Switching from Verizon to Sprint - General Questions and Answers

Switching from Verizon to Sprint - General Questions and Answers

So, first off, let me say I'm sorry if this is the wrong location or even forum. I'm a little clueless on the navigation of this site, so I figured General would be best.
Now for the question:
My family is most likely switching service from Verizon to Sprint, mainly because it's much cheaper and has better service where we live. Another incentive was the 50% off deal they're giving to all new customers. Now, here's where we have a problem. If we want Sprint to pay off any remaining money we owe Verizon, whether it's for early termination or the rest of our monthly phone payments, we need to turn in our old phones and get new ones. This wouldn't be bad, and it isn't for most of the family, but my mother and I both have the Note 4 and, from what I've read on Sprint threads, is rather rare as it isn't available anymore. I'm fine with moving to a G4. I would rather keep my Note as well, but it isn't essential for me. However, my mom really loves her Note and does not want to give it up.
To get around this, we were thinking of sending in her old iPhone and my old RAZR M (XT907). However, aren't sure is this is something that will actually work. Will sending in working phones that we are no longer using be accepted or do we have to turn in the Notes?
Any help is greatly appreciated. If my question makes no sense (probably doesn't ), I am happy to clarify. If I'm on the wrong forum, just give me a suggestion of where I should go. We are not willing to call Sprint again and spend 20 minutes+ on the phone to get an answer to this question.
Thank you for your time.

Related

[Q] HTC Arrive on Verizon?

Ok - I tried Sprint, and the coverage is just too bad for me to tolerate... But I really want the Arrive. I do not want a phone without a keyboard, so the Trophy won't do it for me.
I'm going to end up going back to Verizon, but I want to know if I buy an Arrive without a plan, can it be made to work with Verizon, and what consequences there would be? Someone suggested on another thread that if I wanted to get my hands dirty, I could change the ESN. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I need someone to show me what I need to do. Also, as far as consequences, would an Arrive on Verizon get updates? If no, would I be able to get updates from someone on here doing something similar?
Thanks for any suggestions.

hopmedic said:
Ok - I tried Sprint, and the coverage is just too bad for me to tolerate... But I really want the Arrive. I do not want a phone without a keyboard, so the Trophy won't do it for me.
I'm going to end up going back to Verizon, but I want to know if I buy an Arrive without a plan, can it be made to work with Verizon, and what consequences there would be? Someone suggested on another thread that if I wanted to get my hands dirty, I could change the ESN. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I need someone to show me what I need to do. Also, as far as consequences, would an Arrive on Verizon get updates? If no, would I be able to get updates from someone on here doing something similar?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK, changing the ESN is the only problem. I think you gotta have someone at Sprint/Verizon do it for you though. So hopefully that person owes you a favor

I also need to know if this would prevent me from unlocking the phone using the official dev channels. Thanks.

eternalemb said:
AFAIK, changing the ESN is the only problem. I think you gotta have someone at Sprint/Verizon do it for you though. So hopefully that person owes you a favor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Grrr... I don't know anyone at either place. Any way around that? I was hoping it would be as simple as unlock it, find the ESN, and change the ESN to match that of my Verizon Touch Pro 2. Not so simple?

While I can't help with the Sprint/Verizon transfer stuff, I can tell you that, no matter who your provider is, you will always be able to officially dev-unlock your phone. Also, you will get WP7 updates, but they will likely appear only when Sprint authorizes them even if you're on Verizon.

Thanks... Since I don't have a lot of money rolling around, I really can't afford to have a phone sitting here that I can't talk on, so I'm really interested in whether I'll be able to get both talk and data working on Verizon with the phone. Someone from Microsoft on the Windows Phone team suggested buying a phone from Zones, the official site for planless WP7 phones, saying that the people at Zones are pretty good about getting the unlock codes for the phones. Would this make a difference in getting it onto Verizon, or am I likely to still have a problem getting my phone onto their network?

