably just go through Xfinity store for the phone and trade in my current.

[TheMarf]

S21+ that I got from Samsung is now fully working. Rcs chat features initially weren't but they kicked on last night. Haven't tested lte outside of just turning the wifi off, but seemed to be working fine.

[Custom90gt]

Ugh, I got my S21 5G and threw my sim card from my S10 into it and no mobile network.  Called Xfinity and got the "this device isn't compatible with our network" talk.  Either they fix that or I go back to Verizon.  My wife's S20 Fe isn't compatible either, but it at least works.  If only they would send me a 5G sim card for it, but they won't because they are idiots. 

[lacie1221]

Well, yesterday both Xfinity and Verizon said that my IMEI was incompatible.  Today Xfinity still says incompatible, but Verizon says compatible.  Hoping that's a good sign!

ETA: Tried my sim again, it's working!

[fillyo]

My S21 wouldn't work yesterday, had to go back to my S10 for now, maybe I'll try when I get home today.  This is ridiculous.

[Sdultra]

Update : as of 7 pm I tried my SIM in the phone again and it started working without issue. Website says SIM not compatible still. Gotta love the confusion and frustration Xfinity caused today.

I got my unlocked S21, not plus or ultra, and was seeing red when they could not add it to the network. Incompetence at its best. When I told the agent that their own website tol& me I could order it directly from Samsung she just went dead silent. I said, what's the matter... No script for that one. If they don't get this worked out, it's back to T Mobile, I'll pay the extra for a competent provider.

[bri637]

I'm hoping all this will be cleared up tomorrow when the phone is officially released, if not then I'll go elsewhere.

[BubbaBubba]

I can report mine is working now w/ current SIM from old phone on new S21 Ultra Unlocked purchased from Samsung.

Question, only indicates LTE and not 5G, do I need to obtain a new SIM to enable 5G or will the old/current SIM work w/ 5G?

Thanks

[lacie1221]

I was getting 5G coverage this afternoon while driving - my Sim is from a S9+ that I've had for 3 years.

[fillyo]

I just came home and inserted sim, I'm live, 5g signal, getting update, downloading now.  Hooray!

[KDoutt]

Is anyone who got their old sim working doing the trade in offer with Samsung?

Our IMEI's will still show as our old device and not the S21, so I'm worried that someone will get the refurbished phone, try to activate it, and run into a problem. Any ideas if that would cause a problem on Xfinity's side?

[Krkr]

Has anyone got unlocked S21 bought from Samsung working? It still doesn't work as of this morning. Hoping Xfinity can answer, but this is a sticky situation.

[BubbaBubba]

My Samsung purchased S21 Unlocked is partially working, indicates unrecongnizable device and not all features are working i,.e, VM, text, and no 5G, just LTE.

Went to xfinity store and they were on no help/useless, just indicated phone is uncompatiable. At this point I don't know what to do, what a mess!

[BubbaBubba]

Well here is the official reply from the Manager at my xfinity wireless store:

"I know this is confusing, this work kind of like this: Your current device Samsung S21 has been designed to work in the channel number 10024, this channel may be the same than many other providers but Xfinity Mobile devices work on channel 360081 so then, that is why your device is not compatible even though it is the same model that we sell.

Being unlocked doesn`t mean that will work with all the carriers."

Going to see if I can send this back to Samsung, as according to xfinity, this phone will not work, again what a mess!

[Bmoe33]

This cannot be correct xfinity mobile runs on Verizon network. If this was the case some that placed thier sim cards in thier device and made calls would not work. Im hoping they are just waiting to upload the imei to xfinity mobile support page hopefully this will be done soon sice today is the official release date.

[samuelj13]

I have been following this since topic since Wednesday when I received my device.  I just entered the IMEI for my s21 purchased from Samsung and it is showing compatible now on XM compatibility checker.

[BubbaBubba]

I just checked mine again, S21 Ultra Unlocked and still indictates incompatiable, head scratcher.

[bri637]

Same here, checked my s21 ultra and my wife's s21 and neither are showing as compatible. Checked a few other companies and hers is showing compatible but mine no, super frustrating.

[Bmoe33]

I just checked for my s21 ultra still showing incompatible hopefully will be available soon or will go to Verizon its showing compatible on thier site now.

[samuelj13]

I only have the base model.  I did have to call support because I the site would not allow me to keep my same number.  But all is good now.

[ksbvarna]

I switched my Sim from my old phone to newly bought S21 Ultra unlocked phone from Samsung today moring and it is working fine. It wasn't working when I had checked yesterday. 

I also see that the compatability page says its compatible when I enter IMEI of my latest phone.

[greatestNothing]

So I believe this is the answer for anyone like me who switched to XM when they first started and weren't allowing BYOD. I had grabbed the lowest price phone and just took the sim out and transferred to my good unlocked phone. For some reason this time it wasn't just transferring service anymore(maybe too many different devices? I started with Note8, went to S10+, then to Note10+ and now the S21U) so I dug out the old Moto E5 they gave me and put the sim in it for about 20 minutes. Once it was set up and able to make calls/text I switched the sim back to my S21U and I'm getting full 5G and can finally make calls. Hope this helps some of you. 

[KDoutt]

UPDATE:
My unlocked, direct from Samsung S21 is now showing as compatible! I'm pairing my sim in the app right now, just had to insert my old sim into the S21, go to the Xfinity Mobile app, go to devices, then my line. There was a button at the top that let me pair my sim!

It's still in process, but it's not saying it's not compatible anymore. Again, mine is just a base S21, not a plus or the Ultra, but we may be in luck!

