How to unlock Verizon Samsung Fascinate?

[Sukrawal]

Hi Guys,

Can any one tell me how to unlock my Verizon Samsung Fascinate?

And after unlocking will it work on CDMA networks in other countries...?

Thanks in advance...

 

[gunnermike53]

Hi Guys,

Can any one tell me how to unlock my Verizon Samsung Fascinate?

And after unlocking will it work on CDMA networks in other countries...?

Thanks in advance...

what do you mean by unlock? the phone will work on any cdma network, it will not work on gsm. that has nothing to do with unlocking. are you refering to rooting?

 

[GrainOsand]

I think he means, If he unlocked it would the phone work with other carriers in other countries. I don't know the answer but I am curious as well. I think the phone is sold to us locked to verizon s carrier code and cannot be activated on say vodaphone. Unlocking the fascinate will allow him to do so.

 

[McBane]

I have heard no because the phone has hardware that is fine tuned to Verizon and/or Telus' networks and frequencies. Cell phones in the US operate much differently than other parts of the world where all you need is a SIM card and your good to go on another network.

That's why they have "US" and "World" versions of cell phones.

 

[gunnermike53]

I have heard no because the phone is fine tuned to Verizon and/or Telus' networks and frequencies. Cell phones in the US operate much differently than other parts of the world where all you need is a SIM card and your good to go on another network.

That's why they have "US" and "World" versions of cell phones.

theres a little more to it than that. i think "world" refers to having a radio that will work on a gsm and a cdma network. by mutual agreement verizon and attandt phones will work on each others network, so its not locked to a verizon signal.

 

[McBane]

Verizon has a CDMA network and AT&T has a GSM. They are incompatible. Even if you have say a T-Mobile GSM phone, it's not going to work on AT&T's GSM network, nor is it going to work on Vodaphone's GSM network in the UK, because in the US the carriers hard code the phones to their networks, and the FCC has regulated different "bands" of GSM here than what is in use in Europe and the rest of the world.

I do think Verizon and Sprint, since they both use the same CDMA data frequencies, do share data networks in many places, but the voice CDMA2000 part of your phone is still hard locked to your respective network.

If you get an unlocked GSM phone in the UK, you CAN use that phone with other carriers in the UK, because they don't make them locked down to specific networks there.

 

[Clak]

Have to love U.S. carriers.

 

[gunnermike53]

Verizon has a CDMA network and AT&T has a GSM. They are incompatible. Even if you have say a T-Mobile GSM phone, it's not going to work on AT&T's GSM network, nor is it going to work on Vodaphone's GSM network in the UK, because in the US the carriers hard code the phones to their networks, and the FCC has regulated different "bands" of GSM here than what is in use in Europe and the rest of the world.

If you get an unlocked GSM phone in the UK, you CAN use that phone with other carriers in the UK, because they don't make them locked down to specific networks there.

many of the at&t towers that came from before the cingular buy out are still cdma, for instance the tower that at&t rents from the company i work for is still cdma. they had plans to conver to all gsm but that has been delayed, dont know why.

you are most likely correct about the about the different frequancies here than europe. my point was even though companies may software lock thier phones to certian towers, they are still very much capable of working on other networks, other wise thier would be no roaming. at&t and verizon are not unique to the tower sharing. all the networks do it. its how they expand thier coverage more quickly to areas where they dont currently have towers.

 

[McBane]

AT&T offers no CDMA phones, so any CDMA towers they have would be strictly used by their competitors, not AT&T themselves. Doesn't sound like good business practice to me.

Also Cingular bought up all the Bell wireless companies in the early 2000s, so any CDMA towers they had would be ancient by todays standards. I'm honestly not even sure if data was an option before Cingular came into existance. I've worked in telco for many years and know the history well.

 

[jtalker1965]

No different than the car companies. A GM wheel will not fit a Dodge and a Dodge wheel won't work on a Ford. If you had a "one fits all" item, would you shop Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile for phones?

 

[gunnermike53]

AT&T offers no CDMA phones, so any CDMA towers they have would be strictly used by their competitors, not AT&T themselves. Doesn't sound like good business practice to me.

well i cant speak to good buisness practice, i hated atand t. my boss has a phone that is 6 years old and refuses to get a new one. there are other wierd people like that. they did not plan on keeping the cdma towers, they were supposed to convert all of the to gsm, but that hasnt happened yet. this one here will be cdma for atleast another year.

