So when I buy phones outright (I've been off contract for many years now with T-Mobile), I have a hard time finding phones that are compatible with my data plan and with T-Mobile's 3G(Faux 4G) AWS Bands (1700 MHz/2100 MHz).
You see, my data plan is special in the regard that I am not affected by data throttling or GB caps. I can go as fast as I want, for as long as I want. (hi ladies ) BUT, T-Mobile does not like this. They will "offer" an "upgraded" data plan if I attempt to use ANY T-Mobile branded Android phone. So in my quest to avoid being bent over, I've had to buy a variety of phones to fit my needs.
My Plan:
$39.99 Get More Nights & Weekends
1,000 Anytime Minutes
Unlimited Nights & Weekends
$2.99 T-Zones Internet
No capped internet speed
No Throttle
Unlimited Data
Unlimited Tether
300 SMS
50 MMS
$9.99 Buddytime
Unlimited Mobile to Mobile
Unlimited Messaging
$0.00 UMA Calling
$0.00 5 myFaves Callers
$0.00 Visual Voicemail
But I guess I'm just an old timer now, time for me to pass on my knowledge to the rest of you guys....
So what phones work and which ones don't with T-Mobile's 4G network with grandfathered cheap data plans? You get alot of HEARSAY, TROLLERS, and a bunch of posters posting information that's incorrect.
The one post that everyone seems to be quoting, over and over and over again...
You can say that for every phone. You have to ask yourself, why wouldn't T-Mobile block T-Mobile branded smartphones then? Samsung Behold II, HTC MyTouch 3.5mm, BlackBerry 9700, and Nokia Nuron just to name a few.
The Nexus S with AWS bands sold in the United States is the only factory unbranded phone that will not work with the cheap data plans BUT a Nexus S from Canada with AWS bands work perfect? But ProtoMan, how do you know that?? You scream into my ear, claiming the database of IMEIs for the SAME phone must surely exist within T-Mobile's database....Well, I'm here to prove that you're wrong and it works. Although I do admit that my first Nexus S did not work, and I got the upsell page.
Now, I'm back again....this time, I'm here to prove the myths that the Telus Samsung Galaxy S2x doesn't work...It does. And it works better than I imagined.
All my phones with HSPA 7.2 theoretical speeds only really got up to 4Mbps on the downlink. My previous phone was supposedly the latest 4G superphone. It was a HSPA 14.4, and I only really got 7Mbps on a consistent basis. Pitiful. Instead of jumping to a HSPA 21 phone (which is really hard to find actually), I upgraded to a HSPA 42 phone. I'm getting inconsistently 19Mbps on the low side and as high as 27Mbps on the high side. It's flipping awesome. Its no Verizon LTE (which is another story...), but its doable for a faux 4G network.
Also, I'm not sure about you guys, but I had a really really really hard time looking for a HTC Sensation 4G Z710A that was factory unbranded. All over freaking eBay are unlocked Sensations that have been flashed with various roms from XDA that become "unbranded" and the lines are blurred all over the place. The last thing you want is to be out over a couple hundred dollars and get something you didn't want. PayPal isn't going to do anything for you, and the seller is just going to tell you its everything a factory unbranded sensation is and not understand the situation with your plan and etc etc etc
So, here we are on...on a CANADIAN based forum. The BST GSM forum is bustling with people from Canada...hell, there are plenty of websites that ship both to Canada and the US. (I wished there was a website where I could buy electronics from the Philippines or Thailand and ship them here in the US). If you've been on this forum as long as I have, you've already know whos been here, who's trustworthy, and the general atmosphere of the place.
So I bought 1 Telus Galaxy S2x here, and 1 on eBay. One for me, and one for my friend on a similar plan. I would recommend that has a similar situation like to me to get either the new Nexus Galaxy Prime (with pentabands!) or the S2x.
