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Why are we the only ones that subsidize phones?

So Verizon releases the GS3 locked and all the other US carriers, and the world for that matter, get an unlocked version. After that Samsung releases a developers edition unsubsidized right from them.
It got me thinking, what if it was always like this. You don't buy the phone from the carrier you buy whatever phone you want from the manufacturer or Best Buy or wherever and as long as it will work on the network you can activate it on whatever carrier. That's how the rest of the world does it, I think we're one of the few if not the only countries that has a set up that subsidizes phones.
Think about it, Manufacturers could concentrate on making phones, instead of making a special phone for each carrier, then going through the hassle of putting their software on it, even packaging would be reduced by standardizing it. Just a few different models to cover different wordwide networks, not 3 or so for the world and 4 or 5 just for the US. Sure they may be expensive at the beginning but the prices will come down and budget phones will appear too that arent absolute crap because you would actually still have to pay for it.
Not to mention having more options as to where yo can get your phone which should also help prices.
Carriers could stop concentrating on what new phone to release and what to add and what to lock down and actually concentrate on improving their networks. Also in theory plan prices should come down too, because you may pay less up front but the extra cost of that phone is built in into everyones plans. I mean they get the money back over the course of the plan by forcing you into a contract, does that make them that much extra money? I mean it must right?
On the surface this looks like it should work. Now In sure there is a reason it wont otherwise it would have happened by now right? But then again the rest of the world does it this way.
Why are we different? Yeah it would be painful at the beginning but I really think that this would be better form everyone in the long run. Wouldn't it be great to just go out and buy whatever new phone you wanted. Not have to wait to see what gets picked up by what carrier. All the complaining about this phone not coming here or that phone not going there gone.

Alot of Americans do this. It is called prepaid.

lowandbehold said:
Alot of Americans do this. It is called prepaid.
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That used to be the inferior way to go though. They were on some off network with spotty coverage and the phone selection was usually garbage. They have come a very long way, but still arent quite there, albeit very close now. It would be nice if everyone did it though. When my contract is up on Verizon next year there is a good chance Ill go prepaid if they take unlimited away which I'm nearly sure they're going to do.

loki993 said:
That used to be the inferior way to go though. They were on some off network with spotty coverage and the phone selection was usually garbage. They have come a very long way, but still arent quite there, albeit very close now. It would be nice if everyone did it though. When my contract is up on Verizon next year there is a good chance Ill go prepaid if they take unlimited away which I'm nearly sure they're going to do.
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Not quite there?? With straight talk you have the option to use either t-mobile or AT&T. It uses the exact same towers and gets the exact same service as the customers of their carriers! Prepaid has come a long way my friend.

lowandbehold said:
Not quite there?? With straight talk you have the option to use either t-mobile or AT&T. It uses the exact same towers and gets the exact same service as the customers of their carriers! Prepaid has come a long way my friend.
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Amen. Unlimited everything for $50 a month, and I'm enjoying it on my i9300. Full AT&T service for a fraction of the cost. I've gone over the safe limit of 2GB and haven't been warned or cut off either. Port your number to Google Voice and you never have to worry about losing it if you get cut off.

A big part of it is control; a bigger part is money.
Despite Sprint and Verizon's 3G being compatible (and commonly sharing towers), neither carrier will allow each others phone to be on their network. They want to ensure that the phone you are using, they (VZ) were paid for (a model that GSM providers cannot (easily) do).
And you best believe that the Dev SIII has VZ's blessing; again, they can block any phone they like, and this phone would not activate on their network if they didn't allow it to. They allow it, because Sammy has assumed all the liability on this one (can't buy it at a VZ store, no worry about warranty issues).
The control comes in, in the form of nice "cheap" phones, getting you to agree to nice long contracts. Far too many people live just for today; they opt for the $200 phone, but agree to a far more expensive contract for 2 years. They know people will only look at the "now" cost, not the total, so it is easy to lure em in...

I have Sprint with TEP. I have 3 lines and had two phones replaced this year, one with a broken speaker and the other the charging port broke off. I don't think a prepaid service would ever do that for me. I'd be stuck shelling out $500+ to replace my phone.

