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  1. #1
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    Can this be done with a cell phone?

    I use cingular as my service provider and need a new cell phone because the one I have is awful. But I cannot find ANY decent cingular cell phones which I like.

    I ended up finding a great samsung cell phone which I love (I'm very picky) but the problem is that this cell phone is for metropcs and I use cingular.

    I was told by somebody at cingular that I could actually use this samsung metropcs phone and that all they need to do is "unlock" something in that cell phone in order to make the metropcs cell phone work with cingular.

    Has anybody else here ever done this before? I wonder if this is just asking for trouble and then my cell phone will be dropping calls like crazy or if it would actually work well, do you think?

    I think it's so idiotic that they have certain phones for certain cell companies... it is so annoying because I always end up finding a phone I love but it's always with the cell company I don't use!

  2. #2
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    Sorry nevermind this post. Just checked into it again... NOT a good idea to have them unlock the phone because then all the features would be screwed up. Wouldn't be able to connect to the internet to download ringtones and text messages e.t.c. those features would not function properly.

    Oh well. Bummer... I really liked that samsung phone!

  3. #3
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    MetroPCS does CDMA, so.. no.
    Hello

  4. #4
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    That's what I was going to say - the CDMA screws it up. Otherwise, unlocked phones work great, and most of the time without any problems at all

  5. #5
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    Cingular is GSM. Only other GSM phones will work with Cingular.
    Can you be scared half to death twice?

  6. #6
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    There's a million other phones out there that function with GSM though.
    You have a huge selection.

    Unlocking your cellphone is now legal for the next three years
    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2064707,00.asp

    Enjoy that ol' freedom.

  7. #7
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    Ah, I see thanks for the explanation. So metropcs ONLY has CDMA phones... therefore you cannot unlock metropcs phones or they won't function correctly.

    So how then do I find out if a phone is CDMA or GSM? And I was told by cingular that if I unlock any cell phone that is not a cingular cell phone that their software will not function on the cell phone and this is what causes those features to not function correctly. But when they told me this they neglected to FULLY explain that this is ONLY if I use a CDMA phone but this problem will NOT occur if I unlock a GSM phone, am I correctly understanding this?

  8. #8
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    No. It's just that Cingular operates a GSM network, whereas metropcs operates a CDMA. IE: You can't use a CDMA phone on a GSM network.

  9. #9
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    I see, so basically I'd have to find another phone company that also uses GSM in that case. I wonder if verizon or t-mobile is a GSM or CDMA network. I can call and find out.

    So in that case I should be able to unlock a t-mobile cell and use it with cingular as long as t-mobile is a GSM network.

    Right now I use cingular "gophone" service ($30/month with no contract)... so every time I buy a new cell phone I have to pay full price! I'm thinking maybe it would be wiser for me to in that case sign up for a year contract and get a free phone instead of throwing almost $200 bucks out the window right now for a cell phone, it's crazy.

    This is why I cannot find any phones I like... none in my price range because of this. Only found one decent one for $120... the rest are over $200 bucks. Rip off!

  10. #10
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    Just go to ebay and search for phones that are GSM capable. Find one you like and buy it

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frosty
    I see, so basically I'd have to find another phone company that also uses GSM in that case. I wonder if verizon or t-mobile is a GSM or CDMA network. I can call and find out.

    So in that case I should be able to unlock a t-mobile cell and use it with cingular as long as t-mobile is a GSM network.

    Right now I use cingular "gophone" service ($30/month with no contract)... so every time I buy a new cell phone I have to pay full price! I'm thinking maybe it would be wiser for me to in that case sign up for a year contract and get a free phone instead of throwing almost $200 bucks out the window right now for a cell phone, it's crazy.

    This is why I cannot find any phones I like... none in my price range because of this. Only found one decent one for $120... the rest are over $200 bucks. Rip off!
    Verizon = CDMA TMo = GSM
    Hello

  12. #12
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    Thanks, so I could essentially unlock ANY t-mobile phone and use it with cingular in that and cingular's software should work perfectly normal then

    I would buy phones from ebay but I am so picky that I like to see the phone I am buying in person first or there is a VERY high chance of me returning it. I'm just too picky...

