Develop Bugs

A few questions from a total newbie

Hi,
I ordered a phone on eBay (refurbished Touch Pro2) unlocked (originally from Sprint). This is the phone : cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170495455167 (new user, can't post full links ...)
I would like to know, is it a GSM or a CDMA phone? It says I just need to put in a SIM card and it will be ready, is that true or it must be specific carriers?
Thanks!
Sam

sam_1421 said:
Hi,
I ordered a phone on eBay (refurbished Touch Pro2) unlocked (originally from Sprint). This is the phone : cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170495455167 (new user, can't post full links ...)
I would like to know, is it a GSM or a CDMA phone? It says I just need to put in a SIM card and it will be ready, is that true or it must be specific carriers?
Thanks!
Sam
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GSM = Sim Card
CDMA = No Sim Card

The Sprint Rhodium is a CDMA/GSM worldphone. It primarily operates on a CDMA network such as Sprint's, but is GSM capable for operation in areas where CDMA network service isn't available, like overseas. So long as the Sprint Touch Pro2 you've bought is properly unlocked depending on where you plan to use the device (there is a special unlocking procedure needed in order to use US carriers' SIMs in the Sprint Touch Pro2), you can use any SIM card from any GSM carrier in that device.

Just remember if you are going to use a Sprint phone on AT&T the best data connection you are going to get is 1X.

Thanks for the replies!
I don't know if it's been unlocked properly, but I won't use it with a US carrier, since I'm in Canada. I guess it should be fine?
Thanks!
Sam

[Q] Prepaid SIM for my TP2 in the USA?

Hi,
I'm going to the states soon and wonder if I can just walk into a store and buy a prepaid SIM card that will work with my GSM TP2.
Or do I need "special" CDMA cards?
All I want is to have a number for emergencies, etc..
Thanks in advance!

Markstar said:
Hi,
I'm going to the states soon and wonder if I can just walk into a store and buy a prepaid SIM card that will work with my GSM TP2.
Or do I need "special" CDMA cards?
All I want is to have a number for emergencies, etc..
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a GSM Rhodium, then you'll need to get a SIM from a GSM carrier here. AT&T and T-Mobile are the top two GSM carriers here. CDMA carriers do not offer SIM cards to anyone except for their own customers going overseas as far as I know. As long as your device is SIM unlocked, then yes, you can just put any SIM card in it, and it will work.
3G coverage will be based on your device model. European Rhodium models will not get US 3G service. AT&T 3G services work on the 850 & 1900 UMTS bands. T-Mobile 3G is on the 1700 & 2100 UMTS bands. The device needs both to work properly on one carrier's 3G service.

[Q] got a question

i know this is the wrong section, but the guys in the ATT section aren't as smart as you guys.
i have a motorola atrix from ATT which is gsm, but motorolas web site says phone is ===
NETWORKS4
WCDMA 850/1900/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 14Mbps (Category 10) Edge Class 12, GPRS Class 12, eCompass, AGPS
and sprint is wcdma so is there a way i can use this phone on sprint, if so what will i need to do ?

No, ATT is a gsm network, sprint is a cdma network. Cannot cross the two.

but specs. says it's dual network, what does that mean ?

tattoo jaco said:
but specs. says it's dual network, what does that mean ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WCDMA is the 3G technology used in the US by AT&T and T-Mobile.
WCDMA defined
But the term "CDMA" is also commonly used to refer to one specific family of technologies (IS-95 and CDMA2000) used in the US by Sprint and Verizon Wireless.
CDMA defined

tattoo jaco said:
but specs. says it's dual network, what does that mean ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meaning you could possibly have usage of it overseas, on other gsm carriers on different bands.
You could use the phone on t-mobile because they are gsm, but not sprint, as they're cdma.

ok i knew i'd get the answers i needed in here, thanks guys.

Is my Galaxy Nexus SIM Unlocked?

