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[Q] Buying a no-contract smart phone

I'm a T-Mobile Prepaid customer using a simple $19 phone but am planning to purchase a no-contract smart phone, say Samsung Galaxy S 2 or HTC Amaze 4G.
If I buy one of these for T-Mobile Prepaid, am I locked in there, or the phone is useful even if I might move onto another carrier such as Verizon or ATT, or to another Plan within T-Mobile later?

xdabyk said:
I'm a T-Mobile Prepaid customer using a simple $19 phone but am planning to purchase a no-contract smart phone, say Samsung Galaxy S 2 or HTC Amaze 4G.
If I buy one of these for T-Mobile Prepaid, am I locked in there, or the phone is useful even if I might move onto another carrier such as Verizon or ATT, or to another Plan within T-Mobile later?
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No you are not locked in if you buy a phone off contract. You will not be able to move to verizon or sprint with the phone though, because they use CDMA and not GSM like the rest of the world.

you can outright buy the phone, but check to see if they have a pre-paid plan/data plan for that phone, it will not be unlocked so you cannot move. You can request t-mobile to unlock it though, but you will not get the same 4g speeds

Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A

lowandbehold said:
No you are not locked in if you buy a phone off contract. You will not be able to move to verizon or sprint with the phone though, because they use CDMA and not GSM like the rest of the world.
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Thank you. Does that mean I can use the Samsung Galaxy S2 No-Contract Model I buy from/for T-Mobil Prepaid now for other carriers of GSM? May I understand from your reply message(s) that T-Mobile is a GSM format carrier(and so is AT&T?) as opposed to Verizon and Sprint being a CDMA guys? If so, I can use the phone as long as my next carrier is a GSM guy? Does this make sense?

djjuice said:
you can outright buy the phone, but check to see if they have a pre-paid plan/data plan for that phone, it will not be unlocked so you cannot move. You can request t-mobile to unlock it though, but you will not get the same 4g speeds
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To: djjuice -
Thank you. I will do some homework in order to understand what "locked", "unlock" and " . . . will not get the same 4g speeds" mean.

Even unlocked the phone may not support the 3G or "4"G data speed between TMobile and AT&T. The AT&T Galaxy S II will not run on TMobile 3G data, only Edge (2G) data, because they run on different frequencies, same thing with the TMobile Galaxy S II does not support AT&T frequencies. If you buy the phone off contract from TMobile, they should unlock it for you, but there is no guarantee it will work (fully) anywhere else.
If you buy a phone off of craigslist even though you are buying it off contract you cannot guarantee it can be unlocked freely. For example if you buy an AT&T phone used from someone, AT&T will not unlock it for you for free until it's a certain number of months old (based on when the first person bought it from AT&T). You would have to pay a third party for an unlock code (if there is no help here on xda to unlock it).
It's best to just buy a phone for the carrier you plan on using. That ensures its going to work, and that it will work at full speed. If you really think you are going to switch to AT&T buy one of their branded phones, or Verizon etc. Verizon and Sprint both use CDMA, but they are very resistant to allowing another carriers phone on their network. Plus their 4G networks are different types (Verizon uses LTE, Sprint WiMax) so they wouldn't work fully regardless.

Thank you, quarlow.
My budget is around $600 max. So I'm inclined to purchase an HTC Amaze 4Z or Samsung Galaxy S2 for use for T-Mobile Prepaid at Target or at T-Mobile. T-Mobile Net Shop is selling Galaxy S2 Re-Furbished at a discount price. Hear Galaxy S2 have high rate of initial failures and therefore maybe better to buy a re-furbished one that has failed once and was repaired by qualified repairman. Below is how I come to think of buying a smart phone now. I've been happy with a simple prepaid phone buying 100 minutes at a time, which lasts more than a year for me. I also use a Sony Clie, a PDA running Palm Desk Top, which has gone obsolete long time ago. With a smart phone such as Galaxy or Amaze 4Z, I can leave not only the PDA but also a digital camera home. I do not need to access my PDA data over internet. I will import necessary data from my PC to my new smart phone either via cable or via WIFI before going out. That's why I want to remain "Prepaid Customer" not a customer with monthly fees. (Besides, I am not so much interested in leaving my data at ISP's servers.)
Thank you.

