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Unlocked Phones

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Posted by: mush10

I have never bought an unlocked phone before and I am considering giving it a try. What are the +'s and -'s of unlocked phones? Are you still able to access MediaNEt?


Posted by: Mango808

Yes, you can still access Media Net once you put in the Cingular WAP settings. The same for sending/receiving MMS, once you put in the Cingular MMS Settings in your unlocked phone.

Now there are two types of unlocked phones, those that are completely unlocked and unbranded from the manufacturer (i.e. no provider brandings or logos), sold to be used by any compatible provider and those that were originally from a provider, set with all of their brandings, logos, WAP/MMS settings, and even direct links to their shopping portals, but have been SIM unlocked to use any providers SIM.

If buying a T-Mobile branded phone that has been unlocked, you may not be able to easily find the WAP/MMS Settings menu to edit them as T-Mobile likes to have them hidden. For most T-Mobile branded Samsungs they can be displayed by typing in some codes (such as *#87927# for the WAP menu, and *#87667# for the MMS menu.

In my case I have an unbranded Motorola RAZR and SLVR along with an unbranded Samsung D600. All three of these I have put in the Cingular WAP/MMS Settings and can use them with my Cingular SIM cards as if they were in my other Cingular branded phones.

I also have some unlocked T-Mobile branded Samsungs and have the Cingular WAP/MMS Settings and can use the WAP/MMS on most of them. Some of the MMS doesn't work too well or don't at all though.

The negative you may encounter is if the Cingular MMS Portal doesn't recognize the phone you are using and will resize the incoming picture in the picture message to a tiny thumbnail. Also you won't get much help when it comes to setting up a phone not supported by or for Cingular and they won't insure it.


Posted by: jrsjr

Don't forget the fact that warranty is probably not worth the paper it's written on since your provider won't honor it and the manufacturer may (motorola will) tell you the phone wasn't intended for your market if you buy an unlocked phone not yet released in your country and needs to be shipped to the country yours was made for.


Posted by: Topsales

One other thing, make sure that the phone has both 850 and 1900 frequencies. You may need both with Cingular, especially if you roam.

I love having a unlocked phone. I get to choose what phone I want. Most of us on HoFo want something more than the carriers offer. With GSM it gives us the choice to pick what we want.


Posted by: CLpower

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mango808
Yes, you can still access Media Net once you put in the Cingular WAP settings. The same for sending/receiving MMS, once you put in the Cingular MMS Settings in your unlocked phone.

Now there are two types of unlocked phones, those that are completely unlocked and unbranded from the manufacturer (i.e. no provider brandings or logos), sold to be used by any compatible provider and those that were originally from a provider, set with all of their brandings, logos, WAP/MMS settings, and even direct links to their shopping portals, but have been SIM unlocked to use any providers SIM.

If buying a T-Mobile branded phone that has been unlocked, you may not be able to easily find the WAP/MMS Settings menu to edit them as T-Mobile likes to have them hidden. For most T-Mobile branded Samsungs they can be displayed by typing in some codes (such as *#87927# for the WAP menu, and *#87667# for the MMS menu.

In my case I have an unbranded Motorola RAZR and SLVR along with an unbranded Samsung D600. All three of these I have put in the Cingular WAP/MMS Settings and can use them with my Cingular SIM cards as if they were in my other Cingular branded phones.

I also have some unlocked T-Mobile branded Samsungs and have the Cingular WAP/MMS Settings and can use the WAP/MMS on most of them. Some of the MMS doesn't work too well or don't at all though.

The negative you may encounter is if the Cingular MMS Portal doesn't recognize the phone you are using and will resize the incoming picture in the picture message to a tiny thumbnail. Also you won't get much help when it comes to setting up a phone not supported by or for Cingular and they won't insure it.



Is there a website w/ directions for everything I need to change? I just bought an Unlocked SLVR that should be here any day now.


Posted by: gowolverines

Quote:
Originally Posted by jrsjr
Don't forget the fact that warranty is probably not worth the paper it's written on since your provider won't honor it and the manufacturer may (motorola will) tell you the phone wasn't intended for your market if you buy an unlocked phone not yet released in your country and needs to be shipped to the country yours was made for.


This is what just happened to my wife's RAZR. I got it unlocked off of ebay and Moto can't even tell me which country it is warranteed in. They will off to take it in and replace it with one made for here for $175, so I just got here a new one through Premier. It also gave me a reason to get my 810i.


Posted by: bodeh6

Quote:
Originally Posted by jrsjr
Don't forget the fact that warranty is probably not worth the paper it's written on since your provider won't honor it and the manufacturer may (motorola will) tell you the phone wasn't intended for your market if you buy an unlocked phone not yet released in your country and needs to be shipped to the country yours was made for.


Depends where and what you buy. I bought the unbranded unlocked SE W810i from Buy.com. This is the USA version so it has full warranty. I bought it on Amex so it now has 2 years of warranty on it.


Posted by: CLpower

Quote:
Originally Posted by CLpower
Is there a website w/ directions for everything I need to change? I just bought an Unlocked SLVR that should be here any day now.



anyone?.......TIA


Posted by: fractured

Quote:
Originally Posted by CLpower
anyone?.......TIA

They should be in the Cingular Wiki (on this site); just search for it.


Posted by: Arden

Quote:
Originally Posted by CLpower
anyone?.......TIA


https://onlinecare.cingular.com/sup...nt=KB59955.html


https://onlinecare.cingular.com/sup...nt=KB59893.html


Posted by: CLpower

Thanks a million guys


Posted by: CLpower

Quote:
Originally Posted by Arden



I'm using an unlocked L7 slvr and i'm trying to set up the MMS, I can put in the Service name and Server name, but when I try to put in the web session name Media net isn't an option and it won't let me manually upload one.


Posted by: CLpower

got it.......




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