[BubbaBubba]

Thanks for the tip, using the xfinity mobile app. Pairing SIM to new device in progress, indicated can take up to 6 hours. Hope this was the solution.

[tamoorlatif]

I have got three S21 phones directly from Samsung with S9 trade ins. I called and spent an hour with teir 1. Was told about not being compatible because phone was not purchased from Xfinity Mobile. There was argument on how S21 purchased from Xfinity is different since they get it from Samsung. I was transfereed to Teir 2. There was back and forth and eventually Teir 2 person got green light from her supervisors that S21 is indeed compatible. Then it took 2 hours to get it to work and show up on my Xifnity Devices page. Teir 2 person said they have not done this type of activation before and for every error she had to put me on hold and get guidence from somewhere. 

Yesterday I got second phone, called teir 1 again and asked to get transferred to teir 2. The teir 2 person said this is her first week on the job after training. She asked her teir 2 supervisors for help and was told the S21 phone is still on pre-order and there is no way it can get activated even if it was compatible. I asked how do you explain S21 that was activated yesterday and showing up on my Devices pages. Answer was we don't know and not all devices are created equal. I did not wanted to argue or waste my time. So i disconnected and now i have 2 phone that are not activated and one that is activated and working. I am not sure what i am going to go from here. 

[TwistingSpells]

I called and talked to tier 2 on the 27th when I got my phone.  They tried to force the IMEI in, but I noticed today that it had gone away under my account, but I tried the pair option, and my cell service immediately dropped. It came back up a short time later after I restarted my phone, but tier 2 says it may take some time before billing recognises the SIM.  It's weird that the pairing system recognizes the SIM and detects my model, but not the billing side.

[Sheena3248]

I feel like I am in the same boat. I hope Samsung and Xfinity can work together to get this fixed. 

[BubbaBubba]

Noticed today, I have no mobile data, only wifi and phone still shows as incompatiable. I can make calls, receive and send texts. At this point I don't know what else to do here.

Update: Finally spoke w/ a manager at XM, they are in the process of adding all the unlokcked phones/red-tape from Samsung w/ an ETA of 02/09/21. She indicated that is why my mobile data is not working and created an appointmnet to follow-up w/ me next week.

[Sdultra]

Isn't this the most Mickey Mouse BS you've ever heard. Let's be honest, XM just really wants you to buy handsets from them even though their own website states that you can buy the S21 directly from Samsung. Now we're all sitting around hoping they'll get their act together and straighten this all out while we hope we haven't invested our money on an $800+ brick.

[Bmoe33]

I gave up and transferred my service to Verizon plus i will receive $300 e-credit for transferring my number. I tried 2 times dealing with customer service and once at XM store. They stated unlocked was not supported on their network i informed them they are using Verizon network for cell service and didn't get a response. The lies they makeup i just left.

[BubbaBubba]

I think I am going to do the same, switch to Verizon, just tired of the BS from XM. Checked my status/compatiability on Verizons web site and I am good to go, plus the $300 e-gift card is nice...

[Sdultra]

Thought I'd give them one more chance and called customer service again, figuring that after 4 days they might have a reasonable and consistent message for all of us affected by this debacle.  Well they fell flat again telling me it was not compatible.  Now, just so it doesn't get lost here is the original message direct from Comcast/Xfininty wesite stating that you COULD order directly from Samsung

[Bmoe33]

They created a mess i was enjoying the service until i bought a device my Verizon sim card comes tomorrow cant wait to get started with my new phone.

[TwistingSpells]

Today, the system still didn't recognize the IMEI.  I sent my trade in S10+ back to Samsung.  I talked to them and asked them if the IMEI for the S10+ was still active if there would be an issue, they said there may be.  Now, they may just not know for sure and it may be fine, but I wasn't taking chances.  I called Xfinity and it looks like I got it taken care of.  If any of you want to do it, be prepared to set aside at least an hour of your time, more if they don't fix it right the first time.  I was on the phone over 3 hours between 3-4 calls.

1)  They needed to rebuild my account, which means your cell service will be inactive if and while they do so for you, make sure to call from another line, Skype from a PC, anything but from your mobile service on your new or old device.

2) Tell them you need to add a new unlocked S21, but the system doesn't recognise it and says it's unsupported. It's brand new direct from Samsung, and Xfinity has already said it's supported.  This needs to go through tier 2, make sure you either get through to them, or the agent talks to them.  Some of the tier 1 agents just waste time and you get nowhere.

3) Since they're going to be removing any information on your new phone, including the paired information if you managed to at least pair it, make sure to reiterate the model exactly, and the IMEI.  First attempt put a S21 Ultra in the system with my S10+ IMEI, second time got the right IMEI, but as a S21+ instead and they didn't set it active, so after a few minutes, that one was gone.  Last call removed the pair, added the device correctly, added an active line for it that gave me a new number, and then transferred my old number back to it.  I will be following up on this, since it still shows the new number online on my account, but the proper number is working for incoming calls.  I won't be completely satisfied until the online account syncs properly.

Edit:  The active device now shows the correct phone number, I'm hoping this is the end of it.

[Sdultra]

Well you must have gotten really lucky, because all I keep hitting is a brick wall with these people.  even using this forum and your story as further evidence, but they just don't get it.  

[Sdultra]

I'm now with AT&T. $250 BYOD reward card with no contract online only. Phone provisioned right up. No more ridiculous non-compatability issues.

[TwistingSpells]

Now the old deactivated lines and devices are gone, just showing my correctly-provisioned S21 Ultra.