Hey all,
So I've done some searching here, but I cannot find a concise, definitive answer to my questions. I'm buying a first phone for my daughter for Christmas, mainly for use as an MP3 and video player, but also for emergencies. She's still young, so when I say emergency we were leaning towards ONLY FOR A 911 TYPE EMERGENCY, as I believe those are placed even if the phone isn't activated. Anyway, her mom and I are on a GSM carrier so if we did activate it, we'd likely do it there, or a very cheap CDMA provider like Page Plus. So if I buy a phone off eBay or Craigslist today, regardless of whatever HBOOT/BOOTLOADER or ROM it has on it, can I still root it, use HTC Dev to unlock the bootloader, the toolkit to S-OFF, and then flash a 4.X ROM and use GSM if I desire?
Thanks for any help! If this will work then I'll go this route and she'll be very excited!!
vettejock99 said:
Hey all,
So I've done some searching here, but I cannot find a concise, definitive answer to my questions. I'm buying a first phone for my daughter for Christmas, mainly for use as an MP3 and video player, but also for emergencies. She's still young, so when I say emergency we were leaning towards ONLY FOR A 911 TYPE EMERGENCY, as I believe those are placed even if the phone isn't activated. Anyway, her mom and I are on a GSM carrier so if we did activate it, we'd likely do it there, or a very cheap CDMA provider like Page Plus. So if I buy a phone off eBay or Craigslist today, regardless of whatever HBOOT/BOOTLOADER or ROM it has on it, can I still root it, use HTC Dev to unlock the bootloader, the toolkit to S-OFF, and then flash a 4.X ROM and use GSM if I desire?
Thanks for any help! If this will work then I'll go this route and she'll be very excited!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The answer is yes, you can do that... the phone will work for E911 calls without being activated. You can also unlock, S-OFF, root, ROM and everything else like you said, although the Rezound is a little more complicated than to S-OFF than just using a toolkit it is doable with some homework and a little Linux knowledge, but to be honest, GSM works fine (Edge data only, 3G/4G higher possible with significant tweaking on some GSM carriers) on the stock 4.5.605.14 ROM.
If you know you will likely be activating this on a GSM carrier, why not get a phone designed for that right off the bat? Several unlocked GSM phones can be purchased for around the same price as the Rez, like the Galaxy Nexus, Sony Xperia S, HTC Sensation, Samsung GS2 GT-I9100 or similar phones. Don't get me wrong, I love the Rezound, but for ease of use on a GSM carrier with full 3G data you migh be better off looking at a phone suited to that purpose.
Yes, it's doable, just know what you are in for...
Thanks you.SO much! I've done wire tricks on some phones before and I think I'm learning that is the challenge here, but I should be good. I appreciate the other thoughts as well. To your question, well, we have poor GSM coverage in a number of spots around here, even we my wife and I using it, and CDMA seems like a good emergency precaution.
Thanks again so much!!
vettejock99 said:
Thanks you.SO much! I've done wire tricks on some phones before and I think I'm learning that is the challenge here, but I should be good. I appreciate the other thoughts as well. To your question, well, we have poor GSM coverage in a number of spots around here, even we my wife and I using it, and CDMA seems like a good emergency precaution.
Thanks again so much!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool... Note that activating the Rezound on PagePlus requires significant "tweaking" and a donor PagePlus phone to clone the ESN/MEID, PagePlus will not activate the Rezound as it is, neither will any other CDMA carrier but Verizon, and even then they won't do it on a prepaid plan. People have mentioned before that Cricket will do it, but the results have been mixed.
As long as you are aware of the issues and what you might need to do, go for it. Although for use as a video player, I would recommend an extended battery, the screen time on a standard battery is >2 hours. :/
acejavelin said:
Cool... Note that activating the Rezound on PagePlus requires significant "tweaking" and a donor PagePlus phone to clone the ESN/MEID, PagePlus will not activate the Rezound as it is, neither will any other CDMA carrier but Verizon, and even then they won't do it on a prepaid plan. People have mentioned before that Cricket will do it, but the results have been mixed.
As long as you are aware of the issues and what you might need to do, go for it. Although for use as a video player, I would recommend an extended battery, the screen time on a standard battery is >2 hours. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent points. Yeah, I had a S3 on PP for a while and it was a pain - actually CDMA overall is a pain to me so I probably won't do it. Per your advice - looking for an extended battery right now!
Related
I can't find any information on flashing samsung vibrant to cricket. I don't care about a full flash, voice and text is fine for my purposes. I don't care about data or android market or any of that.
I have seriously been NON STOP looking for last 2 days with no luck. I checked the cricket forums and I searched the forums here without any luck. I am an amateur I am not going to lie.
