What exactly is the difference between a locked and unlocked GSM phone? Would I have to take a locked phone to the store and get it unlocked? Charge?

Thanks

1/24/2007 10:22:45 AM

You should buy phones that are "unlocked" so you aren't bound to a specific carrier

1/24/2007 10:30:08 AM

Do these unlocked phones still have the same features? Can you still download ringtones and such?

1/24/2007 10:31:13 AM

As far as I know, you should be able to download anything you want, unlocked or locked.

1/24/2007 10:34:20 AM

If you have the extra money, i would always recommend buying an unlocked phone. Service providers such as Cingular write their own software and always greatly limit the phones actual capabilities. With an unlocked GSM phone, you can insert a SIM card from ANY provider and it will work (barring that your phone has working frequencies in your area).

Some people report that using the internet on an unlocked phone is sometimes difficult, but I have never had a problem. Normally with an unlocked phone their is a little more "setup" involved in getting the internet to work.

Which phone are you looking to get? Be careful that the phone has quad-band capabilities and not tri-band. Tri-band does not utilize the 850MHz band, which a lot of carriers in the US use.

1/24/2007 10:50:04 AM

Custom Carrier software does not 'limit' the phones capabilities. It customizes that phone for that carrier network. If you have T Mobile features on a cingular network you still will only be able to use cingular's supported features so having Cingular software is the best solution for a phone used primarily on the Cingular network.

In fact 'locking' a phone only insures that software other then what came with the phone through the carrier is not executed by the phone and that the phone is not used with another Carrier's sim card. The reason? The carrier actually pays a large part of the original purchase price of the phone before it offers it to you.

1/24/2007 12:26:24 PM

^Case in point: Cingular's software branding greatly decreased the battery life of the Sony Erricson's w600 phones. This is a known defect admitted by Cingular and is the reason they have discontinued the phone.

Case in point: Cingular's software will not allow you set MP3's as a ringtone on the Sony Erricson's w810i, thus forcing you to purchase ringtones through there "mediamall". The unlocked version of the w810i WILL allow to set any MP3 that you have loaded onto your phone as a ringtone.

I don't know about you, but that sounds like limiting the phones capabilities to me. And these are only two cases out of many. If you would like to read more information about unlocked phones, http://www.howardforums.com. is a great reference for questions regarding any kind of cell phone.

[Edited on January 24, 2007 at 4:40 PM. Reason : adsf]

1/24/2007 4:38:56 PM

^That isn't describing an unlocked phone, that is describing the unbranding of a phone. I have an unbranded w810i that gives you way more options than the Cingular branded version.

1/24/2007 4:59:22 PM

reflashing the firmware voids the warranty

[Edited on January 24, 2007 at 5:09 PM. Reason : (which is required for unbranding)]

1/24/2007 5:01:33 PM

1/24/2007 5:08:22 PM

Ah. You seem to be confusing "locked" phone with a phone that has a carrier's specified customization software. There's a distinct difference.

I'll go through some of these though, for fun.

Quote :

" goofyBoater 267 Posts user info edit post ^Case in point: Cingular's software branding greatly decreased the battery life of the Sony Erricson's w600 phones. This is a known defect admitted by Cingular and is the reason they have discontinued the phone. "

Ehehe, yea it was cingular's fault!

Quote :

" Case in point: Cingular's software will not allow you set MP3's as a ringtone on the Sony Erricson's w810i, thus forcing you to purchase ringtones through there "mediamall". The unlocked version of the w810i WILL allow to set any MP3 that you have loaded onto your phone as a ringtone. "

See this actually has nothing to do with the phone being locked or not. I could load cingular unsigned software onto an phone and it would behave in the same manner as signed software with the difference being I'd be able to swap SIM cards. What you're referring to in "unlocking" is actually putting unsigned source code onto your phone from what is most likely a trade kit. This will automatically void your warranty and not guarantee network functionality with features I consider more essential like MSMS and internet access.

What "unlocking" really means is removing the SIM Lock requirement from a phone.

Quote :

" I don't know about you, but that sounds like limiting the phones capabilities to me. And these are only two cases out of many. If you would like to read more information about unlocked phones, http://www.howardforums.com. is a great reference for questions regarding any kind of cell phone. "

All phones are customized to a carrier's specific requirements. However, "unlocking" them will not introduce new functionality. You will have to flash new firmware to gain features that are blocked from the carrier.

There's also signed and unsigned software which is kind of a related topic to what you're getting at but deserves a different thread.

[Edited on January 24, 2007 at 6:43 PM. Reason : ]

1/24/2007 6:41:04 PM

So I bought a Motorola L6 from tiger direct. I can tell by some of the language that this is not a domestic phone. Problem is, I can not connect to download ringtones. Does anyone know how to do this? Also, everytime I check my voicemail, it sends me a text message like this: %$

Any suggestions?

1/27/2007 9:25:44 AM

https://www.cingular.com/support/tutorials.do?subscriberType=cing&deviceId=8800.

Category=Browser

Tutorial=Browser Settings

1/27/2007 2:07:45 PM

^Won't work for me, my phone does not have the Cingular Media Net

1/27/2007 2:34:39 PM

What service provider are you using?

1/27/2007 8:33:56 PM

Cingular

The phone doesn't have the Cingular Media Mall like previous Cingular phones I have used

1/29/2007 9:08:58 AM

Well Media mall is just an internet shortcut to purchase Cingular products. The settings I posted will allow you phone to surf the web on the Cingular network. I wouldn't recommend using your phone's browser to buy ringtones-do it from cingular.com and have it sent to your phone as a browser message. You can't preview the tones if you buy it from your phone, plus you are using data at the rate of 1 cent per kilobyte (unless you have a media net package) PM me if you can't get it working.

1/29/2007 1:21:32 PM

got it working, thanks

1/29/2007 11:45:43 PM