vB Easy Archive - Opinion needed for v3 purchase

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Opinion needed for v3 purchase
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Posted by: curveball692

I'm a Cingular customer, and should have gotten the v3 to start with, but I went with the SE s710a. What a mistake! So now I need to purchase a v3 to be happy and have better signal strength (and yes I have tested, its night and day difference).

My question is, would you guys and gals suggest that I buy from Cingular (which more than likely will be locked) or should I get an unlocked version on ebay for slightly more money? I dont see myself going overseas anytime soon, but if I do go, I understand that I should be able to call Cingular and get mine unlocked, right? If thats the case, I guess I would probably be better off getting it direct from Cingular and having warranty through them, and if nothing else, just call up in a few months and say I am going to Europe and need to unlock my phone.

Appreciate any recommendations you have, and if they are to purchase elsewhere, I would love to know who are some trusted places to buy from.

Posted by: NY2A

About 3 weeks ago I purchased a V3 from http://www.expansys-usa.com/ and I have been very happy with it. I have always been nervous about dealing on E-Bay. The prices at eXpansys are not always the cheapest (I'm a big believer in the "you get what you pay for" principle, but you get top-notch service if there is a problem and the phones very often come with additional accessories that many of the providers leave out. I have also purchased a couple of other phones from these folks. I have absolutely no connection with them. I'm just a satisfied customer.

Posted by: curveball692

Thanks for the link, I will check them out.

Posted by: WirelessAndy

I'll second that.

I always prefer to buy in-store so I can check things out first (press the buttons, play with the menus, etc). But if I have to buy on-line, I always check out Expansys first.

Just be sure to read up on their return policy carefully first. Every place is different. Some charge hefty restocking fees, others may say you must file a claim for a return within a pre-determined length of time.

For example, if you visit the Expansys support page:

If the goods are NOT defective and you wish to return them you have 15 days from when the package arrives to return the goods for a refund between 75% and 100% depending on the condition of the returned items. You will need to email us-returns@expansys.com with a brief explanation of the situation. A refund will be provided within 30 days after the merchandise is received at our warehouse. You will not be refunded the delivery costs. Any returned software that has been opened will be charged a 25% restocking fee.

Other places are more devious. Celluloco (those crooks!) once had a policy where you had to get an RMA within 3 days or something like that. The catch? They wouldn't pick up the phone or reply to your emails!

But you can rest assured that Expansys has my Nit Picker seal of Approval.

Posted by: curveball692

Yeah I can deal with their return policy. Their page doesnt give a lot of details on the black V3's though, I have to assume that since they are multi-linugal or EU versions, that they are unlocked phones.

I wont go back to ebay thats for sure, did that, learned my lesson! Luckily got my money back though. Its too bad I didnt know about this site before though, I would have made the proper decision the first time!

Posted by: WirelessAndy

Feel free to email Expansys to ask questions like that. I do it all the time, especially regarding language versions. They actually respond.

Posted by: curveball692

Yup did that

Still waiting for a reply. Guess I am just too impatient!

Posted by: WirelessAndy

..and that's why we have the HowardForums! Don't worry- be patient...

Posted by: curveball692

Geez, it took all of 39 minutes for them to reply! And during lunch time no less! I consider that some good customer service! Much better than the ebay dealer with over 9500+ positive feedbacks that wont answer a few simple pre-sales questions even after a full week has gone by!

Posted by: WirelessAndy

Hurrah!

I'm so glad you've had a good experience with them- and you didn't even have to spend a dime.

I've been buying from them for years, and they have been very good to me.

Posted by: curveball692

Well I should have my new shiny (well maybe not shiny) black V3 tomorrow! Woohoo!!!

Appreciate all the help!

Posted by: JBW

Were you able to confirm that the ones they are selling are indeed fully unlocked? Did they say what the difference was between the multi-lingual and EU versions?

Posted by: curveball692

Here is their reply to my pre-sales questions:

"The phones that we sell are unlocked and can be used on any GSM network. The only difference between the two versions is that the EU version will come with an EU AC adapter. We will make sure that either one will come with a US adapter. If you would like to get one, call me and I will be happy to assist you."

Is there multiple stages of being unlocked? By their comment, I am lead to believe that its fully unlocked.

Posted by: JBW

I seem to remember awhile back that there was an issue with certain V3's being O2 branded & people having trouble modifying the incoming email server . But if they say they are fully unlocked, then it should be fine.

Posted by: NY2A

The black V3 I got from them was completely unlocked, totally unbranded and brand new. I am very happey with eXpansys. In addition, I got one very welcome surprise. After putting my 64K Cingular SIm in the phone I have found that I can have complete manual network selection and can register on either my local Cingular Orange, Cingular Blue, or even with the T-Mobile network here in Rochester, NY.

Posted by: curveball692

Ok so my new phone is on the UPS truck, probably sitting at my door right now. Since I only have a Cingular SIM, how am I able to check to see if its fully unlocked? Dont know anyone here in my area with a Tmobile phone to try it. Will there be a screen similar to my s710a's service menu that had 5 features to could be locked, and only 1 of them was locked (SIM lock I think)?

Went back into the service menu, and the locks under the SIM lock screen are:

Network (locked) 5
Network Subset (unlocked) 5
Service Provider (unlocked) 5
Corporate (unlocked) 5
ESL (unlocked) 5

Whatever those mean....I guess it wont play nice with another SIM right now huh?

Posted by: NY2A

Frankly, I have no idea about those lock options on your S710a. I have NEVER seen anything like it on a Montorola, but perhaps someone else can shed a bit more light on it. If eXpansys sells you a phone without a carrier option (and I think that's the only way they DO sell them), you can count on it's being 100% unlocked. Mine works fine with either a Cingular or a T-Mobile SIM.

Posted by: JBW

So curveball, how do you like the Black RAZR?

Posted by: curveball692

Cant say, UPS wouldnt leave it with my signature release waiver, so I dont have it yet because I wasnt at home to receive it.

Posted by: curveball692

Its here!

Looks cool, is charging right now, cant wait to play with it more. Put my SIM in and as expected it came up with Cingular and all seems fine! Thanks again to all those who suggested such a fine dealer to buy from!

Posted by: stevefo

The only thing you may want to do is edit the gain table for your earpiece volume.

Posted by: curveball692

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevefo

The only thing you may want to do is edit the gain table for your earpiece volume.

To make it louder or quieter? I havent even used the phone to dial yet, so I have no clue which way it might need to go. I assume I need to check out motox and a few other sites to learn all this stuff.

Posted by: stevefo

Quote:

Originally Posted by curveball692

To make it louder. I'm sure you will read up on the latest motorola mod programs.

Have fun. I enjoy mine!

Posted by: curveball692

Well I got my phone all charged and setup media net, and it works as expected, but something strange.... Right now I seem to be roaming on Centennial Wireless. Sometimes it will jump back to Cingular, and both of those as well as Tmobile are listed in the network search option.

I am guessing that I am roaming because the phone is unlocked, right? Should I be concerned over this? Extra charges? Cant seem to keep the phone locked onto Cingular at this point, but even when its roaming on Centennial, I can access media net, make/receive calls, sms etc.

I am fairly certain that my area is a 1900mhz market, so maybe I should force the phone into that range, rather than auto?