But I have a very good general background in technology and, I have already rooted the phone. I was trying to follow a guide I found but honestly I am not 100% sure that even does what I want it to. QPST samsung vibrant but when I do it I cannot simultaneously connect both the phone and run the software. If software is running first my computer won't recognize the phone as a modem and if the phone is connected first the software freezes and I can't even close it with task manager, I have to reboot comp.
Any help at all would be appreciated. I don't even know if this is the right forum for this question and I am sorry if I put it in the wrong place but this is vexing me.
Does cricket even use sim cards? If they are not a GSM carrier, it would make it impossible to use the vibrant on their network/service
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Cricket is cdma (sprint, Verizon, us cellular type radio, meaning no sim card) and the vibrant is gsm (meaning it uses a sim card).
The vibrant cannot and will not work with cricket.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Well question solved. Definately not the answer I wanted but that can't be helped.
Are there any nationwide carriers that use GSM available similar in price to cricket? I will be looking into this right after posting this question but I figure I might as well see if anyone knows any decent ones they can recommend. Basically, looking for cheapest possible with nationwide coverage.
I just need talk and text. Preferably no activation fee and no cost for sim but I know I am being overly optimistic with that lol. I also know that this forum isn't the place for that so any help is appreciated but I understand if no one has an idea.
PhiTwi said:
Are there any nationwide carriers that use GSM available similar in price to cricket? I will be looking into this right after posting this question but I figure I might as well see if anyone knows any decent ones they can recommend. Basically, looking for cheapest possible with nationwide coverage.
I just need talk and text. Preferably no activation fee and no cost for sim but I know I am being overly optimistic with that lol. I also know that this forum isn't the place for that so any help is appreciated but I understand if no one has an idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is the one that wal-mart sells that you could look into
I have been browsing these forums for a few days now and i'm wondering, I got a thunderbolt, rooted, tried a couple different radios, and i'm banging my head against the wall trying to figure out if it can be done.
I am a little bit of a noob when it comes to cellular phones but i have learned alot in the past week about CDMA, GSM, LTE and the sim cards. I have played with the android SDK a little bit have not published anything yet but It is a hobby currently that may go a little farther than that. also i read and understand that verizon phones do not natively use sim cards.
anyways, my phone recognizes that there is a sim card in it now when the T-Mobile card is in. and as a result I am led to the conclusion that it has something to do with the radio I am using.
Other maybe useful information (which could also be another thing in need of a solution) is the T-mobile phone I am using the sim card from was from a nokia phone that cost me $50.00 for the phone and service for a month.
Does the Sim card cause an issue switching it from a non-smartphone to a smartphone?
Other useful information is I am using the Thunderstick ROM
Revolutionary Rooted
HBoot(which I am unsure of the function of hboot) 6.04.1002
Radio 1.39.00.0430r
eMMC-boot
I like this phone so far and see it as a useful tool, got it from a relative after they upgraded their own.
If you need any more information let me know or if you know my problem would be helpful. again i have learned alot since i got this thing, and i've been just using the android emulator on a 6 year old computer so this is quite the present either way!
I've seen youtube videos of people going to websites and putting in codes like *#06# but i think i need a little guidance to the right direction. i'll be checking this thread daily at least. thank you in advance for reading my small wall of text
long time reader, first time poster!
No T-Mobile is GSM thunderbolt is cdma
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium
it was fun banging my head against the wall the past few days, learned regardless. thank you for the speedy response!
i despise verizon wireless for their prices of their contracts, i think that the only other solution to use this phone with is MetroPCS, correct me if i am wrong (just watched the guy on the XDA TV go off about how much power the major 4 cell providers in america have so much power)
seems like they have affordable plans also.
Yes, a guy on here posted that you could flash your thunderbolt to PagePlus, but keep it mind that you will have no LTE.
Whoops, it was PagePlus not MetroPCS. Fixed in post.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1294179
thank you so much for that last post, i guess i didn't brows through everything because i missed that one, but i was aiming for t-mobile, but i'm thinking the transition to metropcs will be smoother based on they use LTE and CDMA, either way this is more than i thought i'd bite off, but i'm still hungry.
very interesting tutorial, again thanks so much for knowing the forums better than myself.
if this was a HD2 it would be sooo easy it seems.
while tinkering is always fun, why not just pick up a t-mobile phone on craigslist? For about 200-250, you can get most of the high end t-mobile phones, and you will have hspa+ which works great for data when you can get a signal (left t-mobile due to signal issues at work).
Today on Ebay Daily Deals, Samsung Google Nexus S GSM unlocked for 299. No Contract. 200ish left.
Also I am having signal issues where I am I figure of may be a good time to test the waters and swim to a new service provider. Tinkering is fun and educational. Found the service provider that fits the phone and think it will be fun
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
Gephoria42 said:
Also I am having signal issues where I am I figure of may be a good time to test the waters and swim to a new service provider. Tinkering is fun and educational. Found the service provider that fits the phone and think it will be fun
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Especially since you'll be seeing Tmobile become ATT.