OP is basically asking for how the "rest of the world" does things. And Divine_Madcat got it down best. They want to control their own phones, even though it's sold to you. And they want more money.
There's thread on the Gnex forum that goes into better detail how these "subsidized" models are bad overall, as the OP is realizing(or has already). I always buy my phone off-contract because I don't want to tied to a contract. Now? I want to buy a pentaband phone so I can get service anywhere I please.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455014

I agree there actually at the point where they are an option now. I said they were very close. The phones they offer are still not the greatest, but I guess that wouldn't matter as you just go get whatever you wanted and had it activated. I don't know though I looked at straight talks coverage map and it looks pretty bad, well not pretty bad but really really bad, if your using an android phone, for whatever reason they have one for non android and one for.

phatmanxxl said:
I have Sprint with TEP. I have 3 lines and had two phones replaced this year, one with a broken speaker and the other the charging port broke off. I don't think a prepaid service would ever do that for me. I'd be stuck shelling out $500+ to replace my phone.
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Manufacturers offer warranties as well. There are also many different insurance options out there...ensquared comes to mind...and most of them are cheaper per month with no deductible. Think of it like buying an Iphone straight from the Apple store. Just because you didn't purchase it on AT&T doesn't mean you are screwed if it is defective...

alpha-niner64 said:
OP is basically asking for how the "rest of the world" does things. And Divine_Madcat got it down best. They want to control their own phones, even though it's sold to you. And they want more money.
There's thread on the Gnex forum that goes into better detail how these "subsidized" models are bad overall, as the OP is realizing(or has already). I always buy my phone off-contract because I don't want to tied to a contract. Now? I want to buy a pentaband phone so I can get service anywhere I please.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455014
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Yeah I know its bad, but I guess the way I see it is it seems bad from everyone. I could see everyone making more money if we went unsubsidized.
Also if I were to go no contract which I will be doing weather I stay with Verizon or not, as I have unlimited, I doing see how I would save any money doing it. They don't change me any less of I don't use their phones, though that would be nice. They actually make more money because the subside fee is built into everyones plans as far as I know.
lowandbehold said:
Manufacturers offer warranties as well. There are also many different insurance options out there...ensquared comes to mind...and most of them are cheaper per month with no deductible. Think of it like buying an Iphone straight from the Apple store. Just because you didn't purchase it on AT&T doesn't mean you are screwed if it is defective...
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They would just sell you applecare for you iphone. You would still get protection it would just come from somewhere else.

Hey I'm from Britain, how does it work in the USA with phone then? Here even of you buy it from a carrier you can get it unlocked for say £10 or do it yourself if you do a quick Google search and some reading then it works on all other carriers?
Sent from my GT-I9000 running remICS-UX using XDA premium

lowandbehold said:
Manufacturers offer warranties as well. There are also many different insurance options out there...ensquared comes to mind...and most of them are cheaper per month with no deductible. Think of it like buying an Iphone straight from the Apple store. Just because you didn't purchase it on AT&T doesn't mean you are screwed if it is defective...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that was one of my concerns with prepaid. I have kids with smartphones, they are pretty rough with them sometimes.

phatmanxxl said:
I have Sprint with TEP. I have 3 lines and had two phones replaced this year, one with a broken speaker and the other the charging port broke off. I don't think a prepaid service would ever do that for me. I'd be stuck shelling out $500+ to replace my phone.
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TEP is just went up to $11 a month with a $200 deductible. $11 x 24 months x 3 lines = $792, +2 broken phones x ($200) = $1192. If the phones were broken starting from the day the price changed. This is assuming you had the protection from the beginning to the end of your contract.
Square-Trade covers almost any type of device, including phones. 2 years of protection is $125. The deductible is $100. If you had Square-Trade, you would have paid $125 x 3 + 2 broken phones x ($100) = $575. Also, $125 for 2 years of coverage divided by 24 months is $5.21 per month per device vs $11 with Sprint. And if they can't fix it, they'll cut you a check for a new one up to $750.
The only thing they don't cover, I believe, is theft. But let's be honest, how often are you robbed? And I've personally never lost a phone because I watch out for my $600 device.