I was going to do a review, but I guess some pictures of the Telus version of the phone would be suffice instead...lol
Note that the Telus version of the S2x....no carrier branding on any part of the hardware of the phone. The box the phone came in is also unbranded. You can't even tell its branded to Telus until you turn it on and see the Telus splash screen for 3 seconds. The phone is easy to root (really easy!!?), easy to flash (Clockword Mod via ODIN), and easy to find. Seems to work out pretty great!
Let me know if you guys have any questions....I don't post as much as I used to, but I am quite knowledgeable with actual experience, and I do work a full time job to afford to keep buying these phones outright every few months. So I'll do my best to answer them, it will take a little time. In the mean time....please stop PMing me and asking to see my phone in person, or if I can give you performance stats and stuff. My box is getting quite full LOL
THANK YOU for confirming this information! When my Incredible S wears out, I plan to replace it with one of these babies! You are an asset to HoFo! Thanks again
Originally Posted by jet1000
The facts are that AT&T doesn't throttle their unlimited plans at 5GB or 2GB or whatever T-Mobile is doing these days...
LIES!
Facts are, life is better on the T-Mobile side
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Originally Posted by terryjohnson16
Originally Posted by ProtoMan.EXE
No harassment to upgrade, and I'm using epc.tmobile.com with no problems.
So maybe its Tmobile USA rom that's blocks non android data plans. They scared me when my nexus tried to force me on an android data plan
Well, i dont think that is it either because if you head over to XDA, alot of the roms use a tmobile kernel and modify it for flashing. I was able to flash a tmobile kernel and tmobile rom (which coincendentally replaced the telus splash screen with a tmobile one) and my phone can still access data.
T-Mobile does have all of the IMEI's available to them. A customer service rep can see what phones you have used on your account whether they were T-Mobile branded or not.
However, I've never seen anyone post "They will block all android phones" as you claim That is obviously false as many people have used Android phones on grandfathered data plans. However most branded T-Mobile phones are blocked which virtually everyone knows as well.
Annoying.
It is unclear as to what annoys you.
You have to ask yourself, why wouldn't T-Mobile block T-Mobile branded smartphones then? Samsung Behold II, HTC MyTouch 3.5mm, BlackBerry 9700, and Nokia Nuron just to name a few.
Why would I have to ask myself? Why not ask T-Mobile? T-Mobile has never publicly explained why they permit some smartphones to be used on dumbphone plans and not others. So there's nothing but speculation regarding that.
how long have you been able to access data with tmo? i guess what im asking: is this one of those cases where data will work for a day or three, then it'll be cut off?
T-Mobile does have all of the IMEI's available to them. A customer service rep can see what phones you have used on your account whether they were T-Mobile branded or not.
However, I've never seen anyone post "They will block all android phones" as you claim That is obviously false as many people have used Android phones on grandfathered data plans. However most branded T-Mobile phones are blocked which virtually everyone knows as well.
It is unclear as to what annoys you.
Why would I have to ask myself? Why not ask T-Mobile? T-Mobile has never publicly explained why they permit some smartphones to be used on dumbphone plans and not others. So there's nothing but speculation regarding that.
I am grateful, he is the first to confirm the phone, which is a venture not many of us would want to do without confirmation.
T-Mobile does have all of the IMEI's available to them.
You are right, I do admit that T-Mobile Corporate would have access to it whenever they wanted to look something up. However, how do you know this database of IMEI is actively tied into their production systems for usage?
Originally Posted by jet1000
A customer service rep can see what phones you have used on your account whether they were T-Mobile branded or not.
How do you know this? Do you work for T-Mobile? Are you an engineer for them? Programmer? Stockholder? Service Rep? How can you be so sure? Actually, T-Mobile does indeed have access to all the IMEIs that have been used on my account, branded or not....but for the ones that are unbranded, they obviously do not know what phone it is exactly.
Sure, using unique identifiers on the IMEI, you can actually see if the phone is a Samsung/Nokia/HTC/etc, but beyond that for unbranded phones....they don't know what models they are exactly unless they look into said database...something a tier 1 customer service rep at a call center or employee at a store cannot do.
