Hello,
I resided in Colorado here in the states. I want to obtain a Sensation 4G from Canada (Bell or Virgin Mobile) but despite hours of trying to figure this out I simply can not figure out how to import one. Bell and VM will not ship to the US and they also want a person to sign up for a 30 day term even buying a unlocked full price phone. On top of this I can not seem to find an resellers who will ship one of these to me here in the US.
To clarify I am on AT&T and as such need one of these phones as T-Mobile's model will not work for 4G
Any advice on this would be great, Thank you.
id hate to say it, but youre SOL for the time being...bell HATES their hardware going anywhere but bell, and as for virgin, theyre a little more leinent, but wont ship out of canada...your best bet is to try to strike an arrangement/deal with a canadian XDA member to buy and ship one to you...
the other downside is that the canadian S4G isnt carrier unlocked yet
Thank you very much for the information, this is exactly what I feared. I think I might need to just put my money in my sock drawer for now and wait at atleast for them to start unlocking the phones before going through the hassle of contacting a friend in Canada to have them ship me a phone.
Thanks again.
I bought a Bell Sensation 4G from Wireless Wave for the full price ($549 CAD). There were no hassles, contracts, etc.
The only downside at the moment is there are no unlock codes available for Bell Sensation IMEIs; supposedly, this should become available this week.
There are several online shops that will ship to you, I have one myself. Just waiting for the unlock codes
Funk2641 said:
There are several online shops that will ship to you, I have one myself. Just waiting for the unlock codes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you point me in the direction of a specific shop? I can not seem to find one.
routehero said:
I bought a Bell Sensation 4G from Wireless Wave for the full price ($549 CAD). There were no hassles, contracts, etc.
The only downside at the moment is there are no unlock codes available for Bell Sensation IMEIs; supposedly, this should become available this week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was this purchase from a physical store or the website?
Jeffery.Lenz said:
Can you point me in the direction of a specific shop? I can not seem to find one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://negrielectronics.com/htc-z710a-sensation-850-1900-3g.html
http://www.gsmnation.com/htc-sensation-z710a-3g-850-1900-mhz.html
I got mine from Negri...problem is, it's still locked
Funk2641 said:
I got mine from Negri...problem is, it's still locked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shame neither location has them, and they are significantly more expensive then the cell carrier prices.
i am also curious what carrier your phone is locked to?
Jeffery.Lenz said:
Shame neither location has them, and they are significantly more expensive then the cell carrier prices.
i am also curious what carrier your phone is locked to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Att as well, the phone is locked to Bell at the moment. Just waiting till the unlocked codes are available.
Check the unlock threads in General guys, the codes are out. Should be super easy to get one now as long as your willing to pay full price.
I got my hands on a brand new ATRIX 2 (AT&T) and want to use it with my T Mobile prepaid. Cellunlocker stated that it would be 4-6 business days to send me the code. 4-6 days??? Come on! Does this sound reasonable?
Some companies are like that.
Others claim 15 to 20 minutes, guess you fell into one of the longer ones. Nothing to do but wait, hopefully they'll have it for you before then.
Sent from my Motorola Droid Xyboard 10.1 with Verizon 4G LTE
Actually it is and I will tell you why. Nobody can do an Atrix 2 in 10 to 15 minutes. That is how long they will take to submit your order after you pay. It is word games to trick you into thinking you will get a faster unlock. At this time, until the Atrix 2 is in the AT&T unlock database, which takes about nine months after release, there is only one server (that I know of) to get the codes and all the unlocking services are using the same server. That server only accepts batch orders twice a day Monday through Thursday, one batch early on Friday and one batch Sunday evening. So if you ordered Friday night your order cannot be submitted to the server until Sunday. The turnaround time for this server is two business days, including the day it was submitted. So most likely your code will come back Tuesday. From a late Friday purchase that would be five days including the day you ordered. If you are lucky it might come back Monday. I just got an Atrix 2 sent to me from the U.S. last week. U.S. time my unlock order was submitted around 10:30 p.m. Monday evening and the code returned just before Noon on Wednesday (2 business days). Since I subscribe to the unlocking service as a reseller I was notified immediately by the server when my code returned. If you are using a reseller you also need to wait for them to contact you once your code is returned by the server. I hope this explains why you need to wait. Once the codes are in AT&T's database turnaround time will be minutes and the price will drastically drop to a few dollars at the most. Right the cost on these codes run between $15 to $30 for them. The cheapest code resellers are on ebay. Usually the website based resellers will charge around double the eBay sellers. The eBay sellers sell the codes very close to their wholesale cost and only make a few dollars per unlock, if they are lucky.
