SIM Card only

Does anyone know if Cingular will let me get just the SIM card and service plan without the phone? I'm thinking of buying an unlocked T39m from eBay, don't really like any of the phones offered by Cingular. The Cingular rep I spoke to wasn't really sure, and couldn't confirm with her manager as her manager was at lunch.. I just thought I'd ask this forum before I go visiting Cingular stores for a rep that knows the answer..

[ZaphodB]

If the phone really is unlocked, just get whatever the free phone is and swap out the SIM card. Voila, you're set, and you even have a backup phone in case the T39's battery dies or something.

Much, much easier than asking clueless people for information.

I thought of that, but currently Cingular doesn't have any free phones.. The cheapest one is the Motorolla T193g at $19.99..

[CaliphoniaBoy]

From Cingular experience: If you get your own phone they may give you trouble if you need specific settings for data or wap... they (Cingular) consider these settings "classified"....

However, you can find all of these settings on the internet ;-)

Just to make sure you know before hand...

C.

PS: Other option would be to get t-mobile. They have free phones, they also sell sim-cards only (friend of mine did that) and they are very open-minded about sharing their settings. BUT I don;t want to sound like selling things. It's just a suggestion.

[ZaphodB]

Cingular are total pains in the behind about their WAP settings. I got my phone unlocked but then of course I found out that their WAP settings are burned into the phone... can't even get to the WAP setup menu to change them over. @$#%ing &?|@!!! While I was on the phone, though, they did tell me that all this information is totally classified and that your typical drool-into-the-mike CSR wouldn't even know where to look to find it.

Took me long enough to get the subsidy unlock code - and I assume that T-Mobile would be even harder to get the unlock code out of. Grumble, snarf.

[CaliphoniaBoy]

I heard that TM is not so bad about giving unlock codes out -- if you have been a customer in good standing for at least a few month.

But I have no personal experience so I don;t want to make any further statements about that here.

With Cingular it took me about 2 month, a lot of calls and quiet a few emails (for an old and ugly 5190...)

C.

I have an old Nokia 5190 that was for Cingular
Wireless.. My question is, how can I unlock my phone
so I can use it for my current Wireless provider,
T-Mobile? My T-Mobile phone was stollen, but I have
this Nokia phone that I thought might work.. I know
T-Mobile uses Cingular's towers, so I bought a sim
card from T-mobile just so I can activate my service
and recieve voicemails. I put the sim in my Nokia 5190
to see if it would work, but it says, "sim card not
accepted". What do I do? How or can I use my Nokia
phone? Please let me know... Thanks.. Anna Kellett
Email: djisom@yahoo.com Cel #[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]530)400-5214
Model:5190 Typ:NSB-1NX IMEI:010037/35/698116/7
Code:0502040 EI24MMW / FCC ID:LJPNSB-1X
CAN:661331146/NRM-1 66118229:confused

I got my T-Mobile unlock code in 4 days from simunlock@t-mobile.com
and that was after only 1 month of service!
No hassles, great service[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[BroChick]

Originally posted by: Anonymous Does anyone know if Cingular will let me get just the SIM card and service plan without the phone? I'm thinking of buying an unlocked T39m from eBay, don't really like any of the phones offered by Cingular. The Cingular rep I spoke to wasn't really sure, and couldn't confirm with her manager as her manager was at lunch.. I just thought I'd ask this forum before I go visiting Cingular stores for a rep that knows the answer..

You could probably just take whatever phone they are offering for free. (I know someone already said this) Try going to a couple different places that offer Cingular. Some places offer better deals..and even then, if the cheapest phone is only $20, consider that a good deal on a sim card! Good luck!

[BizUser]

Cingular do sell SIM cards only; it's called their pre-pay service. The advantage of this over buying a cheap or even free phone from them is that, with pre-pay, there's no contract. If you sign up and get a free phone, but don't like their service, you are stuck with the 1- or 2-year commitment whether you like it or not.

I just got a pre-pay SIM from Cingular in Walnut Creek, CA, for an old Ericsson I had, which I now use as a backup. Works great.

[ZaphodB]

Originally posted by: BizUser Cingular do sell SIM cards only; it's called their pre-pay service. The advantage of this over buying a cheap or even free phone from them is that, with pre-pay, there's no contract. If you sign up and get a free phone, but don't like their service, you are stuck with the 1- or 2-year commitment whether you like it or not. I just got a pre-pay SIM from Cingular in Walnut Creek, CA, for an old Ericsson I had, which I now use as a backup. Works great.

Actually we've had reports that if you provide your own GSM phone, Cingular do not require a contract on post-paid plans.

[BizUser]

That's very true - you can walk into a Cingular store with your own phone (unlocked) and they'll set you up with service on a regular plan, and there's no contract - because they are not providing you with a phone subsidy.

I chose pre-pay simply because I don't plan to use the phone much, and thus don't want to be stuck paying a monthly fee for months when I don't use the darn thing. But given that their pre-pay minutes expire, you have to be careful either way as this amounts to a monthly fee if you pay for a bucket of minutes and then lose them without using them... nothing is easy!