Info about the GAIT plan and Nokia 6340i phone

[correak]

Here's another question, actually, a bunch of questions regarding
Cingular's GAIT
plan. I have looked
everywhere for a direct answer but just could not find it. I am already a
Cingular customer and would like to upgrade to the GAIT plan. Here are my
questions:

1) Once I get the Nokia 6340i phone with a GAIT SIM, can I transfer the
SIM to another GSM phone (say Motorola V400 or a V60i GSM or any GSM
capable phone) and still be
able use GSM and TDMA and analog signals like I would using the Nokia
6340i?

2) I may buy another nicer looking phone from eBay once I get the GAIT
SIM. What should I be looking for to ensure that the GAIT SIM will work in
the new phone? I know it has to be a phone that accepts a SIM card, but
does it have to be a cingular phone itself? Does it have to be locked or
unlocked and what's the difference between a locked phone and an unlocked
phone? Finally, once I get another phone, is it safe for me to just sell
the 6340i?

3) I noticed that the 6340i operates on 850/1900
mhz only instead of the 850/900/1800/1900 like the V400? What's the
difference?

Thank you in advance

[COtech]

1. No, if the phone won't do it--even if the SIM is authorized to. Putting your GAIT SIM in a GSM phone results in a working GSM phone.

2. The phone you purchase needs to be Cingular locked (to match your Cingular SIM) or unlocked. I reccommend you keep the GAIT SIM and the 6340i for when you leave GSM coverage. An unlocked phone will accept any service provider's SIM.

3. The 6340i doesn't have 900/1800 MHz for the rest of the world. Besides, the rest of the world doesn't use TDMA and AMPS. It's a North American phone.

COtech

[CDMA]

Don't get the 6340i. Shame on Cingular for not stopping sales of that phone. They never got the bugs out of it.

1. It doesn't roam correctly: In N.E Michigan all cingular GSM phones roam on NPI wireless GSM. The 6340i WILL NOT! It will roam on anolog and you will pay roaming, even though GSM is available. Shame on Cingular.

2. If you go into a large building, basement,etc..., and the phone loses it's signal, then you walk back outside to where there is good signal, the phone WILL NOT work and it will continue to say "no service" until you power it off, then back on. The same thing will happen when you travel. Shame on Cingular.

I keep saying "shame on Cingular" because I had made numerous reports to them about these problems, and they treated me like I was an idiot. They should not be selling that phone. They are hurting themselfs by doing so.

[Shizam76]

Originally Posted by CDMA 1. It doesn't roam correctly: In N.E Michigan all cingular GSM phones roam on NPI wireless GSM. The 6340i WILL NOT! It will roam on anolog and you will pay roaming, even though GSM is available. Shame on Cingular. 2. If you go into a large building, basement,etc..., and the phone loses it's signal, then you walk back outside to where there is good signal, the phone WILL NOT work and it will continue to say "no service" until you power it off, then back on. The same thing will happen when you travel. Shame on Cingular.

1. Interesting. When I travel 1 county to the southeast of me (Kankakee County in Illinois) my phone will only do Cingular TDMA. It will not "see" the GSM network even though it is turned on there! I too have filed a trouble ticket with them and heard anything from it. My phone still will only pick TDMA there, not GSM. I don't get it.

2. This only happens once in a while, where I have to power cycle the phone to force it to find a carrier. Usually it does it on it's own, but once in a while it will sit on a blank screen. It also will occasionally power off on it's own. Then again, I still have the same firmware as the day I bought the phone. They want me to drive to the Aurora store (which is like 40-50 miles from me!) which is the closest store that has a TECH that can flash it.

[roamer1]

Originally Posted by CDMA Don't get the 6340i. Shame on Cingular for not stopping sales of that phone. They never got the bugs out of it. 1. It doesn't roam correctly: In N.E Michigan all cingular GSM phones roam on NPI wireless GSM. The 6340i WILL NOT! It will roam on anolog and you will pay roaming, even though GSM is available. Shame on Cingular.

The GAIT phones can be set to prefer TDMA or to prefer GSM. Any GAIT phone should now prefer GSM (since Cingular has turned on GSM in all markets) over TDMA; any inability to roam on NPI points to roaming problems on Cingular's side (like not allowing GAIT phones access to NPI's network, which doesn't make any sense.) Also...current plans don't charge roaming anywhere in the US (except for Gulf of Mexico offshore).

-SC

[acworthbubba]

I have a different but related question:

I currently have a Nokia 6340i on a Cingular Nation GAIT plan. I want to change plans to a Cingular GSM Nation plan (cheaper, more minutes, unlimited mobile to mobile) I understand the "less coverage" available on GSM only.

The Question: I really like my 6340i, but don't like the free phones that Cingular is giving away with a 2 year GSM Nation contract (like the Nokia 3595 or the Samsung X427). If I "upgrade" my phone and plan online to a GSM plan, and they mail me a GSM phone, can I just not ever activate the new phone and continue to use my 6340i? I am not trying to cheat the system, and I am fine with the 6340i only using the GSM portion of its capability. I just like the features of the 6340i phone.

Any copmments?

[svanwormer]

Originally Posted by acworthbubba I have a different but related question: I currently have a Nokia 6340i on a Cingular Nation GAIT plan. I want to change plans to a Cingular GSM Nation plan (cheaper, more minutes, unlimited mobile to mobile) I understand the "less coverage" available on GSM only. The Question: I really like my 6340i, but don't like the free phones that Cingular is giving away with a 2 year GSM Nation contract (like the Nokia 3595 or the Samsung X427). If I "upgrade" my phone and plan online to a GSM plan, and they mail me a GSM phone, can I just not ever activate the new phone and continue to use my 6340i? I am not trying to cheat the system, and I am fine with the 6340i only using the GSM portion of its capability. I just like the features of the 6340i phone. Any copmments?

I have read that you can use a GAIT phone on a GSm plan. Cingular would have to remove the GSM/TDMA interoperability from your account, along with any other GAIT related provisions. You could then use your 6340i on a GSm plan. I can not indepenently confirm this, but there have been a couple of recent threads on howardforums.com about this.

http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...hreadid=422735
http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...hreadid=412311