Also you will most likely be given two unlock codes. Only one will work. If the first one does not work try the second one. One of them should work. In my case I was lucky and the first code of the two worked. Enter your code carefully and make sure you enter it correctly.
I got mine and my wife's subsidy unlock codes through at&t. They said they couldn't generate the code in- house for the A2, and the had to make a case file and send it the the "National Device Unlock Team" or something.. And like a month before, I got the code for the Infuse from them over the phone within in minutes (was my wife's phone, we returned it and upgraded her to the A2 though). Anyway, the codes for our A2's came in a little less then a week. So, I think it's normal, they probably don't have the codes for our phone readily available yet.
Aside from putting in a diff sim, you can aslo punch in #073887* in the dialer. We tried it with a diff sim once, and the sim itself had a pin lock and I was entering the subsidy code in there and it wasn't working and freaking me out when I got down to one try left... so, the dialer code is much simpler..
jboxer said:
Actually it is and I will tell you why. Nobody can do an Atrix 2 in 10 to 15 minutes. That is how long they will take to submit your order after you pay. It is word games to trick you into thinking you will get a faster unlock. At this time, until the Atrix 2 is in the AT&T unlock database, which takes about nine months after release, there is only one server (that I know of) to get the codes and all the unlocking services are using the same server. That server only accepts batch orders twice a day Monday through Thursday, one batch early on Friday and one batch Sunday evening. So if you ordered Friday night your order cannot be submitted to the server until Sunday. The turnaround time for this server is two business days, including the day it was submitted. So most likely your code will come back Tuesday. From a late Friday purchase that would be five days including the day you ordered. If you are lucky it might come back Monday. I just got an Atrix 2 sent to me from the U.S. last week. U.S. time my unlock order was submitted around 10:30 p.m. Monday evening and the code returned just before Noon on Wednesday (2 business days). Since I subscribe to the unlocking service as a reseller I was notified immediately by the server when my code returned. If you are using a reseller you also need to wait for them to contact you once your code is returned by the server. I hope this explains why you need to wait. Once the codes are in AT&T's database turnaround time will be minutes and the price will drastically drop to a few dollars at the most. Right the cost on these codes run between $15 to $30 for them. The cheapest code resellers are on ebay. Usually the website based resellers will charge around double the eBay sellers. The eBay sellers sell the codes very close to their wholesale cost and only make a few dollars per unlock, if they are lucky.
Also you will most likely be given two unlock codes. Only one will work. If the first one does not work try the second one. One of them should work. In my case I was lucky and the first code of the two worked. Enter your code carefully and make sure you enter it correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am also using T-mobile prepaid after unlock, and I had to wait for week...so it sounds normal...
Thank you jboxer for detail instructions as how unlocking works, I remember being mad with my unlock service provider as he keep telling me for 2 more days for week time(he never explained as why its taking time)...now it makes sense why he took that time..
Took me about 3 days to get unlock codes.....
hankbizzo5 said:
Took me about 3 days to get unlock codes.....
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Click to collapse
Did they give you two possible codes to try?
Sent from my Atrix 2 using Tapatalk.
Took me 3 days too.
They gave me 3 codes. The first one worked like a charm.
Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk
I'm super interested in the whole "Unlock" thing since I might want to take my phone to a different service. Since sazhagianambi seems to be our resident genius on the subject I would like to direct the questions to him:
Does unlocking the phone while still being on the network cause any "errors" on said network (e.g. Unlocking AT&T and staying on AT&T)?
Does the unlocked phone need anything when taking it to another network (e.g. Unlocked AT&T android phone and going to straighttalk)?
Finally when everyone says "oh i have a code from __________ and it took me ___ days/weeks" are the codes different? and if not.. howcome people don't post them up? (I would understand if you want to direct the answers to me privately)
I will answer your questions since I run an unlocking service and am very knowledgeable on the subject.
Vahnyyz said:
Does unlocking the phone while still being on the network cause any "errors" on said network (e.g. Unlocking AT&T and staying on AT&T)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it causes no problems at all. The phone never sends a signal to any network that is is subsidy locked or unlocked.
Vahnyyz said:
Does the unlocked phone need anything when taking it to another network (e.g. Unlocked AT&T android phone and going to straighttalk)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. You need to go into settings and set the APN for your new carrier for data to work if the APN is not already in the phone's APN database. On a stock rom it will likely not be there. If you unlock and then flash a custom rom, the APN for most carriers will likely already be in the phone.
Vahnyyz said:
Finally when everyone says "oh i have a code from __________ and it took me ___ days/weeks" are the codes different? and if not.. howcome people don't post them up? (I would understand if you want to direct the answers to me privately)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Codes are unique to each and every device. They are usually based on the IMEI number alone, but in some cases they are also based on locked carrier ID and other numbers in the phone (such as an SVN number in some Motorola phones - does not apply to the Atrix or any other Moto Android phone).
