Database Info

AT&T&T-Mobile - oh boy! we are really in trouble!!!

oh boy! we are really in trouble!!!
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/24/...s-fcc-again-with-atandt-3g-bands-a-pre-acqui/

It's not that bad. After a month with them they remove your frontal lobe and implant a chip. Once you're assimilated and become one of their minions, you'll stop complaining and begin worshipping Lord Jobs. Believe me, resistance is futile.
Sent from my at&t Vibrant 4G using XDA Premium App.

This is a moot point. The vibrant and similar already work with at&t bands. Otherwise what would be the point of unlocking?
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

they gave it a new model number SGH-T959P

chadster214 said:
they gave it a new model number SGH-T959P
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I knew about this device back in mid jan. Just never knew what it was. Lol
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

calin75 said:
It's not that bad. After a month with them they remove your frontal lobe and implant a chip. Once you're assimilated and become one of their minions, you'll stop complaining and begin worshipping Lord Jobs. Believe me, resistance is futile.
Sent from my at&t Vibrant 4G using XDA Premium App.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROFL!!!!
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

You T-Mobile babies stop crying
AT&T is not that bad....in fact in my hometown it's great! I get HSPA/3G speeds all day long while my wife (a T-Mobile user) can't get anything but Edge/2g on her so called Galaxy S "4G"...lol hehe.......about 45 minutes out of town she can though. Which goes to show, although T-Mobile has the fastest down/up speeds, they do not have the range of service satellites they need to cover these small, lost, and forgotten towns out here.
But with the combined power of almighty AT&T, the impossible becomes possible, thus conquering little guys like Sprint, Verizon who forcefully bully their way on to consumers with promising and emasculate devices that carry overpriced, heart ripping contracts that leave people dam near pulling the lint out of their pocket to pay bills

The only way this will be good is if they don't jake up my bill and get rid of my unlimited. I have great coverage where I live but when I go on a little trip and I mean little I lose recwptionrecwption
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

I predict a few things happening.
1 ) All the prices will be jacked up by at least $20 to $30 & for no good reason but to pad the paychecks of the executives.
2) Customer Service will be ****-tastic for what ever is left standing.
3) What ever phones come out under this new arrangement will be chit-locked like the iPhone & we will have to resort back to exotic tricks to get the devices rooted / unlocked.
It will happen, just wait for it... Make sure you have an unbrella for when it does.
/rant
AT&T has a problem with it's customers. Their problem is that they are being provided a service. Their solution to this problem is to take people's money and not provide any service.
/end-rant

Speculation is that AT&T will likely have to divest itself of 40 to 50 percent
of T-Mobile USA customer base and the likely winner of that will be Sprint.
So if you stay with TMO to see what the outcome is you might not
end up with AT&T, but with Sprint.
http://www.tmonews.com/2011/03/anal...to-divest-part-of-t-mobile-possibly-to-sprint

Orionshock is on the money. I like T-mobile. I do not like AT&T.
It's nothing but bigger bills & mierda for T-Mobile customers. Send an email to your congressman, for whatever it's worth.

One of my paintball buddies says he has an out of state friend that works for AT&T
and he is in Florida right now working on T-Mobile towers.
I was hoping this nightmare would go away but apparently AT&T has greased
some palms at the FCC and DOJ and are sure this is a done deal.

COOL!!! full 3g speed on my 5 1/2 year old baby girl's toy phone... IPHONE4 lol

+1
orionshock said:
I predict a few things happening.
1 ) All the prices will be jacked up by at least $20 to $30 & for no good reason but to pad the paychecks of the executives.
2) Customer Service will be ****-tastic for what ever is left standing.
3) What ever phones come out under this new arrangement will be chit-locked like the iPhone & we will have to resort back to exotic tricks to get the devices rooted / unlocked.
It will happen, just wait for it... Make sure you have an unbrella for when it does.
/rant
AT&T has a problem with it's customers. Their problem is that they are being provided a service. Their solution to this problem is to take people's money and not provide any service.
/end-rant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...and the 10 chars

All of the announcements are a bit over zealous. It would take over a year IF the government even allowed the merger, since they would be a sim card monopoly in the US.. doubt it will happen if you ask me.

