unlocking phones

[luv2liv]

i notice on ebay about phones unlocked.
what does it mean?
how do i know if my current phone is "locked?"
and do i even want to unlock it?
my phone is nextel i860

TIA

 

[yankeeman22]

i believe thats all it takes is a phone call to nextel to unlock it. if nextel uses sim cards (or something similar) then it shouldnt matter. i think my friend said that its costs a couple bucks to have it unlocked but its no big deal. id go and see a nextel dealer before i bought that phone being locked.

 

[Azndude51]

I'm pretty sure Nextel uses GSM. All GSM cell phones are designed to be used by any service provider, as long as you have a valid SIM card with the provider. A locked cell phone means that it can only be used by the service provider who released the phone. For example, if I placed my friend's Cingular SIM card into my T-mobile phone, the phone wouldn't work because it's locked and can only be used with T-mobile. However, if I unlocked it, it will work with his Cingular SIM card (with Cingular's service.) You shouldn't worry about unlocking your phone unless you want to change service providers or take your phone to another country and use a foreign SIM card. This is a pretty good forum to find out info on how to unlock your phone, many models do it differently.

EDIT:
I had my phone unlocked when I went to China. It's much cheaper to use a Chinese service provider's SIM card/service there than use the $2 a minute T-mobile long distance service. For my Samsung, I had to get a data cable and download new, non-T-mobile branded software.

 

[JknowWhat]

Originally posted by: Azndude51
I'm pretty sure Nextel uses GSM. All GSM cell phones are designed to be used by any service provider, as long as you have a valid SIM card with the provider. A locked cell phone means that it can only be used by the service provider who released the phone. For example, if I placed my friend's Cingular SIM card into my T-mobile phone, the phone wouldn't work because it's locked and can only be used with T-mobile. However, if I unlocked it, it will work with his Cingular SIM card (with Cingular's service.) You shouldn't worry about unlocking your phone unless you want to change service providers or take your phone to another country and use a foreign SIM card. This is a pretty good forum to find out info on how to unlock your phone, many models do it differently.

EDIT:
I had my phone unlocked when I went to China. It's much cheaper to use a Chinese service provider's SIM card/service there than use the $2 a minute T-mobile long distance service. For my Samsung, I had to get a data cable and download new, non-T-mobile branded software.

^ Most of what he said is right...except that Nextel uses iDEN and not GSM. The chip may look the same but it does not use the same technology. Nextel phones will only work on Nextel just like how Sprint phones only work on Sprint and Verizon only works on Verizon. However with an unlocked GSM phone, you can use it on AT&T, Cingular, and T-Mobile. You should get an 850 MHz capable phone for AT&T and Cingular while T-Mobile mainly uses just the 1900 MHz frequency.

 

[JonnyBlaze]

unlocking refers to making a boost (prepaid nextel) work like a normal nextel. it enables it so you can upload ringtones, games, & wallpapers.

you need to save your phones codeplug and send it to someone who knows how to do it. if you got a normal nextel, you dont gotta worry about it.

how you like the 860? i love mine. just figured how to use jpg's instead of gif's for wallpapers. they look soooo good on this phone.

JB

 

[JonnyBlaze]

heres a few wallpapers i made for my phone. they are all non-nude to be safe on this forum:

carmen1.jpg
lima01.jpg
milian1.jpg
milian2.jpg
pampita01.jpg
pampita02.jpg
patford3.jpg
patford5.jpg
sofia1.jpg
sofia2.jpg

JB

 

[PuterWiz]

Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze
heres a few wallpapers i made for my phone. they are all non-nude to be safe on this forum:

carmen1.jpg
lima01.jpg
milian1.jpg
milian2.jpg
pampita01.jpg
pampita02.jpg
patford3.jpg
patford5.jpg
sofia1.jpg
sofia2.jpg

JB

nice