Sorry, this question has probably been beat to death.
Is there a way I can verify if my Galaxy Nexus is SIM unlocked without putting in another SIM card? I don't have any other SIM available to test.
I got my phone from Telus with a new contract. The model shows GT-I9250TSDTLS and UPC is 629018066749.
I've read numerous reports that Galaxy Nexus in Canada comes factory unlocked. I was hoping I could verify before heading off on my trip, and making an unfortunate discovery.
Cheers,
jasphair

I'm not familiar with the Telus network as I do not live in Canada but it is my understanding that pretty much all carriers around the world lock the phone to their own network. This of course can be corrected by rooting then flashing 'universal' firmware on it.

jasphair said:
Sorry, this question has probably been beat to death.
Is there a way I can verify if my Galaxy Nexus is SIM unlocked without putting in another SIM card? I don't have any other SIM available to test.
I got my phone from Telus with a new contract. The model shows GT-I9250TSDTLS and UPC is 629018066749.
I've read numerous reports that Galaxy Nexus in Canada comes factory unlocked. I was hoping I could verify before heading off on my trip, and making an unfortunate discovery.
Cheers,
jasphair
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it may be unlocked to Canadian carriers - I put a Rogers SIM in my Bell device and there was no request for a network unlock code - but when I went into fastboot mode the screen indicated my device was locked so I unlocked it using the Galaxy Nexus Toolkit. By the time I got drivers installed on a computer I was so frustrated that I chose the easy way.

you guys are confusing the locked bootloader to sim lock. they are two different things. unlocked bootloader allows you to flash roms, unlocked sim allows you to use sim cards from other carriers.
correct me of im wrong here but all north american gnex are sim unlocked. I've read here some people that have the UK gnex are carrier sim locked.

I'm pretty sure my Nexus is unlocked so yours should be too

All CDN carriers have unlocked GNs. A few countries abroad have SIM-locked GNs.

I don't know about Canada since i'm living in Norway, but if you get a new contract which subsidize the phone to make it a little cheaper they usually sim lock the phone.

Herman76 said:
I don't know about Canada since i'm living in Norway, but if you get a new contract which subsidize the phone to make it a little cheaper they usually sim lock the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here in canada, all the carriers that subsidize with contracts lock their phone. i've never gotten an sim unlocked phone from a carrier in canada until the galaxy nexus.

Yep, few of my friends and I have the GNex here in Vancouver BC. All Carrier unlocked, from North America (we swapped sims and tried each one).
Gotta love the unlocked, Pentaband goodness.

gundamboy said:
Yep, few of my friends and I have the GNex here in Vancouver BC. All Carrier unlocked, from North America (we swapped sims and tried each one).
Gotta love the unlocked, Pentaband goodness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so the same galaxy nexus will work with the gsm carriers like rogers, telus, bell as well as mobilicity and wind?

neotekz said:
so the same galaxy nexus will work with the gsm carriers like rogers, telus, bell as well as mobilicity and wind?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rogers is the only GSM carrier you have listed.
Every company in the list is an HSPA carrier.
Yes it will work on all of them.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

cmstlist said:
All CDN carriers have unlocked GNs. A few countries abroad have SIM-locked GNs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even specifically the Telus Nexus signed on a three-year contract? Excuse me for my ignorance but I thought Telus, Rogers, Bell, etc. were only selling them unlocked if you bought them no contract. Thanks in advance.

cmstlist said:
Rogers is the only GSM carrier you have listed.
Every company in the list is an HSPA carrier.
Yes it will work on all of them.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize that hspa is a gsm technology. all the providers are now on gsm tigers has just been on it longer.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Matridom said:
You do realize that hspa is a gsm technology. all the providers are now on gsm tigers has just been on it longer.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HSPA is a UMTS technology. UMTS networks are designed to be compatible for mode-switching with GSM, but they are fundamentally different technologies.
If you take a phone that has all GSM bands and no 3G support, and you insert a Bell or Telus SIM, you will get no signal. Therefore they are not GSM networks.

cmstlist said:
HSPA is a UMTS technology. UMTS networks are designed to be compatible for mode-switching with GSM, but they are fundamentally different technologies.
If you take a phone that has all GSM bands and no 3G support, and you insert a Bell or Telus SIM, you will get no signal. Therefore they are not GSM networks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To put the argument to rest, 3GPP Sepcification:
The term "3GPP specification" covers all GSM (including GPRS and EDGE), W-CDMA and LTE (including LTE-Advanced) specifications. The following terms are also used to describe networks using the 3G specifications: UTRAN, UMTS (in Europe) and FOMA (in Japan).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bell and Telus do not have GPRS/EDGE networks created, hence phones are not backwards compatible on those networks, you *must* have UMTS coverage to have a phone conversation if you have one of their SIMs. This however does not change the fact, UMTS is a third generation GSM technology.

