Hello xda, I was Judy wondering if any of you could help me out with a problem I'm having. I might be getting an android phone, the only problem is that I'm on us cellular and there doesn't appear to be top many options. My phone options are the htc hero s, Motorola electrify, Samsung repp, htc wildfire s, htc merge and huaweii ascend ii ( sorry if I spelled that wrong).
IM looking for a phone with some support of development community behind it, whether it be on xda or some other forum/ website.
Thank you and IM sorry if this its in the wrong forum.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
They are CDMA so if may be possible to activate an unlocked Verizon or maybe Sprint phone but you wouldn't get carrier subsidized pricing so it would be more expensive and may be harder to activate.
Motorola doesn't want to unlock bootloaders while HTC has recently made it possible to unlock bootloaders on recent models. Unfortunately the US Cellular versions of any android phone are going to have less dev support because US Cell is a smaller carrier meaning less device owners.
spunker88 said:
They are CDMA so if may be possible to activate an unlocked Verizon or maybe Sprint phone but you wouldn't get carrier subsidized pricing so it would be more expensive and may be harder to activate.
Motorola doesn't want to unlock bootloaders while HTC has recently made it possible to unlock bootloaders on recent models. Unfortunately the US Cellular versions of any android phone are going to have less dev support because US Cell is a smaller carrier meaning less device owners.
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I didn't know that, (sorry I'm a noob at phones). I remember when my dad broke his phone (some cheap thing), my brother's old phone was the same model, os he went into the store and they made it his phone without a problem. Do you think they would be willing to do that if I brought in an unlocked verizon phone?
Thanks for replying.
I'm not for sure if a Verizon phone will work, technology wise it has the hardware to communicate with US Cellular since its CDMA, but it may require some software changes to work on their network. Also it depends if they will activate non carrier devices.
spunker88 said:
I'm not for sure if a Verizon phone will work, technology wise it has the hardware to communicate with US Cellular since its CDMA, but it may require some software changes to work on their network. Also it depends if they will activate non carrier devices.
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Yeah they probably wouldn't allow it.
Hopefully at least one of these phones has some rom development somewhere on the internet, or I can get the wildfire and just remove sense from it without a problem.
Related
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!
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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
My phone had some water damage and i would like to change motherboard because fixing at shop would cost me 230€.
I watched some phones at ebay and all were verizon models.
My question is that does verizon phones have sim lock and does it work at finland??
Get Unlocked phones.
Ihmejampah said:
My phone had some water damage and i would like to change motherboard because fixing at shop would cost me 230€.
I watched some phones at ebay and all were verizon models.
My question is that does verizon phones have sim lock and does it work at finland??
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You can go for unlocked phones then. You can get XT910s for just 215$ in ebay.com.
i am not buying phone that is fully working i just want phone with working motherboard so i can change it to mine
Verizon phones are GSM capable for global networks, but not domestic. I think with the proper international firmware, you should be fine. It's got the hardware, but the Verizon software locks out the other domestic networks.
Sent from my XT912
LuckiestNut419 said:
Verizon phones are GSM capable for global networks, but not domestic. I think with the proper international firmware, you should be fine. It's got the hardware, but the Verizon software locks out the other domestic networks.
Sent from my XT912
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So if i buy this http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Motherb...e_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item3385810018 and install new software i should be fine??
I believe that will do just fine. It's already unlocked, and the description suggests it would work on domestic GSM as well (though I know you're not in the US). That said, it's only 35 USD! Give it a go. You can always turn around a sell it to someone else. As long as you have Finnish firmware and the applicable kernel, I would say your set.
My buddy whos on our family plan needs to downgrade from a Galaxy S III to a basic phone. I came across an Unlocked AT&T Samsung SGH-A157. When I called Verizon they used a blanket statement of "AT&T uses completely different technology than verizon, so their phones won't work on Verizon". I tried to explain that it's Unlocked and is CDMA based, so it should allow the sim card if I understand things correctly. He said "It doesn't matter if it's unlocked, AT&Ts technology is different then our." When I asked what technology exactly is different, he replied "Everything". He lost ALL credibility with that me for that statement. I constantly run into crap like this with Verizon... everything else is inferior, and only Verizon exists in the universe. Also, one MUST have what that absolutely don't need and we WILL lie to you and trick you into buying it or signing up for it even if you disagree!
Anyway. Is there any truth to this guys statement? I thought the whole point of "Unlocking" a device /phone was to make it work on another network.
Do I legitimately have to restrict my search for a Verizon flip/basic phone?
This brings up another concern because the plan was to get him a phone, deactivate his current Galaxy S3, activate the Unlocked phone, Unlock the Galaxy S3, and then sell it to some friends who have Metro PCS.
Also, Ive been told by some Verizon associates that I should be looking for GSM phones because we have Sim cards. But then other representatives say our phones are CMDA and thus should be looking for CMDA phones. Is there any consistent formula to this?
This forum is for i9300 international variant... I think you should ask a moderator to move your thread to your phone's forum in the appropriate section...
Sent from my GT-I9300
varxtis said:
....
Anyway. Is there any truth to this guys statement? I thought the whole point of "Unlocking" a device /phone was to make it work on another network.
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I'm not in the US so I'm not 100% on this but the SGH-A157 is GSM and Verizon uses CDMA tech. Afaik, they are not interchangeable.
