vB Easy Archive - Buying unlocked phones: Advice please?

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Buying unlocked phones: Advice please?
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Posted by: curmudgeon

Okay, I already know some of this stuff... or at least I *think* I do, which is why I want to check w/you guys first. I've never bought an unlocked phone before; I always did the "new contract" thing, but am starting to think saving $100 on a new phone by signing a 2-year contract is a good way to get scr*wed. IOW, I think I'd rather pay the extra $100 for the phone and have an actual choice.

1) First, where's the best place to buy--i.e. price, customer service, etc.? BTW, I'm in the U.S., in Northern California. I read here that howardforums.com.com was pretty good, and as an example, I saw that their black RAZR was at least $30 less than newegg(prob not the best comparator)--is howardforums.com.com the best place to shop in the U.S.? (Whoops! Just checked on the RAZR--they're having a 3-day sale priced at $209!)

2) Since I'm posting in this forum, naturally I'm on Cingular GSM service, and currently use a Moto MPx220. What specific things should I look for in a new, unlocked phone, to make sure its compatible w/the Cingular network? I'm guessing the bands it operates on--should the phone I buy do 850, 900, 1800, & 1900--i.e. all four bands?

3) On howardforums.com.com, I saw a Nokia 6681, which looks a *lot* like the 6682. Are they the same? Is the 6681 meant for countries other than the U.S.? I noticed in the specs it doesn't do the 850 band--does that make it useless for use here in the U.S. on Cingular?

I can do computers in my sleep, but as I said, buying an unlocked phone is new territory for me, so any advice you think I need to know, I would greatly appreciate. Assume I know nothing--you'll probably be right!

Posted by: ALCingularUser

I'll comment on the band issue. First, unless you travel overseas, you don't need 900 and 1800. They aren't used in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. However, you may find them used in other parts of the western hemisphere and definitely in the rest of the world. As for Cingular, you need a phone that does both 850 and 1900. Otherwise, you will have reduced coverage. See the sticky in the Cingular forum for more info.

Not sure about the 6681, but my guess would be that you are correct. You'll often see two versions of phones, one that has 850/1800/1900, and one with 900/1800/1900. IMHO, this is incredibly short-sighted on the part of the manufacturers, but that's another discussion for another thread.

Posted by: Mango808

1) Buying an unlocked/unbranded phone will cost you alot more than you would think. Any place that has it online cheap, normally requires a new contract and activation so read the fine print. howardforums.com.com is okay, but most people that have good reports about them have actually gone to the store in NYC to pick them up in person. Less chance of them screwing them or the order. Personally, my choice was going with Plemix.com for my D600.

2) Being with Cingular you will need to get a phone that has both GSM 850/1900Mhz and not one that only has 1900Mhz. There are a few quadbands, but rarely are there tribands that are 850/1800/1900Mhz. Most are 900/1800/1900Mhz.

3) The 6681 is the same as the 6682, but without 850Mhz. You'll need to have the 850/1900Mhz with Cingular as 1900Mhz only will not be beneficial on Cingular.

Since you are in California, you might want to look locally as there are some Authorized Resellers that have or can order the phone(s) that you may want to get. I know most Asian Market areas have them as I have visited a few in the Southern California areas so the ones in the Northern California area has them as well.

Posted by: curmudgeon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mango808

1) Buying an unlocked/unbranded phone will cost you alot more than you would think. Any place that has it online cheap, normally requires a new contract and activation so read the fine print.

I think I know what you mean, but just to clarify, I expected to buy a new, unlocked, non-contract phone--i.e. I already have a plan and a SIM card, and just wanted an unlocked phone to play with. I was looking for good, reliable resellers who have the best prices on unlocked, no-contract phones. I expected them to cost more than a new-contract phone from Cingular, tho the Turkey Day sale price on the unlocked RAZR at howardforums.com is only $10 more than the 2-year contract price at Cingular! Is that not a pretty good deal? Or am I missing something? (I didn't see anything about needing a new plan to buy it, so let me know if I'm misreading their ad.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mango808

Since you are in California, you might want to look locally as there are some Authorized Resellers that have or can order the phone(s) that you may want to get. I know most Asian Market areas have them as I have visited a few in the Southern California areas so the ones in the Northern California area has them as well.

I hadn't realized this, as I expected any walk-in store to charge me the full retail price on a given phone. Plus, wouldn't a given phone be locked to a particular carrier? Or can independent authorized resellers actually sell unlocked phones at prices competitive w/the online sellers? I mean, I would expect to pay a bit more at a walk-in store, but that might be worth it in exchange for being able to buy locally in case something goes wrong.

