Is there any reason you can't activate a 920 on Verizon?

[anon(5370748)]

@#$%! there was another thread on this, but I couldn't find it using WPCentral's search. It came up in another variant of a Google search, though. Sorry for the repost :/
http://forums.windowscentral.com/nokia-lumia-920/209763-can-lumia-920-used-verizon.html

I searched the forums (and did a cursory search on the web), but haven't found reference to this specific question. According to this: Nokia Lumia 920 | Windows Phone (United States), the 920 supports a couple of different CDMA bands (W-CDMA 850; W-CDMA 900; W-CDMA 1900; W-CDMA 2100. According to this, Verizon uses numbers that match: Cellular frequencies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to some other posters here, devices are now supposed to be carrier-unlocked (if they're not bound by contract or whatever).

So can you buy an unlocked 920 and use it on Verizon?

 

[derek533]

As far as I know, no you can't. Verizon won't let devices onto their network unless they were specifically designed for their network. This is also why (and correct me if wrong), Sprint devices can't be activated on Verizon either. They have very tight controls over what devices they allow onto their network.

 

[anon(5370748)]

As far as I know, no you can't. Verizon won't let devices onto their network unless they were specifically designed for their network. This is also why (and correct me if wrong), Sprint devices can't be activated on Verizon either. They have very tight controls over what devices they allow onto their network.

I see. I wonder if that's going to have to be loosened up now that phones are required to be free to roam from network to network. I guess if VZW loses enough subscribers, they'll change it.

 

[m0unds]

I see. I wonder if that's going to have to be loosened up now that phones are required to be free to roam from network to network. I guess if VZW loses enough subscribers, they'll change it.

the second post in the linked thread explains precisely why it wouldn't work now, or in the near future. VZW will continue operating their CDMA network until they've got every square mile of their nationwide footprint blanketed in LTE. regular consumers aren't generally as fickle as people who discuss cellphone devices on forums like this.

also, where is there a requirement that providers sell devices that are inter-operable bw carriers?

oh, also, i missed the italicized text somehow - WCDMA is referring to HSPA, HSDPA, etc (e.g. AT&T and T-Mobile GSM type. Not frequency-wise, necessarily, tech-wise). Verizon CDMA is CDMA2000, including 1xEVDO and 1xRTT for data.

 

[anon(5370748)]

also, where is there a requirement that providers sell devices that are inter-operable bw carriers?

requirement was the wrong choice of word - I had found out that phones like the 928 should just work on AT&T now if you pop a SIM in it, where they used to be locked to only international use for GSM

oh, also, i missed the italicized text somehow - WCDMA is referring to HSPA, HSDPA, etc (e.g. AT&T and T-Mobile GSM type. Not frequency-wise, necessarily, tech-wise). Verizon CDMA is CDMA2000, including 1xEVDO and 1xRTT for data.

That's what I was most curious about

 

[St_Deborah]

I thought it was because Verizon is CDMA. There are some smaller companies like Page Plus (that uses Verizon towers), Cricket, etc...that will "flash" phones to be able to work, but as faras I know even they only do this with other CDMA devices. In a nutshell CDMA stays with CDMA and GSM stays with GSM, unless the device will be as the Lumia 928 which (I'm not sure if this is a 100% true) will be able to cross up.

 

[anon(5370748)]

I thought it was because Verizon is CDMA. There are some smaller companies like Page Plus (that uses Verizon towers), Cricket, etc...that will "flash" phones to be able to work, but as faras I know even they only do this with other CDMA devices. In a nutshell CDMA stays with CDMA and GSM stays with GSM, unless the device will be as the Lumia 928 which (I'm not sure if this is a 100% true) will be able to cross up.

Both CDMA phones that I have owned (Droid 2 Global and iPhone 4S) have had GSM sim cards in them also. Verizon had to do this to make these phones world-capable, and when I popped in a China Mobile sim, it just worked in China. They were locked them down so you couldn't use US-based network sims, but I don't believe that was a hardware limitation. From what I understand now, if a new CDMA phone also has a GSM sim card (and is unlocked), you can put in an AT&T sim and it just works. I was curious if the opposite was true also, but it looks like Verizon put up a different roadblock (not activating unapproved phones).

 

[Laura Knotek]

Both CDMA phones that I have owned (Droid 2 Global and iPhone 4S) have had GSM sim cards in them also. Verizon had to do this to make these phones world-capable, and when I popped in a China Mobile sim, it just worked in China. They were locked them down so you couldn't use US-based network sims, but I don't believe that was a hardware limitation. From what I understand now, if a new CDMA phone also has a GSM sim card (and is unlocked), you can put in an AT&T sim and it just works. I was curious if the opposite was true also, but it looks like Verizon put up a different roadblock (not activating unapproved phones).

From VZW: "
Is my 4G SIM card compatible with any other provider’s device?
Possibly. Many providers are GSM-based (meaning their service also uses a SIM card), however, Verizon Wireless can only support Verizon Wireless-Certified 4G devices. See a list of Verizon Wireless certified devices. "

 

[St_Deborah]

Both CDMA phones that I have owned (Droid 2 Global and iPhone 4S) have had GSM sim cards in them also. Verizon had to do this to make these phones world-capable, and when I popped in a China Mobile sim, it just worked in China. They were locked them down so you couldn't use US-based network sims, but I don't believe that was a hardware limitation. From what I understand now, if a new CDMA phone also has a GSM sim card (and is unlocked), you can put in an AT&T sim and it just works. I was curious if the opposite was true also, but it looks like Verizon put up a different roadblock (not activating unapproved phones).

Ah yes. Their global phones do have a sim slot - I'd forgotten about this, probably due to the fact that regardless of the sim slot they didn't seem to allow you to use it on U.S. GSM carriers in the past. I'd asked this question about my BB a few years back. Maybe it does just depend on which ones Verizon will allow now then.