alpha-niner64 said:
OP is basically asking for how the "rest of the world" does things. And Divine_Madcat got it down best. They want to control their own phones, even though it's sold to you. And they want more money.
There's thread on the Gnex forum that goes into better detail how these "subsidized" models are bad overall, as the OP is realizing(or has already). I always buy my phone off-contract because I don't want to tied to a contract. Now? I want to buy a pentaband phone so I can get service anywhere I please.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455014
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Click to collapse
Check those coverage maps, Maybe I'm used to Verizon but the coverage on those GSM Prepaid guys especially for smartphones is pretty terrible.
calum96 said:
Hey I'm from Britain, how does it work in the USA with phone then? Here even of you buy it from a carrier you can get it unlocked for say £10 or do it yourself if you do a quick Google search and some reading then it works on all other carriers?
Sent from my GT-I9000 running remICS-UX using XDA premium
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Doesn't work that way here and thats the problem, it should. You buy a phone from the carrier that only works on that carriers network. Even if you get say a Verizon phone that should theoretically work on Sprint, as theyre both CDMA and even share towers sometimes, they wont let you. You would have to get Verzion to unlock your phone first and then even if they did you would have to activate it on sprint which they wont do. They will only activate an ESN that is tied to them. I think they get all the ESNs for the phones they're going to sell and put them in a database. If you have an ESN isn't in the database the phone will not activate. I think the GSM providers basically do the same thing, but I would know I haven't been on GSM for I cant even remember how long.

loki993 said:
Check those coverage maps, Maybe I'm used to Verizon but the coverage on those GSM Prepaid guys especially for smartphones is pretty terrible.
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Straight Talk offers unlimited talk, text, and data for $50 a month after taxes. It comes with full AT&T coverage or full T-Mobile coverage, with your choice of SIM. There's no throttling, and I get the same data speeds that any post-paid AT&T subscriber would get.

Product F(RED) said:
Straight Talk offers unlimited talk, text, and data for $50 a month after taxes. It comes with full AT&T coverage or full T-Mobile coverage, with your choice of SIM. There's no throttling, and I get the same data speeds that any post-paid AT&T subscriber would get.
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I'm sure your right, but if someone went to the straight talk website wanting a smartphone and looked at that coverage map they would think the coverage was awful. They need to update that map.
Still arguing coverage aside the real question is I guess is why does subsidizing happen here but not anywhere else?

Product F(RED) said:
Straight Talk offers unlimited talk, text, and data for $50 a month after taxes. It comes with full AT&T coverage or full T-Mobile coverage, with your choice of SIM. There's no throttling, and I get the same data speeds that any post-paid AT&T subscriber would get.
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It's not true unlimited data though, right. If you go over around 2 don't they cut off your service?
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

TJBunch1228 said:
It's not true unlimited data though, right. If you go over around 2 don't they cut off your service?
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2
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I've been over 2GB. Others have gone over 6GB. Nothing has happened. It depends on the subscriber base in your area; if a lot of people are on the same network you're on (meaning AT&T ST SIM and AT&T Post-paid subscribers, for example) you shouldn't strain the network by streaming Pandora for hours and tethering. But hey, I'm in NYC and nothing has happened. I live in Brooklyn and work in Manhattan by Radio City Hall/Rockefeller Center. Not even a single warning.
leo321 said:
Here's me data usage with att straight talk this month. I don't think they give a ****... Mind you my month started June 28th
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Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
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loki993 said:
I'm sure your right, but if someone went to the straight talk website wanting a smartphone and looked at that coverage map they would think the coverage was awful. They need to update that map.
Still arguing coverage aside the real question is I guess is why does subsidizing happen here but not anywhere else?
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Well you shouldn't be looking at a straight talk coverage map as they don't own towers. You should be looking at an AT&T or T-Mobile coverage map.

This thread is reserved for unlocked T-mobile V10 on AT&T network

Since it appears the AT&T V10 is bootloader locked. I will not purchase another bootloader locked phone, period! This thread is information on using the T-Mobile V10 on the AT&T Network. Discussion should include LTE bands, apps, signal problems, carrier unlocking methods, etc.
T-Mobile unlocking policy
Key posts in this thread:
Why Band 17 is missing on T-Mobile and AT&T listed LTE bands for V10. Thanks @ubergeek77
Confirmation that band 17 works! Thanks @eazyg
WARNING - Only T-Mobile can unlock your phone. Thanks @ubergeek77
How to purchase a T-Mobile V10 without a plan. Thanks @charlieb620
How to fix battery drain from com.android.phone on AT&T
Will update this thread with other key posts as needed.

http://www.mylgphones.com/lg-v10-lg-h960-with-us-lte-compatibility-passes-fcc.html
This looks interesting. Looks like band 17 is included.
Note as information is confirmed, I will change the OP.
Thanks.