Not so fast. Sprint is saying Don't let it happen. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...-mobile-deal-will-harm-industry-users-1-.html

[Q] If T-Mobile is sold to AT&T...

Will you switch services and what phone will you buy?

Depends on the prepaid prices and if current prices will be honored. If not, back to Virgin Mobile I will go. They're getting some good android phones, hopefully dev support picks up for them.

This depends on whether or not I can back out of my contract without paying. If I can, then I'm off to Verizon. I won't stick with AT&T if I don't have to, and I won't go back to Sprint.

Never had an at&t contract or knew anyone that did. I take it they such, huh?
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA Premium App

Can't think of a single pleasant experience I ever had with them in a single year of use. Yet in the three years I've been with T-Mobile, I have only had one unpleasant experience.

What? AT&T already bought T-Mobile at like the beginning of this year. I thought they were just waiting on something before they changed things.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

yentlequible said:
What? AT&T already bought T-Mobile at like the beginning of this year. I thought they were just waiting on something before they changed things.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet, It needs to be approved that its not in violation of any monopoly laws.

hailthethief said:
Not yet, It needs to be approved that its not in violation of any monopoly laws.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What GSM carriers besides the two of them exist in North America? I mean, on a nation-wide scale. Because quite frankly, I can't think of a single one besides AT&T & T-Mobile.
If they're the only two nation-wide ones, and AT&T becomes the ONLY nation-wide GSM carrier, doesn't that make it a monopoly?

tehjeh said:
What GSM carriers besides the two of them exist in North America? I mean, on a nation-wide scale. Because quite frankly, I can't think of a single one besides AT&T & T-Mobile.
If they're the only two nation-wide ones, and AT&T becomes the ONLY nation-wide GSM carrier, doesn't that make it a monopoly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what the FCC is discussing.

Sprint and Verizon aren't nationwide?

Someone pls enlighten me what are monopoly laws
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA Premium App

Gsm
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

HolyGhostBoy1 said:
Someone pls enlighten me what are monopoly laws
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically it means a company cant go around and purchase all of one industry and corner the market on a certain product or service and be the only one to offer it. Correct me if im wrong.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA Premium App

GDofWR420 said:
Basically it means a company cant go around and purchase all of one industry and corner the market on a certain product or service and be the only one to offer it. Correct me if im wrong.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, that's the idea of it. There has to be competition, or else they can really set the price to whatever they want, blahblahblah.

A while back, ATT nearly was a monopoly, and they were forced to split into many parts and sell those off to increase competition.. Now they are buying everyone back again lol. I used to have Cingular for my mobile service.. then they were bought by ATT about 8-10 years ago. Didn't have a problem with the merge, and my reception actually improved.
I remember having a bad experience with ATT when I moved and transferred my DSL service to my new apt. The service really sucked (it was too far from the connection office), and I wanted to cancel, but was told I still had 3 months left on the old contract. So I let the 3 months go by so I didn't have to pay an ETF.. after that, I called to cancel, and now, they said when I moved, I entered into a new yearly contract at the new address, and would be charged a $250 ETF. I did no such thing, and didn't sign any new contract. It was BS, and took over a month to get rid of them.
Was so pissed off I switched to Sprint later that year, and haven't had any ATT services for about 5 years. I'm happy with T-mo, and their pre-paid $50/month plan is pretty nice. I hope ATT doesn't change that, otherwise I'll be switching carriers again.