I've done this before and in 2008 it was much easier than it was now (posting how to get the tp from sprint on vzw at ppcgeeks)
that said, its not as easy for a variety of reasons. Personally I haven't tried to hit up pst to see if it even works
Verizon did block the hole that was previously used in 2009, so the only way to do it is through esn hacking. And on many places, that can't be discussed.
With windows phone 7 I am unsure if the process is still the same or if sprint still used msl to lock pst on their windows phone devices. Personally I would sell the arrive, wait a few weeks, and then go to the htc mozart on vzw's network. I know it's just me, but I haven't really begun to look at a cdma htc arrive to see if an esn change/hack is even possible on this platform.
I know vzw's stance on adding esn - they won't do it no matter who you are. You can try to send the device to them, but that has a very low rate of acceptance. The vzw handset alliance is a joke imho, which leaves users frustrated and with very little options.
Fooling around with the htc arrive I have to say its quite different but not a bad different. It's a shame you may have to sell it because of verizon being verizon

I know some of the regional carriers will flash/alter the ESN for you, but Verizon is pretty staunchly against it. Good luck getting it to work.
Sent from my Magnolia Incredible.

Flashing HTC Arrive
This is what i did to flash HTC Arrive using another CDMA operator (in this case, Smart Telecom Indonesia):
1. get the MSL/SPC of the phone. you can ask Sprint, or buy it from an unlock service provider (i bought it from nick flash cricket dot net)
2. put the phone in diag mode, using ##MFG#. i use winXP 32bit, and use this driver "HTC BMP USB Driver.zip"
3. connect to QPST. you can change the MSL, network code, IMSI, MDN, PRL, and auth HDR setting (evdo parameters)
4. connect to CDMA workshop to enter the AKEY
5. reboot.
now, my HTC arrive is with Smart Telecom. but alas, i can not unlock it to sideload apps

the 7 pro is rumored to be coming to verizon
http://pocketnow.com/windows-phone/htc-7-pro-coming-to-verizon-as-htc-pro

deadwrong03 said:
the 7 pro is rumored to be coming to verizon
http://pocketnow.com/windows-phone/htc-7-pro-coming-to-verizon-as-htc-pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know how rumors, Windows Phone 7 and Verizon are..... a bunch of bull****... I'll believe it when I see an offical press statement. That phone is just another one of the "Arrive" phones that passed FCC, no other info, it could be going to all the small CDMA carriers for all we know.
To the OP, you said you can't afford to have a phone sitting around and not working. How do you feel about spending $500-600 on a phone off contract ? That would be about what they would want for one.
I'd be interested in getting this working and trash the ESN on my TP2 (with a cracked display) if this was possable (and getting everything working, internet, SMS, etc with no issues) but, I'm not willing to dump $500+ on a phone that I might have problems getting working...If I could get it for $150-200, I'd be all over it though..
Edit: Checked on ebay...brand new, no contract, there is a buyit now for $360, so cheaper than I thought
Latest word on VZW is May 5th...(Next Thursday), I'd wait for that point before even attempting this.

DavidinCT said:
You know how rumors, Windows Phone 7 and Verizon are..... a bunch of bull****... I'll believe it when I see an offical press statement. That phone is just another one of the "Arrive" phones that passed FCC, no other info, it could be going to all the small CDMA carriers for all we know.
To the OP, you said you can't afford to have a phone sitting around and not working. How do you feel about spending $500-600 on a phone off contract ? That would be about what they would want for one.
I'd be interested in getting this working and trash the ESN on my TP2 (with a cracked display) if this was possable (and getting everything working, internet, SMS, etc with no issues) but, I'm not willing to dump $500+ on a phone that I might have problems getting working...If I could get it for $150-200, I'd be all over it though..
Edit: Checked on ebay...brand new, no contract, there is a buyit now for $360, so cheaper than I thought
Latest word on VZW is May 5th...(Next Thursday), I'd wait for that point before even attempting this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I saw the rumor of 7 Pro coming to Verizon (posted a link to it on another thread yesterday), and I have just about as much faith as you do. I'm unemployed, so no, I really don't want to spend $500 on a phone, but if I had to, I could, but only if it is going to actually work. And yes, I've already been looking on ebay. For the moment, I'm waiting on my refund from Sprint for the two Arrives that my wife and I had, and then I'll decide if I'm going to try it, or if it looks like VZW might actually DO something.
I'm growing more disgruntled with Verizon with every passing day, but unfortunately, they may as well be considered a monopoly where I live. I switched to Sprint for the Arrive, but had to switch back. I can look out my window, across the parking lot, and often see my pastor standing outside the church so he can talk on his ATT phone, and I'm just not willing to do that. So I guess I'm stuck with waiting until VZW gets over its grudge against MS for the Kin debacle. It's just ridiculous.