Also, in the case of the Atrix 2 AT&T can and does change the unlock codes OTA once the phone is activated on their network. That is why when you get an Atrix 2 unlock code, you may receive two or three unlock codes. These are all codes that are in the databases for a specific IMEI and the wholesalers don't know which one is correct. They don't know if the original moto assigned unlock code is correct or if the AT&T one has been sent to the phone OTA. So they provide all known codes and tell you to carefully try them all. In the case of my personal Atrix 2, the first code worked and I am happily using my AT&T Atrix 2 in Thailand on DTAC getting 4G service. Once the phone is unlocked, even if AT&T sends an OTA unlock code change, it won't matter because once you unlock the phone it stays unlocked forever, unless the carrier sends an explicit re-lock command, which they never do. You only enter the code once and it is done.
People don't post codes because they will not work on your phone. You have a limited number of attempts (usually 5 or 10) to enter the correct subsidy code. Once you have reached the limit of attempts the phone will no longer allow you to enter the code and is considered "hard-locked" to that carrier, meaning you can never unlock it by code. You will then need to have the phone hardware unlocked which is done with special software that hacks either the baseband code or NVM (non volatile memory) that is read at boot time. Hardware unlocking is dangerous and can damage your phone. Unlocking by subsidy code is the only way to safely and properly unlock your phone.
Some phones get almost instant unlock code numbers such as LG and older Motorolas as they are in databases that have been obtained by unlocking wholesalers. Some phones like very old Nokia or BlackBerry devices have calculated codes and once the algorithm is known it is just a case of computing the unlock code. Newer phones like the Atrix 2 are harder to get codes for and take two business days for the wholesalers to retrieve the codes from their source. Soon, maybe two to six months, Atrix 2 codes will likely be in the instant database and the price will drop from around $15.00 to around $2.00, but if you want your phone unlocked now I would not wait for that to occur.
Hope this answered your questions. i know I was not the intended responder but this way you get your answers faster.
I just did the unlock from these guys (unlockfusion) from ebay. they charged me $16 .. I submitted my IMIE code on Monday afternoon and Got the unlock code yesterday (Tuesday evening). That was really fast. may be I was lucky.
on a side note: Nowhere related to that company.
Googler_1976 said:
I just did the unlock from these guys (unlockfusion) from ebay. they charged me $16 .. I submitted my IMIE code on Monday afternoon and Got the unlock code yesterday (Tuesday evening). That was really fast. may be I was lucky.
on a side note: Nowhere related to that company.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is this VictoryROM? Something you ported to the A2? Is it, or is it going to be available to the community to try out?
alteredlikeness said:
What is this VictoryROM? Something you ported to the A2? Is it, or is it going to be available to the community to try out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I create my own Roms.. (All VictoryRom's are created by me) Once I feel comfortable and make sure No bugs are there... I post it.
basically I don't Like heavy Themes + Extras scripts + overclocking which most of the rom's comes with so i create my own.
My rom's consists of
As stock as possible with root and very minimum themes (Mostly ICS)
Some nice to haves like Beats audio etc
some build props edits etc.
Remove junk (But on Atrix2 I did not, as I'm new to Motorola phone so just freezed them)
these are few... So far its as stable as Stock rom.
Googler_1976 said:
I create my own Roms.. (All VictoryRom's are created by me) Once I feel comfortable and make sure No bugs are there... I post it.
basically I don't Like heavy Themes + Extras scripts + overclocking which most of the rom's comes with so i create my own.
My rom's consists of
As stock as possible with root and very minimum themes (Mostly ICS)
Some nice to haves like Beats audio etc
some build props edits etc.
Remove junk (But on Atrix2 I did not, as I'm new to Motorola phone so just freezed them)
these are few... So far its as stable as Stock rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very cool. Hope to get to check it out someday..
alteredlikeness said:
Very cool. Hope to get to check it out someday..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very soon..
Hello all, and first off, let me say congratulations on getting official CM10 and CWM support!
Here's my story (and before anyone asks, I have searched the forums for an answer, but was unsuccessful with finding my specific questions): I am currently on AT&T (was Alltel before they were bought out) with an HTC Aria and my contract for a grandfathered plan was up long ago. It is time for me to upgrade to something a little more modern and I have settled on the Blaze because of its size (I'd like a GNex, but my hands are too small) and a number of reasons. But the biggest reason is that, as I understand, it has full compatibility with both AT&T and T-mobile's 3g (4g for t-mobile) and 2g/EDGE networks.