The other thread mentioned T-Mobile chat said a T-Mobile account holder could check in their My T-Mobile page. I looked, "Technical specifications not available for this device."
Also, the box does not list any band support.
Also, I can't test another SIM really since I don't have SIM unlock (you can request it from T-Mobile if your device is paid off or you're going overseas).

I guess the only real way to find out is to actually buy the phone, try it for ourselves, and do a speed test. I'll volunteer, but since I called T-Mobile and they refuse to sell the phone without a plan, I have to wait for Best Buy to start selling the phone. Shouldn't be long, as I called them and was told to check back on Monday. Plus, since the terms for LG's special SD card offer (which ends in about two weeks) lists Best Buy as a seller, they will probably start selling them within the next week. But then I'll have to wait for T-Mobile to send me an unlock code, which will only take 3 days. Worst case scenario, 4G either doesn't work or is garbage and I have to return the phone, which I'll have 14 days to do for a full refund.
But if anyone figures out we get decent/excellent LTE speeds before I end up buying it, that would be awesome

According to the specs at http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phones/lg-v10.html?icid=WMM_TM_Q415LGPPLS_8HBL95OSNEJ3237#features (also in the screen shot)
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LTE: 2,3,4,5,7,12,20
Looks like it has 2 and 4 for AT&T but no 17 or 30 (for later). Though band 12 should be supported next year anywhere band 17 works.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

_Dennis_ said:
According to the specs at http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phones/lg-v10.html?icid=WMM_TM_Q415LGPPLS_8HBL95OSNEJ3237#features (also in the screen shot)
LTE: 2,3,4,5,7,12,20
Looks like it has 2 and 4 for AT&T but no 17 or 30 (for later). Though band 12 should be supported next year anywhere band 17 works.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
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Since 12 and 17 are both a part of LTE700, do we know for sure if that will be enough to use AT&T's 4G network assuming we have the T-Mobile V10?

I put an app on a T-Mobile Note 3 named LTE Discovery. One must have band 17 for LTE in my location for AT&T LTE. On the T-Mobile web site the Note 3 does support LTE band 17. This does not look good, but will wait until someone confirms. At least on the FCC site the phone has been approved for LTE band 17 but it is not clear if this is the AT&T or T-Mobile version. One last thing the AT&T website does not list support for LTE band 17 either (very strange). Here is the AT&T V10 Bands: LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 29, and 30
Will try to buy this phone if they will unlock it at the store. Fat chance.

alphahere said:
Will try to buy this phone if they will unlock it at the store. Fat chance.
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They won't, but T-Mobile made it very clear that they would send me an unlocking code after I bought the phone (paid in full), so long as I can wait 2-3 days. This is why I want to wait until Best Buy sells it, because their return policy is so rock solid, and I can take advantage of that if 4G doesn't work. I can't say the same for trying to return the phone to T-Mobile. Plus, I really like Best Buy's accidental damage plans, so I'll wait for them to start selling it there.

Good information but the local bestbuy only sales T-Mobile prepaid phones.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

I picked up the v10 yesterday from T-Mobile and they gave me the phone and said they would unlock it immediately if I wanted to stay with AT&T. They will also finance it if I want. I told them exactly what and why I wanted to get this phone from T-Mobile instead of AT&T and they had absolutely no problem with it. I am testing the T-Mobile Service for now to see if it will work in my area. Would be close to $80 a month cheaper if I switch and a ton more data a month. Maybe certain areas have different rules? Not sure why my T-Mobile store would do that and others won't.
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA Free mobile app

Different stores do different things. Reminds me of the cricket store here. I wanted to buy a sim card and port my number they told me to go to walmart to buy one and call cricket to port my number. Anyway my son-in-law went to the cricket store in his area and they not only gave him a free sim card but ported his number. These stores don't have consistent policies.
Whatever.

eazyg said:
I picked up the v10 yesterday from T-Mobile and they gave me the phone and said they would unlock it immediately if I wanted to stay with AT&T. They will also finance it if I want. I told them exactly what and why I wanted to get this phone from T-Mobile instead of AT&T and they had absolutely no problem with it. I am testing the T-Mobile Service for now to see if it will work in my area. Would be close to $80 a month cheaper if I switch and a ton more data a month. Maybe certain areas have different rules? Not sure why my T-Mobile store would do that and others won't.
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA Free mobile app
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I was told that the stores themselves don't have any authorization to do that kind of thing (carrier unlock), and that I'd have to go through customer care if I wanted to unlock it.
Did they tell you that in person? I find that what you're told on the phone and what actually happens in person are two very different things.
Did you get it unlocked yet? Everyone's pretty eager to see if 4G works.