I haven't heard of high failure on the Galaxy S II's for TMo. But I have seen several studies showing refurbished devices have lower failure rates because they can have problem components replaced, and have to pass full qa testing twice.
If you are going to put all your data on your phone via USB on the computer, or wifi, then data compatibility won't matter. That changes the whole issue of taking it to another carrier. Any att or TMo phone that is unlocked will make and receive phone calls, text messages and mms messages just fine on the other network. You will only notice the difference when web browsing, or downloading files. If you aren't going to do that, then it wont make a difference.
Knowing that and your budget I would say get a international version of the phone. Get the Galaxy S II (i9100), or the Galaxy Note, or the Galaxy Nexus. All of those phones are top tier, and international versions will receive updates quicker. The Nexus being the Google device will be the first ICS device to get the next version of android, so its the most future proof. The GSM version of any of those phones will likely come unlocked.
The i9100 has a 4.3" screen, and 1.2Ghz dual core Exynos chip. The TMo version has a 4.5" screen (same resolution) with 1.5Ghz dual core qualcomm chip. The bigger screens did have issues with splotches and vertical lines far more than the 4.3" screen. With them being the same resolution the smaller screen is crisper. The Exynos chip is made by Samsung and widely regarded as the better chip, even at a slower speed. It also comes with a more powerful gpu than the qualcomm chip. So, the graphics are better, and games run better. The att version (i777) is almost exactly the same as the i9100, except it has the U.S. norm of 4 buttons, vs the international 3 buttons. The dev support on xda for the i9100 is unmatched by any other phone, its an amazing device with a huge support and user base.
The Galaxy Note is a 5.3" half phone half tablet with a stylus, and 1.4Ghz dual core Exynos chip. Its screen is a whopping 1280x800 resolution. But, for some that's too big.
The Galaxy Nexus has a 4.65" screen with 720p resolution (this screen is pentile which means it doesn't have as many sub pixels as it could. Its hard to explain, Google pentile vs rgb and there should be plenty of explinations. But, most reviews say at that resolution you need a microscope to tell). But the real strength with that device is that its the pure Google device. Its running Android the way its meant to be ran, unbloated and unrestricted. That is the Rolls Royce of Android phones for the next year. The Nexus S is last years Google device, and will be the first gingerbread device with an official ICS upgrade, if it isn't already upgraded. Its like a Mercedes at this point, its got the pure android experience, but its running last years tech: 4" screen, 1Ghz single core hummingbird chip.
I'm sure that is way more information than you ever wanted to know, but I hope it helps.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)

quarlow said:
Even unlocked the phone may not support the 3G or "4"G data speed between TMobile and AT&T. The AT&T Galaxy S II will not run on TMobile 3G data, only Edge (2G) data, because they run on different frequencies, same thing with the TMobile Galaxy S II does not support AT&T frequencies. If you buy the phone off contract from TMobile, they should unlock it for you, but there is no guarantee it will work (fully) anywhere else.
If you buy a phone off of craigslist even though you are buying it off contract you cannot guarantee it can be unlocked freely. For example if you buy an AT&T phone used from someone, AT&T will not unlock it for you for free until it's a certain number of months old (based on when the first person bought it from AT&T). You would have to pay a third party for an unlock code (if there is no help here on xda to unlock it).
It's best to just buy a phone for the carrier you plan on using. That ensures its going to work, and that it will work at full speed. If you really think you are going to switch to AT&T buy one of their branded phones, or Verizon etc. Verizon and Sprint both use CDMA, but they are very resistant to allowing another carriers phone on their network. Plus their 4G networks are different types (Verizon uses LTE, Sprint WiMax) so they wouldn't work fully regardless.
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Actually the T-mobile SGSII supports AT&T 3g.

lowandbehold said:
Actually the T-mobile SGSII supports AT&T 3g.
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Att 3G runs on 850 and 1900, with preference on 1900 generally. The TMo looks to have 850, but not 1900. So like the vibrant the support will be spotty at best. It may work in some places, but not everywhere.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)

To quarlow and lowandbehold -
Very informative! Thank you very much.
I will stay with the plan to go for a Galaxy S2(i1900) or an HTC Amaze 4Z for TMO Prepaid. If there be good prepaid phone service(s) available from other carrier(s), I'd definitely want to learn about.

eSIM = not locked to a carrier?

