Anyone using 1520 in Canada?

[Stormdrunk]

I was wondering if there is anyone from Canada that purchased a 1520 unlocked online and has it working on one of the Canadian carriers? I thought about buying one unlocked online and curious if someone else has done it before and what issues they may have doing that. Thanks!

 

[pankaj981]

The 1520.3 would work on Rogers and Wind since it supports AWS and LTE Band 4

 

[Shai Petel]

I'm using the rm-937 from hong kong.
it works well on virgin mobile, but no LTE.
still, really high data speed on 4g, enough for me.

 

[Stormdrunk]

Thank you for your response!

 

[Stormdrunk]

Any issues getting updates?

 

[BaritoneGuy]

I was wondering if there is anyone from Canada that purchased a 1520 unlocked online and has it working on one of the Canadian carriers? I thought about buying one unlocked online and curious if someone else has done it before and what issues they may have doing that. Thanks!

As stated above the 1520.3 supports everything on every Canadian carrier including the new 700 meg LTE bands that are starting to appear. I bought mine from Omegacell so was only charged GST.

The 937 variants support most of the Bell/Rogers/Telus bands but not all. It does not support 3G AWS like wind or Mobilicity at all.

 

[Stormdrunk]

Please excuse my ignorance but are the 1520.3 and 937 different versions of the 1520? Thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

[MrGoodSmith]

I am in Canada and purchased the RM-938 variant (Lumia 1520.3) and have been using it since April without any problems. Even upgraded to WP8.1 DP and the phone has been running cool and I am very happy with it. I got the phone from Omegacell.

And yes, the RM-937 (Lumia 1520) and RM-938 (Lumia 1520.3) are 2 different versions. Only difference is in the frequency bands they work on.

 

[blue1k]

RM-937 (which is what I have) supports 850/1900 2g, and HSPA (3g+) on any carrier except wind. It also has 2600 LTE band which works with Rogers. I don't bother with turning on LTE as the 2600 band is not always available. My HSPA speeds are plenty fast.

The RM 938 has the same 2g, 3g bands but also AWS support for wind. It also has the other LTE bands 1700 and 2100 and the upcoming 700.

Point is cost. I spent $500 new for a RM-937. I can't justify the few extra hundred to get it into Canada just to have full LTE. Omega cell is charging way more for the 938 than the 937 and new egg will not ship to Canada. Is it really worth about 250-300 for LTE when in 6 months there will be something better?

 

[LumiaExtravaganza]

Well I bought mine from a seller in Hong Kong on eBay, I have no idea what variant it is. Everybody around here is raving about how they got a RM-937, RM-this RM-that ... yet nobody ever takes the time to mention how they found out what variant they have and how other owners can tell what variant their device is. But anyway, back to the original topic, I did get an unlocked 1520 from ebay last month and then went to a koodo store here in Montreal and got a nano sim card with a 40$ monthly plan and everything works out just fine so far. However, I haven't gotten any notification about the WP 8.1 update yet and I wonder if I ever will have my phone updated to WP 8.1, since some canadian users are already bragging about how they're already running on the new OS, I don't understand how some are getting it and others aren't. I hope I won't be regretting my purchase in the long run.

 

[MrGoodSmith]

Point is cost. I spent $500 new for a RM-937. I can't justify the few extra hundred to get it into Canada just to have full LTE. Omega cell is charging way more for the 938 than the 937 and new egg will not ship to Canada. Is it really worth about 250-300 for LTE when in 6 months there will be something better?

Not just the extra LTE bands. If you ever wanted to switch to Wind or Mobilicity you certainly need the RM-938. For someone like me who intends to use the phone for at least 3 years, I preferred to have the peace of mind knowing that I can jump to these carriers in case they launch any special plans.

 

[MrGoodSmith]

Well I bought mine from a seller in Hong Kong on eBay, I have no idea what variant it is. Everybody around here is raving about how they got a RM-937, RM-this RM-that ... yet nobody ever takes the time to mention how they found out what variant they have and how other owners can tell what variant their device is. But anyway, back to the original topic, I did get an unlocked 1520 from ebay last month and then went to a koodo store here in Montreal and got a nano sim card with a 40$ monthly plan and everything works out just fine so far. However, I haven't gotten any notification about the WP 8.1 update yet and I wonder if I ever will have my phone updated to WP 8.1, since some canadian users are already bragging about how they're already running on the new OS, I don't understand how some are getting it and others aren't. I hope I won't be regretting my purchase in the long run.

You can find your phone variant by going to Settings --> extras+info --> More Info

You can get the WP8.1 by downloading the "Preview For Developers" app and joining a free Microsoft program that entitles you to get the update on your phone. I am sure you will find all the steps in detail if you search these forums or the WPCentral website.

 

[blue1k]

Not just the extra LTE bands. If you ever wanted to switch to Wind or Mobilicity you certainly need the RM-938. For someone like me who intends to use the phone for at least 3 years, I preferred to have the peace of mind knowing that I can jump to these carriers in case they launch any special plans.

Ya for me wind is useless. So not really an issue. And I go through phones like socks. Lol

 

[enroh_mada]

bought RM-938 from Omegacell (props to them) - overpaid but I wanted it sooner rather than later. Anyways. runs like a champ. Setup on Rogers NP after doing a SIM swap online (existing phone was HTC One M7).
Ran stock OS for a few days w/no issues other than odd looks at the sheer size of it. *lol*
Anyways, inserted SIM, rebooted and on Rogers LTE. No need to add APN/MMS settings either. Set locale/region to US. Installed DP to get 8.1 and Cortana. Runs well...now if only the Latin Americas will get Cyan quickly!

 

[BaritoneGuy]

Well I bought mine from a seller in Hong Kong on eBay, I have no idea what variant it is. Everybody around here is raving about how they got a RM-937, RM-this RM-that ... yet nobody ever takes the time to mention how they found out what variant they have and how other owners can tell what variant their device is. But anyway, back to the original topic, I did get an unlocked 1520 from ebay last month and then went to a koodo store here in Montreal and got a nano sim card with a 40$ monthly plan and everything works out just fine so far. However, I haven't gotten any notification about the WP 8.1 update yet and I wonder if I ever will have my phone updated to WP 8.1, since some canadian users are already bragging about how they're already running on the new OS, I don't understand how some are getting it and others aren't. I hope I won't be regretting my purchase in the long run.

I would suggest a thorough reading of this forum. ALL the info you are looking for is there via the posts.

 

[mohawk apple]

I bought mine RM-940 unlocked from kijiji its a AT&T version working great on bell mobility! :smile:

 

[luv2skipow]

1520.3 from Omegacell and on Rogers in Calgary.
Working great.

 

[dram30]

[No message]

 

[daniel187]

1520.3 from negri on rogers working mint

 

[d-laybook]

I bought a 1520.3 from B7H Photo in New York City. Use it on the Bell network in Calgary area (Airdrie). Love everything about the phone, including the full LTE as my old 925 didn't get LTE on Bell.