Spring Nextel Agrees to Unlock Phones

[TonyDiv]

This means NOTHING. It basically says that Sprint will give you your MSL when you terminate service.

You've been able to do the exact same thing with Verizon phones from day one, since they use a code of all zeros. You still can't take that phone to Sprint and activate it though.

This decision isn't going to allow you to use your Sprint phone on Verizon, or on most of the other major carriers networks.

[pierocksmysocks]

If you read the fine print in all that, it basically says that they will unlock your phone for you (give you the MSL code) once you have fulfilled your obligations of your contract. After that they'll give you the unlock code. That's great, but unfortunately the other carriers haven't taken up the idea of letting you use other carriers phones. (You can use a Verizon phone on sprint if that phone supports sprints services, but you can't use a Sprint phone on Verizon.) At least Sprint is making the effort to educate their reps on how to add new ESN's to their database. What would be really great is if other carriers would do the same.

[weedahoe]

try reading these threads

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/79840

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/S...-Lawsuit-88857

[canospinach]

Originally Posted by xmind2006

Ah, I don't think you quite understand what you posted.
1. The HTC Tilt is a GSM phone...which does nothing for Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, and other CDMA customers.
2. It's great Sprint unlocks the phone...but unless Verizon or other CDMA company will accept phones they didn't sell themselves (i.e. Verizon won't activate a silver PPC-6700 sold by Sprint).

However, this is good news to make one step closer to opening up the CDMA network and company choices. The next big step would be for the CDMA carriers in the US to support RUIM.

This is very true...

For reasons you would not normally suspect (performance being one of them) Carriers like Sprint, Verizon and others (not all carriers, but many) use a pre-approved ESN/IMEI list for activation. Meaning that regardless of if your phone is "unlocked" or not if its not from their pre approved serial number list it doesnt activate. Short of "cloning" a phone i dont know of anyone who has gotten around this.

As many of you are seeing with different ROMs PRLs and PRIs, carriers sometimes have to "build" a handset for a market where it will perform optimal in those specific topographic conditions. So "locking" a handset is in some cases an attempt to keep poor performing unapproved equipment from ruining a subscribers experience. Different versions can be more than update differences, sometimes its diff builds for diff performance needs (this is partially why there are so many different radio rom experiences, newest works fine for me here, but may not for you where you are).

It really means little for us as we already can generate the MSL for most WM5 WM6 phones which allows us access to the NAM which in turn allows me to program any carrier info into the handset i want.

FYI - for those who dont know RUIM - think of a SIM card on stereoids, storing all your info, swappable to any handset.

[budney]

This is cool news. I hope it opens up the door for a more universal system like GSM.

BTW, I moved this thread to the Off topic forums as it is not Apache or PPC specific.

EDIT: Thanks for merging the thread I moved with this one. Never saw this thread.

[passcityz]

the article states you can use non-sprint phones on its network too... but it wouldn't make any sense to me, you wont be able to use most if any of sprint exclusive features, and all verizon phones have their os on it.... and no GSM and CDMA is still not compatible.... i guess what im saying is.. aside from most other companies, Verizon would probably be the worse to work with any other carrier.

[passcityz]

Originally Posted by TonyDiv

This means NOTHING. It basically says that Sprint will give you your MSL when you terminate service.

You've been able to do the exact same thing with Verizon phones from day one, since they use a code of all zeros. You still can't take that phone to Sprint and activate it though.

This decision isn't going to allow you to use your Sprint phone on Verizon, or on most of the other major carriers networks.

and you right.... now that I read it again..... it would all depend on other carriers to activate... which like I said would be useless due to carrier specific features.

[kilmarac]

Originally Posted by Torx

this article basically outlines that sprint phone can be used on other networks that utilize cdma.. This DOES NOT mean other phones from other carriers can be used on the sprint network..

dont hold your breath just yet on the tilt/kaiser

I wouldnt be so sure of that...

"The company also will add information about the locking software and how to obtain the unlocking codes in the list of terms and conditions of service given to new customers, and instruct its customer service representatives on how to connect a non-Sprint phone to the Sprint network."

[shadow-tech]

I watch too much cspan. and I saw the bill, all the house reps were pissed they couldn't get the iphone with their carriers. so they talked of a bill to allow customers to take their phone from carrier to carrier. seemed like it was a done deal. then at&t gave all the whiners iphone and 2 years free service. that shut them up quick. now the bill has all sorts of loopholes for the carriers. glad our congress is representing us so well self serving actually. eventually this will happen though. lets see how many extensions the carriers get.