Database Info

AT&T FAQ

Hello, I am opening this thread so that I may convey some info to you guys about how things work at AT&T Mobility, more importantly about the upcoming HSPA+ and data packages.
Some abbreviations:
COR = Corporate Retail Store
CARE = Customer Service
OLAM = Online Account Manager
How do I find out if I'm eligible to upgrade?
There are several ways to do this, be it going to a COR store, calling CARE, or checking OLAM. However, the easiest way is to check with the star command *NEW#, or *639#. Just call that number and you will soon receive a text message letting you know your upgrade eligibility.
Note: Will not work on some accounts (Notably business accounts) and if you have a balance on your account.
Is there any other handy star commands?
Yes:
*DATA# (Data Usage, Including Messaging Usage)
*BAL# (Account Balance Info)
*PAY# (Bill Payment)
*MIN# (Minutes Balance, Including Rollover)
I have Unlimited Data, will I get to keep it if I upgrade to an Inspire?
If you have the old MediaMax plan, no. However, you should be offered the old/new $30 Unlimited Smartphone Data Plan.
If you have the old/new $30 Unlimited Smartphone Data Plan, yes.
If you have the $10 Unlimited Quick Messaging/Basic Data Plan, then you will have to move to one of the new smartphone plans, Data Plus or Data Pro.
What if I'm not eligible to upgrade but still want the Inspire?
Well, your best bet is to buy it at full retail price. However, there is something else that is offered called an exception upgrade. ALL of these need to apply to you to be able to have an exception upgrade.
- Last upgrade date must be at least 6 months from today.
- Only one exception upgrade per contract length.
- No balance on the account.
- Can only exception upgrade at COR or CARE. (Revision Possible)
An exception upgrade will add $75 to the 2 year contract price of a Quick Messaging/Basic phone and $200 to a Smartphone.
Your other option is to add a stripped down line, suck up the $10 a month, and use that phone on your current line.
Can I use another line's upgrade for me?
Yes. As long as you are an authorized user you may.
Can I use another account's upgrade for me?
Technically, no. However, it all depends on that particular representative or manager. But, nothing is stopping you to upgrade one account, drive to another store, and activating the phones on their respective lines. Or switching SIM cards.
I'm available to upgrade but Radio Shack/Best Buy/Wirefly, etc. has it for much cheaper, will AT&T price match?
Once again it depends on representative/manager but short answer, no. AT&T will only price match on new lines/accounts, not upgrades. Why this is I have no idea and I believe it's a bad business practice but I'm not the boss.
Now, if you're adding a line or getting a new account, AT&T will price match a printed advertisement. However, you might get the manager to approve a Wirefly, Amazon, etc. price.
My phone broke by itself and it's within a year of the original purchase date, what should I do?
Depends on a lot of factors. If you purchased it somewhere other than at COR, CARE,or OLAM you need to follow that particular business' return policy.
If purchased at COR or CARE, and it's within 30 days of the original purchase date, take it back to COR (Even if purchased at CARE or OLAM) and they will do an in house warranty replacement.
If it's past the 30 day window, don't even bother going to COR or calling CARE, they will both redirect you to our Warranty Department which you can call at 1-800-801-1101.
I broke/wet/dropped my phone, what should I do?
If you have insurance on your plan, then call our Insurance Department (Asurion) at 1-888-562-8662.
Once again, do not bother going to COR or calling CARE, they will just direct you to the proper department. Also, don't try to play us as fools, you know what you did, and we will figure it out too.
If you don't have insurance, well....
Feel free to ask me any questions and I will add them accordingly.

Reserved for OP.

Also reserved for OP.