I have a Verizon model Great S2, never activated, only used via BT. Can it be activated in T-Mobile? Do I need to get it unlocked?
Thanks.

I also have the Verizon model and was told the same but not sure since I myself haven't tried to activate the watch.
Sent from my SM-G935T using XDA-Developers mobile app

I'm also wondering about the radio. Do the different models have different modems, and since the Verizon one has a CDMA modem, is it incompatible with T-Mobile bands?

If you look at Network Mode you'll see WCDMA/GSM (auto connect) so I'm guessing you could, I would check to see if yours is the same, which I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I have a 2nd hand Gear S2 that was bought from TMO. Then again, what do I know since I was too chicken to buy a Verizon one to find out before buying the one I have.

OK, I live chatted with Samsung and called their support phone line. According to both, the carrier versions are carrier locked, and cannot be unlocked. So, no switching between carriers. They told me I'll need to buy another Gear S2 if I want to move to another carrier.

If the Verizon version is capable of LTE then it should be carrier unlocked out of the box just like their phones. It was part of the stipulation for them to be able to buy the extra spectrum they bought a while back.
Sent from my VK815 using XDA-Developers mobile app

Anyone tried to Verizon Gear S2 on a GSM network (AT&T or T-mobile)?
Just bought a Gear S2 for $99 refurbished and thinking maybe I should have bought GSM because or worldwide compatibility.
None of the Gear S2 have LTE which is carrier compatible. Verizon Sprint have CDMA 3G and AT&T and T-Mobile have GSM 3G.

Nextstep said:
Anyone tried to Verizon Gear S2 on a GSM network (AT&T or T-mobile)?
Just bought a Gear S2 for $99 refurbished and thinking maybe I should have bought GSM because or worldwide compatibility.
None of the Gear S2 have LTE which is carrier compatible. Verizon Sprint have CDMA 3G and AT&T and T-Mobile have GSM 3G.
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I just bought one too for 99.... Android Police?

blakedunc235 said:
I just bought one too for 99.... Android Police?
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Yup, bought two one for wife. Will probably use it as a wifi/bluetooth watch.

Nextstep said:
Yup, bought two one for wife. Will probably use it as a wifi/bluetooth watch.
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Same here, I heard its only like 10$ to activate it though, ill just see

Same here, saw the android police article and bought a Verizon one to replace my wife's broken fitbit. Im wondering how much more I'll have to pay monthly or to activate.

Can it be used on a sister company of version like straight talk
Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

I attempted it yesterday, apperantly verizons model doesn't have an esim number so it can't be used.

derrickmd18 said:
Can it be used on a sister company of version like straight talk
Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
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I activated my S2 Verizon on Page Plus. Put a $10 pin on it that will last 120 days.
$0.10/min talk, $0.05 text, $0.10 meg data.
Given my experience with the Gear S this is enough for my needs when I'm occasionally without my phone.
jb

JB can you say more on how you got it activated I'm on Page Plus? Something like that would be perfect for me. Just order a T-mobile S2 Classic. Thanks.

Cross carrier use

I have VZW but am looking to get the S3 Frontier LTE through T-Mobile. It amazes me with the launch date being tomorrow VZW has no information on the S3.
That being said. How seamless will it be using a VZW S7 Edge and T-Mo Gear S3? I figure I can connect via BT when carrying my phone but how about when I want to leave the phone behind. Some have said the Gear app will allow me to forward the calls from the phone to the watch. How does that affect texts and other features?
I travel internationally so having T-Mo might not be a bad idea with their international included in their plans.
Thanks for any info you can provide.

It will very likely not work at all on Verizon's LTE (although it should work fine as a Bluetooth watch). Verizon's primary LTE band is B13, and the T-Mobile version of the Gear S3 Frontier doesn't support it.
I've read in numerous places that the SIM is embedded and will not work on any network but the seller's.