ubergeek77 said:
I was told that the stores themselves don't have any authorization to do that kind of thing (carrier unlock), and that I'd have to go through customer care if I wanted to unlock it.
Did they tell you that in person? I find that what you're told on the phone and what actually happens in person are two very different things.
Did you get it unlocked yet? Everyone's pretty eager to see if 4G works.
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In person. I made it a point to ask. The guy that was helping me called his general manager to make sure. I didn't want to do this and get screwed over later if the guy didn't know what he was talking about.
Not unlocked yet. I'm finding the signal from T-Mobile is better than I had with AT&T so far. The true test will be when I go to work on Monday. For anyone with T-Mobile the service sucks inside the building I work in.
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA Free mobile app

eazyg said:
In person. I made it a point to ask. The guy that was helping me called his general manager to make sure. I didn't want to do this and get screwed over later if the guy didn't know what he was talking about.
Not unlocked yet. I'm finding the signal from T-Mobile is better than I had with AT&T so far. The true test will be when I go to work on Monday. For anyone with T-Mobile the service sucks inside the building I work in.
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA Free mobile app
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I definitely wish I could do the same. I have to drive nearly 70 miles to get to the nearest T-Mobile store, and of course they have coverage in that area, but they have absolutely no coverage where I actually live. If the phone works for sure on AT&T, I won't mind driving all that way to get it, nor will I mind paying the extra $35 for a stupid plan (really crappy that they force that on you), but I want to find all that out before I go an hour out of my way to find out I'm out of luck. I also really want to get this sorted out before the free SD card/battery promotion runs out. I'm considering just getting the AT&T one on a payment plan, but I just don't know how I'm going to get by without root.

At T-Mobile now to get unlock. Signal dropped as I drove past my job. I can't have the signal drop at work. I will let you know how it goes.
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA Free mobile app

eazyg said:
At T-Mobile now to get unlock. Signal dropped as I drove past my job. I can't have the signal drop at work. I will let you know how it goes.
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA Free mobile app
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Thanks! I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we all really appreciate it. If you could use the speedtest.net app too, that would be awesome!

I called all the t-mobile stores close by and none have had the v10 in stock. All said it could be ordered and delivered in 2-3 days. Either they didn't have many or this is a hot phone.

There were only 2 stores in my area that had it and both probably sold out last night or today. (there's a ton of stores near me but only the "big" ones had it in stock yesterday.)
I was in store buying mine around 530 last night and a guy came in to get one as I was finishing up. The rep that was helping me was also going to buy one that evening and they only had like 4 left when I originally called.
I think its going to be more popular than they are anticipating because of the **removable battery and sd card**!
Samsung ditched a lot of people when they dumped the battery and sd and we've been waiting!
Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk

planetbeen said:
There were only 2 stores in my area that had it and both probably sold out last night or today. (there's a ton of stores near me but only the "big" ones had it in stock yesterday.)
I was in store buying mine around 530 last night and a guy came in to get one as I was finishing up. The rep that was helping me was also going to buy one that evening and they only had like 4 left when I originally called.
I think its going to be more popular than they are anticipating because of the **removable battery and sd card**!
Samsung ditched a lot of people when they dumped the battery and sd and we've been waiting!
Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk
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Only $530 at T-Mobile? As in $499.99+tax? Why so cheap? I thought T-Mobile's retail price was $599.99.

ubergeek77 said:
Only $530 at T-Mobile? As in $499.99+tax? Why so cheap? I thought T-Mobile's retail price was $599.99.
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I think that was the time not price.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

The word is that the phone locks to carrier on sim insertion.