Homestly tmobile sucks,especially their customee service..they do provide the weakest lineup compare to other carriers..they dont have roll over minutes or one fav person as your favorite to use unlimites minutes..so for a person who talks a lot and has 1500 minutes still doesnt cut it!!
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

daxecutioner24 said:
Homestly tmobile sucks,especially their customee service..they do provide the weakest lineup compare to other carriers..they dont have roll over minutes or one fav person as your favorite to use unlimites minutes..so for a person who talks a lot and has 1500 minutes still doesnt cut it!!
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BS. First off, I have 3 phones that use a shared 1500 minutes, and I use my phone all the time...never even come close to using all my minutes. Second...if you do, just go to the unlimited plan for $49.99, can't beat that.
mm0

pudgybunnyBry said:
Sprint and Verizon aren't nationwide?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are but they are CDMA
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

muzicman0 said:
BS. First off, I have 3 phones that use a shared 1500 minutes, and I use my phone all the time...never even come close to using all my minutes. Second...if you do, just go to the unlimited plan for $49.99, can't beat that.
mm0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 My wife and I have had T-Mobile for about 10 yrs now and have always been happy. I have 4 lines (2 with 3000 minutes + unlimited text/data and 2 with 600 minutes and 300 texts). I have always been given great service the few times I had to call. They have always given us the new user discount 18-19 months into the contract for cheaper upgrades too. My work cell used to be AT&T, but then changed over to Verizon and I found both of them to be lacking in every way. I always check the Costco phone kiosk for deals. picked up a BB pearl the week it hit for $29, a Samsung Highlight the week it hit for free, and my SGS4G for $50 bucks back in February when it came out for allowing them to change my number on the renewed plan... lol. I missed the MT4g for a penny (yeah, $0.01) by a week for the wife, but still only paid $150 for it.
I'm not sure what I'll do. I guess that depends on what AT&T does with this side of their house. Might swing a GS2 in with a change over if/when it happens. All I know is T-Mobile has always been great to us and we have stayed b/c of that and they have the best plans/pricing out there.

hailthethief said:
Not yet, It needs to be approved that its not in violation of any monopoly laws.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
crosses fingers that it violates monopoly laws

How to SIM unlock htc one x....

I was going to sell my one x and met a guy at McDonald's....I have at&t...he had Verizon....I called sprint and they gave me an unlock code that didn't work at all leaving me looking dumb....then bought one off of eBay and that did nothin either.. when inserting sim of diff provider brings up enter sim unlock code...please help:banghead:
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium

Please don't post your same question in multiple places.

redpoint73 said:
Please don't post your same question in multiple places.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I posted here thinkin it was one x originally my bad
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium

It was a bit difficult to understand your question, but from what I got, I can tell you that the "AT&T exclusive" One X OR One X+ will not work with a Verizon SIM regardless.

teambeck53x said:
I posted here thinkin it was one x originally my bad
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regardless of the sim's unlocked status, I'm not sure that an AT&T One X (or One X+ for that matter, which phone do you have anyway?) will work on Verizon's network.

I understand Verizon won't work with it....I sold one x and now have x plus.....my buyer on eBay has tmobile which should work tho.....what Ya Think
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium

Called sprint for a buddy and fixd his phone prob today that's y it was in my head ....all if had is art one x and plus now....so att will work with tmobile...no Verizon...what else will it work on? Me prepaid h20 or something
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium

somearticle said:
Unlocking smartphones: Illegal
That’s right — unlocking your smartphone so you can take it to another wireless carrier will soon be illegal, unless authorized by your carrier. This, despite the fact that the Register has allowed unlocking since 2006.
There are some exceptions to this rule — but they aren’t worth cheering for. Specifically, you may unlock any phone you own now, or buy between now and “ninety days after the effective date of this exemption.” As of January 2013, however, unlocking your device without permission is decidedly against the law.
Now, you’re probably asking “Why in tarnation did they change this?” Because, according to the Register, the firmware on your phone — the software that, among other things, locks you into a specific carrier — is copyrighted, and therefore cannot be changed without violating the law. And since there are many more unlocked handsets on the market nowadays, and wireless carriers often provide ways for customers to unlock their phones, there’s really no reason for you to do what you want with your device. Makes sense, right? Right?! Sigh…
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't get in the habit of unlocking phones, it now against the law
Slithered from my HTC One X+

Thanks.....I just wondered for information purposes...n that's all bull**** tho...nice law :banghead:
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium

superchilpil said:
I wouldn't get in the habit of unlocking phones, it now against the law
Slithered from my HTC One X+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What country are you talking about? In the U.S. and most of Europe it is completely legal.

