vB Easy Archive - GSM or CDMA

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GSM or CDMA
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Posted by: mage182

I'm in the process of trying to buy a Treo 650 off of Cragislist for a good price. But the woman who is selling it isn't tech savy and doesn't know anything about the phone. She said she was trying to get it connected to Cingular and they said they would do it but she ended up getting Verizon and a different phone. She sent me pics and the phone has no branding on the outside. So how can I tell if it is GSM? I'm planning on unlocking it and using it on T-Mobile.

Posted by: AlexKidd1977

Quote:

Originally Posted by mage182

I'm in the process of trying to buy a Treo 650 off of Cragislist for a good price. But the woman who is selling it isn't tech savy and doesn't know anything about the phone. She said she was trying to get it connected to Cingular and they said they would do it but she ended up getting Verizon and a different phone. She sent me pics and the phone has no branding on the outside. So how can I tell if it is GSM? I'm planning on unlocking it and using it on T-Mobile.

You would need to ask if there's a SIM slot or not. CDMA phones do not have a place to insert a SIM card.

--Kidd

Posted by: mage182

Thanks for the quick response.

So supposing it has a SIM card slot. I can buy it. Call Cingular to get it unlocked (I have both Cingluar and Tmobile phones). And then use it with my Tmo service?

Posted by: AlexKidd1977

Quote:

Originally Posted by mage182

Thanks for the quick response.

So supposing it has a SIM card slot. I can buy it. Call Cingular to get it unlocked (I have both Cingluar and Tmobile phones). And then use it with my Tmo service?

I don't know if Cingular will unlock it for you. I'm with T-Mobile - their policy is that they will give you an unlock code for your device once you've been a customer for at least 3 months. (By that point, they have made the money back on your phone subsidy)

If Cingular will not unlock it without being a customer, you might have some luck with a phone unlocking service. I used one of these when I bought my AT&T BlackBerry Curve. It was worth the $20 to not have to fight anyone. I just paid my money, waited about 24 hours and had my unlock code without issue. If you decide to go this route, be sure to find a service that can unlock the phone before you buy it, otherwise you'd have an expensive paper weight.

--Kidd

Posted by: mage182

Sorry that last post wasn't clear. I have both Cinglular and Tmobile plans. I have had a Cingluar phone for almost 3 years and I had them unlock one about 2 years ago when I went to Europe. They gave me no hassle about it. My only worry about it was buying a Palm paperweight because I couldn't use it with my GSM Tmobile service.

Posted by: AlexKidd1977

Quote:

Originally Posted by mage182

Sorry that last post wasn't clear. I have both Cinglular and Tmobile plans. I have had a Cingluar phone for almost 3 years and I had them unlock one about 2 years ago when I went to Europe. They gave me no hassle about it. My only worry about it was buying a Palm paperweight because I couldn't use it with my GSM Tmobile service.

If your already a Cingular/AT&T customer, they'll probably give you an unlock code no problem. I am not an AT&T customer though - I chose to use an unlocking service since they wouldn't talk to me on the phone.

--Kidd