Interesting. So does this mean that the phone is technically "unlocked". This is going to play out a little differently with me because I purposely ordered a T-Mobile version for use on AT&T because of my experience with the Note 4. Now I am a bit worried because I wonder what routine the phone uses and if it locks the bootloader if I put an ATT sim in it first. I guess that is the risk you run when you want to step up to the plate first. I think I will wait before I stick a sim in the phone as I would hate for me to be locked out of it by ATT. Not sure if I am going to root this one or not, wavering on keeping it stock and will for a while until the brains get there hands on it and I get more information on the downsides.
http://www.gsmarena.com/galaxy_s7_a...cks_to_the_first_inserted_sim_-news-16902.php
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Along these same lines is the question of whether or not the US S7's/S7E's have hardware support for all bands, cdma and gsm, and its just a software block that will be on them? I've seen posted elsewhere the FCC filings that seem to point to one US model of both phones that work on all carriers but nobody seems to know any specifics.
I'm blown away by the fact that all these major Android and Tech blogs go to these conferences and have Samsung tech people right in front of them and they don't ask these kinds of questions. If each phone was capable of working on all bands in the US, holy crap that's huge, and would mean that maybe at some point we would have a chance at an unlocked US phone that wasn't tied to any carriers. Wishful thinking, I know, with Samsung.
Edit: Found this thread over in the regular S7 section, thought if someone stumbled on this thread in S7E it would be useful to follow. http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/how-to/finally-single-hardware-variant-carriers-t3308040

I've always bought HTC One and before that, I used to own iPhones... I could always buy a factory unlocked HTC online no hassles, so I am new to this and I am SO CONFUSED!
I want to buy an unlocked S7 Edge with a Snapdragon 820 to use in South America. I have a friend that can bring me the phone from USA, but there is no way to buy one.
1) Where can I check the bands used on the AT&T vs T-Mobile one to see which one is better for me?
2) I spoke with T-Mobile rep and he said phone must be tied to a plan for 7 days for them to unlock it (this is paying the full $800 for the phone), is it easy to have my friend make an account with T-Mobile to get the phone and cancel it? Will he have credit score issues or something? (Keep in mind I am paying the full amount not subsidized)
3) How soon (if ever) would a Factory Unlocked with Snapdragon 820 appear in Amazon or Best Buy?

schn1tt3r said:
I've always bought HTC One and before that, I used to own iPhones... I could always buy a factory unlocked HTC online no hassles, so I am new to this and I am SO CONFUSED!
I want to buy an unlocked S7 Edge with a Snapdragon 820 to use in South America. I have a friend that can bring me the phone from USA, but there is no way to buy one.
1) Where can I check the bands used on the AT&T vs T-Mobile one to see which one is better for me?
2) I spoke with T-Mobile rep and he said phone must be tied to a plan for 7 days for them to unlock it (this is paying the full $800 for the phone), is it easy to have my friend make an account with T-Mobile to get the phone and cancel it? Will he have credit score issues or something? (Keep in mind I am paying the full amount not subsidized)
3) How soon (if ever) would a Factory Unlocked with Snapdragon 820 appear in Amazon or Best Buy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.frequencycheck.com/models

schn1tt3r said:
I've always bought HTC One and before that, I used to own iPhones... I could always buy a factory unlocked HTC online no hassles, so I am new to this and I am SO CONFUSED!
I want to buy an unlocked S7 Edge with a Snapdragon 820 to use in South America. I have a friend that can bring me the phone from USA, but there is no way to buy one.
1) Where can I check the bands used on the AT&T vs T-Mobile one to see which one is better for me?
2) I spoke with T-Mobile rep and he said phone must be tied to a plan for 7 days for them to unlock it (this is paying the full $800 for the phone), is it easy to have my friend make an account with T-Mobile to get the phone and cancel it? Will he have credit score issues or something? (Keep in mind I am paying the full amount not subsidized)
3) How soon (if ever) would a Factory Unlocked with Snapdragon 820 appear in Amazon or Best Buy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-mobile requires a device to be active for 40 days according to their terms of service. before they will give unlock code. The thread mentioned above compares the two carriers. The problem is that we don't know how ATT is going to modify the phone before sale IF they do at all. In the past ATT has been notorious for locking the bootloader which makes rooting difficult. T-Mobile usually doesn't. According to the above mentioned thread what I saw is that the T-M version is missing one or two bands. However, this might not be the case if all phones are created equal as the phone might have a built in routine that occurs upon sim insertion to install carrier specifics which makes me nervous because who knows if it can be undone. I am glad I have 14 days to return as if this is what Sammy has done, essentially barring me from and unlock then the phone is going back. I am not paying 800 dollars for a phone that funnels me to one direction.