nganto said:
This is what i did to flash HTC Arrive using another CDMA operator (in this case, Smart Telecom Indonesia):
1. get the MSL/SPC of the phone. you can ask Sprint, or buy it from an unlock service provider (i bought it from nick flash cricket dot net)
2. put the phone in diag mode, using ##MFG#. i use winXP 32bit, and use this driver "HTC BMP USB Driver.zip"
3. connect to QPST. you can change the MSL, network code, IMSI, MDN, PRL, and auth HDR setting (evdo parameters)
4. connect to CDMA workshop to enter the AKEY
5. reboot.
now, my HTC arrive is with Smart Telecom. but alas, i can not unlock it to sideload apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only problem is that may not work for verizon because the esn needs to be added and it won't

hopmedic said:
Yeah, I saw the rumor of 7 Pro coming to Verizon (posted a link to it on another thread yesterday), and I have just about as much faith as you do. I'm unemployed, so no, I really don't want to spend $500 on a phone, but if I had to, I could, but only if it is going to actually work. And yes, I've already been looking on ebay. For the moment, I'm waiting on my refund from Sprint for the two Arrives that my wife and I had, and then I'll decide if I'm going to try it, or if it looks like VZW might actually DO something.
I'm growing more disgruntled with Verizon with every passing day, but unfortunately, they may as well be considered a monopoly where I live. I switched to Sprint for the Arrive, but had to switch back. I can look out my window, across the parking lot, and often see my pastor standing outside the church so he can talk on his ATT phone, and I'm just not willing to do that. So I guess I'm stuck with waiting until VZW gets over its grudge against MS for the Kin debacle. It's just ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wp7 on verizon is pretty much fact theres test trophy devices with the verizon logo on them its just a matter of when they are going to release it

Can you, as in physically? Yes. Will they add the ESN for you? No. I read about the process and it has to be done by some really high-up tech guys. They'd lose their job doing it.

domineus said:
The only problem is that may not work for verizon because the esn needs to be added and it won't
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i don't know about verizon's policy. if they won't put a non verizon esn in their system, then HTC arrive on Verizon will never gonna happen, unless you can change the esn (i heard it's illegal in there).
AFAIK, in Indonesia, cdma operators will be happy to insert as many as possible other operator devices, to increase their ARPU. Competition is very tight in here, so flexibility and new technology adoption are very important. We are expecting evdo rev. B available to public in June

deadwrong03 said:
wp7 on verizon is pretty much fact theres test trophy devices with the verizon logo on them its just a matter of when they are going to release it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep and with the Microsoft eployee poster, it's been coming from mid Jan...We are talking almost 5 months of waiting for a phone to be released. You can show me 10,000 pictures of some phone that could of been photoshopped with a VZW logo (I do think its real tho) but, till we have a press release, it does not matter.
Verizon could wait till June 30th (as some have claimed) are you willing to wait that long ??? I know I'm not.
hopmedic said:
Yeah, I saw the rumor of 7 Pro coming to Verizon (posted a link to it on another thread yesterday), and I have just about as much faith as you do. I'm unemployed, so no, I really don't want to spend $500 on a phone, but if I had to, I could, but only if it is going to actually work. And yes, I've already been looking on ebay. For the moment, I'm waiting on my refund from Sprint for the two Arrives that my wife and I had, and then I'll decide if I'm going to try it, or if it looks like VZW might actually DO something.
I'm growing more disgruntled with Verizon with every passing day,..... It's just ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 100%..
I'll tell you what, If we don't have at least a press statement by May 15th, I'll work with you to figure this one out. I'll call and pester tech support to get someone who will activate one (and share it with ya, if possble).
If that won't work, I'll figure out the...ugh...ESN cloning thing and use it from my TP2. I'm serious, you can PM me here or on PPCgeeks under the same user name.
I want this quest to end, if this is what I have to do, I am willing to do it... I'm tired of waiting for VZW to get off their ass and get us paying customers what we want.
I'm so pissed about it, I am seriously looking into going to AT&T and they are ok in my area but, not great. I can always go back within 15 days if I had to