Question; Am I right to understand that I can get the old $30 unlimited plan back? The one that includes all data and messaging? I used to have this but then AT&T switched me to the $25/mo plan with no warning a while back, after having had it for almost a year.

wraithevolution said:
Question; Am I right to understand that I can get the old $30 unlimited plan back? The one that includes all data and messaging? I used to have this but then AT&T switched me to the $25/mo plan with no warning a while back, after having had it for almost a year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and no. There are some ways for you to get this back, but I beleive only Tier II CARE can do this. It also depends on a lot of factors, like how long ago you "lost" it, what CARE rep you speak with, how long you've been a customer, how you treat the CARE rep, if your account is in good standing with us, etc.
Don't bother going into COR, it's my understanding that the ability to "recover" the unlimited data has been removed from all COR employees, including managers.

danielsaenz said:
Yes and no. There are some ways for you to get this back, but I beleive only Tier II CARE can do this. It also depends on a lot of factors, like how long ago you "lost" it, what CARE rep you speak with, how long you've been a customer, how you treat the CARE rep, if your account is in good standing with us, etc.
Don't bother going into COR, it's my understanding that the ability to "recover" the unlimited data has been removed from all COR employees, including managers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well what is the easiest way to get to a Tier II rep.
I called today inquiring about the Inspire and an unlimited data plan and had no luck. I even went as far as asking how much early termination fee was as unlimited data was a must for me to buy the Inspire.
I am starting to think the best option will be to buy an unlocked Telus DHD and just continue to use my $10 Family unlimited plan as I do with my Hero.

You mentioned upgrading from a MediaMax plan.
I'm not sure if mine qualifies or not. I currently own a Samsung Eternity that I got on contract two years ago, and I opted for unlimited data. My AT&T account is calling it "Data Unlimited for non-smartphones." Because this was from two years ago, I think it's a mediamax plan, but the account online doesn't have that in the name. Does that count?
I would be really disappointed both paying more for internet and being capped.

danielsaenz said:
What if I'm not eligible to upgrade but still want the Inspire?[/B]
Well, your best bet is to buy it at full retail price. However, there is something else that is offered called an exception upgrade. ALL of these need to apply to you to be able to have an exception upgrade.
- Last upgrade date must be at least 6 months from today.
- Only one exception upgrade per contract length.
- No balance on the account.
- Can only exception upgrade at COR or CARE.
Thats not true. Just to clear things up, you can exception upgrade at an authorized dealer and kiosk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

dsmkrt said:
You mentioned upgrading from a MediaMax plan.
I'm not sure if mine qualifies or not. I currently own a Samsung Eternity that I got on contract two years ago, and I opted for unlimited data. My AT&T account is calling it "Data Unlimited for non-smartphones." Because this was from two years ago, I think it's a mediamax plan, but the account online doesn't have that in the name. Does that count?
I would be really disappointed both paying more for internet and being capped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MediaMax is the old iPhone plans that bundled a messaging bundle with unlimited data for a lower price. What you have is the $10 unlimited data for Quick Messaging/Basic Data.

Evilspawn said:
danielsaenz said:
What if I'm not eligible to upgrade but still want the Inspire?[/B]
Well, your best bet is to buy it at full retail price. However, there is something else that is offered called an exception upgrade. ALL of these need to apply to you to be able to have an exception upgrade.
- Last upgrade date must be at least 6 months from today.
- Only one exception upgrade per contract length.
- No balance on the account.
- Can only exception upgrade at COR or CARE.
Thats not true. Just to clear things up, you can exception upgrade at an authorized dealer and kiosk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, you can't. Either that or they would have to call CARE, which means CARE is handling it not the retailer. At the store I work at we always receive people from Best Buy, Radio Shack, Walmart, Sam's, etc. that were referred by them to us for an exception upgrade.
If you show me proof from an AT&T source, then I will change it. I want this to be the most accurate info as possible, and thank you for your contribution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

While I am sure that this wont be definitive enough proof for you, I am the manager of an authorized retailer (Agent) store, and we do exception upgrades all the time. It might be dependant on the market in question, and I know for a fact that National Retailers (Big Box Stores) cannot do exception upgrades. We also do not have to go through CARE to process it, we process it directly through POSII
Chris

that $5 a month insurance
how exactly does this work? i upgraded an Inspire. she ended up bulldozin me on $25 a month for 2gb data, that is going to run out before a month does it seems.. will need some behavior modification i see.
she asked me do i want insurance for $5 a month.. i said yes. seems like i've been payin insurance since the cingular 8125, thru the ATT Fuze, and into the Inspire 4g and never brought it in for claim.
now i've got this phone, and its very difficult to hold, has some kinda glass screen that was not present on the last two windows phones.. i can forsee this one takin a smash (and i've been a phone enabled pool jumper before and summer's comin)
so how does it work?
no-questions-asked-i-hit-it-with-a-hammer-on-purpose insurance?
or more like
you-dropped-it-and-it's-in-a-million-pieces-but-we-glued-it-back-together-and-found-out-you-rooted-it-so-yer-SOL?
more specifically:
i am rooted. will this ever affect insurance claim? i mean i'm not going to bring it in claiming software issues obviously.. but what if i pool jump? do i need to rice-and-hairdry just to unroot just to get insurance claim approved?