 

[GrainOsand]

If our phones cant be used with other carriers then what is the point of them being locked to verizon? am I understanding this wrong? Heres a question that should clear up my confusion. If I obtain the unlocking code for my phone, then unlocked it, could I bring it to another U.S. Carrier using CDMA such as Sprint? Or will my phone be locked to verizon NO MATTER WHAT I do? Sorry but you guys lost me at "Good business practice". Thanks for any answers guys!

 

[PJnc284]

I think with CDMA it's more of getting the other carrier to add the ESN/MEID to their database which Verizon and Sprint pretty much never do unless you know someone really high up.

 

[Sheepdog Elite]

If our phones cant be used with other carriers then what is the point of them being locked to verizon? am I understanding this wrong? Heres a question that should clear up my confusion. If I obtain the unlocking code for my phone, then unlocked it, could I bring it to another U.S. Carrier using CDMA such as Sprint? Or will my phone be locked to verizon NO MATTER WHAT I do? Sorry but you guys lost me at "Good business practice". Thanks for any answers guys!

Basically sprint won't activate a verizon phone. They want you to buy one of theirs. Cricket or Metro PCS or a smaller company like that? Ya, they'll do it. They just want you paying a bill, they don't have the infrastructure to try and capitalize on your phone with bloatware.

To the original poster:
There is no unlock code though. Commonly you have to buy an unlocked phone from the factory. I would say buy the fascinate, removed all of the verizon bloat, and give it a whirl.

It makes good sense for AT&T to own CDMA towers because then they can allow other companies to roam on them for a fee! Ta Da, they turn someone else's income into their income. Great business sense.

 

[AmanteNJ]

I think with CDMA it's more of getting the other carrier to add the ESN/MEID to their database which Verizon and Sprint pretty much never do unless you know someone really high up.

This is true

 

[Sukrawal]

Hi

So, if a CDMA carrier add your phone's ESN/MEID to its database, you are pretty much all set to use that network?
And there is no unlocking of Verizon phone required then?

 

[MsGadget13]

The MetroPCS store by my home has a sign that they unlock Verizon phones to use with their plans.

As far as AT&T/T-Mobile GSM, I've had several WM smartphones locked to their respective carriers. I was able to get them unlocked and could use with either carrier. My daughter used one in Chile or Peru with a local SIM card.

Now I've changed to a Verizon Fascinate. I don't know how it would work with Sprint, but I don't think I'll need to.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

If you buy a Verizon branded phone, your only options are to use it on Verizon or find a small local CDMA carrier who will flash it for their network and activate it.

Verizon's world phones do not work on any GSM network in the US, they have been blocked in the firmware.

Any unlocked GSM phone will work on any GSM network for voice and data, but unless you have the correct radio bands you will not get 3G speeds.

Any discussion of illegal methods to circumvent these restrictions will get this thread locked and deleted, so please don't.

Nice discussion here, I appreciate the calm way questions have been answered without flames and illegal discussion

 

[vermeire]

Your VZW phone does have a lock code; it's 000000. The same code that every VZW phone has had since at least 2001; or probably the beginning of CDMA service which was earlier. Sprint actually locks their phones and the only way to get the lock code is from Sprint which they are very wary to give out because it allows you to take a device that they subsidized when you bought it and move it to another carrier. That other carrier could be ANY other CDMA carrier using 1900 Mhz (and analog depending on the handset).

Unlocking is usually a term used for GSM equipment. There are 4 primary GSM bands used throughout the world 850, 900, 1800, 1900. I've been out of telecom for too long to remember which are North America and Europe. Because of the ability with a GSM phone to just swap the sim card and your phone is activated carriers locked their phones so as to (again) not loose the cost of subsidizing the handsets they were selling. Either that or they would have had to sell phones at full cost which no one wants to pay.

Just to clarify some of those older AT&T phones floating around; they operate on TDMA. AT&T and Cingular converted their networks to GSM in the early part of last decade. TDMA had no upgrade path to allow their networks to perform the way their current ones or CDMA networks do today. As far as cross-carrier roaming it only happens on similar networks; GSM->GSM and CDMA->CDMA. And then only when the handset has the appropriate radio for the band the tower is broadcasting. Think of it like trying to pick up an FM station with a radio that is AM only: it doesn't work well....at all actually.