Dodge DeBoulet said:
It will very likely not work at all on Verizon's LTE (although it should work fine as a Bluetooth watch). Verizon's primary LTE band is B13, and the T-Mobile version of the Gear S3 Frontier doesn't support it.
I've read in numerous places that the SIM is embedded and will not work on any network but the seller's.
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I'm not talking about using T-Mo's version on VZW. I'm talking about going with T-Mo service with the S3 but syncing it with my VZW S7 Edge.

P7M8 said:
I'm not talking about using T-Mo's version on VZW. I'm talking about going with T-Mo service with the S3 but syncing it with my VZW S7 Edge.
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Apologies, I've seen too many posts from people that want buy the TMO or AT&T LTE versions with the intent to use them on VZW.
Given your requirements, I don't think it will be as seamless as you might like, and I suspect it's a fringe use case so finding someone with practical experience may take some patience.

You might want to consider posting your question on the S2 thread, since it should not be any different with the S3. There are more of those users out in the wild, some of which may doing what you are considering. I too will likely be be crossing carrier lines, so please share your findings/experience.

afblangley said:
You might want to consider posting your question on the S2 thread, since it should not be any different with the S3. There are more of those users out in the wild, some of which may doing what you are considering. I too will likely be be crossing carrier lines, so please share your findings/experience.
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Thanks. Great suggestion!

P7M8 said:
I have VZW but am looking to get the S3 Frontier LTE through T-Mobile. It amazes me with the launch date being tomorrow VZW has no information on the S3.
That being said. How seamless will it be using a VZW S7 Edge and T-Mo Gear S3? I figure I can connect via BT when carrying my phone but how about when I want to leave the phone behind. Some have said the Gear app will allow me to forward the calls from the phone to the watch. How does that affect texts and other features?
I travel internationally so having T-Mo might not be a bad idea with their international included in their plans.
Thanks for any info you can provide.
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It will work just as seamless as it would if they were both on the same carrier. I've used the s2, s2 classic and now I have the s3 from tmobile with my Verizon phone. I wish it did the number sync, but AT&T'S the only one that does that.

I used to have T-Mo Galaxy phones, but now I only use my work phone: Verizon S7 Edge. I have had all the Gear S watches since the first one a couple years ago. I switched to my Verizon phone a few months ago and it was seamless to pair with my Gear S2 and now with my Gear S3.
However, I am having a weird issue since I started using my Verizon phone (with Gear S2 and now the same problem with my Gear S3). Not a total deal-breaker, but annoying, nonetheless. I am sure there is a solution out there, so I am not giving up on the watch just yet. For no apparent reason, calls will sporadically be auto-answered (on the phone) or will go straight to voicemail and I'll get a notification a few minutes later, which is the only way I realize I had a missed call. The only thing that has changed is the phone is a Verizon model, so that is the only thing I can think of. The Verizon call forwarding is a little different than the way T-Mo does it, so that is all I can think of that could be the possible cause.
Other than that the T-Mo watch works fine with a Verizon phone. Just curious if anyone else has this problem or if they have the same set up and are not experiencing the problem.

New Note 5 (Sprint) owner

I've owned a few phones, notably my long-time companion Note 4 (TMobile). Recently my office announced they're flipping our TMobile account to Sprint. We get a "new" phone but not quite cutting edge... though a Note 5 seems a nice move forward despite the loss of removable battery and extra sd-card slot. But can someone explain to me the strangely unpopulated page here compared to the Note 4's page (or even the One Plus 2 page, where actual Oreo roms are popping up like weeds)? Is it all about the Exynos chip, or Sprint, or what? There's a dearth of new development going on here compared to my other two phones and I'm baffled. Thanks....