If you ever need to do a claim and it's a total loss, not a warranty claim (so you're actually paying the deductible), just say the phone was lost. There, problem solved. You dont have to return anything and they send you a new refurb device for what, $150?

wdkingery said:
how exactly does this work? i upgraded an Inspire. she ended up bulldozin me on $25 a month for 2gb data, that is going to run out before a month does it seems.. will need some behavior modification i see.
she asked me do i want insurance for $5 a month.. i said yes. seems like i've been payin insurance since the cingular 8125, thru the ATT Fuze, and into the Inspire 4g and never brought it in for claim.
now i've got this phone, and its very difficult to hold, has some kinda glass screen that was not present on the last two windows phones.. i can forsee this one takin a smash (and i've been a phone enabled pool jumper before and summer's comin)
so how does it work?
no-questions-asked-i-hit-it-with-a-hammer-on-purpose insurance?
or more like
you-dropped-it-and-it's-in-a-million-pieces-but-we-glued-it-back-together-and-found-out-you-rooted-it-so-yer-SOL?
more specifically:
i am rooted. will this ever affect insurance claim? i mean i'm not going to bring it in claiming software issues obviously.. but what if i pool jump? do i need to rice-and-hairdry just to unroot just to get insurance claim approved?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For starters, you can take your phone out of your pocket before you jump into a pool.
If that doesn't work, you can unroot the phone. It isn't any tougher than rooting, in fact, it's probably easier.
If the phone is in a condition to where they would be able to check for root, then yes, you need to make the effort to get it back in a returnable state, which is totally possible and feasible, if you want a replacement phone.
It's pretty common knowledge that rooting a phone voids your warranty, but only if you present it to them in that state can they know its been rooted.
If the phone explodes into pieces, how are they going to get it back to a state where they'd be able to discover you rooted? It would cost them more money and trouble to go through that bull**** than it would to give you a new damn phone, ya know?
Inspire 4G ¦ XDA Premium

wdkingery said:
how exactly does this work? i upgraded an Inspire. she ended up bulldozin me on $25 a month for 2gb data, that is going to run out before a month does it seems.. will need some behavior modification i see.
she asked me do i want insurance for $5 a month.. i said yes. seems like i've been payin insurance since the cingular 8125, thru the ATT Fuze, and into the Inspire 4g and never brought it in for claim.
now i've got this phone, and its very difficult to hold, has some kinda glass screen that was not present on the last two windows phones.. i can forsee this one takin a smash (and i've been a phone enabled pool jumper before and summer's comin)
so how does it work?
no-questions-asked-i-hit-it-with-a-hammer-on-purpose insurance?
or more like
you-dropped-it-and-it's-in-a-million-pieces-but-we-glued-it-back-together-and-found-out-you-rooted-it-so-yer-SOL?
more specifically:
i am rooted. will this ever affect insurance claim? i mean i'm not going to bring it in claiming software issues obviously.. but what if i pool jump? do i need to rice-and-hairdry just to unroot just to get insurance claim approved?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly i wouldn't get the ATT insurance at all its overpriced and the deduct. is over priced... www.squaretrade.com FTW no questions asked including water damage. oh ATT will not fix a Watered phone. so you will be SOL on that. Oh.. in all honestly they legally can't deny your claim if you have a rooted phone.. case in point Jehot vs apple = fcc saying rooting/jailbreaking is legal and services can not be terminated for that