jackler1 said:
T-mobile requires a device to be active for 40 days according to their terms of service. before they will give unlock code. The thread mentioned above compares the two carriers. The problem is that we don't know how ATT is going to modify the phone before sale IF they do at all. In the past ATT has been notorious for locking the bootloader which makes rooting difficult. T-Mobile usually doesn't. According to the above mentioned thread what I saw is that the T-M version is missing one or two bands. However, this might not be the case if all phones are created equal as the phone might have a built in routine that occurs upon sim insertion to install carrier specifics which makes me nervous because who knows if it can be undone. I am glad I have 14 days to return as if this is what Sammy has done, essentially barring me from and unlock then the phone is going back. I am not paying 800 dollars for a phone that funnels me to one direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is weird, I spoke with online support (T-Mobile) and he said after 7 days if paid in full... but still, problem is I know no one that has a T-Mobile account where I can "link" my phone to have it unlocked. So that is the reason I want to know if it would be a problem to have my friend make a T-Mobile account, pay the phone in full to get it unlocked, and cancel T-Mobile. And yeah, from what I read, your statement about AT&T is the reason I want T-Mobile. I can't live with a phone that doesn't have AdAway. You should see my FireFox browser on my computer with Greasemonkey + adblock plus + anti adblock killer, and NoScript

schn1tt3r said:
That is weird, I spoke with online support (T-Mobile) and he said after 7 days if paid in full... but still, problem is I know no one that has a T-Mobile account where I can "link" my phone to have it unlocked. So that is the reason I want to know if it would be a problem to have my friend make a T-Mobile account, pay the phone in full to get it unlocked, and cancel T-Mobile. And yeah, from what I read, your statement about AT&T is the reason I want T-Mobile. I can't live with a phone that doesn't have AdAway. You should see my FireFox browser on my computer with Greasemonkey + adblock plus + anti adblock killer, and NoScript
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He should read the policies better
https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1588
Unlock eligibility for monthly phones, tablets, and mobile internet devices
The device must have been active on the T-Mobile network for at least 40 days on the requesting line.
If the device is financed using T-Mobile’s Equipment Installment Plan (EIP)or if it's leased through JUMP! On Demand™, all payments must be satisfied and the device must be paid in full.
If the device is on an account that is under a service contract term, at least 18 consecutive monthly payments must have been made or the account has migrated to Simple Choice no contract rate plan.
If the device is associated with a canceled account, the account balance must be zero, including all pending charges
Unlock eligibility for Pay in Advance (Prepaid) phones, tablets, and mobile internet devices
The device has been active on the T-Mobile network for more than 1 year on the requesting line.
If the device has been active for less than 1 year on the requesting line, the Pay in Advance account associated with the device must have had more than $25 in refills for basic phones or $100 in refills for smartphones or tablet since device first use date. $100 in total refills is required for each device that is requested to be unlocked.

schn1tt3r said:
That is weird, I spoke with online support (T-Mobile) and he said after 7 days if paid in full... but still, problem is I know no one that has a T-Mobile account where I can "link" my phone to have it unlocked. So that is the reason I want to know if it would be a problem to have my friend make a T-Mobile account, pay the phone in full to get it unlocked, and cancel T-Mobile. And yeah, from what I read, your statement about AT&T is the reason I want T-Mobile. I can't live with a phone that doesn't have AdAway. You should see my FireFox browser on my computer with Greasemonkey + adblock plus + anti adblock killer, and NoScript
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just spend another 10 dollars to get an unlock code from an app from the playstore. Screw waiting for T-Mobile.

I wonder if it's possible to just flash the appropriate carrier firmware then just activate with sim card.
The reason i ask is I am on verizon and sprint has a buy one get the second 50% off. I have friend on sprint and is pre ordering the s7 edge but asked if I wanted the second line for verizon, I had to turn her down, but that was before I knew about carrier sim lock. Am i completely thinking the wrong way?

anrichardson said:
I wonder if it's possible to just flash the appropriate carrier firmware then just activate with sim card.
The reason i ask is I am on verizon and sprint has a buy one get the second 50% off. I have friend on sprint and is pre ordering the s7 edge but asked if I wanted the second line for verizon, I had to turn her down, but that was before I knew about carrier sim lock. Am i completely thinking the wrong way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK you can set it up but once the sim is inserted it will flash carrier firmware and you will have to set up again. You cannot choose which carrier firmware without the appropriate sim card.