Never knew this......I'm US.....y are there so many sites and phones n ways to unlock then? That's nuts....it's our phones...**** em
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium

Kraizk said:
What country are you talking about? In the U.S. and most of Europe it is completely legal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No this year at least in the US they passed a law effective January 1st making it illegal to unlock your phone without the carriers permission
You have 90 day grace period so its not really effective until April.
Slithered from my HTC One X+
---------- Post added at 09:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:30 PM ----------
teambeck53x said:
Never knew this......I'm US.....y are there so many sites and phones n ways to unlock then? That's nuts....it's our phones...**** em
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well its a new law like I said, I'm pretty sure once they are able to enforce it. They could just blacklist all phones on other carriers so even if you could get the code it wouldn't work.
Here's the PDF. https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2012-26308.pdf
Page 65 number 3 is the description of the law
Slithered from my HTC One X+

superchilpil said:
No this year at least in the US they passed a law effective January 1st making it illegal to unlock your phone without the carriers permission
You have 90 day grace period so its not really effective until April.
Slithered from my HTC One X+
---------- Post added at 09:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:30 PM ----------
Well its a new law like I said, I'm pretty sure once they are able to enforce it. They could just blacklist all phones on other carriers so even if you could get the code it wouldn't work.
Here's the PDF.
Page 65 number 3 is the description of the law
Slithered from my HTC One X+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not know this. We're regressing in our laws. On the bright side, it appears that we're getting more unlocked options from the start and carriers are less resistant to unlock these days.
Does anyone have a One X working on T-Mobile?

'busa said:
I did not know this. We're regressing in our laws. On the bright side, it appears that we're getting more unlocked options from the start and carriers are less resistant to unlock these days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't aware of the new law either. That is total BS. The telecom industry makes the rules in the US, and it hurts consumers much more often then not. In many other countries, they do not even have SIM lock anymore, and all phones work on the same bands. And they get faster data speeds at much lower prices. The way the industry functions in the US is confusing and convoluted beyond belief.

Works ok on T-Mobile
Sent from my HTC One XL

redpoint73 said:
I wasn't aware of the new law either. That is total BS. The telecom industry makes the rules in the US, and it hurts consumers much more often then not. In many other countries, they do not even have SIM lock anymore, and all phones work on the same bands. And they get faster data speeds at much lower prices. The way the industry functions in the US is confusing and convoluted beyond belief.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have too few posts to post links, but look up a book called "The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use "Plain English" to Rob You Blind" by David Cay Johnston. It's not really a conspiracy, just business and these companies have inched themselves a little by little into our lives to a very uncomfortable degree.

superchilpil said:
No this year at least in the US they passed a law effective January 1st making it illegal to unlock your phone without the carriers permission
You have 90 day grace period so its not really effective until April.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not quite. It only applies to phones purchased more than 90 days after the rule goes into effect. Any phone you own before that date can be freely unlocked.
Also, to anyone who might be confused: This applies only to carrier/sim unlocking. Rooting/bootloader unlocking/jailbreaking is still legal.

iElvis said:
Not quite. It only applies to phones purchased more than 90 days after the rule goes into effect. Any phone you own before that date can be freely unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know. But its still crappy for consumers. The next phone many of us get will be subject to this new law.

This new law only applies to US. Throughout Europe the law still stands that it is not illegal to unlock a carrier. In fact in some countries ie Italy, mobile companies are not allowed to carrier lock their mobiles.

Hunnypot said:
This new law only applies to US. Throughout Europe the law still stands that it is not illegal to unlock a carrier. In fact in some countries ie Italy, mobile companies are not allowed to carrier lock their mobiles.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You bumped a two-month-old thread to tell us something that's been discussed to death here. Congratulations.