I don't really like AT&T as a company and I also really like the monthly 4g plans that t-mobile offers. My problem is that according to t-mobile's prepaid coverage map, I won't have data service for most of the area I travel back and forth in (upper midwest USA). And as much as I dislike AT&T, they have good 3g service almost everywhere I go. So, I'd like to be able to take my current sim card and switch it and a t-mobile sim at will while I test out both service providers.
Therefore, my questions are as follows:
1) Where is the best place to buy a blaze off contract? I'd like to get one on ebay because of the price (~$200 is what I have set aside for a new phone), but there aren't that many there, and even fewer that specifically say they are unlocked - which leads to question 2.
2) Can I unlock any phone that is not on a contract (basically anything I would buy used online)? I spoke with a rep from T-mobile and he seemed to indicate that I could only unlock a phone if I was the original purchaser of it and the plan (and account) to go with it. Therefore, according to him, I would have to make sure the phone I bought was already unlocked, otherwise there would be no chance of unlocking it in the future. I would think (possibly incorrectly) that as long as I have a t-mobile account (I plan on buying and activating the $30 monthly 4g plan as soon as I receive the device to compliment my current ATT service), they shouldn't have a problem with giving me the unlock code because they did not subsidize the phone. Could anyone clear this up?
3) There are a number of sites claiming to sell unlock codes for a myriad of devices. I would consider something like that if there was no other way to unlock a second hand phone, but only if I was sure it would work and the site was legit. Are any of these sites legitimate and have you had experience with any of them?
It would be considerably cheaper and easier to find a used device that isn't unlocked, but like I said, I'm not sure if that would bite me in the rear because there is a strong chance that I will stick with AT&T due to them having service where I travel. Thanks for taking the time to read this text wall, and I can't wait to join the Blaze community! Keep up the good work!
Goodbye_Alltel said:
Hello all, and first off, let me say congratulations on getting official CM10 and CWM support!
Here's my story (and before anyone asks, I have searched the forums for an answer, but was unsuccessful with finding my specific questions): I am currently on AT&T (was Alltel before they were bought out) with an HTC Aria and my contract for a grandfathered plan was up long ago. It is time for me to upgrade to something a little more modern and I have settled on the Blaze because of its size (I'd like a GNex, but my hands are too small) and a number of reasons. But the biggest reason is that, as I understand, it has full compatibility with both AT&T and T-mobile's 3g (4g for t-mobile) and 2g/EDGE networks.
I don't really like AT&T as a company and I also really like the monthly 4g plans that t-mobile offers. My problem is that according to t-mobile's prepaid coverage map, I won't have data service for most of the area I travel back and forth in (upper midwest USA). And as much as I dislike AT&T, they have good 3g service almost everywhere I go. So, I'd like to be able to take my current sim card and switch it and a t-mobile sim at will while I test out both service providers.
Therefore, my questions are as follows:
1) Where is the best place to buy a blaze off contract? I'd like to get one on ebay because of the price (~$200 is what I have set aside for a new phone), but there aren't that many there, and even fewer that specifically say they are unlocked - which leads to question 2.
2) Can I unlock any phone that is not on a contract (basically anything I would buy used online)? I spoke with a rep from T-mobile and he seemed to indicate that I could only unlock a phone if I was the original purchaser of it and the plan (and account) to go with it. Therefore, according to him, I would have to make sure the phone I bought was already unlocked, otherwise there would be no chance of unlocking it in the future. I would think (possibly incorrectly) that as long as I have a t-mobile account (I plan on buying and activating the $30 monthly 4g plan as soon as I receive the device to compliment my current ATT service), they shouldn't have a problem with giving me the unlock code because they did not subsidize the phone. Could anyone clear this up?
3) There are a number of sites claiming to sell unlock codes for a myriad of devices. I would consider something like that if there was no other way to unlock a second hand phone, but only if I was sure it would work and the site was legit. Are any of these sites legitimate and have you had experience with any of them?
It would be considerably cheaper and easier to find a used device that isn't unlocked, but like I said, I'm not sure if that would bite me in the rear because there is a strong chance that I will stick with AT&T due to them having service where I travel. Thanks for taking the time to read this text wall, and I can't wait to join the Blaze community! Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.) Good luck. Not many people are willing to sell their blaze, especially after the past couple weeks three weeks ago you could have had a lot of takers ebay would be your best bet
2.) Tmobile rep led to you like they're supposed to. anybody can request an unlock code for their phone. Naturally if you're on their plan, they'll verify that you are the owner of the account, but still. That being said, just because you can ask doesn't mean they'll give out. If you had a plan (not prepaid) for a year or two in good standings with no late payments and said you were going out of the country for a couple months and want to use your phone on a foreign gsm network, they'd bee more inclined. As a brand new prepaid customer, good luck. Best of buying it unlocked or getting the unlock code elsewhere.
