Will an unlocked GSM work on any network

[GregHayden]

My question is... if I purchase an unlocked phone will it work on Cellular One's network?
I wanted to just purchase a new phone from Tiger Direct or Newegg but I'm very apprehensive because I'm not sure it will work with Cellular One (formerly Chinook Wireless, I'm in Montana).
Can anyone help me?

[RJB]

Originally Posted by GregHayden

My question is... if I purchase an unlocked phone will it work on Cellular One's network?
I wanted to just purchase a new phone from Tiger Direct or Newegg but I'm very apprehensive because I'm not sure it will work with Cellular One (formerly Chinook Wireless, I'm in Montana).
Can anyone help me?

If it an a GSM network you are on and you have an Unlocked GSM with 850 and 1900 bands you will be fine. If you are on a CDMA network it for the most part has to be the carriers actual branded phone.

[Jay2TheRescue]

It appears that they use a GSM network, so as long as you don't buy a european model you should be ok. Voice calls will work just by putting your SIM card in the phone. Other services like data and MMS may require you setting up those services on the phone.

-Jay

[RJB]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

It appears that they use a GSM network, so as long as you don't buy a european model you should be ok. Voice calls will work just by putting your SIM card in the phone. Other services like data and MMS may require you setting up those services on the phone.

-Jay

Good points.........

[GregHayden]

Thank you very much!!!!

[RJB]

Originally Posted by GregHayden

Thank you very much!!!!

If you have any more questions let us know. Sorry I am sure you know this the way to tell if your phone is GSM it will take a sim card. But Nextel takes one as well but I am sure you know what i mean.

[Telekom]

Originally Posted by GregHayden

My question is... if I purchase an unlocked phone will it work on Cellular One's network?
I wanted to just purchase a new phone from Tiger Direct or Newegg but I'm very apprehensive because I'm not sure it will work with Cellular One (formerly Chinook Wireless, I'm in Montana).
Can anyone help me?

Providing the phone uses the same frequencies as that network yes.

[markuhde]

Any unlocked GSM phone with 1900MHz support (that's ANY GSM phone sold in the US) will work fine on Cellular One. You couldn't ask a better carrier in terms of getting support setting up an unlocked phone if you need to, just work with your local store. There is one extremely rude employee at customer service and I don't really intend on ever calling customer service back just because they're small enough, it'd be easy to hit the same person. Heck, you can call Alltel and get the same person twice in a row. The couple other times I called Cellular One customer service they were great though... it's too bad one awful lady has put me off ever wanting to have to call again.

Anyways, moving on every phone they sell is an unlocked GSM phone and getting support from them is truly great - the store (at least in Kalispell) is FABULOUS, as are the guys I have talked to on the phone. Compare that to rude store employees at both Verizon and Alltel here (though they both have a mix - Alltel in Kalispell has one very disinterested lady and Verizon has a very rude gentleman) and most of all - the wait times. The other guys want to do the right thing but they're overwhelmed. Alltel you have to wait an hour plus to talk to someone (on the plus side, their phone support answer's almost as instantly as CellularOne and in the years I had Alltel - which included probably 5 or 6 calls to CS for problems I never *once* had someone be rude to me on the phone. Chinook I was with barely a month and I had a snobbish, extremely rude lady who refused to help me).

But that's all irrelevant, you probably won't need their support. Pop in your SIM card and go. The one thing you'll need are the WAP and MMS settings. I have the WAP settings on my phone and I can give them to you if you want but if you need MMS settings, you'll have to go to the store (I don't have MMS set up). The store will happily give you WAP and MMS settings.

[RJB]

Originally Posted by markuhde

Any unlocked GSM phone with 1900MHz support (that's ANY GSM phone sold in the US) will work fine on Cellular One. You couldn't ask a better carrier in terms of getting support setting up an unlocked phone if you need to, just work with your local store. There is one extremely rude employee at customer service and I don't really intend on ever calling customer service back just because they're small enough, it'd be easy to hit the same person. Heck, you can call Alltel and get the same person twice in a row. The couple other times I called Cellular One customer service they were great though... it's too bad one awful lady has put me off ever wanting to have to call again.

Anyways, moving on every phone they sell is an unlocked GSM phone and getting support from them is truly great - the store (at least in Kalispell) is FABULOUS, as are the guys I have talked to on the phone. Compare that to rude store employees at both Verizon and Alltel here (though they both have a mix - Alltel in Kalispell has one very disinterested lady and Verizon has a very rude gentleman) and most of all - the wait times. The other guys want to do the right thing but they're overwhelmed. Alltel you have to wait an hour plus to talk to someone (on the plus side, their phone support answer's almost as instantly as CellularOne and in the years I had Alltel - which included probably 5 or 6 calls to CS for problems I never *once* had someone be rude to me on the phone. Chinook I was with barely a month and I had a snobbish, extremely rude lady who refused to help me).

But that's all irrelevant, you probably won't need their support. Pop in your SIM card and go. The one thing you'll need are the WAP and MMS settings. I have the WAP settings on my phone and I can give them to you if you want but if you need MMS settings, you'll have to go to the store (I don't have MMS set up). The store will happily give you WAP and MMS settings.

Great explanation...........

[treotosh]

Dumb question, is CelluarOne a CDMA or a GSM network?

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by treotosh

Dumb question, is CelluarOne a CDMA or a GSM network?

I believe most CellularONE networks, (If not all) are GSM.

-Jay

[markuhde]

Cellular One of Montana (MTPCS) is a 1900MHz GSM EDGE network.

Sorry to make you mad RJB but inside my rant of awful service I think I *did* provide more information than anyone else...