Called AT&T to complain about locked bootloader, response was "it may be temporary"

Called AT&T to complain about locked bootloader, response was "it may be temporary"
I dialed 611 to contact AT&T about my displeasure at the locked bootloader (you should too!) and after speaking with an "android specialist" the rep told me that it was an AT&T corporate decision but he also said it was temporary. After talking to the manager he told me they would pass on the complaint the engineers. I'm not sure I believe the claim that it will be temporary, but perhaps we can get more people to call in and get complaints filed and possibly learn more. I'm still unsure about whether or not to return this phone, I am a big cyanogenmod fan and I would have no reason to stay on the service especially if future samsung devices are locked.

Interesting. I hope this "android specialist" wasn't just talking out of his ass.

mattdm said:
Interesting. I hope this "android specialist" wasn't just talking out of his ass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's honestly my guess, but I don't know what else to do besides get a refund. I figured I would at least humor them with a formal complaint.

If you want CM, don't buy the S4. Don't buy a phone because of what it might become. Buy a phone because of what it is. I will not buy this phone if the bootloader remains locked.
Sent from my HTC Vivid.

I dont see that being true...Our carriers have a non existent track record of going and unlocking boot loaders after the fact. Either it's unlock-able from the get go, or not at all. they really dont care about the flashing community. They care about profits, which are greater when They aren't getting bricked phones back for warranty replacements.

he was some what honest, temporary as in until some1 here unlocks it. Att wont lol

ALL!!!!!!! GS4 owners heck all ATT Android users need to call CS , ATT Facebook post and tweet.....hammer them in social meda
Im not even planing on purchasing GS4 and have already posted my dissatisfaction on their facebook.
---------- Post added at 04:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:08 PM ----------
joshyy_rey said:
I dont see that being true...Our carriers have a non existent track record of going and unlocking boot loaders after the fact. Either it's unlock-able from the get go, or not at all. they really dont care about the flashing community. They care about profits, which are greater when They aren't getting bricked phones back for warranty replacements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true.
The HTC EVO 3D had full lockdown on Sprint & its customers spoke up and unlock was had hmmm well somewhat unlocked.
99% HTC and Sprint facebook page was covered in protest postings for a week and it made a difference.
Both Sprint & HTC caved
here you go - https://www.facebook.com/notes/htc/update-on-bootloaders/10150305151453084
XDA needs to step up sticky this thread , After all open source is what this sites about.

well lets start spamming AT&T and samsungs facebook pages.. they dont read XDA

sling said:
ALL!!!!!!! GS4 owners heck all ATT Android users need to call CS , ATT Facebook post and tweet.....hammer them in social meda
Im not even planing on purchasing GS4 and have already posted my dissatisfaction on their facebook.
---------- Post added at 04:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:08 PM ----------
Not true.
The HTC EVO 3D had full lockdown on Sprint & its customers spoke up and unlock was had hmmm well somewhat unlocked.
99% HTC and Sprint facebook page was covered in protest postings for a week and it made a difference.
Both Sprint & HTC caved
here you go - https://www.facebook.com/notes/htc/update-on-bootloaders/10150305151453084
XDA needs to step up sticky this thread , After all open source is what this sites about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i stand corrected, From all my dealings on ATT they could care less. And they are bigger than Sprint, Sprint cant afford to piss off customers, but who knows

I would send it back and purchase from TMobile. Stick your ATT SIM card and smile. They willget the message eventually.
Sent from my GT-N8020 using XDA Premium HD app

waston2013 said:
I would send it back and purchase from TMobile. Stick your ATT SIM card and smile. They willget the message eventually.
Sent from my GT-N8020 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think T-Mobile uses a micro-sim card. So you will need to get a micro-sim card from AT&T (doable from what I have heard) and have your info transferred to it by AT&T or you could use a sim cutter (I have no experience with them). Of course, that is if the T-Mobile variant is verified to use a micro-sim.
Also, it needs to be verified that the T-Mobile radio (baseband / modem) that is included in the T-Mobile phone works well on AT&T's network. Just because the phone's hardware might have the same frequencies as the AT&T network (LTE and other) doesn't mean that the stock radio (software) has been optimized to use them all.

I just posted on the AT&T facebook Totally agree that we should all speak out about this. I have high hopes for Key Lime Pie and maybe they will push an unlock then and this is just an attempt to keep selling the GS3. This phone has no advertising and an encrypted bootloader, I feel like this is just being used as a ploy to sell more Galaxy S3s while they wait for the supposedly new iPhone coming sometime soon I think. Whenever that arrives they will probably pull some crazy ass **** with the Galaxy S4, possibly unlock it and maybe push out a new version of Android. That's obviously in a perfect world though :silly:
Take all that with a grain of salt as I'm not a professional and just a Networking Administrator student XD

joshyy_rey said:
well i stand corrected, From all my dealings on ATT they could care less. And they are bigger than Sprint, Sprint cant afford to piss off customers, but who knows
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nah ATT cares , perfect example is pissing contest they are in with T-mobile currently.
I week of negative publicity with users facebook posting they are moving to T-mobile were Android is unlocked will get their attention no doubt.
A week of Samsung facebook postings they've had enough lockdown & going HTC One will grab their attention fast.

mattdm said:
Interesting. I hope this "android specialist" wasn't just talking out of his ass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
90% certain they were and confused SIM locking (usually temporary on AT&T for "exclusive" devices - which is all devices they sell using AT&T's very broad definition of "exclusive") with bootloader locking.

Entropy512 said:
90% certain they were and confused SIM locking (usually temporary on AT&T for "exclusive" devices - which is all devices they sell using AT&T's very broad definition of "exclusive") with bootloader locking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, I'm sure. I'm just in denial.

I returned a case today at at&t for my htc one and the guys there said they had alot of s4 returns and or exchanges for the note 2 or htc one over the weekend. Im sure a small few were becuase of the bootloader. Maybe the rest were becuase of the lag and bloat?

Just posted my thoughts on AT&T's FB page. Not due for an upgrade for another couple of months but I was seriously considering getting the S4.

If even a small amount of those returns included a "restocking fee", AT&T is still making money. The only way they will care is if people drop them all together as a carrier and spend their money with another carrier.
Of course, if it happens enough, Samsung may take notice of all the AT&T returns.

theraker007 said:
well lets start spamming AT&T and samsungs facebook pages.. they dont read XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol
Samsung , HTC etc techs live in XDA they know whats up lol
There praying uproar so the suits take off the chains.
Anyway by the look of this thread ATT GS4 owners aren't up to the task of making their voice heard were it matters.
Donation unlock bootloader threads wont solve the long term problem.....its just a temp fix.
EVO 3D potential buyers & owners had petition in action on day one of release , a couple weeks later with Facebook blasting Sprint & HTC made things right.
Sprint no longer requesting bootlodaer lock down and hTC will no longer do so for them

Have to admit, IF a couple thousand (every user in the XDA S4 forums including those not on ATT) users would complain about this matter they would notice. As for doing anything? I still doubt it, but someone in the inside could "leak" the info to us after seeing the outcry. Can't say it hasn't happened before...
Sent from my Galaxy S4

Sprint blacklisted phone

I am looking at picking up a 2nd nexus for the wife on Craigslist. I can get a good deal on one but the guy is still paying on the payment plan. If he bails on his plan afterward would the phone still work on at&t and T-Mobile OK? I assume sprint would blacklist it and I don't really care about that.

No, the carriers share the black list.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I957 using XDA Free mobile app

yup, in the us, and canada it seems, the providers share the same blacklist.

Buy a legitimate phone, or you'll likely end up with a pretty ornament. ?

KJ said:
Buy a legitimate phone, or you'll likely end up with a pretty ornament. ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you could move.. But by then you could probably buy multiple devices instead lol