Hey all,
a quick question, after reading through the forum there seems to be 2 Razrs out (excluding the customs one released in China MT917 and XT928)
One is the CDMA/LTE version and the other GSM/HSDPA version.
I read this article and it says the RAZR is a world phone, containing a combined radio capable of CMDA and GSM...
So is there any roms out there thats able get the razr to work with both? or am I just reading the article wrong?
Am I dealing with a $650 paper weight?
I Live in the Phlippines. When I first started researching the specs on this phone it list CDMA/LTE and GSM with 4 bands... I assumed it would work over here. I purchased the XT912 model directly from Motorola with no plan and had it shipped directly to the Philippines. (My Bad)
Once in my hands I naturally popped in my micro-sim and turned it on. The only thing I got was that it didn't recognize the sim and my options were "Power Off" or "Emergency Dial". Not a happy camper to say the least... I now have a $650 brick!
I have since been able to get into the main menu of the phone but of course it still doesn't recognize my GSM sim. Most likely because of the fact that it has a CDMA/LTE baseband loaded which I assume has no GSM support. Hence the reason it does not recognize the sim or receive any GSM/HSDPA signal.
My question is this: How do I flash/load a new GSM/HSDPA baseband that will enable the radio and make this phone useful to me?
I'm a total noob when it comes to Android so please be patient with my ignorance... Especially if this is simply never going to work out. Should I keep the phone on the hopes that a developer will crack this nut or sell it on E-Bay and walk away... Thanks!
My apologies for adding insult to injury but it looks like you didn't research enough...
Yes, the XT912 has the hardware for GSM but it was disabled by Verizon since it only needed the LTE hardware. This was noted in the FCC docs that were leaked.
The GSM hardware can be activated in theory but there's a lot more to it than a simple flash.
So unfortunately, you have a paperweight in your hands...
pacafrat said:
I Live in the Phlippines. When I first started researching the specs on this phone it list CDMA/LTE and GSM with 4 bands... I assumed it would work over here. I purchased the XT912 model directly from Motorola with no plan and had it shipped directly to the Philippines. (My Bad)
Once in my hands I naturally popped in my micro-sim and turned it on. The only thing I got was that it didn't recognize the sim and my options were "Power Off" or "Emergency Dial". Not a happy camper to say the least... I now have a $650 brick!
I have since been able to get into the main menu of the phone but of course it still doesn't recognize my GSM sim. Most likely because of the fact that it has a CDMA/LTE baseband loaded which I assume has no GSM support. Hence the reason it does not recognize the sim or receive any GSM/HSDPA signal.
My question is this: How do I flash/load a new GSM/HSDPA baseband that will enable the radio and make this phone useful to me?
I'm a total noob when it comes to Android so please be patient with my ignorance... Especially if this is simply never going to work out. Should I keep the phone on the hopes that a developer will crack this nut or sell it on E-Bay and walk away... Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I frequently travel to Europe, and it is frustrating to learn that Verizon has crippled the phone. It is bad enough that they don't allow me to pay for a plan while I am in Europe (and those plans are generally rip-offs) but to make me have to bring an entirely different phone when the Razr is capable is borderline absurd IMO.
I realize they want to keep it carrier specific... but I used to be a Sprint customer, and had a "world phone" which was unlocked for world GSM but locked for US GSM. This was fair and worked great for when I traveled.
Son of a! Do you mean to tell me that this phone could have been a world phone, but Verizon chose to disable this feature? That's retarded. I knew that it was CDMA/LTE-only when I bought it, but this phone would be nearly perfect if all the radios were enabled.
I read the Droid 4 will be the first LTE phone with GSM capabilities on Verizon, but could the GSM portion be disabled like it is on the Razr?
Ok thanks for the feedback everyone, so it seems the Razr has the hardware to be a world phone, but its just the software that isnt capable.
So if it has an unlocked bootloader, it might be possible to flash radios that support all basebands...correct?
pacafrat, sell me your razr I am in China
So I looked around the threads on both Verizon, and Sprints side of the fences for an answer to this question and couldn't find any thing.
I have a Verizon Galaxy S3, and my contract with Verizon recently came to a close. I want to switch to sprint due to pricing and other options, but I don't have the money to drop on a new phone at the time, so I have been looking into unlocking the phone to work with Sprint, however I haven't much of luck...
That's when I came to XDA. While I was looking around the forum, I got to thinking.
Is there any possible way that I could take the Sprint version of the Samsung Galaxy S3's ROM, and load it onto my Verizon Galaxy? And has anyone tried this yet?
It's essentially the same hardware, right? To the best of my understanding, the only difference in the phones would be software related according to the carrier.