DavidinCT said:
Yep and with the Microsoft eployee poster, it's been coming from mid Jan...We are talking almost 5 months of waiting for a phone to be released. You can show me 10,000 pictures of some phone that could of been photoshopped with a VZW logo (I do think its real tho) but, till we have a press release, it does not matter.
Verizon could wait till June 30th (as some have claimed) are you willing to wait that long ??? I know I'm not.
I agree 100%..
I'll tell you what, If we don't have at least a press statement by May 15th, I'll work with you to figure this one out. I'll call and pester tech support to get someone who will activate one (and share it with ya, if possble).
If that won't work, I'll figure out the...ugh...ESN cloning thing and use it from my TP2. I'm serious, you can PM me here or on PPCgeeks under the same user name.
I want this quest to end, if this is what I have to do, I am willing to do it... I'm tired of waiting for VZW to get off their ass and get us paying customers what we want.
I'm so pissed about it, I am seriously looking into going to AT&T and they are ok in my area but, not great. I can always go back within 15 days if I had to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... We know that at least the poster is official, so the Trophy WILL come to VZW. The question is how long they're going to jerk their paying customers around before it does.
As far as getting an Arrive to work on VZW, it would be so much easier if the new 7 Pro rumor is true AND happens sometime before Jesus comes back. But if you get an Arrive working on VZW, I will definitely be with you. I'm unemployed, so I can't afford to buy a phone if it's going to end up bricked because I did something wrong, and as far as programming, I'm just your basic .NET/SQL programmer without much experience, because at the manufacturing plant I worked at, I was the only IT guy, so I had to do it all, therefore didn't have time to specialize in anything (which is why I'm having so much trouble finding a job). And as far as whether it's legal or not to clone an ESN? Frankly, I don't care. It'd be my phone, so I really don't care what they say I can and cannot do with it.
I really want a phone, though, because I'm planning for this to make me some money, selling in marketplace. I've already paid for my developer account, and had my Sprint phone unlocked the official way, but had to send it back, since I went back to VZW. But that means my dev account is sitting there not making me any money, while the expiration date creeps closer. Also, I signed up for the MS App Garage event in Atlanta next month, so it would be great to have a phone by then. Hopefully we'll know something OFFICIAL soon. I'm so ticked at VZW.....

still would like to know if it's possable to use a ESN from my TP2 and put it on a Arrive...but, if someone could get QPST to work with it and save settings for Verizon, it should work but, it's just getting them to enable the ESN or,,,<G> clone it

DavidinCT said:
still would like to know if it's possable to use a ESN from my TP2 and put it on a Arrive...but, if someone could get QPST to work with it and save settings for Verizon, it should work but, it's just getting them to enable the ESN or,,,<G> clone it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
probably using cdma workshop yes
but again highly illegal considering vzw won't add ESNs of any kind. Heck even if you say that you got your device from HTC themselves, the ESN won't be added

Need advice on a new device!

