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Can you REALLY not use a cell phone from a different company??

MMike

MMike

A fowl peckerwood.
Sep 5, 2001
18,207
105
just sittin' here drinkin' scotch
I mentioned this briefly in anotherthread...but this is pissing me off.

So I'm in Montreal now right? I have a Sanyo camera phone (from Sprint...as does my wife), that I got in Seattle. I'm being told by every local cell provider here that my phone is not compatible and cannot be re-used with their service. But in the weekend paper, I saw Rogers AT&T advertising MY EXACT PHONE!! Are they really REALLY that unique? There isn't some sort of SIM card switcheroo that could be done or something?

Anyone want to buy a pair of Sanyo camera phones? $1000. very cheap. You likey. very good. Sony guts....we go disco. You talk to my wife...
 
steve45

steve45

Monkey
Sep 30, 2003
483
1
Dundee, Scotland
Toshi said:
phones can be "locked" so that they only work with one carrier, yes. you're out of luck pretty much.
Click to expand...
i dont know what its like over there, but here in the uk some phone shops can unlock your phone for you, allowing you to choose whatever network you want.
if thats not an option i'm sure you can find a 'guy' who will do it for you.
 
syadasti

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
You can unlock and reprogram phones - there are various websites and forums you can find info. on how to do it. Sprint uses a CDMA cellular network technology (Verizon does too, and I know people who reprograms their Sprint Treo to work with Verizon cause Verizon didn't offer it for over a year). Most of the rest of the world uses the inferior TDMA based GSM technology so it might be true that your phone really doesn't work with their network.

This will soon change with 3G (a new GSM technology which adopts various key superior CDMA technologies)
 
biggins

biggins

Rump Junkie
May 18, 2003
7,173
9
here is the deal. there are 3 major cell phone systems. cdma, tdma, and pcs. most phones will receive all of these signals allowing you to roam on other carriers networks. The problem encountered is whats called the CDMA lock key. That number, a 6 digit number, will allow you to unlock the phone and repogram it. The problem encountered however is that each carrier uses their own operating software that is installed by the equipment manufacturer. You can use phones from other companies but most will not allow you to since you may be on perma roam or have poor service. this could cause customer satisfaction problems and ultimately headaches for everyone involved. so the real answer would be yes you can, but no you cant.
 
syadasti

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
biggins said:
here is the deal. there are 3 major cell phone systems. cdma, tdma, and pcs.
Click to expand...
Thats not true, there are only two main cellular encoding technologies and there are different variations and marketing names, but all there is is CDMA (based on cutting edge WWII military communication technology) and TDMA (GSM). PCS is just a marketing name for Sprint's CDMA network. It is possible and commonly done to unlock phones and use them on other compatible networks.

And yes, most phones will roam in analog mode on SOME networks, but a TDMA phone doesn't work the same way as a CDMA in native operation and that is why CDMA phones don't work in Europe period. Unlocking and programming phones correctly won't result in pera-roam either.

Motorola has just developed a CDMA phone with TDMA chipset built in so its a world-roam capable CDMA phone.
 
toughguymagee

toughguymagee

Pretty Boi
Jun 1, 2002
446
0
crackhouse down the street
Right..TDMA and GSM are the only two technologies out there and it has to to with the RF coding scheme on the air interface. CDMA uses coded channels while TDMA uses time slots for voice/data transfer. (very simple explanation) You cannot use a TDMA phone on a CDMA network and vice versa. (That's why an AT&T Wireless customer, TDMA, cannot roam on a Verizon Wireless, CDMA, network) You can also run into issues with what MHz your phone transceiver can operate on and control channel assignment. (that's a different subject)

As for your phone being locked, it has nothing to do with TDMA or CDMA. Its carrier specific so that you cannot take your phone from one carrier to another. (as in this case) Yes, there are ways to unlock your phone but it would probably be easier to but a new phone.
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Toshi said:
phones can be "locked" so that they only work with one carrier, yes. you're out of luck pretty much.
Click to expand...
Not 100% true. Any decent phone can be unlocked. It is harder with some then others, IE any nokia phone can be unlocked with a piece of 30k software and no link cable.

The only reason it won't work, is if it is from a different TYPE of network. (CDMA or TDMA /GSM )

Freak could explain it much better then I. As it is, I use a european unlocked Nokia 3650 from I believe orange, (oh the irony) on my rogers account here in Montreal.

You just need to find the proper unlock code and procedures for your certain sanyo. You also need to read the manual and see what TYPE of network it is for, and thern verify that rogers uses the same technology

go here for all your cell phone unlocking needs...
http://www.howardforums.com/

Edit: beaten like a redheaded stepchild
 
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