vB Easy Archive - Why Unbrand?

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Why Unbrand?
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Posted by: McDerby

What are the pros and cons of unbranding a phone?

I currently have AT&T, the BB Curve but I'm thinking of getting the Sony Ericsson W260a. As i'm researching the w260a, i'm seeing talk of unbranding. I read that it would reset the phone as if I purchased it directly from SE.

Any and all info would be greatly appreciated.. THANKS!

Posted by: Heavy Fluid

Unbranding often "unlocks" features that are often blocked by the providers. I know that on a lot of SE phones, flash menus are often blocked by the providers. Sometimes menus can change once the phone is unbranded, freeing up often useful tools. Some providers also impose ringtone size limitations, and unbranding will remove that.

I know that if I was to switch back to an SE phone, I would readily consider unbranding it. I have had branded and unbranded SE phones in the past on AT&T, and the unbranded were more functional.

Posted by: DRNewcomb

Branding (flagging) a phone involves a number of changes. Some are pretty benign, like flashing a company logo at boot-up. Some changes lock out features that allow you to use less expensive alternate services. For instance, you might be able to e-mail photos rather than upload them to the carrier's album (at $X/photo).

Posted by: lmcjipo

I will generally unbrand the cellphone if I don't require any carrier specific programs that are part of the carrier's firmware. For example, if I don't subscribe to the carrier's MobileTV (or another service that requires the carrier's specific program/firmware), I just unbrand the phone.

The most noticeable difference in unbranding that I've encountered with all the phones that I've unbranded is the ability to use full length MP3 files as ringtones. Other differences depend on the exact manufacturer and model of the phone for example on my Rogers N95-4, unbranding it also gave me the ability to toggle the network between 3G and GSM.

The general "con" of unbranding the phone is depending on the specific carrier, it might be harder to get warranty with it (or the warranty might be void after the unbranding process).