    I bought this tiny phone a couple of weeks ago and want to return it because the hinge is a bit off... it's a bit crooked and is driving me crazy:

    http://www.menstech.com/UserFiles/Im...ech%20c300.jpg

    I payed $100 bucks for it. But I have noticed that ever since using this phone when somebody calls me and I answer the call... it immediately drops connection very often right after I answer and say "Hello". I didn't notice this with my previous phone. So I guess this means that this phone has a lousy... what do you call it?... frequency or what is the word I'm looking for?
    Last edited by Frosty; 01-20-2007 at 05:12 PM.

  13. #13
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    Wow, I can't remember the last time I saw a phone with an actual aerial sticking out!

    Do you guys not have to join a contract when you get a new phone?
    Steve

  14. #14
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    Okay at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot I'm going to ask what is an "aerial"?

    No... you don't have to have a contract at all when buying a cell phone... the only downside is that then you pay an arm and a leg! So instead of getting it for free or maybe $30 bucks you pay full price and most decent phones are over $200 dollars

  15. #15
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    Aerial = Antenna. Like a TV or Radio has.

    Pretty much all phones over here have them internally rather than sticking out, has been that way for a few years at least.. http://threestore.three.co.uk/handse...searchtype=all
    Steve

  16. #16
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    I figured it was the antenna you were referring to. So in england most cells do not have them. That's funny... here in the USA most cell phones do have them still... I mean the flip phones do.

    You can see here the choices I have to pick from. Most of the flip phones have them

    http://www.cingular.com/cell-phone-s...lip-phones.jsp

  17. #17
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    I work for Bell Canada, and daily I see people bringing in cellphones they have "unlocked". Even though one provider is GSM and one is CDMA doesn't mean the phones will always work. I strongly advise not getting a phone off the internet because of warranty issues. I know offhand Samsung, Sanyo, Motorola, Nokia (atleast in Canada) do not accept receipts that are not from a store. Other times the phones are all glitched out and as mentioned above will not text or connect the the highspeed networks etc.

  18. #18
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    If only they(cell providers) offered phones that people actually want...
    Can you be scared half to death twice?

  19. #19
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    I'd say about 80% of phones you can find a model that has all of the same features at another provider.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bryc3
    I'd say about 80% of phones you can find a model that has all of the same features at another provider.
    Yeah, but I see some wicked sick phones in asia or europe, and they're not available here. and the ones that are, are severely watered down.

    atleast they are in canada.
    Can you be scared half to death twice?

  21. #21
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    The state of cell phones in the US is crazy. Someone needs to lobby Congress to pass a bill that allows people to take their phones to any carrier the want.

    Over here in Australia I can take my phone to any of the providers and sign up and use it on their network plus I can keep my number no matter what provider I move to. Simply change my sim card to the provider of choice and move.

    Last year when I was in the US for a few months I tried to get Cingular one of the few providers that use sim cards to allow me to use my phone on their network over there and they refused to allow me to use any phone they do not provide.

    How stupid. Went and bought a $40.00 phone at the local wal mart and bought minutes on it instead.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Techark
    The state of cell phones in the US is crazy. Someone needs to lobby Congress to pass a bill that allows people to take their phones to any carrier the want.

    Over here in Australia I can take my phone to any of the providers and sign up and use it on their network plus I can keep my number no matter what provider I move to. Simply change my sim card to the provider of choice and move.

    Last year when I was in the US for a few months I tried to get Cingular one of the few providers that use sim cards to allow me to use my phone on their network over there and they refused to allow me to use any phone they do not provide.

    How stupid. Went and bought a $40.00 phone at the local wal mart and bought minutes on it instead.
    So what government is the right mind would pay for every network in that country to redo their entire network to make it universal. What power has the authority to choose if it will be GSM or CDMA? etc etc... If you want a certain phone use that provider.

  23. #23
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    Ohio
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    I bought an unlocked phone from www.popularelect.com. I recommend them - the pricing isn't the best, but they've been great for me.

  24. #24
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    Jun 2004
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    Sometimes its tricky getting an unlocked phone. I'm on a t-mobile contract and am getting annoyed with my Pocket PC a little bit so I got a k610i which is unsupported by t-mobile. But after a few calls I got this great guy who sent me all the special packages for GPRS/MMS features.

    So I guess sometimes you're stuck without Internet or MMS if you get an unsupported phone?

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