I am really struggling with this one, and I have witnessed the vast knowledge and great work by this forum before, so I am hoping I'll be able to find the help I need.
-Mortem Obrie
Verizon and Sprint do use the same cdma networks but will not activate each others devices on their network so the answer is no I do not think this is going to be possible for you.
alekurkudi said:
Verizon and Sprint do use the same cdma networks but will not activate each others devices on their network so the answer is no I do not think this is going to be possible for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I did talk to Sprint, and Sprint said they would be willing to activate an unlocked Galaxy. It's just the unlocking process that I am unsure of.
I think I'm finally in the market for a new phone after 3 yrs with my HTC MyTouch.
Seems like the OG is the best value for me (other options are the Nexus 4, HTC One, Galaxy S3). I doubt anyone in this forum will point me to a different phone, but if there's a good argument for the others (or others that I don't know about), I'd certainly listen. The OG seems cheaper/better specs than the S3, and the HTC has no SD card. N4 is a consideration, and for me it seems that capacitative buttons are the only downside v. the OG.
Anyway, here are my questions:
1. Can I use the AT&T version on a T-mobile or simple mobile plan? It looks like I should be able to get 4g no problem...
1a. The "unlocking" methods in the forums--are they for complete unlocking? That is, can I buy a locked AT&T phone and unlock it myself?
nola mike said:
I think I'm finally in the market for a new phone after 3 yrs with my HTC MyTouch.
Seems like the OG is the best value for me (other options are the Nexus 4, HTC One, Galaxy S3). I doubt anyone in this forum will point me to a different phone, but if there's a good argument for the others (or others that I don't know about), I'd certainly listen. The OG seems cheaper/better specs than the S3, and the HTC has no SD card. N4 is a consideration, and for me it seems that capacitative buttons are the only downside v. the OG.
Anyway, here are my questions:
1. Can I use the AT&T version on a T-mobile or simple mobile plan? It looks like I should be able to get 4g no problem...
1a. The "unlocking" methods in the forums--are they for complete unlocking? That is, can I buy a locked AT&T phone and unlock it myself?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes
1a. No, those are for unlocking the bootloader.
nygfan760 said:
1a. No, those are for unlocking the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, so there's no way to unlock it myself? Can I pay one of the online services?
nola mike said:
Hmm, so there's no way to unlock it myself? Can I pay one of the online services?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly don't know. I'm on AT&T.
Yeah its not hard to find sim unlock codes online
Sent from my Optimus G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
nola mike said:
I think I'm finally in the market for a new phone after 3 yrs with my HTC MyTouch.
Seems like the OG is the best value for me (other options are the Nexus 4, HTC One, Galaxy S3). I doubt anyone in this forum will point me to a different phone, but if there's a good argument for the others (or others that I don't know about), I'd certainly listen. The OG seems cheaper/better specs than the S3, and the HTC has no SD card. N4 is a consideration, and for me it seems that capacitative buttons are the only downside v. the OG.
Anyway, here are my questions:
1. Can I use the AT&T version on a T-mobile or simple mobile plan? It looks like I should be able to get 4g no problem...
1a. The "unlocking" methods in the forums--are they for complete unlocking? That is, can I buy a locked AT&T phone and unlock it myself?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Specs dont mean everything. I had an HTC Evo 3D, there are things the 3D does better than OG, at least in my case.
you can use
i have used ATT, Simple mobile, AND H20
ATT= obviously works best! lte almost everywhere...and hspa+ isnt bad when im not in 4g zone..
simple mobile -> runs from what i found on 2g and LTE and SOMETIMES3g.. (rarely)
H20= uses ATT towers so 3g all the way!
ianwardell said:
i have used ATT, Simple mobile, AND H20
ATT= obviously works best! lte almost everywhere...and hspa+ isnt bad when im not in 4g zone..
simple mobile -> runs from what i found on 2g and LTE and SOMETIMES3g.. (rarely)
H20= uses ATT towers so 3g all the way!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ended up going with an AT&T Galaxy S3 (many more available on ebay), awaiting arrival. Very confusing, since the earlier T-mo s3's don't support LTE, and the AT&Ts should support LTE on T-mo's network but not their hspa (I think). The newer T-mo S3's were >$100 more than the other 2 versions.
Oh, and it doesn't look like freemyblackberry.com is offering free codes anymore.
nola mike said:
Ended up going with an AT&T Galaxy S3 (many more available on ebay), awaiting arrival. Very confusing, since the earlier T-mo s3's don't support LTE, and the AT&Ts should support LTE on T-mo's network but not their hspa (I think). The newer T-mo S3's were >$100 more than the other 2 versions.
Oh, and it doesn't look like freemyblackberry.com is offering free codes anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i guess, it cost me $5 on ebay for a code....for my LGOG... so anyway, i guess its a good choice. good dev section anyway