3.) I've had success and failure here. Most places are what they say, but some won't deliver. Always do research. Google that site or business to see if anybody has complained. And use paypal when you can, you could always claim you didn't get the service you paid for. Same goes with ebay buyer protection.
that chapter book out of the way, always always always research as much as you can. For all you know, I could be lying through my teeth right now
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G
jparnell8839 said:
1.) Good luck. Not many people are willing to sell their blaze, especially after the past couple weeks three weeks ago you could have had a lot of takers ebay would be your best bet
2.) Tmobile rep led to you like they're supposed to. anybody can request an unlock code for their phone. Naturally if you're on their plan, they'll verify that you are the owner of the account, but still. That being said, just because you can ask doesn't mean they'll give out. If you had a plan (not prepaid) for a year or two in good standings with no late payments and said you were going out of the country for a couple months and want to use your phone on a foreign gsm network, they'd bee more inclined. As a brand new prepaid customer, good luck. Best of buying it unlocked or getting the unlock code elsewhere.
3.) I've had success and failure here. Most places are what they say, but some won't deliver. Always do research. Google that site or business to see if anybody has complained. And use paypal when you can, you could always claim you didn't get the service you paid for. Same goes with ebay buyer protection.
that chapter book out of the way, always always always research as much as you can. For all you know, I could be lying through my teeth right now
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice. I would also consider buying one brand new from t-mobile if I knew I could unlock it right away. Do you think they would unlock a prepaid blaze if I bought it brand new and at full price from them through this link? http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/Samsung-Galaxy-S-Blaze-4G-No-Annual-Contract
Otherwise I'll be sure to buy one unlocked off ebay, as it seems that most unlock codes are $25 to $50, which would negate pretty much any cost savings by buying one off ebay that wasn't unlocked.
Code:
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Goodbye_Alltel said:
Thanks for the advice. I would also consider buying one brand new from t-mobile if I knew I could unlock it right away. Do you think they would unlock a prepaid blaze if I bought it brand new and at full price from them through this link? http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/Samsung-Galaxy-S-Blaze-4G-No-Annual-Contract
Otherwise I'll be sure to buy one unlocked off ebay, as it seems that most unlock codes are $25 to $50, which would negate pretty much any cost savings by buying one off ebay that wasn't unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like the other reply. If you bought it from t mobile and said you had to go out of county for work. And would appreciate the unlock code to use other GSM networks. While away. They get commission, so if unlock is the deal breaker, they'll prob give it to you. Or if you ask enough pple. Nicely I'm sure someones bound to give it to you.
I don't recall an unlock code thread here on xda
I've been with t mobile for 12 years if I happen to stop at a t mobile (which I plan too) ill ask for code
Goodbye_Alltel said:
Hello all, and first off, let me say congratulations on getting official CM10 and CWM support!
Here's my story (and before anyone asks, I have searched the forums for an answer, but was unsuccessful with finding my specific questions): I am currently on AT&T (was Alltel before they were bought out) with an HTC Aria and my contract for a grandfathered plan was up long ago. It is time for me to upgrade to something a little more modern and I have settled on the Blaze because of its size (I'd like a GNex, but my hands are too small) and a number of reasons. But the biggest reason is that, as I understand, it has full compatibility with both AT&T and T-mobile's 3g (4g for t-mobile) and 2g/EDGE networks.
I don't really like AT&T as a company and I also really like the monthly 4g plans that t-mobile offers. My problem is that according to t-mobile's prepaid coverage map, I won't have data service for most of the area I travel back and forth in (upper midwest USA). And as much as I dislike AT&T, they have good 3g service almost everywhere I go. So, I'd like to be able to take my current sim card and switch it and a t-mobile sim at will while I test out both service providers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you considered a carrier like StraightTalk? StraightTalk is a MVNO which resells both T-Mobile AND AT&T service. You can specify what kind of SIM you want when you order it online. Their service prices are pretty good, and in theory their network is basically either AT&T or T-Mo depending on which one you pick.
I've seen mixed reviews on their service and whether or not they'd throttle you on excessive service... some great, some bad, so it'd be caveat emptor, but if your usage pattern doesn't change, you'll likely be fine. Either way, it's up to you to do your own research (as someone else mentioned).
Goodbye_Alltel said:
Therefore, my questions are as follows:
1) Where is the best place to buy a blaze off contract? I'd like to get one on ebay because of the price (~$200 is what I have set aside for a new phone), but there aren't that many there, and even fewer that specifically say they are unlocked - which leads to question 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like eBay. Craigslist can be a little scary because the phone may or may not be stolen. T-Mobile and AT&T have already started disabling phones by their IMEI that have been reported stolen by the user or by the insurance. Soon they'll also start sharing that database, so the phone won't work anywhere in North America if that's the case. There are plenty of scams when it comes to craigslist where a "brand new phone" is purchased and then suddenly reported stolen because it was noticed missing from a back room.
