Is there any point to an unlocked Verizon phone?

CharlieMopps

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I was sick of contracts. So I thought I'd be savvy and order a Chinese phone and put it on walmarts straighttalk plan. I did a lot of research, got a phone with the correct Frequencies, etc... The phone was fantastic. Best I've ever had. Unfortunately those frequencies were reversed (it used voice for data, data for voice) So I'd randomly get connected and dropped. So I lost $30 on restocking fees.

In a panic (need my phone for work) I ran back to walmart and got an AT&T GoPhone. I liked it, not as much as the Chinese phone, but whatever. Unfortunately AT&Ts network has 3 towers in my city. The main problem is my house is in a dead zone. I tried to get one of those wifi network extenders but AT&T requires them to be registered with them, and they will not register a pre-paid phone.

So now I'm really trying to do my research. The only carrier that would support the GoPhone (Galaxy Express) in my area is T-Mobile... and they're just using AT&Ts towers. So there's no point in that.

Based on the coverage maps I've seen, my only options as far as carriers go is US Cellular, and Verizon. US Cellular appears to be in a death spiral, so I'm going to stay away from them. So that leaves me with Verizon, whom I hate, but I have no other options.

I've looked into the tech, and it appears that due to the fact they are CDMA and CDMA providers lock their phones to their network, I'll never be able to move the phone off their network. Because there are no other carriers with decent coverage in my area, I'm stuck with Verizon unless I move. At this point it looks like I'm de-facto stuck with Verizon for the rest of my life no matter what I do. Is there anything wrong with my reasoning? Or should I really just give up and sign the stupid contract? I really despise this situation, I do not sign contracts if I can find any reasonable way not to.
 

dpham00

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Most current Verizon 4GLTE smartphones are factory sim unlocked. The advantage is later should another carrier have better coverage, that you could switch.

Verizon doesn't require you to buy phones on contract, you can buy at edge, after retail, or used.

Depending on the plan, you can get a $10 (less than 10gb) or $25 discount (10gb or higher) by either using edge or paying full retail or buying used, so long as you don't buy on contract

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bboykin87

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AFAIK the only Verizon phones that actually have the radios to work on another network (AT&T, T-Mobile) are the iPhone 5 & 5S and they both come factory unlocked. There could be others.


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CharlieMopps

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Thanks for the advice!

I've heard of Verizon refusing to activate even their own phones if they didn't have e911 or other newer features, so I'm somewhat leery of getting a used phone as I've been burned so many times by stupid details like that.

I absolutely despise Apple... So the iPhone isn't an option for me, even though I find its mobility to other networks very appealing. Also, I don't want to lose my android purchased apps and start over.

Does anyone know if the Buy one get one free program works for existing customers? My wife has about 6 months left on her verizon contract. Could I just get us both new phones and get wife bonus points?
 

dpham00

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Thanks for the advice!

I've heard of Verizon refusing to activate even their own phones if they didn't have e911 or other newer features, so I'm somewhat leery of getting a used phone as I've been burned so many times by stupid details like that.

I absolutely despise Apple... So the iPhone isn't an option for me, even though I find its mobility to other networks very appealing. Also, I don't want to lose my android purchased apps and start over.

Does anyone know if the Buy one get one free program works for existing customers? My wife has about 6 months left on her verizon contract. Could I just get us both new phones and get wife bonus points?

All modern phones have e911, so not an issue unless you have a very old phone. You can use the bogo promotion, but both lines would have to eligible for an upgrade.

If you have a Fry's near you, they have the s5 for $90 on contract right now.

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dpham00

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AFAIK the only Verizon phones that actually have the radios to work on another network (AT&T, T-Mobile) are the iPhone 5 & 5S and they both come factory unlocked. There could be others.


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That is incorrect. Most of Verizon's current 4GLTE smartphones are factory sim unlocked.



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bboykin87

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That is incorrect. Most of Verizon's current 4GLTE smartphones are factory sim unlocked.



dpham00, Android Central Moderator
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Didn't say there weren't others that weren't factory sim unlocked, just that I wasn't sure if others had radios that can be used on other networks.

No point in being factory sim unlocked if there aren't any radios for the other carriers.


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dpham00

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Didn't say there weren't others that weren't factory sim unlocked, just that I wasn't sure if others had radios that can be used on other networks.

No point in being factory sim unlocked if there aren't any radios for the other carriers.


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Most current Verizon 4GLTE smartphones have radios that can be used by gsm carriers

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dpham00

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Depends on the device but I have seen 4GLTE on tmobile on my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3 without root


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dpham00

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I think you need root because Verizon LTE phones don't use t-mobile bands. You have to enable a dialer setting to select different bands which requires root explorer to modify some files to enable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-aAc6DJXc0

It depends on the phone. Originally, the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3 as released didn't support tmobile wideband lte and didn't support Verizon xlte either.this was changed by an update that enabled support Verizon xlte and tmobile wideband lte. But before the update you would have to root to enable Verizon xlte and tmobile wideband lte.

However most current Verizon 4GLTE devices support Verizon xlte and tmobile wideband lte out of the box


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