Question for those in Japan: using DoCoMo SIM card in unlocked phone

**patrixl** · 03-10-2011, 06:44 PM

heya,

Question for people who have experience with this, not for Keitai-lovers overseas who have never lived here (sorry, just have to preface this, seen some people get downright angry when someone talked about carriers in Japan!)

Right now I have a Sharp Lynx 3D (Android!!) on DoCoMo. I'm getting my Nexus One back soon, and would like to try using it for a bit. Sure I'll lose One-seg, infrared, etc, but for a bit I don't care.

Apart from setting up the right APNs, are there any other considerations? Will sp-mode mail work properly, or does it need hooks from the OS? Will DoCoMo detect the new IMEI and do some dirty things in my account or deactivate the Lynx 3D or charge me extra for data for using an outside phone?

Maybe I'm being a bit paranoid, but it's good to know these things before jumping in

thanks all

Patrix.

**tokyo_dom** · 03-10-2011, 08:34 PM

You are right to be paranoid.

Docomo still filters by IMEI for their data usage. All data used will be outside of the Pakehodai plan, and if you remember the discussion we had before, 1mb=700yen or there abouts.

After April they are supposedly opening their doors to outside phones, so I would suggest waiting for that, and then asking the shop assistants to help you set it up. They mentioned that SP Mode wont work, so it might be that the app will refuse to install on your Nexus One

**martindesu** · 03-10-2011, 10:17 PM

Nicely said Dom. My IMEI are all regular keitai, so I don't expect any funny business.

**patrixl** · 03-20-2011, 09:10 AM

Thanks for the advice! I'll wait for April or after and see what can be done at that point.. sp-mode mail, well, I can live without it since Android has push gmail, though a lot of people I know now have my sp-mode address. Oh well.

thanks

**qwerty1235** · 03-21-2011, 06:30 AM

docomo is allowing people to use their SIMs in unlocked phones from overseas in April.

**martindesu** · 03-21-2011, 07:15 AM

qwerty1235, we're not exactly sure on the details. I think it's for contract holders only, to unlock their phone (only keitai?) for a one-time fee to use with another SIM... but we are not sure of the precise details.

Only a month to wait

I don't think that buying a phone on YAJ and walking into a Docomo shop is going to work.

**NeuroticallyYou** · 03-21-2011, 10:23 AM

Martin , next month please give us good news, at least to me now that i know AT&T is acquiring T-Mobile, after been 5+years with Magenta and being a happy customer i guess the least i could do is use a fully unlocked keitai on 3G.

OFF TOPIC
bye bye T-Mobile, i will miss you and your affordable plans and good looking phones.

**yamanote** · 03-22-2011, 03:21 AM

Originally Posted by patrixl

Thanks for the advice! I'll wait for April or after and see what can be done at that point.. sp-mode mail, well, I can live without it since Android has push gmail, though a lot of people I know now have my sp-mode address. Oh well.

thanks

My SH-03C has a link to download the sp-mail app in the app drawer (red icon with an envelope icon)...?

Link doesn't work for me (The requested item could not be found.) but I suspect it's something to do with my phone loading HK Market (regional settings) rather than the Japanese market.

**qwerty1235** · 03-22-2011, 05:58 AM

Originally Posted by NeuroticallyYou

at least to me now that i know AT&T is acquiring T-Mobile

Hopefully the 1700MHz 3G will be shut down? T-Mobile seem to be the only ones using the AWS spectrum. But it seems as though AT&T will be using 1700MHz to deploy their LTE network.

Hope that HyperSIM unlock keitais won't cause too much trouble on AT&T's new network?

**IonNuke** · 03-22-2011, 06:19 AM

They're going to have to spend a ton of money to build the LTE network so plans and prices will probably skyrocket. TMO doesn't have LTE tech or infrastructure so.............................Maybe they just will take their existing 3G network and duct tape it to AWS and wait for something to happen. I have a feeling this is going to be one giant snowball bouncing down a hill or a giant cluster fark when the 12 month time has passed for the "completion" of the transaction.

**aw614** · 03-22-2011, 06:24 AM

yeah att is gonna put you on a list that of no other that says how much of a bad customer you are

**IonNuke** · 03-22-2011, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by aw614

yeah att is gonna put you on a list that of no other that says how much of a bad customer you are

T-Mobile loves me at this point. Every time I call to ask them about something they end up asking me what phone I'm using b/c it's not listed in their database and then I tell them the model and they're sitting there googling it up and being shocked that such a device works in the US.

**qwerty1235** · 03-23-2011, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by IonNuke

T-Mobile loves me at this point. Every time I call to ask them about something they end up asking me what phone I'm using b/c it's not listed in their database and then I tell them the model and they're sitting there googling it up and being shocked that such a device works in the US.

Wow, a guy is using T-Mobile on a Transformer! Seriously, why do they care?

**yamanote** · 03-23-2011, 03:42 AM

Originally Posted by qwerty1235

Wow, a guy is using T-Mobile on a Transformer! Seriously, why do they care?

When you get a customer who actually knows something call in to your little call center, you want to hang on to that call and waste the day away. It's better than hanging up and getting a call from someone who thinks their Sony is going to blow up because of 福島第一

**patrixl** · 03-27-2011, 12:54 AM

Wow I really hope docomo will end up accepting non-docomo phones... this nexus s is just so smooth, I'd rather use it than my Lynx 3d. Wow. Even if it means losing sp-mode mail and sekigaisen...

Or they better put out that android 2.2 update soon and improve the lynx performance....

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk