While I hate Sounding Like a Complete Newb (Unlocked Phone Question)

[KheldarLars]

I was told in attempting to purchase a new cellphone online, I needed to find one enabled for US Cellular and that it needed to have a specific configuration to work on their setup. Unfortunately, when i search for US Cellular on any website, I only get results for 'unlocked phones'. Will these work, despite the salesperson's reiterated statements in the store, or am I screwed and looking at buying a phone straight from USCC? I'm so perplexed...

[Jay2TheRescue]

Since USCC is a CDMA carrier you pretty much need to get a phone from them. Its not like GSM carriers like AT&T or T-Mobile that you can just buy any unlocked phone, insert your SIM card & go.

-Jay

[KheldarLars]

Then why is it every time I search for US Cellular I find unlocked CDMA phones? Is there a place to get them programmed for US Cellular?

[Telekom]

Originally Posted by KheldarLars

Then why is it every time I search for US Cellular I find unlocked CDMA phones? Is there a place to get them programmed for US Cellular?

Theoretically CDMA phones should be able to be used on any CDMA network. Part of the problem is with the "home" network since networks often refuse to activate service with any device that they have not sold. That means that you could get a phone that someone else on US Cellular had on their service, but you could not say try to activate a CDMA phone that was on the Verizon or Alltel networks. Part of that is that in the activation process you have to register an "ESN" (serial number) to activate where with GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile and others) all you have to do is to take the SIM "smart card" from one phone and put it in another phone provided that the phone is either from that carrier or is "unlocked." GSM carriers commonly lock their phones so only SIMs from that carrier can be used only. If you wish to use it with another carrier's SIM you have to have the "SIM lock" defeated or "unlocked." Since CDMA phones in the US/Canada do not use SIMs and use the ESN to activate a carrier has control over what can be authorized on their network. Some carriers such as Verizon and Sprint have said that they are going to "open" their networks to devices outside of their provided equipment we'll see how that goes.

Bottom line though is that unless your carrier lets you use equipment other than what they provide you're stuck with using phones from just that carrier.

[KheldarLars]

Originally Posted by Telekom

Theoretically CDMA phones should be able to be used on any CDMA network. Part of the problem is with the "home" network since networks often refuse to activate service with any device that they have not sold. That means that you could get a phone that someone else on US Cellular had on their service, but you could not say try to activate a CDMA phone that was on the Verizon or Alltel networks. Part of that is that in the activation process you have to register an "ESN" (serial number) to activate....

Bottom line though is that unless your carrier lets you use equipment other than what they provide you're stuck with using phones from just that carrier.

Alright, I know the SIM card issue, but.. what you're saying is if I can get a CDMA phone activated with US Cellular's ESN, I can have any phone... But that's if and only if I can get that.

Otherwise, is it possible to buy a phone US Cellular offers from a different site and get that one activated?

[Telekom]

Originally Posted by KheldarLars

Alright, I know the SIM card issue, but.. what you're saying is if I can get a CDMA phone activated with US Cellular's ESN, I can have any phone... But that's if and only if I can get that.

Otherwise, is it possible to buy a phone US Cellular offers from a different site and get that one activated?

Just so you understand you have to use the ESN of the phone you intend to activate on the network.

As to where to get phones the most common place likely would be someplace like eBay (734 items at this time under "US Cellular phone") or craigslist. On eBay right now you can get phones as chap as $25 "buy it now."

[KheldarLars]

Thanks Telekom, I actually finally ended up calling the company technical support. Had to get a supervisor, but I was informed that as long as I get an 'unflashed' unlocked CDMA phone, I should be fine getting it activated. My local US Cellular chapter has never been stocked with a real helpful staff (nice people, just poorly trained), so I was getting the same answer every time I asked, even though it wasn't the answer to my question, hence why I'd given up on using technical support. Wish I had earlier, woulda saved me a lot of confusion. But then again, if I hadn't done the research first, when I was told the phone had to be unflashed I would have been back in the same confusion anyway.
Thank you very much, and I hope this thread helps anyone else in my predicament. I'm going phone shopping!

[Telekom]

Originally Posted by KheldarLars

Thanks Telekom, I actually finally ended up calling the company technical support. Had to get a supervisor, but I was informed that as long as I get an 'unflashed' unlocked CDMA phone, I should be fine getting it activated. My local US Cellular chapter has never been stocked with a real helpful staff (nice people, just poorly trained), so I was getting the same answer every time I asked, even though it wasn't the answer to my question, hence why I'd given up on using technical support. Wish I had earlier, woulda saved me a lot of confusion. But then again, if I hadn't done the research first, when I was told the phone had to be unflashed I would have been back in the same confusion anyway.
Thank you very much, and I hope this thread helps anyone else in my predicament. I'm going phone shopping!

Pardon this, but it sounds like the "techs" that you talked to weren't totally with it either. "Unflashed" doesn't make any sense. You flash a phone to put certain firmware on it. All CDMA phones in order to be programmed on another network require that the "master subsidy lock" be unlocked in order to properly program the handset for another network. Not all handsets have the master subsidy lock. Verizon phones generally do not while Sprint phones do generally.

[KheldarLars]

Originally Posted by Telekom

Pardon this, but it sounds like the "techs" that you talked to weren't totally with it either. "Unflashed" doesn't make any sense. You flash a phone to put certain firmware on it. All CDMA phones in order to be programmed on another network require that the "master subsidy lock" be unlocked in order to properly program the handset for another network. Not all handsets have the master subsidy lock. Verizon phones generally do not while Sprint phones do generally.

ie, unflashed = no firmware from another company to get in the way
no firmware from another company = good for Kheld

[tearsonurcheek]

I work for uscc (have for nearly 5 years now), so I'll try to sum up what Telekom has said, and add uscc policy to the mix.

1) The phone needs to be uscc-branded (i.e. have uscc software)
2) By policy, if the phone is not a uscc-branded phone, it can't be activated. If the phone was previously used on uscc, is not currently active, and has not been reported lost/stolen, then a simple call to CS will get it activated for you. If the phone has never been on uscc before, you'll have to take it into the store.
3) With the exception of smartphones (which can only be activated on postpay), any uscc phone that is CDMA and e911-capable can be activated.

As a mod over on HoFo, I put together this FAQ post, which I'm quoting below, that should be helpful. It contains a complete list of phones that can be currently activated. One thing to be wary of when purchasing off eBay, is listings that show compatible with multiple carriers, especially sellers that are so lazy that they list every carrier in the U.S. Look for items that specifically state they are uscc-branded and/or were recently active on uscc. If the seller will give you an ESN/MEID, uscc CS can confirm whether the phone can be activated.

Originally Posted by tearsonurcheek

What phones can be activated on uscc?

Non-uscc-branded phones
Since 7/15/03, uscc will NOT activate a phone unless it is uscc-sourced. That merely means that it was originally sold by uscc or an authorized agent. It does NOT mean you have to buy the phone from a uscc store. You CAN buy a phone from a friend, eBay, or whereever, but it MUST be uscc-branded. Also, phones can be direct-purchased from some manufacturer's, most notably Motorola. They will ask you who you're carrier is, and ship the phone uscc-branded. These phones can be activated.

New policy on TDMA, Analog, and non-1x CDMA equipment
Effective 8/22/05, uscc will no longer activate ANY of the following, even on an existing line:

1) TDMA equipment
2) Analog-only equipment (i.e. Bag phones, Car phones, etc.)
3) NON-1x CDMA equipment (older CDMA phones such as V120, V60, 5185, etc.)
4) NON-e911 equipment: Kyocera 2235, LG VX10, Nokia 6385, Audiovox CDM-9150x (These are the only phones in this category that were carried by uscc.)

The following is a list of phones which are either for sale now or have been sold by uscc in the past that are CDMA 1x, and are e911-capable, thus can be activated. If it's not on this list, it can't be activated. If you see a model I've forgotten, feel free to PM me.

Notes: Models shown in magenta are prepay-only. This merely means you can't buy it for post-paid in a uscc store. Models shown in blue are SpeedTalk phones, but can be used on any plan. Models in green are smartphones, and require the appropriate smartphone plan. They cannot currently be used on prepay accounts.

Audiovox/UT Starcom: CDM-7025, CDM-8410, CDM-8500, CDM-8900, CDM-8910, CDM-9500

HTC: PPC6800

Kyocera: 3225, 7135, E1000, K-132 Velvet, K-312 Lightning, KE-434 Rave, KX-1 SoHo, KX-2 Koi, KX-5 Slider Remix, KX-9b Milan, KX-9c Milan, KX-13 Dorado, KX-16 Candid, KX-21 Strobe, KX-160 Xcursion, KX-414 Phantom, KX-440, SE-44/47 Slider

LG: UX145, UX210, UX245, UX260, UX355, UX380, UX390, UX565, VX3100, UX3300, VX4400, VX4750, UX5000, LX5550, VX6000, VX6100

Motorola: C343, K1m KRZR, L7c SLVR, m800 Bag Phone, Q, T731, V120e (Note: only the "e" mod), V262, V265, V266, V3c RAZR, V3m RAZR, V323, V323i, V710, V810, V9m RAZR2, W315, W385, Z6m ROKR

Nokia: 2125i, 3585i (Note: only the "i" mod, not the original 3585), 3586i, 6019i, 6165i, 6235i, 6255i, 6265i, 6585

RIM Blackberry: 7130e, 7250, 8130 Pearl 2, 8703e, 8830

Samsung: SCH-u340, SCH-r500, SCH-u520, SCH-a570, SCH-r610, SCH-a645, SCH-a670, SCH-a850, SCH-a870

Sony-Ericsson: T206

If you already have it activated, you will not be required to swap it out. However, if you deactivate the phone, you will NOT be able to reactivate it.

Any TDMA phones still active are likely out of warranty already, and Signal is replacing the above with equivalent CDMA 1x stock (of course, the model will vary based on what you have now).

This policy CANNOT be overridden by a Store Manager. As many of you know, this policy is a direct result of the current FCC requirement that all carriers must have 95% of the customers on e911-capable equipment by 12/31/05. Also, the pending elimination of the TDMA and analog networks. (Note: there is no set date for TDMA/Analog going away at this point. Analog is required by the FCC to remain in place until February 2008. Of course, the sooner we work to get everyone on CDMA, the easier it'll be when that time comes, eh?)