Buying unlocked phones for T-Mobile

[desura]

I've noticed that a lot of manufacturers will make ATT and TMobile versions of their phones. Nokia has the 810 for TMobile and the 820 for ATT.

Are they locked to the carrier due to hardware? Like, frequency bands? Or is this some arbitrary supply restriction thing?

Also, I hear that Nokia has wifi calling. It appears that it uses minutes...however, at the very least it offers better coverage if not quality when in wifi range. Any experiences with it? Too bad they still use minutes.

 

[paperwastage]

typically, most phones have 3G Bands for t-mobile and ATT. If you want T-mobile's 42Mbps "3.5G" HSPDA+ or LTE, then you need to shop carefully (a lot of phones don't carry those bands)


if you want wifi-calling for t-mobile, it's best to stick to their phones....

last I checked, it's hard for custom ROMs of t-mobile phones to support it, let alone unlocked phones from other carriers

 

[desura]

typically, most phones have 3G Bands for t-mobile and ATT. If you want T-mobile's 42Mbps "3.5G" HSPDA+ or LTE, then you need to shop carefully (a lot of phones don't carry those bands)


if you want wifi-calling for t-mobile, it's best to stick to their phones....

last I checked, it's hard for custom ROMs of t-mobile phones to support it, let alone unlocked phones from other carriers

Hmm, so right now it looks like only the 925 supports it. Not the 920. Too bad.

edit: 521 looks intriguing. wifi calling, sd card expansion, looks fast enough. Can be had cheap for around $100 bucks, and then pair it with the $30 tmobile plan.

 

[jpeyton]

Word, get the Nokia 521 if you want a lot of phone for the money.

 

[jidery]

You also have my vote for the 521, great phone!

 

[desura]

Looks like I'm going to be picking up the 521. Looks pretty good for my needs, and with the $30 plan should be ultra affordable, a nice upgrade from the dumbphone that I'm currently using.

A few Q's...

1. Um, which SIM card to pick up? Just the prepaid and that's it? There's something about a micro-SIM and cutting a card with like...scissors?

2. You can't use the zune software to manage it, can you? Zune's desktop client IMO was pretty impressive at the time.

3. Recommend any apps? It appears that Nokia has some nice navigation apps (my main need with a smartphone, actually).

4. porting phone number? How hard? I'm on sprint, never had to switch carrieres before.

 

[smithkt]

Looks like I'm going to be picking up the 521. Looks pretty good for my needs, and with the $30 plan should be ultra affordable, a nice upgrade from the dumbphone that I'm currently using.

A few Q's...

1. Um, which SIM card to pick up? Just the prepaid and that's it? There's something about a micro-SIM and cutting a card with like...scissors?

2. You can't use the zune software to manage it, can you? Zune's desktop client IMO was pretty impressive at the time.

3. Recommend any apps? It appears that Nokia has some nice navigation apps (my main need with a smartphone, actually).

4. porting phone number? How hard? I'm on sprint, never had to switch carrieres before.

I just did this with a Google Nexus 4.

1. According to the specs, the Nokia 521 uses a micro SIM. Some people have had luck just going into the T-Mobile store and requesting a SIM free. I ordered the kit from the T-mobile site for $10.
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/...ro-SIM-Card-Activation-Kit-No-Annual-Contract

I think you can get them through Amazon as well.

As long as you get the micro SIM, there will be no cutting involved.

2. No idea

3. No idea

4. With the kit I ordered, you just pop in the SIM card, go to the t-mobile prepaid activation web site provided in the instructions. It walks you step by step through the process. You will have the option to select the $30 account. There is also an option on the screen to port your number. All in all, it was incredibly simple.

I did not port my number because I wanted to test the service out before I commit to it. Hopefully I can just give them a call and have them port when I am ready.

 

[paperwastage]

I did not port my number because I wanted to test the service out before I commit to it. Hopefully I can just give them a call and have them port when I am ready.

according to other people, yes

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=45243004&postcount=2656

I'm still waiting on my sim cards from tmobile online store.... the retail stores refused to sell me a $10 (prepaid) sim card without choosing the service(or at least putting $10 on a plan that I can't use towards the $30 5GB plan)... and bestbuy mobile retail store was selling it for $15

 

[smithkt]

according to other people, yes

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=45243004&postcount=2656

I'm still waiting on my sim cards from tmobile online store.... the retail stores refused to sell me a $10 (prepaid) sim card without choosing the service(or at least putting $10 on a plan that I can't use towards the $30 5GB plan)... and bestbuy mobile retail store was selling it for $15

Awesome. I've been pleasantly surprised by how good the signal is in most of the places I normally frequent.