So I currently have a Motorola Droid X2... I use cyanogenmod 7.2rc1 beta2 as a custom ROM. Besides that for stable ROMs it's really only eclipse 2.2, liberty, molten or stock 2.3.5 rooted. cm9/miui4 are both in alpha stages of development and have no working camera/data usage yet and mms is shotty as well as other glitches & bugs. having the locked bootloader and all. Plus we don't get official ICS :banghead::thumbdown:
I had a few questions... First off, my 2 year contract with Verizon Wireless USA is over in December however I am eligible for an upgrade in August. I think I remember reading somewhere after all these VZW/MOTO shenanigans you can get a free 3g upgrade, if eligible, but need to renew contract for a 4g device. I'm obviously very confused by these changes and need clarification.. Basically what I'm asking is, would I be able to cop a new phone in August without having to re-up my contract? Use the upgrade for the remaining months and then sell it along with my X2? Not sure how that works and honestly I don't want to call Verizon about it until I'm due for my upgrade.
Moving on to my next problem. I am going to need a new carrier/phone. I figure since sprint still has unlimited data and their service in my area isn't that bad compared to Verizon, I'll probably sign with them. As far as actual devices are concerned, I will only buy a phone with an unlocked bootloader. Since Motorola failed to live up to their promise of unlocking their bootloaders by the end of 2011, and their overall customer support, I am not interested in purchasing any Moto phones.
Which brings me back to Sprint, lol. I know several people who have been on Sprint for a long time and tell me they're okay as long as you don't break your phone. I've heard countless horror stories of friends/family having to jump through countless hoops just to get their defective phone replaced. I've already left AT&T and will never go back to them so my options are pretty limited. I can deal with less than perfect customer support from time to time as long as I have reliable service and a reliable phone I can hack.
I've been looking at the Dinc2, since my friend has one. I know that's unlocked already. I've heard a lot of fuss over its pentile screen, but that honestly doesn't bother me much. So that can be taken into consideration as well.
I appreciate any opinions you can personally offer as to an awesome, unlocked phone, decent carriers as well as new phone releases you are looking forward to. I'd love to hear what unlocked devices you guys have as well as your favorite custom ROMs for them.
Thanks!
Cyanogenmod all day

Well, if you upgrade your phone, you're more than likely going to have to re-up your contract for an additional 2 years. As of right now, for Verizon, I would probably look at the HTC Rezound, or Incredible 4G. If you go to Sprint, I would look at the Evo 4G LTE (HTC One for Sprint), or the Evo Design 4G, but by December, you'll also have the Galaxy S3 to consider. I'm biased towards HTC phones personally, but those are the options I would look at.

I forgot to mention I'm on a family plan with unlimited data...
Sent from my MB870 using XDA

I can't really suggest a phone but I read that you mentioned people having problems with Sprint with getting phones replaced after they get broke.
My sister is good at messing phones up and with the $8 a month insurance you basically can hardball any phone at a wall and they will replace it for $100. I think the one thing is you just never say that you did anything wrong and most sprint stores don't care. They have gotten much better. Whatever you do don't break your phone without insurance because they wont touch the phone in fear you might swear they broke it. Get the phone insured from day one if you are accident prone. That is about all the advice I can give. They have good phones and have good service (not verizon service but still good.)

Yeah, I treat these phones like royalty. Basically it's just a computer in the palm of my hand... Accidents do happen though and I always protect all devices with insurance.
I was in Sprint once with a friend of mine. Keep in mind he wasn't a smartphone owner, but this wasn't too long ago. He had a flip phone and he wanted it replaced. It was his 4th device experiencing the same hardware problems. When we got in there Sprint did pretty much everything in their power to make sure he did not leave with a brand new replacement. They went as far as to literally take the phone apart - right in front of us - and replace internal hardware. They'd put it back together and he'd show them it still wasn't working and they would try replacing something else.
Two and a half hours later of playing with the display evo and listening to "No I don't want you to fix it I want a new phone" and "Here, maybe this will fix it, let's give it a try..." we were finally out of there. They did not give a replacement that day. Just "fixed" it. Until we got back to his house. The very next day I was there when he called customer support. They gave him the business over the phone and were 0 help. We went back to the sprint store and finally got his replacement. I think the only reason they even actually helped him with a new device is because he was mad enough to break every display case and cell phone in the place - and they knew it. It wasn't like a "here let me help you get this resolved so you can enjoy your phone and service!!" Kinda deal it was more like "get him a new phone from the back so he doesn't make a scene and gets the hell out of my store" thing .... As we were leaving, the female rep not only told us we were lucky we even got a replacement in the first place- she did it in a snobby, attitude riddled tone of voice.
For reference this is when I was thinking of terminating vzw early and jumping to sprint. My friend told me sprint is full of people who either don't give two damns or are just plain stupid. He took me along to give me an idea of what I was in for. Needless to say I didn't switch.....
Sent from my MB870 using XDA

[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!