Hi, I'm having issues with my HTC Aria. I believe it to be an issue with the microphone, since whenever I make or receive calls, I'm able to hear the person on the other line but they are unable to hear me. The phone is still within the 1-year warranty period. After contacting the AT&T Warranty Department, they told me that they'd send me a replacement phone and to send my defective phone back. Do I need to worry about unrooting my phone first? I have read conflicting information on different forums. Thanks very much for the clarification.

moka4219 said:
Hi, I'm having issues with my HTC Aria. I believe it to be an issue with the microphone, since whenever I make or receive calls, I'm able to hear the person on the other line but they are unable to hear me. The phone is still within the 1-year warranty period. After contacting the AT&T Warranty Department, they told me that they'd send me a replacement phone and to send my defective phone back. Do I need to worry about unrooting my phone first? I have read conflicting information on different forums. Thanks very much for the clarification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just an fyi this is the inspire 4g section. But anyways. I say its better to be safe then sorry and return your phone back stock. So I would say unroot

moka4219 said:
Hi, I'm having issues with my HTC Aria. I believe it to be an issue with the microphone, since whenever I make or receive calls, I'm able to hear the person on the other line but they are unable to hear me. The phone is still within the 1-year warranty period. After contacting the AT&T Warranty Department, they told me that they'd send me a replacement phone and to send my defective phone back. Do I need to worry about unrooting my phone first? I have read conflicting information on different forums. Thanks very much for the clarification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try the speaker phone. Can people on the other end hear you then?

OK guys this is not an ATT support forum. They have their own site.
Thread closed

Reselling while under contract?

Just wondering if it's possible. What I was thinking is keeping the Infuse until the SGS II comes out and then selling the Infuse and with the cash I get for it pay for the SGS.
Do I need to do anything special to my Infuse before selling it (say on craigslist)? Never done anything like this before and was just wondering if it was possible.
So far this Infuse is rooted w/ Infused v2.1. Would I need to unlock the phone? Or is the phone pretty much unlocked already with the ROM I installed?

Eddie Bombay said:
Just wondering if it's possible. What I was thinking is keeping the Infuse until the SGS II comes out and then selling the Infuse and with the cash I get for it pay for the SGS.
Do I need to do anything special to my Infuse before selling it (say on craigslist)? Never done anything like this before and was just wondering if it was possible.
So far this Infuse is rooted w/ Infused v2.1. Would I need to unlock the phone? Or is the phone pretty much unlocked already with the ROM I installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you stay in contract and pay your bill for the 2 years you can do anything you want with the phone.
It's not unlocked unless you specifically have unlocked it. Rooting and loading a ROM does not automatically unlock it.
Depending on who you sell it to keeping it rooted might be good. That's a choice you have to make. When I sell a device I usually give the buyer the option to have it rooted or not.

What ever you do just make sure you remove all accounts from your phone, especially your gmail account.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App

Personally, I would suggest using Odin to go back to stock, then going in and formatting both the internal and external sd cards so that you remove any of your information on them.
Just my two cents.

i am from other country so do not know much about att contract policy.
i wanna know if eddie sell his phone and do not fulfill his contract then what will be consequence for buyer of phone as well as eddie?
is there any chance that phone's imei be blocked/blacklisted on account of no payment?
are you guys required return phone to att if you terminate your contract midway?

The contract is just an agreement to pay for the voice and data plan for two years, and there is a standard fee for breaking it (starts at $325, less $10 per month you've paid or something), and no obligation to return the phone in this case. I can't swear that AT&T won't blacklist the phone in the case of an unpaid bill, though it seems unlikely. I assume they would simply cut off service to the person's SIM and sic a collection agency on them.

Att's prepaid service, GoPhone, and devices, are unable to be resold. Contract phones can. Do not know why, but its stated in the terms of service for each.

rohit3192 said:
are you guys required return phone to att if you terminate your contract midway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You just have to pay an early termination fee, which is like $300 and goes down each month towards zero. It's basically a loan for the cost of your phone.
No matter what the phone is yours to keep.