The 920P it is not very compatible. Being just a USA phone, It doesn't get enough attention from developers*. All Note5 and S6 phones are Exynos, but the Sprint models just have poor support. And they are also 3 years old.
*The Sprint model doesn't work very well outside the Americas (continent)

cachanilla86 said:
The 920P it is not very compatible. Being just a USA phone, It doesn't get enough attention from developers*. All Note5 and S6 phones are Exynos, but the Sprint models just have poor support. And they are also 3 years old.
*The Sprint model doesn't work very well outside the Americas (continent)
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Well, that's not what I want to hear. Tell me something comforting! HAHAHAHA.
If at some stage I want to unlock the phone (say in 8 months or less when TMobile and Sprint merge) will it have all the hardware inside it to function as a TMobile or other provider's phone? Incl. LTE, wifi calling, and the rest?

shonkin said:
If at some stage I want to unlock the phone (say in 8 months or less when TMobile and Sprint merge) will it have all the hardware inside it to function as a TMobile or other provider's phone? Incl. LTE, wifi calling, and the rest?
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I don't think so, this being a carrier specific model it is very limited so you can't use it elsewhere. In Mexico I get LTE with the most popular carrier and some other people in Vietnam and India. You can wait to see if it works for you.

I did find this thread on sprint that discusses unlocking (domestically) the Sprint Note 5 for use as a GSM phone (TMobile, AT&T and the like). At some point it may be of use to me or someone else...
https://community.sprint.com/t5/Sam...ng-Note-5-for-Domestic-use-on-GSM/td-p/960238
I did finally get the Sprint Note 5, by the way.... first thing I noticed is that compared to my old Note 4 its battery life *sucks*. But such a nice phone otherwise, despite no switchable battery or microsd slot. (I solved the latter to a degree by getting a 64gb version of the phone).

I unlocked my Note5 via a paid service...
Hello to Everyone:
This is my first post so please don't hold it against me. Thank you in advance.
I used the unlock service of idoneapps.com. it ran $35. Opted for the debranding option as well but skipped the MetroPCS option.
My phone is no longer Sprint branded and got rid of their bloatware. TWRP with SuperSu installed and I can pull out my T-Mobile SIM out and put in an AT&T SIM in and it works seamlessly.
Get access to the hidden menu and hotspot is unlocked while I get to manually select, (if desired), WDCMA, GSM, etc... Connects at LTE and the wireless switching works great. WiFi hotspot also works great.
Couldn't be more pleased as I also can turn off anything as the package comes with an app manager. It is great not to have Facebook, Snapchat, or the Sprint crud running. No more stupid Sprint boot animation.
I am currently running a Samsung branded Nougat 920P that I had my own IMEI number generated TWRP let's me access the recovery mode and let's me flash perfectly.
XPosed is installed with, AdAway 3.3, ViperFX 6.5.0.5, YouTube ad blocker, rootcloak. Upgraded to SuperSu pro however I still haven't managed to go systemless.
I play Crash Fever so I am stupid and actually spend money that game so my Google Play code redeeming works fine. Samsung Pay won't ever work because of rooting but oh well... ACMarket, MS office mobile, the Samsung Suite of apps, and all the S-Pen features work seemlessly.
Anyways, I hope I didn't violate any rules by my posting as I love XDA as this community is phenomenal.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me as I would be glad to field any questions or facilitate details as may be needed.
Eagerly awaiting an Oreo update.
Gellybean777

Gear s2 classic

I am planning to buy a Samsung gear s2 classic which seemed to be locked to t-mobile network and use it outside the US.. in the middle east.
What would happen if i used it outside the US . will there be missed features or limited use .. can I spare it to my phone..
what will be your advice shall I purchase ot or not

Sadaodeen said:
I am planning to buy a Samsung gear s2 classic which seemed to be locked to t-mobile network and use it outside the US.. in the middle east.
What would happen if i used it outside the US . will there be missed features or limited use .. can I spare it to my phone..
what will be your advice shall I purchase ot or not
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If it's a esim model it will only work on T-Mobile. You can use the watch on bluetooth and works nearly the same. But never no service. I use a AT&T and Verizon watch bluetooth only.

HoosierDaddy said:
If it's a esim model it will only work on T-Mobile. You can use the watch on bluetooth and works nearly the same. But never no service. I use a AT&T and Verizon watch bluetooth only.
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Where I live we have no 3g networks. We are still on the GSM network so it's not an issue I think