TMobile Compatibility help

[CBreen28]

Looking to buy a Note 4 on ebay. Would I be able to use an At&T version for Tmobile??? Would I have to unlock it first and if so how do I do that? I called Tmobile CS but the rep was useless and knew about as much as I did.

 

[jpr]

First, I wouldn't recommend buying a phone on ebay unless you are okay with potentially losing whatever money you paid for it and losing the phone functionality.

Having said that, an ATT Note 4 will work on Tmobile and you will get LTE data, but depending where you live and the bands used there, you may not get full 3G(+) coverage.

You would need to get it SIM unlocked by ATT or by a third party service. Also keep in mind that if you are the type to root, ATT has locked bootloader and TMO does not.

And another thing to keep in mind is that you will not be able to take advantage of TMO services like wifi calling and wifi texting and volte.

 

[CBreen28]

Thanks for the response. Care to explain the first part on ebay? I'm not going to lie it is sketchy buying a phone on there but that's the only way it's in my price range. Ebay will refund me my $ if the phone is not how it's described even if the seller doesn't offer refunds.

 

[jpr]

Thanks for the response. Care to explain the first part on ebay? I'm not going to lie it is sketchy buying a phone on there but that's the only way it's in my price range. Ebay will refund me my $ if the phone is not how it's described even if the seller doesn't offer refunds.

Ebay will only refund you if you don't receive the product described. While it's possible to have a totally straightforward, good experience buying a phone from ebay, it's also a place where many unethical people sell phones they have no right to sell.

They could be stolen and not yet reported as such or even more often are phones bought under contract and not paid off. The seller waits until you can no longer return it and ebay will no longer refund you and then stops making payments on it. Then your phone gets blacklisted by all the carriers and cannot be used on any network.

 

[CBreen28]

Ebay will only refund you if you don't receive the product described. While it's possible to have a totally straightforward, good experience buying a phone from ebay, it's also a place where many unethical people sell phones they have no right to sell.

They could be stolen and not yet reported as such or even more often are phones bought under contract and not paid off. The seller waits until you can no longer return it and ebay will no longer refund you and then stops making payments on it. Then your phone gets blacklisted by all the carriers and cannot be used on any network.

Thanks again for the response. So people are saying I can check the ESN and IMEI but can't I still get scammed? Lets say I checked both to make sure the phone is not stolen or still on some type of payment plan or defaulted account, what's from stopping the seller from THEN reporting it stolen AFTER I did the check? Nothing right? So really there is no full proof way of protecting yourself, I would just have to make the sure the ebay seller was "trustworthy"?

 

[jpr]

Thanks again for the response. So people are saying I can check the ESN and IMEI but can't I still get scammed? Lets say I checked both to make sure the phone is not stolen or still on some type of payment plan or defaulted account, what's from stopping the seller from THEN reporting it stolen AFTER I did the check? Nothing right? So really there is no full proof way of protecting yourself, I would just have to make the sure the ebay seller was "trustworthy"?

Yep, that's the bottom line. Unless you buy from a carrier or authorized reseller you are taking your chances.

 

[CBreen28]

Glad I saw this or I could of been stuck with a blacklisted phone. I was torn on the note 4 or tab s but ordered the tab s on Thursday. The note 4's are just way too pricey right now off contract. Feels good getting a tab s for $370 no tax and free shipping. Hopefully the note 4's will drop a little by early 2015.