Explain the purpose of an "unlocked" cell phone...
- Thread starter Gringo Starr
- Start date
Unclocked means a few different things. You want to ask the seller if the ESN (electronic serial number) is clean which means its not assigned to an exsisting number, stolen phone, etc. Unlocked also means where you can use the phone on an alternative carrier like swapping between Cingular and T-Mobile. If you have Verizon, make sure you get a Verizon phone, nothing else will work, I work at VZW, and i see people come in every day tryna activate phones from different carriers.
1. GSM phones (used by Cingular and T-Mobile here in the US) don't matter if they're stolen....Unlike the old days of ESNs, all u need to do is pop yer SIM card in and they work (with the same carrier of course)....at this point we don't yet have a way of blocking IMEIs (the serial #s on GSM phones)
2. If yer buying a Cingular phone (ie. Motorola V551) from Ebay, and u HAVE Cingular, there is no need for it to be unlocked.
3. The reason the Sidekick won't work with Cingular is because Danger (the company who makes Sidekick) has backdoor software that runs on it that will ONLY WORK with T-Mobile....atleast in the U.S. .....U might be able to get the PHONE to work with Cingular, but all the data features won't....and without that it's kinda pointless
2. If yer buying a Cingular phone (ie. Motorola V551) from Ebay, and u HAVE Cingular, there is no need for it to be unlocked.
3. The reason the Sidekick won't work with Cingular is because Danger (the company who makes Sidekick) has backdoor software that runs on it that will ONLY WORK with T-Mobile....atleast in the U.S. .....U might be able to get the PHONE to work with Cingular, but all the data features won't....and without that it's kinda pointless
...the best forum ever in terms of all things cellphones is howardsforums.com...
...yes, unlocked means you can use any phone with any carrier...not sure about the specificity of verizon, its best you ask at the other forum...seriously, those doods over there sent me all the files and info that i needed to unlock my razr, and put games/customized ringtones/skins on my phone...
...yes, unlocked means you can use any phone with any carrier...not sure about the specificity of verizon, its best you ask at the other forum...seriously, those doods over there sent me all the files and info that i needed to unlock my razr, and put games/customized ringtones/skins on my phone...
Since Verizon uses a proprietary technology called CDMA, you can't take a GSM phone and make it work with them....Only them and Sprint use CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)
So the only "unlocked" phones are GSM (Global System for Mobile communication)
and on a final note, I too go to HowardForums daily but keep in mind it IS an internet forum and there are morons THERE just like there are HERE lol
SO HER OTHER PHONE SHE HAS IS AN OLDER MODEL...AND IT DOESNT HAVE A SIM CARD.NOW..IF I BY A VERIZON READY PHONE ON EBAY...THAT REQUIRES A SIM CARD...DOES SHE HAVE TO PAY EXTRA?AND THEY ALSO TOLD HER THAT IF SHA CAN FIND A VERIZON PHONE FROM THE LAST 2 YEARS...HELL ACTIVATE IT FOR FREE...BUT IF SHES ALREADY A VERIZON CUSTOMER...WHY WOULD THEY CHARGE HER TO ACTIVATE A PHONE???
