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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.

Bought a lemon from craigslist. Need some help.

Hey guys and gals, not really new here just don't post very much, but I've gotten myself in a predicament. I recently bought a SM-G930T off of Craigslist but it is already factory unlocked so I could use it on Metro PCS. The thing about it is it is a 64GB phone which I know wasn't released in the United States yet. So I called Metro PCS to get the phone activated and the phone has a contract under it so I cannot use it. Does anyone know where my phone is from? It has the Snapdragon 820 CPU according to CPU-Z. Just trying to figure out what I can do with this thing instead of using it as a Galaxy S7 Touch
Thanks in advance,
usafbordeaux

usafbordeaux said:
Hey guys and gals, not really new here just don't post very much, but I've gotten myself in a predicament. I recently bought a SM-G930T off of Craigslist but it is already factory unlocked so I could use it on Metro PCS. The thing about it is it is a 64GB phone which I know wasn't released in the United States yet. So I called Metro PCS to get the phone activated and the phone has a contract under it so I cannot use it. Does anyone know where my phone is from? It has the Snapdragon 820 CPU according to CPU-Z. Just trying to figure out what I can do with this thing instead of using it as a Galaxy S7 Touch
Thanks in advance,
usafbordeaux
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Click to collapse
Was probably stolen bro

Few things you can do: check the IMEI at Swappa's ESN check: see if the phone is A) not a fake B) not stolen/blacklisted.
If the phone isn't stolen/blacklisted, you could try to get a sim card and put it in.

How is there a contract on an unreleased phone?

You sure this phone is an international 64GB version of our phone in the US? not sure even China or the other places have our processor and 64GB of ram

heathmcabee said:
You sure this phone is an international 64GB version of our phone in the US? not sure even China or the other places have our processor and 64GB of ram
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Click to collapse
I think he has an international version (most likely) or a clone. I sold my htc 10 to some dude and the reason he bought my phone was because he said it's really slow and imei changed. So at a glance, the phone was identical to my S7. The biggest difference was obviously the display and it's brightness, also it's somewhat more laggy than the s7 already is. And lastly the fingerprint didn't work AND didn't even see it on the settings. I can see how an average dude can get tricked but even I couldn't believe my eyes, I switch phones about 6-7 times a year and this is by far the best clone I've seen.
Why don't you try using a tmobile sim card? Isn't metro cdma under tmobile's network? just try to convince them and threaten to leave then lol

New here.

Hi,
I'm sorry if I overlooked a similar thread, but I'm looking in to buying a galaxy s7 and I wanted to buy one that has an unlocked bootloader and will work with USA metro pcs. is there such phone? lol I've heard usa s7's don't unlock. just wondering.

The Exynos models G930F/G930FD/G930W8, and the hong kong snapdragon model are the only ones can be bootloader unlocked
They will work in the USA, but the USA uses different network carrier standards than the rest of the world, so your connectivity won't be as good as using a USA specific device. You may also lack carrier features like VoLTE.

Thanks! Are the s8's like this as well? I'm trying to figure out if I want a 7 or 8. is there much difference between the phones?

Same for S8 through to S10. International gets unlockable Exynos, USA gets locked Snapdragon, HK gets unlockable Snapdragon.
Main difference would be the bump in specs and build. S7 also won't get official Android Pie, I believe the S8 will/has.
S8's were also a bit unique in that unlocking the Exynos bootloader is harder on them but still possible, S9 and S10 went back to easy as far as I'm aware.

galaxy s7 sprint G930P G930PVPSACSI2

I have tried and tried to root it but it always fails using odin. Could use some help.
G930P (sprint)
G930PVPSACSI2
Android Version 8.0.0
Samsung Experience 9.0
Build number R16NW.G930PVPSACSI2
Android Security Patch September 1, 2019
If someone can shoot me to a guide or working files for odin it would be greatly appreciated.
I've tried around 30 guides and 30 different odin twrp files and each one has failed when trying to use on odin.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/help/help-rooting-snapdragon-galaxy-s7-g930a-t3977565
You can't. The G930P is locked down, with no known method to get around it.
All USA models are snapdragon SoC and locked down, some have work arounds that involves using a leaked engineering bootloader from the factory, but not the G930P.
TWRP also isn't possible, all the files you were likely flashing are for the G930F, which is Exynos SoC and able to be bootloader unlocked.

I figured as much, just my luck. If I was looking for a good device to root which phone would you suggest or should I go with like iPhone 7? main purpose im using this for is like pokemon spoofing lol is an iPhone 7 hard to jailbreak>?

How about galaxy s9 sm g960u that's my main phone which I could root if it was possible but the downside was id need to find something to hide root from snapchat and other apps.

You'd have to check the forums for that model specifically, but a general rule of thumb is a US model Samsung phones with snapdragons are bootloader locked. You'll have better luck with other phones, or importing the Exynos model (although that comes with less network band support in the US)

alliebart said:
How about galaxy s9 sm g960u that's my main phone which I could root if it was possible but the downside was id need to find something to hide root from snapchat and other apps.
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Click to collapse
nope. no root love on the G960U models. The G960F model is rootable as well as the chinese snapdragon S9's, but none of the american S9s