I've sold about 5 phones over the passed few years and everyone I was under contract. I've never had an issue nor did the buyer. You don't have to do anything special. AT&T doesn't have to be notified for any reason. It's your phone. I've even told reps I was selling my phone while I was getting an upgrade and they didn't care one way or the other. Just make sure all your personal data it wiped. That's a must.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

Wipe Data
Oh,I can recall i bought a phone from lady (USA resident) and she handed over me phone with sim card with all contacts and sms and there were some snaps also in phone
Even a pic of lady and she was beautiful

Focustom said:
I've sold about 5 phones over the passed few years and everyone I was under contract. I've never had an issue nor did the buyer. You don't have to do anything special. AT&T doesn't have to be notified for any reason. It's your phone. I've even told reps I was selling my phone while I was getting an upgrade and they didn't care one way or the other. Just make sure all your personal data it wiped. That's a must.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah ok thanks for the info. So Odin back to stock, then unlock and sell?

Rezound Owner, Seeking GS3 upgrade advice.

Hi,
My noob search didn't seem to provide the info I was seeking.
I am considering purchasing a Galaxy S III. I am on Verizon and do not have any plans on leaving Verizon anytime soon. My upgrade is in January 2013, so I will only purchase a device outright so that I do not lose unlimited data.
I have the $7/mo. insurance on the line that I have the Rezound on. Considering I would be purchasing a device outright, insuring the new device is top priority. If filing a claim, I would like to ensure that I can flash the device to stock (I guess the future will tell regarding the Verizon bootloader and whether it is unlockable and relockable (HTC's shows "re-locked")).
I don't want to compromise on any frequency bands being unavailable, so I suspect that options 1&2 below would be the only way to ensure compatibility with Verizon's network.
1. Purchase Verizon locked GS3
2. Purchase Verizon unlocked GS3
3. Purchase International GS3 (with Wolfson DAC!) and try to get it to work on Verizon.
Any hints? Please feel free to defer me to search if the answers are out there. Thanks

I have no clue what your asking
But there are high chances international s3 won't work in vzw
Also if you are buying out right get the dev edition from the Samsung site
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

If you're willing to shell out the cash, I would recommend getting the unlocked bootloader dev edition from Samsung for VZW whenever that is released. It isn't worth spending the same amount of money to get the non-dev version with a locked bootloader

gtuansdiamm said:
I have no clue what your asking
But there are high chances international s3 won't work in vzw
Also if you are buying out right get the dev edition from the Samsung site
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for not being too clear.
1. Is it possible to insure a device with Asurion that I purchase outright? I suspect I could if I bought it from Verizon (possibly Amazonwireless.com, Best Buy, or Samsung as well).
2. If I did purchase a device outright, is the International version no-go? I would need Verizon voice/3G/4G compatibility, so I suspect it would not be an option. That would be a shame since the International version has a Wolfson DAC.
3. Developer vs Normal version: will there be software development segregation and will Developer-version users be left behind since so few people will own it compared to the normal version? Also, doesn't that alert Verizon that you are a "power-user" where they suspect you may be rooted or tethering (call me paranoid). Additionally, would insurance claims be complicated with a Developer version device?
Elysium1215 said:
If you're willing to shell out the cash, I would recommend getting the unlocked bootloader dev edition from Samsung for VZW whenever that is released. It isn't worth spending the same amount of money to get the non-dev version with a locked bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figure that the sheer interest in this phone will eventually yield an unlocked bootloader. If so, what advantages would the Developer version have?
Thanks guys.

the dev edition would be less of a pain when using custom software and rooting and such
Also I dont think asution will let u insur it with them if bought form else where
I prefer best buy insurance
More coverage less annoyance
You can just bring in a phone that is less than 30 days Old and they'll insur it and there are no deductible
Int gs3 can't use 4g
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

You can add insurance at anytime from Verizon by calling 611 no matter where you purchased the phone- it just gets added to your plan. Now, would I trust that insurance would send me back a Dev phone? no way. Unless the dev phone (SCH-I535MBC and D) carries a different model number in the Verizon system (I haven't seen any - my phone is just listed as Samsung Galaxy SIII 16GB in blue not SCH-I535MBB), you'll just get a refurb with whatever internal memory and color your original phone had. I am imagining that Best Buy's insurance would do the same, but it is a lot better than Verizon's. It doesn't cover loss or theft though.

josephpalozzi said:
. I am imagining that Best Buy's insurance would do the same, but it is a lot better than Verizon's. It doesn't cover loss or theft though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, BestBuy is on the verge of bankruptcy.............