This was my biggest fear in buying my S3. On eBay you get to see things like ratings on the sellers so you can find someone trustworthy, like I did Also, make sure to exercise common sense. If something's too good to be true, it very well may be.
Goodbye_Alltel said:
2) Can I unlock any phone that is not on a contract (basically anything I would buy used online)? I spoke with a rep from T-mobile and he seemed to indicate that I could only unlock a phone if I was the original purchaser of it and the plan (and account) to go with it. Therefore, according to him, I would have to make sure the phone I bought was already unlocked, otherwise there would be no chance of unlocking it in the future. I would think (possibly incorrectly) that as long as I have a t-mobile account (I plan on buying and activating the $30 monthly 4g plan as soon as I receive the device to compliment my current ATT service), they shouldn't have a problem with giving me the unlock code because they did not subsidize the phone. Could anyone clear this up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can unlock any phone you buy, legal or otherwise. T-Mobile has never cared if I was the original purchaser or not, and they shouldn't. They'll only care if it's an original T-Mobile phone or not. T-Mobile will give you an unlock code for a phone as long as you've had 90 days of uninterrupted service. On prepaid they want you to have 60 days (I think) with enough of a balance in your account to pay for another month's service. Not sure about the prepaid requirements, but you can look those up online.
Also, if you just wanna test service, I wouldn't do the monthly 4g $30, I'd do a daily. $3/day gets you relatively unlimited access, and you only need a few days worth to make a decision. Plus, you likely wanna switch to one of the better all-you-can-eat plans, and wouldn't want to be stuck for a month with the cheaper plan. It isn't easy to switch until the month is up.
Goodbye_Alltel said:
3) There are a number of sites claiming to sell unlock codes for a myriad of devices. I would consider something like that if there was no other way to unlock a second hand phone, but only if I was sure it would work and the site was legit. Are any of these sites legitimate and have you had experience with any of them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had good luck purchasing codes from eBay. Never had them not work. But with everything eBay, make sure you're using someone reputable.
Goodbye_Alltel said:
It would be considerably cheaper and easier to find a used device that isn't unlocked, but like I said, I'm not sure if that would bite me in the rear because there is a strong chance that I will stick with AT&T due to them having service where I travel. Thanks for taking the time to read this text wall, and I can't wait to join the Blaze community! Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's cheaper to find it locked, then just get it locked and buy an unlock code later. If you aren't going to use AT&T service, then you don't need to SIM unlock the phone anyways. The phone will automatically work on t-mobile, unlocked or not. Finding a good carrier is difficult, I know.
If you decide to try straight talk, you could probably go with a T-Mobile SIM that wouldn't require unlocking the phone. If you find the service lacking, you could switch to an AT&T sim and then deal with unlocking the phone.
Hope this helps.
Good point about Straight Talk. I didn't mention it in my original post, but that was my third option for service. As for getting an unlocked device, I'll probably have to buy one whether it's locked or not pretty soon, after seeing how much activity has been going on here lately, lol. Ebay again seems to be the cheapest route for getting an unlock code, and I'll have their buyer protection and Paypal in case the code does not work. (I will first, of course, call and/or online request t-mobile for an unlock after I get my T-mo account setup. Maybe I'll get lucky about unlocking before their traditional 60 days of prepaid service - if not, off to ebay it is cause I need to get my current ATT sim + number on it asap)
As for ebay codes, I've seen some cheap services that promise to unlock a phone by setting up some software on my computer and plugging the phone into the computer. They then do the unlock online. They are a lot cheaper than the regular "give us carrier and IMEI and we email code" services also found on ebay and the like. Can I trust this unknown software to be running on my computer and hacking into my phone?
I have not seen or heard of T-mobile's daily plans (like the $3/day you mention). Could you provide a link to where I can find more info on these plans? Also, if you think the $30/monthly unlimited text, data, and 100 minutes plan isn't that great, what plan(s) would you recommend? I am certainly never going to sign another contract, so prepaid or monthly is the only long term option if I decide to kill my grandfathered AT&T data plan (which is looking less likely as I know that I can expect good service where I go). I'm thinking you may be pointing me to one of their plans that allows data roaming on T-mobile affiliates? Because their post-paid data map looks a lot better, even comparable to AT&T.
If it's a T-Mobile phone and you have T-Mobile as your carrier, you can call customer care and tell them you just got service with them and are going overseas and need it unlocked so you can use a foreign sim card in it. Thay usually works well.