Beanvee7 said:
You'd have to check the forums for that model specifically, but a general rule of thumb is a US model Samsung phones with snapdragons are bootloader locked. You'll have better luck with other phones, or importing the Exynos model (although that comes with less network band support in the US)
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it also should be said that the F model variants of the galaxy phones do not support CDMA which is what sprint and verizon uses. if you want to use T-Mob or AT&T with a euro phone, all good, theyre GSM which is what the F models are capable of working with solely. Do NOT get a euro spec phone if you want to use vzw or sprint

youdoofus said:
it also should be said that the F model variants of the galaxy phones do not support CDMA which is what sprint and verizon uses. if you want to use T-Mob or AT&T with a euro phone, all good, theyre GSM which is what the F models are capable of working with solely. Do NOT get a euro spec phone if you want to use vzw or sprint
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Click to collapse
I'm not connecting it to service. Just trying to use it for wifi etc. So if I got a Galaxy S7 AT&T phone off amazon it would work? I don't really know how to get a euro phone when I live in USA and I normally buy everything from amazon. Is a iPhone 7 at&t jailbreakable?

alliebart said:
I'm not connecting it to service. Just trying to use it for wifi etc. So if I got a Galaxy S7 AT&T phone off amazon it would work? I don't really know how to get a euro phone when I live in USA and I normally buy everything from amazon. Is a iPhone 7 at&t jailbreakable?
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Click to collapse
i bought a UAE market A8 phone from amazon last summer, and im sure you can buy other euro spec phones on there too. They are just advertised as "no warranty". Iphail discussions and jailbreak arent usual conversation topics on xda

Question on Proper Model

Hey Guys,
What would you recommend as the best model of the Note 20 Ultra to get? I have access to purchase the US unlocked, the International unlocked or the Korean Unlocked variant. I was concerned about using SamsungPay, yet I think I will let that ship sail. I am more concerned about overall performance and value. I will not be rooting. I use to for years on here, yet have not done so for the last 4 Note models. Just can't decided which would be the best one to purchase. Yet I need to get my pre-order in soon. I currently live in Japan. What are you thoughts?

cezeff said:
Hey Guys,
What would you recommend as the best model of the Note 20 Ultra to get? I have access to purchase the US unlocked, the International unlocked or the Korean Unlocked variant. I was concerned about using SamsungPay, yet I think I will let that ship sail. I am more concerned about overall performance and value. I will not be rooting. I use to for years on here, yet have not done so for the last 4 Note models. Just can't decided which would be the best one to purchase. Yet I need to get my pre-order in soon. I currently live in Japan. What are you thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my recommendation would be to get the version which has all the required bands to work well in Japan.
That said i would not get the international one though because it has the crappy exynos 990 in it.
both US and Korean variants have the snapdragon 865+. i known rooting doesnt matter but just for information the US and Canadian models cannot be rooted due to the locked bootloader

force70 said:
my recommendation would be to get the version which has all the required bands to work well in Japan.
That said i would not get the international one though because it has the crappy exynos 990 in it.
both US and Korean variants have the snapdragon 865+. i known rooting doesnt matter but just for information the US and Canadian models cannot be rooted due to the locked bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. Both the Korean and the US variant would work the same for LTE here... I'm going with the Korean version as it has twice the storage for the same price.... If for some crazy reason I do root it later, it looks like it would be doable with the Korean model in flashing a generic worldwide wide rom(?).. It seems there was pretty healthy development on the snapdragon Korean version of the note 10 plus...I don't think that I will ever push it has enough to fully use the chipset, yet it's a good piece of mind to have when spending so much money, that you got the best performance you can buy.... because any variant isn't 100% completely compatible with all the LTE bands in Japan, I would feel better getting the chipset that has the best energy efficiency as well... I'll be going with mystic white as it give me the greatest flexibility in swapping skins and cases, plus the grey framed camera bump looks better in my opinion

force70 said:
my recommendation would be to get the version which has all the required bands to work well in Japan.
That said i would not get the international one though because it has the crappy exynos 990 in it.
both US and Korean variants have the snapdragon 865+. i known rooting doesnt matter but just for information the US and Canadian models cannot be rooted due to the locked bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am stuck in this too, live in Canada
I need Dual SIM ( not avail for North American version )
I need rooting
I checked but the HK bands dont work for my carriers 5G
So - should I buy a Note 20 Ultra with Exynos? where I am not getting its worth OR go for a Note 10 + instead International but with Exynos for $1200 CAD

inningsdefeat500 said:
I am stuck in this too, live in Canada
I need Dual SIM ( not avail for North American version )
I need rooting
I checked but the HK bands dont work for my carriers 5G
So - should I buy a Note 20 Ultra with Exynos? where I am not getting its worth OR go for a Note 10 + instead International but with Exynos for $1200 CAD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely wouldnt buy exynos this year..the 990 is total crap.
last year the snapdragon was still better but I don't think the performance margin was a big.
what carrier you with?

inningsdefeat500 said:
I am stuck in this too, live in Canada
I need Dual SIM ( not avail for North American version )
I need rooting
I checked but the HK bands dont work for my carriers 5G
So - should I buy a Note 20 Ultra with Exynos? where I am not getting its worth OR go for a Note 10 + instead International but with Exynos for $1200 CAD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me 5G is nice, yet not super important due to the fact Japan just turned on 5G for commercial use 2 months ago and still have yet to flesh it out properly. NTT Docomo, the largest of the 3 carriers, expects only 2.5 million subscribers by March 2021... In short I'm saying how much access will you have to 5G in your area?... Is it top priority if you are getting great speeds on LTE already?
I went with the HK version over the Korean version for the dual sim capability....
As far as rooting I think both the HK and Korean versions were enjoying some success on the Note 10+ forums... You might want to check how things went with rooting development on those models , with expectations for probably the same level of support