I would personally just buy the phone outright from Verizon if you want insurance (I have the Asurion insurance as well- they're definitely great).
I'm not sure how much support the Developer Edition will garner anyways- the vast majority of Verizon Galaxy S3 owners are not going to own one. Plus, with the current auto-kexec method of booting custom kernels, you don't gain much from owning one.
The biggest issue with custom ROMs on the Galaxy S3 at the moment is the risk of losing your IMEI, which has affected pretty much every S3 model regardless of carrier.
I wouldn't want to be stuck with no warranty from Samsung if this happens and we find no way to fix it.

The IMEI and associated data are able to be backed up now. As a matter of course, I have done this myself, just keeping a copy on my laptop in case anything goes horribly horribly wrong.
As for insurance, you can insure any phone you add to your account within 30 days of activating.
Asurion will replace it with the closest thing they have on-hand, so you would have to be very careful about replacement if you bought the dev edition, as it would be very unlikely that they would know/care about the differences between them.
The international version is a non-starter with CDMA carriers due to ESN locking. Besides, even if you had one with the appropriate LTE frequencies, none of the international models are CDMA, so if it activates, you would lose data any time you lost LTE.
If you're paying retail, just buy the dev edition and put $7 (or more) away every month toward replacement if anything bad were to happen to your phone. Over time, the decrease in value that comes with time will reduce the cost for replacement outright to make it worth it. Even with Asurion, you have a $100 deductible for smartphones (plus the possibility that you wouldn't get a dev edition back). If your damaged one isn't utterly destroyed and you managed to keep it for say a full year, you could probably take your $84 + whatever you can get for your busted phone + $100 (deductible), and be pretty close to the $600 retail, if it's even still that high after a year.

AlexDeGruven said:
The IMEI and associated data are able to be backed up now. As a matter of course, I have done this myself, just keeping a copy on my laptop in case anything goes horribly horribly wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree- not a single person has successfully restored their IMEI after losing it to a "0", people are just assuming this works, yet we haven't even seen a proof-of-concept.

[Q] Wanting to switch to the blaze questions

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!
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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
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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.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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?
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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!
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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.
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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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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)
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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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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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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
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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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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
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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

PSA: Unlocking your phone is illegal starting today

This just popped up in my news feed. androidcommunity.com/psa-unlocking-your-phone-is-illegal-starting-today-20130126/ WTF?!? What gives them the right to say what I can, or can not do with my own property? They get money for the purchase, regardless of which carrier I wish to use. I know this won't affect much, but just the notion alone grinds my gears. Please weigh in your opinion, I'd like to see what others think/feel about this.

This is not a surprise. Itbis not locking down the OS just the SIM lock and nice you pay off the contract you will be able to unlock it. Or if you pay full retail price for it. Either way they have the right until you pay for it in full. Most Americans think they own the device when they get a new contract but this is not true. They don't own it till the contract is up.
Sent from Batcom-SIII

zelendel said:
This is not a surprise. Itbis not locking down the OS just the SIM lock and nice you pay off the contract you will be able to unlock it. Or if you pay full retail price for it. Either way they have the right until you pay for it in full. Most Americans think they own the device when they get a new contract but this is not true. They don't own it till the contract is up.
Sent from Batcom-SIII
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This I do understand, but whenever I upgrade through T-Mobile, I never actually use the phone I upgrade to. IE: I upgraded to a HTC Marvel I never took out of the box and currently use a SGS2 T989 which I rooted and unlocked. I only unlocked it for resale value. Anyone who thinks they 'bought' a phone for $1 with a two year service agreement is a fool, yet just the prospect of criminal charges for someone who bought an unlocked phone from Ebay worth $400+ for only $150 aggravates me to no end...

Just another reason I should consider going contract free. Unless you are grandfathered into some unlimited plan, you can get Straight Talk (GSM on At&t/T-Mobile) with unlimited text calls and ~2GB data for $45 a month. I am currently with Verizon but am growing tired of how carriers think they own your device and lock it down. Hopefully the Nexus 4 will set a trend of making more phones available without a contract at an affordable price.