Carrier Unlocked Phone

[suprkain]

Thinking about buying an Icon off of Swappa, however I had some questions for you guys. Is a carrier unlocked phone safe to use on Verizon? I never had a carrier unlocked phone. I am also wondering if the signal would be effected as a result of the carrier unlock. Has anyone purchased a phone from swappa before? If so were you satisfied?

 

[anon(7901790)]

Did the advert say "factory unlocked"? Sellers on Swappa and other sites like it, like to throw that term around to help market the device. The Icon is a Verizon exclusive. It isn't offered by any other carrier anywhere, and only Verizon can unlock it. What the seller may be saying that it is unlocked because of the Icon's GSM capability.

Ask the seller if you can get the IMEI from it. Then check with Verizon. If it is lost/stolen, Verizon may have put that phone's IMEI on the banned list, meaning it can't be reactivated. If it clean, then go for it, it will work.

 

[suprkain]

It is unlocked from the factory so does that make a difference? If the IMEI comes back clean would I be good to go for this on Verizon?

 

[Aresjr21]

If clean yes you would be able to go to Verizon with the device.

 

[ven07]

It is unlocked from the factory so does that make a difference? If the IMEI comes back clean would I be good to go for this on Verizon?

The difference would be that the device sold by Verizon is an Icon and the other device is a 930 lol Basically the same, but the 930 was meant for the international market.. However in this case there isn't much of a difference between these two devices, so you can go for either one, but I would go for the international one, because it saves you the hassle of unlocking the phone

 

[anon(7901790)]

The difference would be that the device sold by Verizon is an Icon and the other device is a 930 lol Basically the same, but the 930 was meant for the international market.. However in this case there isn't much of a difference between these two devices, so you can go for either one, but I would go for the international one, because it saves you the hassle of unlocking the phone

The OP specifically asked if it would work on Verizon's network. The 930 doesn't have CDMA and will NOT work on Verizon's network, nor will it work on any US LTE band.

However, an Icon with a clean IMEI WILL work on Verizon (since it is a Verizon exclusive). Since the IMEI is clean then go for it and enjoy your new Icon.

As far as the "factory unlocked" term, there is no such thing as a factory unlocked CDMA phone. Each CDMA carrier has it's own CDMA key, which is part of the devices firmware. So in the case of the Icon, only Verizon can unlock the phone for use on other carriers. Like I said previously, "factory unlocked" is a marketing ploy. ALL GSM only phones are unlocked, since the two things you need is an activated SIM and the device supports the frequency bands of the chosen carrier (mostly for LTE service).

 

[heelio]

I think one of you is confused or mistaken. You can use any Icon on most networks (maybe not Sprint). I'm using mine on Ptel, which is an mvno of T-Mobile.

 

[ven07]

Lol well I honestly thought the 930 would still work on any network, but LTE would be a problem

 

[anon(7901790)]

I think one of you is confused or mistaken. You can use any Icon on most networks (maybe not Sprint). I'm using mine on Ptel, which is an mvno of T-Mobile.

Ok to clarify:

The Icon can be used on Verizon's CDMA and LTE network (its a Verizon exclusive) and any GSM network as well as non-US LTE networks. It cannot be used on any other CDMA network unless Verizon unlocks it (Verizon controls its CDMA keys, nobody else does). Also, it doesn't seem to work on AT&T and T-Mobile LTE networks (wrong bands), but works on their HSPA+ (H+) networks. Though there has been evidence of people getting it to work on AT&T's LTE network, but not reliably.

The 930 will work on any GSM network and non-US LTE networks, but won't work on any US LTE networks (wrong bands), nor will the 930 work on any CDMA network (it does not have CDMA).

Factory unlocked is a marketing term and is referring to GSM phones. If the phone is CDMA, it is locked to a specific carrier and cannot be unlocked by the OEM. If an OEM did that, they would get into serious trouble since CDMA relies on a specific key baked into the firmware and tied to a specific carrier; Verizon in the case of the Icon. Both Verizon (and Sprint) control their respective keys and provide them to the OEMs for inclusion into the firmware. GSM and LTE on the other hand are tied to the SIM (and frequency band) and does not require any special CDMA keys. Therefore, as long as you have a carrier activated SIM, you can use it on whatever network that SIM is tied to (i.e. AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.).


Does that clear things up?

Edit: To get LTE in the US, you have to have a provider that operates in the GSM 700MHz Class 13/1700/2100 bands. There are a few providers in the US that operate in the 1700 band such as Ptel and Metro PCS.

 

[heelio]

Mine says Ptel mobile LTE, right up at the top. It's also called 4G, or 75000 kbps, (or something) by a network app I have. Haven't really noticed any slowdowns yet long as LTE is available.

 

[heelio]

Mine says Ptel Mobile LTE right up top.

 

[anon(7901790)]

Cool!

It's interesting that the Icon works on Ptel's LTE network, but not on T-Mobile's network. Especially since, Ptel is partnered with T-Mobile for its network access. Based on other threads, people have been having problems getting the Icon to work on AT&T's and T-Mobile's LTE networks. But work fine on their HSPA+ networks.

How about MMS? Do you have any problems with that? Again, a problem that Icon users are having on AT&T and T-Mobile.

Edit: Ptel uses the 1700MHz band which is why you are getting LTE. There are a few other "virtual network operators" such as Metro PCS that also use that band. They've licensed that band from T-Mobile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators

 

[heelio]

MMS has been a problem; it seems I can send but not receive them. But this is so much cheaper I don't care.

 

[anon(7901790)]

Sounds like you need to change your APN settings.

Edit: For Windows Phone: https://www.ptel.com/support/phonesettings

Does the internet sharing work?

 

[suprkain]

Thanks for the help everyone. I'm still a bit confused by the various replies so I'm going to say its safe to assume that if it says Verizon on the device that I'd be ok.

 

[anon(7901790)]

Thanks for the help everyone. I'm still a bit confused by the various replies so I'm going to say its safe to assume that if it says Verizon on the device that I'd be ok.

No problem. It will work with Verizon. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[ven07]

No problem. It will work with Verizon. Sorry for the confusion.

We got down to the "nitty gritty" lol in any case this is the simplest answer