Samsung starts selling the unlocked Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in the United States

Better late than never. Starting today, you can buy an unlocked Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge in the US, straight from Samsung.com or from a multitude of partners.

The best thing about the unlocked Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge is that they work on just about any network, no jumping through hoops required. And that includes GSM and CDMA networks. Yes, be it Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile or any of the MVNOs that piggyback on the Big Four, your network is supported.

Review: Samsung Galaxy S7 review

Review: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review

Troubleshooting: 6 problems with the Galaxy S7/Galaxy S7 Edge and how to fix them

Here’s a list of the cellular bands that the unlocked editions of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge support:

• GSM: Band 2/4/5/8
• UMTS: Band 1/2/4/5/8
• CDMA 1x & EVDO: BC0, BC1, BC10
• TD-SCDMA: Band 34/39
• FDD-LTE: Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/18/19/20/25/26/29/30
• TDD-LTE: Band 38/39/40/41

This assortment of bands means that not only you can take your device from network to network in the US – and save big in the process – but the unlocked Galaxy S7/Edge will work at fast speeds on many networks from around the world. With devices bought from carriers – even those paid upfront – you don’t get this sort of peace of mind.

The second best thing about the unlocked Galaxy S7/Edge is the absence of bloatware, or at least, of carrier bloatware. The annoying, sometimes downright exploitative modifications that operators make to the devices they carry ruin the user experience. Buying an unlocked Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge means you get to experience the phone the way Samsung envisioned it.

The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge will sell unlocked through Samsung’s online store, as well as on Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Sam’s Club and Target.com. Several phone distributors also signed up to sell them, so they will become even more accessible in the future.

If you were hoping for a nice discount, Samsung isn’t willing – for now – to offer it for the unlocked Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. As such, the Galaxy S7 costs $669.99, and the Galaxy S7 Edge $769.99. Definitely not cheap, but if you can afford paying upfront, we’d definitely recommend going unlocked.