| Author |
Message |
blea30
Posts: 3
Service Provider:
Cingular |
 
Wed Apr 28, 2004 12:07 am |
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I am on the family talk plan (TDMA) now for about 13 mths. and I want to upgrade phones and to gsm plan. Since I will need new phones I don't want to buy from cingular I see alot of phones on ebay that say unlocked and can work on any provider using sim card. Well, I don't have a sim card since I have older phones and so if I buy these new unlocked phones will cingular give me a sim card for them and program them to work or are they going to give me the run around and force me to buy one of their expensive phones? How do I need to approach this? They told me if I end the current contract that I am on with them to go to the gsm plans then I will have to pay them $180 for breach of contract which I think is stupid since I will be keeping service with them. Also, I need to do all of this soon while they are doing the additional phones for $9.99 because I am paying 19.99 for each additional phone.
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Sivas
Posts: 2 |
Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:45 pm |
I did the exact same thing. I had the family plan with TDMA phones. I bought unocked GSM phones on eBay and took them to a Cingular store. They sold me SIM cards ($25 each) and programmed the cards. My phone works fine now.
I had a problem with a Cingular store that told me that IMEI number I have on my phone can't be entered into the system. However, a second store did it just fine. So, if one store gives you trouble, just find another one.
If the GSM phone you buy on eBay is unlocked and if you trust the seller, I don't see any problems. A small warning, I am not an expert on this, just a Cingular customer with some TDMA to GSM switch experience.
Hope this helps.
Sivas
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blea30
Posts: 3
Service Provider:
Cingular |
Thu Apr 29, 2004 8:15 pm |
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What is meant by "if you trust the ebay seller" what exactly could be the problem with unlocked phones? BTW thanks for reply.
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NDogg78
Posts: 87
Phone Model:
Motorola V600
Service Provider:
Cingular |
Thu Apr 29, 2004 8:33 pm |
| blea30 wrote: | | What is meant by "if you trust the ebay seller" what exactly could be the problem with unlocked phones? BTW thanks for reply. |
just make sure that if you buy a phone off of ebay you don't get ripped off if it's expensive. don't buy a phone from the seller if they only take western union wire transfer. also, make sure that the phone you buy off of ebay supports 850/1900MHz band since that's what cingular uses
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Sivas
Posts: 2 |
Mon May 03, 2004 10:41 am |
| blea30 wrote: | | What is meant by "if you trust the ebay seller" what exactly could be the problem with unlocked phones? BTW thanks for reply. |
Just because they said that the phone is unlocked and it would work on any network doesn't mean they tell the truth. There are lots of eBay sellers who are plain burglars. So, check the feedback carefully, make sure you can return the phone if you have a problem with it. This is what I meant.
Sivas
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