Posted by: theclarks1

I have bought several unlocked phones from ebay. The most recent being the V635. I paid a bit over 250.00, granted you cant even get this from a retail store. The only disadvantage to buying from a place such as this instead of retail would be the warranty(you would have to send the phone to nokia moto...whoever) or the tech support. Most of the time the local stores are less willing to help if they know that you didnt buy it from them. But thats not all of them just some of them. I myself would never sign a 2 year contract. Look at the amount that you are going to spend over the other year that you have that contract, then see if its worth the 100$ that you are saving. Keep your current contract, pay for the phone you want, then if you decided to switch keep your phone without having it unlocked or buy another. I have bought several unlocked phones and had no issues with them, however i have kind of a phone fetish so normally more than 6 months is my limit. But now with the v635 I am happy and the only switch that I would make would be to a phone that does less. I could never use all the features that this phone has.

Posted by: mo98

I bought my unlocked 6230b from expansys.com. The phone was brand new and cost around $240. I am very pleased with the phone. This was the first unlocked phone that I have ever purchased over the internet.

Posted by: CeluGeek

Be aware that many of those phones, may come with non-English manuals, foreign chargers (less likely), and maybe keypads with foreign characters.

Also, unlocked may not necessarily mean unbranded. You might get an unlocked phone with a lot of Vodafone or Orange customizations. If I'm going to get a phone full of carrier branding, I rather get one with branding from a carrier I know, or better yet, look for an unbranded or de-branded one.

Posted by: theclarks1

Quote:

Originally Posted by cinguliano

Be aware that many of those phones, may come with non-English manuals, foreign chargers (less likely), and maybe keypads with foreign characters.

Also, unlocked may not necessarily mean unbranded. You might get an unlocked phone with a lot of Vodafone or Orange customizations. If I'm going to get a phone full of carrier branding, I rather get one with branding from a carrier I know, or better yet, look for an unbranded or de-branded one.

Excellent points. Yes if you buy from anyone make sure that you ask specific questions in reference to the points in this post. If you buy from ebay for sure, I had bought one and the person sent me one that was branded to a carrier which I didnt want, also the phone was used. WE got it settled but only because I had email with the questions and the auction wasnt properly represented. Also with the unbranded phones you can fix the browser settings to make it work with the carrier. There are lots of helpful information here in any of the phone forums. So make an educated descion on what you buy. Let me make one more point. Make sure that you get what you want. If you sacrifice the things you want based on price you wont be happy when you see all the things that you could have done with the phone you really wanted. Then if you decide to sell the phone you wont get out of it what you want then you have lost money, where as if you would have gotten what you wanted then you will be happier and saved some money.

Posted by: Mango808

Quote:

Originally Posted by curmudgeon

From the ad it does seem to be without contract and even going through the checkout process there was no mention of needing a plan or contract. If you are comfortable with ordering it, then go ahead, it's your call to make and live with. I haven't dealt with them before so I have no experience to tell you yes or no.

Quote:

Independant dealers/resellers try to stay within the policies of the carriers they sell for, but more over the carriers only really care about the new activation. So these dealers do sell phones from different carriers and activate them on another as long as they are compatible (i.e. Cingular GSM phone on T-Mobile or T-Mobile GSM phone on Cingular) and they do know how to unlock them (the ones I knew of did). These dealers do get paid from the carriers their commission for the activations and that is why some will and can give you a good deal on a phone. Most of them buy/order their phones retail either from the carriers or directly from the manufacturers warehouse branded or unbranded in some cases. So they can sell these phones with or without contract/activation as some just make money from selling these phones and recoup the cost they paid for them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cinguliano

Be aware that many of those phones, may come with non-English manuals, foreign chargers (less likely), and maybe keypads with foreign characters.

That's true, but most will include a blank CD-R with a User Manual in English (mine did). If not, you can easily download one from the manufacturers website. Samsung, Nokia, SonyEricsson and a few others I have been able to view/download an English version in PDF format. As for the chargers, the same chargers used for the US/Canada models can be used for the same models/brands for the foreign ones as they are normally dual-voltage 100-240V anyway. I use my US Samsung charger with my unbranded Samsung SGH-D600 which came with a UK plug and US adapter. Double checked the voltage on both were the same and have been using it without problems. I kept the UK charger/US adapter in the box for if and when I do need it for the UK. In fact my Samsung charger from T-Mobile USA's Samsungs included a UK two prong adapter in the box, so that is what prompted me to look at the voltage on it in the first place.

Posted by: CeluGeek

Speaking of T-Mobile, also be aware that phones from T-Mobile US (not sure about European T-Mobile) have the WAP and MMS settings locked, so even if the phone is unlocked, you might not be able to use Cingular's MEdiaNet or mMode services or MMS messaging. While it is possible to unlock the browser on some phones, it's better to avoid T-Mobile branded phones whenever possible.