Matridom said:
To put the argument to rest, 3GPP Sepcification:
The term "3GPP specification" covers all GSM (including GPRS and EDGE), W-CDMA and LTE (including LTE-Advanced) specifications. The following terms are also used to describe networks using the 3G specifications: UTRAN, UMTS (in Europe) and FOMA (in Japan).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bell and Telus do not have GPRS/EDGE networks created, hence phones are not backwards compatible on those networks, you *must* have UMTS coverage to have a phone conversation if you have one of their SIMs. This however does not change the fact, UMTS is a third generation GSM technology.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The quote says nothing of the sort. The paragraph you have quoted says that GSM and UMTS are both 3GPP specified technologies. It does not mean that UMTS is a "GSM technology". It is needlessly confusing to refer to UMTS-only networks as GSM. If a network does not support a GSM-only device, it should not be described as GSM, end of story.

cmstlist said:
The quote says nothing of the sort. The paragraph you have quoted says that GSM and UMTS are both 3GPP specified technologies. It does not mean that UMTS is a "GSM technology". It is needlessly confusing to refer to UMTS-only networks as GSM. If a network does not support a GSM-only device, it should not be described as GSM, end of story.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Feels like an academia perspective.
To the average consumer GSM means that that it uses a SIM. Another example is the use of 4G to mean a certain speed, yet none of today's phones are 4g phones.
I guess the question is, are we discussing real world or academia?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

cmstlist said:
The quote says nothing of the sort. The paragraph you have quoted says that GSM and UMTS are both 3GPP specified technologies. It does not mean that UMTS is a "GSM technology". It is needlessly confusing to refer to UMTS-only networks as GSM. If a network does not support a GSM-only device, it should not be described as GSM, end of story.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you like, I can keep finding references:
http://www.gsma.com/mobile-technology/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Speed_Downlink_Packet_Access
http://www.intomobile.com/2008/10/1...sm-plans-for-canada-hspa-3g-networks-by-2010/
What you are confusing is GPRS with GSM.
GSM is an umbrella standard that incorporates many different techs, INCLUDING GPRS/EDGE (2G) and UMTS/HSPA(3G).
It's the difference between saying that all poodles are dogs vs all dogs are poodles.
What you are trying to say is that Telus and Bell do not support GPRS/EDGE which is correct. They DO support HSPA/UMTS which is in the GSM standard.
Edit: This thread is getting hijacked and i don't want that. Believe what you will, I won't be responding any more in this thread.

[Q] Which one to get? Which version uses what bands?

My S3 mini broke. Now I thought to get an S4 mini, but I can't figure out which one would be the right one.
I am using a plan in the US, ultra mobile, which is on the T-mobile network I think. I also often use my cellphone
abroad with other sim cards. I've seen that there is a 16GB version available - SCH-I435 from Verizon.
I can't figure out what bands this phone uses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S4_Mini has no info on the bands.
http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SCH-I435ZKAVZW-specs says:
LTE: Bands 4/13 CDMA 1x/EVDO Rev A. 850/1900 MHz.
Are there any other 16GB versions? What about root/rom? Any significant differences? Which would you recommend?

Its more like do you want LTE or 3g support, any international unlocked version will support all bands
Afaik verizon its CDMA and dont use a sim card therefore can't switch sim

fburgos said:
Its more like do you want LTE or 3g support, any international unlocked version will support all bands
Afaik verizon its CDMA and dont use a sim card therefore can't switch sim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. That would be bad. So the verison one can not switch SIM? Which means it can't be used in europe?
This post implies that there is some kind of SIM on the SCH-I435. But I don't exactly understand what works and what doesn't.

ghostwheel said:
I see. That would be bad. So the verison one can not switch SIM? Which means it can't be used in europe?
This post implies that there is some kind of SIM on the SCH-I435. But I don't exactly understand what works and what doesn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well Im really not sureim not in the us, but I remember a friend had a Verizon phone and can't be enabled in my country because didn't have Sim slot and all carriers have Sim buy was months ago that could have changed

If the info is of any help, I have a GT-I9195 model (currently connected to Spark, NZ) that claims to have 16G of memory and, in this case at least, is unlocked. It takes a mini-SIM, but that's not unusual now days.
Given that most phones in NZ are sold unlocked and people expect to be able to swap SIMs from one phone to another as well as take their current phones to another network, I'm guessing it supports most bands.

Mike_NZ said:
If the info is of any help, I have a GT-I9195 model (currently connected to Spark, NZ) that claims to have 16G of memory and, in this case at least, is unlocked. It takes a mini-SIM, but that's not unusual now days.
Given that most phones in NZ are sold unlocked and people expect to be able to swap SIMs from one phone to another as well as take their current phones to another network, I'm guessing it supports most bands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I'll get that model then.