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.
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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.
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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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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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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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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)
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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.
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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

[Q]I need some advice from someone who knows Verizon well (related to upgrades)

Hello,
I hope this is in the right place, I've only made a few posts on here, but I read this site daily. Thanks to everyone who contributes!
I have a quick question I googled around about and couldn't really find an answer too.
I am currently using a T-mobile galaxy S 3 on ST w/ an att sim, but I also have a line on my parents plan w/ an old kin two m feature phone that will be due for an upgrade in the spring. My parents firmly believe that smartphones and data plans are the devil...So we have a talk and text family plan w/ 4 feature phones on it. I am curious if there is any way that when the upgrade is available, I could use it to buy a smartphone(capable of unlock/gsm capabilities), and then continue to use my kin two on the plan.
Does upgrading to a smartphone, from a feature phone, require adding a dataplan to purchase the phone? If so can I add the data plan to a single line for a month, then remove it and switch back to the feature phone?
Sorry if my post doesn't really make sense, any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time!

wxcarne89 said:
Hello,
I hope this is in the right place, I've only made a few posts on here, but I read this site daily. Thanks to everyone who contributes!
I have a quick question I googled around about and couldn't really find an answer too.
I am currently using a T-mobile galaxy S 3 on ST w/ an att sim, but I also have a line on my parents plan w/ an old kin two m feature phone that will be due for an upgrade in the spring. My parents firmly believe that smartphones and data plans are the devil...So we have a talk and text family plan w/ 4 feature phones on it. I am curious if there is any way that when the upgrade is available, I could use it to buy a smartphone(capable of unlock/gsm capabilities), and then continue to use my kin two on the plan.
Does upgrading to a smartphone, from a feature phone, require adding a dataplan to purchase the phone? If so can I add the data plan to a single line for a month, then remove it and switch back to the feature phone?
Sorry if my post doesn't really make sense, any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would add data and could take the phone off back to Kin 2. The problem is you would need to get a phone from VZW that is gsm capable. Their global offerings are lacking and in most cases are locked from using USA gsm signals. Checking newer phones' radios first would be a must.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium

Thanks!
Hey, thanks for the input, it's appreciated.
Since I just got this S3 in early Oct I will probably hold onto the upgrade till next fall when hopefully a new note or something else cool is released, (saying that it could be unlocked for GSM). If i am lucky there will be more Verizon 4g LTE phones out that can be unlocked for GSM in a year from now. I never really expected that you would be able to unlock Verizon CDMA phones for GSM, but a guy in my CompTIA A+ cert. class said that his Verizon S3 could be unlocked for gsm and it got me thinking.
It's kinda a long story, but what got me asking about this I originally wanted a note/ note 2.
In September another forum member and I found two galaxy notes for $300 on CL, and the one I picked had motherboard problems of course(Avoid CL phones/tabs please!) I was luckily able to sell the phone for parts on ebay for $150 easily, but I still lost a little money on the unlock code, zagg, and a new S-pen. After that I really just needed a dependable phone fast, and couldn't really gamble on something used, or wait on the US Note 2 release, so I settled on the S3, so here next fall after i've had the phone for about a year hopefully i'll be able to upgrade to something new. I have grown to really like my S3 though.

Trying to escape from Sprint

Alright so. Here's the deal.
I'm on Sprint, under my father's account (I am 18 years old) and we are trying to get away from Sprint. Sprint's connection in our area is typically ranked about 3rd or 4th when compared to other major carriers. The connection from Sprint where I live in terrible and we would like to switch.
My father isn't the best with technology so he's left it up for me to decide the best way to go about this. We don't have enough extra money to pay off all the lines and just switch by throwing tons of money at the problem. So I'm posting on XDA first to see what the wonderful people here have to say!
We have 6 lines on our Sprint account. Each line has a Smart Phone, 2 devices are entirely paid off. We have also 2 tablets Sprint convinced us to get for some "great deal" but they really just locked is in even more because each tablet is an extra $95 to cancel. Lame.
T-Mobile has the best connection in our area, and the company seems to be growing. I am also aware they have a deal going on right now where they will apparently pay off ALL your early termination fees. How well does that work? Will T-Mobile surprise us with several random hidden fees that all of a sudden add up to $600 to finally switch? Do AT&T or Verizon have better deals?
This post is filled with random question. and I wouldn't expect a single person to be able to answer all of them. But! If you do have some insight and some simple answer to anything at all that may help me out or change my mind about something, please just let me know!
This is a pretty stressful problem my family is trying to get fixed before college comes up.

Database Info

welcome