Unlocking a phone does not change the radio tech used in the device.
You can probably shift between AT&T and T-mobile, but not CDMA carriers like Sprint or Verizon.
~ RazorMC
I'm sorry if this has been asked before, and if so i haven't been able to find it. This may seem like a stupid question, but I'm still pretty new to unlocking and rooting, ect. Now my question is, since the Sprint Galaxy S5 already has gsm network capabilities, why wouldn't it be possible to just download a different radio, and install that to unlock it for domestic gsm networks? I am asking because i have a Sprint S5 that i would like to use with T-mobile.
It might be that way if such an universal radio existed. But it doesn't. So moot point.
Interestingly, the S5 hardware is almost certainly capable of operating on all GSM and LTE bands. But artificial firmware limitations restrict your handset to only the frequencies that Sprint uses, plus a bare minimum of the most popular roaming bands.
Moreover, the Sprint version of the S5 is arguably the most restrictive variant. It simply isn't going to work on most TMB bands. You might find a NV hack to add a single AWS band. But in practical terms it won't work well on TMB.
Samsung and carriers structure it this way deliberately to discourge you from changing carriers. And to make it more likely that you need to buy a new phone if you do.
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Ok, I was really mainly just curious, like I said I am new to this kind of thing, thanks for your response. I guess I will just wait to see if someone manages to domestically unlock it and post it, and then Ill give it a shot and see how well it works. I mainly use wifi at home for anything with the internet and downloads, I just need to get it to work for calls and texts.
kyleliamharris said:
I'm sorry if this has been asked before, and if so i haven't been able to find it. This may seem like a stupid question, but I'm still pretty new to unlocking and rooting, ect. Now my question is, since the Sprint Galaxy S5 already has gsm network capabilities, why wouldn't it be possible to just download a different radio, and install that to unlock it for domestic gsm networks? I am asking because i have a Sprint S5 that i would like to use with T-mobile.
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It used to be that easy. Things have become quite more difficult with secured bootloaders and verification checks. I think a lot of the international unlock voodoo lies in the NV items for Sprint devices. Unlocking it domestically can be done almost the exact same way as the L720 HOWEVER you will ONLY be domestically unlocked AFTER you internationally unlock it. If you domestic unlock first you'll have wasted your time.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using XDA Free mobile app
I am just wondering why none of the current Verizon Pre-Paid phones are on here? Can you not get CM12 on any of these phones? What is the reason?
HTC Desire 612 (Doesn't even show up on XDA Forum as a valid phone????)
LG Transpyre (Doesn't even show up on XDA Forum as a valid phone????)
Motorola RAZR M (I know this is an old phone and Motorola pached it making it un-hackable)
What gives? Has development just come to a halt?
For a device to receive its own forum on XDA, it has to have significant development, or at least the likelihood/potential for it. Verizon is undoubtedly the worst company when it comes to freedom for development. Unrootable devices, locked bootloaders, and the fact that only devices sold by Verizon will work on their network. AT&T is pretty bad too when it comes to this sort of thing, but at least they allow unlocked devices on their network. A custom ROM requires an unlocked bootloader. Or root, with Safestrap (including Safestrap developed for the phone). Verizon does their best to disallow both.
If you want freedom, go with T-Mobile or AT&T. T-Moible is definitely the "freest" of the carriers, but AT&T has the more expansive network. Or go with one of their MVNOs/subsidiaries like Cricket, MetroPCS, StraightTalk, etc,
Feel free to request a device forum in the thread below, if you haven't already done so.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1660354
Planterz said:
For a device to receive its own forum on XDA, it has to have significant development, or at least the likelihood/potential for it. Verizon is undoubtedly the worst company when it comes to freedom for development. Unrootable devices, locked bootloaders, and the fact that only devices sold by Verizon will work on their network. AT&T is pretty bad too when it comes to this sort of thing, but at least they allow unlocked devices on their network. A custom ROM requires an unlocked bootloader. Or root, with Safestrap (including Safestrap developed for the phone). Verizon does their best to disallow both.
If you want freedom, go with T-Mobile or AT&T. T-Moible is definitely the "freest" of the carriers, but AT&T has the more expansive network. Or go with one of their MVNOs/subsidiaries like Cricket, MetroPCS, StraightTalk, etc,
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So Verizon is the worst because they lock down there devices the best... That stinks because where I live, they have the BEST network .... I ended up with the LG Transpyre and was able to unlock the bootloader without any problems... However there are no ROMs for this phone... I got CM12 to work on it using LG Optimus F60 with only miner issues (camera doesn't work, and WiFi turns off without a problem, but takes FOREVER to turn back on)..... SO, I guess me being able to do this with ease... I am shocked know one else has done this!
meluvalli said:
So Verizon is the worst because they lock down there devices the best... That stinks because where I live, they have the BEST network .... I ended up with the LG Transpyre and was able to unlock the bootloader without any problems... However there are no ROMs for this phone... I got CM12 to work on it using LG Optimus F60 with only miner issues (camera doesn't work, and WiFi turns off without a problem, but takes FOREVER to turn back on)..... SO, I guess me being able to do this with ease... I am shocked know one else has done this!
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How did you unlock the bootloader???