Anyone know anything about unlocking phones?

[RbSX]

Hey Guys,

I bought a Sanyo 5300 Sprint Phone.. and it's locked into sprint's service. That being said, I'm not going to use sprint because they are dreadful.

Does anyone know anything about how to unlock phones, and even better, this particular phone?

Ryan

 

[brtspears2]

I'm not sure about CDMA unlocking (Sprint, Verizon, Nextel) since I never seen it done, but GSM unlocking is easy.

 

[etalns]

Originally posted by: RyanSengara
Hey Guys,

I bought a Sanyo 5300 Sprint Phone.. and it's locked into sprint's service. That being said, I'm not going to use sprint because they are dreadful.

Does anyone know anything about how to unlock phones, and even better, this particular phone?

Ryan

Get onto MSN douchebag.

 

[BustaBust]

So does anyone know??

 

[brtspears2]

GSM phones are easy to unlock, either via a code or a cable solution. CDMA phones, I never seen it done.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: Qosis

Originally posted by: RyanSengara
Hey Guys,

I bought a Sanyo 5300 Sprint Phone.. and it's locked into sprint's service. That being said, I'm not going to use sprint because they are dreadful.

Does anyone know anything about how to unlock phones, and even better, this particular phone?

Ryan

Get onto MSN douchebag.

I'm on MSN now douchebag.

 

[Aimster]

google it and you will get your answer. Ebay too. And popular torrent sites.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: Aimster
google it and you will get your answer. Ebay too. And popular torrent sites.

I've checked ebay, I need this phone within the next day.. and the unlocked ones don't end until next friday.

 

[ElFenix]

whats wrong with sprint?!?

 

[orakle]

Even if you manage to unlock your Sprint PCS handset and change the NAM settings, it is unlikely that Verizon Wireless or whichever other provider you wish to use will allow you to use this handset on their network. With GSM phones there is pretty much one standard that most carriers abide to, thus it is easy to swap a sim card and use another network. CDMA carriers on the other hand use highly customized firmware on the equipment that they sell, which isn't necessarily compatible with competing networks. That said, if you do persuade your new carrier to activate your Sprint phone, more power to you, but be aware that certain features such as text messaging and web browsing may not/probably won't work properly. There are other issues with PRLs (Preferred Roaming Lists, which basically tell your phone which towers to use) that I won't go into here, but suffice it to say that if you try and bring a phone from one CDMA carrier to another, you're asking for a lot of trouble.

Originally posted by: brtspears2
I'm not sure about CDMA unlocking (Sprint, Verizon, Nextel) since I never seen it done, but GSM unlocking is easy.

BTW, Nextel uses iDEN, a proprietary Motorola cellular technology, and not CDMA.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: orakle22
Even if you manage to unlock your Sprint PCS handset and change the NAM settings, it is unlikely that Verizon Wireless or whichever other provider you wish to use will allow you to use this handset on their network. With GSM phones there is pretty much one standard that most carriers abide to, thus it is easy to swap a sim card and use another network. CDMA carriers on the other hand use highly customized firmware on the equipment that they sell, which isn't necessarily compatible with competing networks. That said, if you do persuade your new carrier to activate your Sprint phone, more power to you, but be aware that certain features such as text messaging and web browsing may not/probably won't work properly. There are other issues with PRLs (Preferred Roaming Lists, which basically tell your phone which towers to use) that I won't go into here, but suffice it to say that if you try and bring a phone from one CDMA carrier to another, you're asking for a lot of trouble.

Originally posted by: brtspears2
I'm not sure about CDMA unlocking (Sprint, Verizon, Nextel) since I never seen it done, but GSM unlocking is easy.

BTW, Nextel uses iDEN, a proprietary Motorola cellular technology, and not CDMA.

Well telus does support the Sanyo 5000, and the only difference that I can tell is that the 5300 has a camera in it.