Otherwise, how do you explain that they can see exactly when a user is using US Nexus S/Galaxy S2x but not their Canadian Versions?
Originally Posted by jet1000
However, I've never seen anyone post "They will block all android phones" as you claim That is obviously false as many people have used Android phones on grandfathered data plans. However most branded T-Mobile phones are blocked which virtually everyone knows as well.
It was an exaggeration, sarcasm in my part. Of course no one has said that exactly. But you do have to admit that the general public assumes that carriers force data plans based upon that IMEI grouping.
Most people have assumed that T-Mobile has ALL of the SG2x IMEIs, but what they only have readily available to them are the branded phone IMEIs. They can probably look into the database for the leftover set of IMEIs not in their system and put it into blacklisting system. This seems like the correct hypothesis since the Nexus S originally did work with legacy data plans but stopped working after a few months. But the point really is that they really have to go out of their way to do it. Otherwise, they would just blacklist all android smartphones.
I'm actually quite surprised that the HTC Sensation 4G and Samsung Galaxy S2x, both flagship phones like the Nexus S, have not been blocked. It is what it is....so if it stops working after a few months, maybe its time to find a new phone
Originally Posted by jet1000
It is unclear as to what annoys you.
I understand I wrote alot, and you must have skimmed my post very quickly, but I'm annoyed at all the mis-information, and lack of true help on the forums these days.
Originally Posted by jet1000
Why would I have to ask myself? Why not ask T-Mobile? T-Mobile has never publicly explained why they permit some smartphones to be used on dumbphone plans and not others. So there's nothing but speculation regarding that.
That is true. No one really knows, but this is what a forum is for. Discussion, speculation, news, etc. However, like I said before, people need to stop posting speculation answers as facts. Can't remember if it was here or XDA, but there were posters saying that because the Telus Galaxy S2x is the same phone as the T-Mobile one, that it would not work on the legacy plans.
My guess is that the Telus version is unbranded, and from Canada, so like most Canadian AWS phones, I expect it to work on legacy data plans.
The only other Canadian phones besides the Nexus S (google experience phones required no carrier branding), I've seen in action on legacy tmobile plans are:
Wind Mobility LG Optimus 2x
Wind Mobility Motorola xt720
However, i'm not sure if Telus phones are usually this unbranded looking. The original ROM on the phone (aka, just the software) had a Telus splashscreen, and some removable Telus Apps that could be deleted. But with carriers now-a-days, and not just in the US, I'm sure Telus must heavily brand their phones on the hardware level as well. (including boxes, reading materials, and included software) Not sure why the SG2x would be an exception.
Originally Posted by techietx
Just to confirm, this was a stock Telus S2x not an unlocked one or anything special... as in walk into a Telus store in Canada and pick it up?
Yes. Stock Telus phone that was locked to Telus. I'm sure if you lived close enough to the border in the United States, went to Canada, bought a bunch of SG2x, had a hardware subsidy unlocker, you could resell them in the US for a nice chunk of change
Originally Posted by coldchillen
thank you much for the info!
how long have you been able to access data with tmo? i guess what im asking: is this one of those cases where data will work for a day or three, then it'll be cut off?
My friend who has a similar plan as me has had the Telus version has had it since the last week of October. I've only had mine for a few days. When T-Mobile first started to carrier the HTC G2, with the tilting hardware keyboard, I got the upsell page within 1 hour of putting my SIM card into it. Same thing with a myTouch4G, and Sidekick 4G. I've always gotten the upsell page quite fast when using branded tmobile phones. Haven't even encountered one at all since I've started using it. So between my friend and I, that's two users that haven't gotten the upsell page.
) BUT, T-Mobile does not like this. They will "offer" an "upgraded" data plan if I attempt to use ANY T-Mobile branded Android phone. So in my quest to avoid being bent over, I've had to buy a variety of phones to fit my needs.
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Originally Posted by jet1000
LIES!
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