If not, ask to speak to a supervisor. When transferred, ask the person if they are a supervisor or just an escalation rep. If they are not a supervisor, ask them if they can help you still.
If they won't, ask to speak to an actual supervisor and try again. If all else fails, you do have a window of time to cancel, so you can always tell them you are thinking of canceling and they will probably transfer you to a retention rep. That one's a gamble since you're bluffing.
If retention won't help, hang up in the middle of a sentence and call back. Chances are, you will get a different call center and you can say you got disconnected and try the process again.
That gives you up to 6 potential reps who can help... and they can. I was customer care for a couple years and then in corporate engineering for several years. They are flexible, you just have to play the game.
Probably not the answer you want, but it's what you will have to do to get it unlocked quickly
Goodbye_Alltel said:
Good point about Straight Talk. I didn't mention it in my original post, but that was my third option for service. As for getting an unlocked device, I'll probably have to buy one whether it's locked or not pretty soon, after seeing how much activity has been going on here lately, lol. Ebay again seems to be the cheapest route for getting an unlock code, and I'll have their buyer protection and Paypal in case the code does not work. (I will first, of course, call and/or online request t-mobile for an unlock after I get my T-mo account setup. Maybe I'll get lucky about unlocking before their traditional 60 days of prepaid service - if not, off to ebay it is cause I need to get my current ATT sim + number on it asap)
As for ebay codes, I've seen some cheap services that promise to unlock a phone by setting up some software on my computer and plugging the phone into the computer. They then do the unlock online. They are a lot cheaper than the regular "give us carrier and IMEI and we email code" services also found on ebay and the like. Can I trust this unknown software to be running on my computer and hacking into my phone?
I have not seen or heard of T-mobile's daily plans (like the $3/day you mention). Could you provide a link to where I can find more info on these plans? Also, if you think the $30/monthly unlimited text, data, and 100 minutes plan isn't that great, what plan(s) would you recommend? I am certainly never going to sign another contract, so prepaid or monthly is the only long term option if I decide to kill my grandfathered AT&T data plan (which is looking less likely as I know that I can expect good service where I go). I'm thinking you may be pointing me to one of their plans that allows data roaming on T-mobile affiliates? Because their post-paid data map looks a lot better, even comparable to AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have always stayed away from anything that requires a cable. If they can't get you a code based on your IMEI, I don't bother. I used one of those once and I don't remember if it ever worked or not.
The daily plans don't seem to be well advertised on the site. I found them this time around by going to the "no annual contract plans" and then scrolling down to the bottom for daily and other services. Check it out here. I believe their prepaid coverage map hasn't been updated in ages on the site. Supposedly their prepaid coverage map is about 98-99% like their postpaid one. The main difference between the two is that prepaid doesn't allow you to do conditional call forwarding. This is necessary if you want to use another service for voice mail instead of T-Mobile's crappy voicemail.
When I signed up for Tmo they gave me 30 days to confirm if I wanted the contract. You can get a plan and if you dont like it you can just return it before the first 30 days are up and only pay for the minutes you used. This was a big deal for me as I cam from ATT like you, but needed to knwo how well the Tmo service was. I would suggest getting the unlimited everything for $60 a month. Tmo I must say has pretty good customer service. I have had a few problems with them but all it takes is a little social engineering on the phone (saying sprint/whoever will pay your ETF) and you can get some pretty good stuff
I got $10 knocked off my bill for the duration (18months or so) off my bill for an overcharge I got. I also got two free blazes 2 months before my contract was up for free as well. Plus, when/if they are bought out there is a good chance contracts will be altered/changed allowing you to get out of your contract early
Thanks for all the advice, guys. I feel like I have all the knowledge I need to go ahead with my plans. Now I just have to play the waiting game for the "right" one to pop up on Ebay. I will report back to this thread when I receive my blaze and whether I was successful with unlocking it, and any first impressions.
On a side note, does anyone know if the new 64 GB microSDXC cards are supported by the blaze? I just know that I'm gonna feel the pinch of 32 GB eventually, lol. (I already had to be picky and choosy about what was on my 16 GB card before it died)
dispozable said:
When I signed up for Tmo they gave me 30 days to confirm if I wanted the contract. You can get a plan and if you dont like it you can just return it before the first 30 days are up and only pay for the minutes you used. This was a big deal for me as I cam from ATT like you, but needed to knwo how well the Tmo service was. I would suggest getting the unlimited everything for $60 a month. Tmo I must say has pretty good customer service. I have had a few problems with them but all it takes is a little social engineering on the phone (saying sprint/whoever will pay your ETF) and you can get some pretty good stuff
I got $10 knocked off my bill for the duration (18months or so) off my bill for an overcharge I got. I also got two free blazes 2 months before my contract was up for free as well. Plus, when/if they are bought out there is a good chance contracts will be altered/changed allowing you to get out of your contract early
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Click to collapse
when I had tmo a couple years ago it was 30 days. I just signed up early september, its down to 7 days :/
Goodbye_Alltel said:
Thanks for all the advice, guys. I feel like I have all the knowledge I need to go ahead with my plans. Now I just have to play the waiting game for the "right" one to pop up on Ebay. I will report back to this thread when I receive my blaze and whether I was successful with unlocking it, and any first impressions.
On a side note, does anyone know if the new 64 GB microSDXC cards are supported by the blaze? I just know that I'm gonna feel the pinch of 32 GB eventually, lol. (I already had to be picky and choosy about what was on my 16 GB card before it died)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope. there's not many devices out there that support SDXC yet. As time goes on, it'll gain more popularity, but lets face it, as awesome as it is, the blaze is only a mid range device. I wouldnt trade it for any other phone out there, i love my blaze, but still.
jparnell8839 said:
when I had tmo a couple years ago it was 30 days. I just signed up early september, its down to 7 days :/
nope. there's not many devices out there that support SDXC yet. As time goes on, it'll gain more popularity, but lets face it, as awesome as it is, the blaze is only a mid range device. I wouldnt trade it for any other phone out there, i love my blaze, but still.
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Click to collapse
Well, that's mildly disappointing, but it doesn't affect my decision making about the phone. I'll have to somehow get by with only 32GB of storage. Speaking of which, how close is a solution to the camera only being able to save to the paltry internal storage? I do like to take lots of pictures with my phone, so this is obviously something I would hope to find a solution to.
Goodbye_Alltel said:
Well, that's mildly disappointing, but it doesn't affect my decision making about the phone. I'll have to somehow get by with only 32GB of storage. Speaking of which, how close is a solution to the camera only being able to save to the paltry internal storage? I do like to take lots of pictures with my phone, so this is obviously something I would hope to find a solution to.
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Click to collapse
You can do that with cm9. Idk why cm10 doesn't have it :/
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G
jparnell8839 said:
You can do that with cm9. Idk why cm10 doesn't have it :/
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. In a sense, CM9 has a bunch more features. When CM10 started, they basically started from scratch, and the focus was on project butter and some other things. Then they had to start forward porting their CM9 additions into CM10. There are a bunch of things in CM10 now that weren't there just a week or two ago. I think the camera thing will come, just like other features. It seems like the features are starting to come quicker too.
Keep an eye on the changelog. It lists the changes with each release
Goodbye_Alltel said:
On a side note, does anyone know if the new 64 GB microSDXC cards are supported by the blaze? I just know that I'm gonna feel the pinch of 32 GB eventually, lol. (I already had to be picky and choosy about what was on my 16 GB card before it died)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a 64gig card off Newegg about 3 months ago and it's been working just fine in this phone. In fact, what I read online indicated that just about every "recent" Android phone had no problems reading them at all.
So hey, ther'es that.
And yeah, having 64gigs is nice, especially since this phone has such small amount of user storage on the phone.
Cirkustanz said:
I bought a 64gig card off Newegg about 3 months ago and it's been working just fine in this phone. In fact, what I read online indicated that just about every "recent" Android phone had no problems reading them at all.
So hey, ther'es that.
And yeah, having 64gigs is nice, especially since this phone has such small amount of user storage on the phone.
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Click to collapse
Is it standard sd or sdxc? I read the specs said it doesn't support it :/ but, trial and error trumps all I suppose
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G
jparnell8839 said:
Is it standard sd or sdxc? I read the specs said it doesn't support it :/ but, trial and error trumps all I suppose
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all 64gb microsd are categorized as sdxc, and most of recent android phones do work with them.
I just switched to T-Mobile and got 3 Blaze phones. They should arrive today. I only took them because they were free, and I didn't want to pay for GS3's. I'll be selling one right away after the Note 2 is released. If your still looking for one in a couple weeks, lemme know.
Rob the plumber said:
I just switched to T-Mobile and got 3 Blaze phones. They should arrive today. I only took them because they were free, and I didn't want to pay for GS3's. I'll be selling one right away after the Note 2 is released. If your still looking for one in a couple weeks, lemme know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, can I ask a HUGE favor? can you not root them immediately?
I'm trying to help the dude that's been helping me with the CM access. He wants to get a copy of a partition in a virgin state (ie... not rooted or modified at all). He's trying to find a way to reset the flash counter. I'm trying to assemble a stock ROM that will be pre-rooted and won't trigger the counter.
If you can avoid rooting 1 (or better yet, 2 in case more testing necessary), I'd really appreciate it. And it'll help the community in the end
I won't root them. What do you need?
Sent from my SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2