 

[NutBucket]

You have to find out if Telus will activate a phone that they didn't originally sell. To unlock the phone you need to get the MSL for the phone (kinda like a master key to unlock all the settings). Hop over to howardforums and look into BitPim. Couple that software with a data cable and you'll likely be able to pull the MSL straight from the phone rather then trying go through Sprint to get it.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
You have to find out if Telus will activate a phone that they didn't originally sell. To unlock the phone you need to get the MSL for the phone (kinda like a master key to unlock all the settings). Hop over to howardforums and look into BitPim. Couple that software with a data cable and you'll likely be able to pull the MSL straight from the phone rather then trying go through Sprint to get it.

Alright... I'll look into that.

So you need to connect your cell to your computer to be able to unlock it?

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: RyanSengara

Originally posted by: NutBucket
You have to find out if Telus will activate a phone that they didn't originally sell. To unlock the phone you need to get the MSL for the phone (kinda like a master key to unlock all the settings). Hop over to howardforums and look into BitPim. Couple that software with a data cable and you'll likely be able to pull the MSL straight from the phone rather then trying go through Sprint to get it.

Alright... I'll look into that.

So you need to connect your cell to your computer to be able to unlock it?

No, contacting Sprint is one way though they won't just give you the MSL. You'll have to weasel it out of them. BitPIM is a far easier option. Before you start any of this I suggest you contact the provider you want to use this phone with and MAKE SURE THEY'LL LET YOU! Also, chances are most of the features other then voice and voicemail won't work, meaning you won't have any text messaging, can't surf the web and you won't be able to download pictures off the phone.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: RyanSengara

Originally posted by: NutBucket
You have to find out if Telus will activate a phone that they didn't originally sell. To unlock the phone you need to get the MSL for the phone (kinda like a master key to unlock all the settings). Hop over to howardforums and look into BitPim. Couple that software with a data cable and you'll likely be able to pull the MSL straight from the phone rather then trying go through Sprint to get it.

Alright... I'll look into that.

So you need to connect your cell to your computer to be able to unlock it?

No, contacting Sprint is one way though they won't just give you the MSL. You'll have to weasel it out of them. BitPIM is a far easier option. Before you start any of this I suggest you contact the provider you want to use this phone with and MAKE SURE THEY'LL LET YOU! Also, chances are most of the features other then voice and voicemail won't work, meaning you won't have any text messaging, can't surf the web and you won't be able to download pictures off the phone.

My family is friends with the VP of Telus Mobility, I don't think letting my phone on the network will be a problem. I just want to make sure text messaging works, I don't really care about internet browsing, MSN or any of the other garbage.. this is for my girlfriend.. so less options the better (it means a smaller bill for me )

Edit: As well.. what is BitPIM? Maybe if you could explain it to me a little bit.. what it is and what it does exactly..

 

[NutBucket]

Text messaging won't work since that phone is designed to use shortmail, Sprint's old WAP-based text messaging.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Text messaging won't work since that phone is designed to use shortmail, Sprint's old WAP-based text messaging.

Even though it supports SMS messaging? weird.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Sanyo_...-20776128.html?tag=tab

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: RyanSengara

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Text messaging won't work since that phone is designed to use shortmail, Sprint's old WAP-based text messaging.

Even though it supports SMS messaging? weird.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Sanyo_...-20776128.html?tag=tab

I had one for about a year (bought it when it first hit the stores). It DOES NOT have SMS. True phone-based SMS is a very recent thing for Sprint. Its the main reason I bought a new phone.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
I had one for about a year (bought it when it first hit the stores). It DOES NOT have SMS. True phone-based SMS is a very recent thing for Sprint. Its the main reason I bought a new phone.

yeah the server based sms blows. i really want a new phone but don't want to pay out the arse and don't want a 2 year contract

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: NutBucket
I had one for about a year (bought it when it first hit the stores). It DOES NOT have SMS. True phone-based SMS is a very recent thing for Sprint. Its the main reason I bought a new phone.

yeah the server based sms blows. i really want a new phone but don't want to pay out the arse and don't want a 2 year contract

Yeah, I paid like $350 for this VM4500 but I like it. I paid $400 for the 5300 when it first came out as well. I did end up signing a new contract recently anyway since my mom wanted a phone. I found a deal where they paid me $100 for the phone (Samsung VI660).