anrichardson said:
I wonder if it's possible to just flash the appropriate carrier firmware then just activate with sim card.
The reason i ask is I am on verizon and sprint has a buy one get the second 50% off. I have friend on sprint and is pre ordering the s7 edge but asked if I wanted the second line for verizon, I had to turn her down, but that was before I knew about carrier sim lock. Am i completely thinking the wrong way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the S6, you could use odin to flash METRO PCS stock tar - it is the same exact firmware as TMOBILE but it didn't include the "UNLOCK AP". TMobile Unlock app made it impossible to unlock the device with an unclock code that you might have purchased from an online service.
So once you flashed the Metro PCS stock rom in Odin, you could buy and use an Unlock Code to unlock the device.

schn1tt3r said:
I've always bought HTC One and before that, I used to own iPhones... I could always buy a factory unlocked HTC online no hassles, so I am new to this and I am SO CONFUSED!
I want to buy an unlocked S7 Edge with a Snapdragon 820 to use in South America. I have a friend that can bring me the phone from USA, but there is no way to buy one.
1) Where can I check the bands used on the AT&T vs T-Mobile one to see which one is better for me?
2) I spoke with T-Mobile rep and he said phone must be tied to a plan for 7 days for them to unlock it (this is paying the full $800 for the phone), is it easy to have my friend make an account with T-Mobile to get the phone and cancel it? Will he have credit score issues or something? (Keep in mind I am paying the full amount not subsidized)
3) How soon (if ever) would a Factory Unlocked with Snapdragon 820 appear in Amazon or Best Buy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CuBz90 said:
AFAIK you can set it up but once the sim is inserted it will flash carrier firmware and you will have to set up again. You cannot choose which carrier firmware without the appropriate sim card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is it isn't it.? The million dollar question? Does it matter who you buy the phone from? With T-M they have eliminated contracts. You don't owe them a dime if the phone is paid in full, they just require that if they are going to provide you with an unlock code you have to be with them for 40 days. Now, for me, that is 50 for the first month plus taxes etc and a pro-rated 50 for the second. So approximated 85 dollars all in give or take. On day 40 I call and they give me the code to unlock and then I cancel not costing me much more than a lot of unlock services and i get something for it as does T-M . Now, if I stick my ATT sim in FIRST then it becomes ATT carrier locked. I may then have to call ATT who could say that because the phone was not purchased through them they have no obligation to unlock the phone. Catch 22.
This may not be looking good for me as a consumer as it seems to be a loophole for the carriers. This is why. The carriers can say they are under no obligation to unlock a phone for you if you haven't done business with them. For me that is tricky because my phone service is provided to me by work and so I have no rights to claim I have service technically.
This is how it adds up for me:
1. The firmware on the phone at purchase is generic. It only becomes specific when it recognizes a carrier via sim and downloads or loads a routine already on the phone which installs a carrier group and then deletes everything else. ATT may have a say on what the contents of the routine may be and it may lock you out. You then become beholden to the first place of service, not the place of purchase. This is bad because I can tell you that if there is no warning that this will happen T-M might be getting a phone back that says ATT on it.
2. We can get a preimage first and essentially odin that image onto the phone resetting it back to factory before branding. In essence and unlocked phone from the jump. This would be awesome for us tinkerers, not so much for the everyman.
3. The phone is unlocked from the jump. Put whatever sim you want in it and it works. Not likely.
4. We I am over thinking this thing and things will be as they always have, T-M gets there phone loaded with the firmware they want with the safeguards as they see them in place at sim insertion. I have to wait my 40 days and then I get the unlock code and use it with whomever. This seems most likely. There may be other scenarios that I didn't consider.
I guess it's a wait and see proposition but as I have sold my Note 4 and am using a Skyrocket right now I will have to hold myself back from inserting a sim in that bad boy until we see what shakes out. This sounds like it could be the greatest or the worst or the same thing as ever.

The carriers could say that they are like DTV (Direct TV) if you want service it's a two year contract. DTV doesn't care if you have your own equipment or not. The service is tied to registering the card. They give you a new card to go into your equipment, it marries when you call to activate and you are locked in for two years. There is no discount for paying for your own equipment. I could see the carriers going in that direction because they can change their terms and get out from under the FCC says situation. When you activate a sim you agree to a 2 year contract. The phone is unlocked take it where you want but you owe us for two years or an ETF. Most people lock themselves in regardless but not good for me.
My credit card just charged this morning BTW the phone is on it's way I would presume.

Very insightful post. I also sold my HTC one and have a Sony M4 for the moment. I wanted to take advantage of the free VR headset, but since I need the oh one to work in South America, I can't do anything.

Why not just purchase from US Cellular? The S6 and Note 5 came unlocked from them. http://www.uscellular.com/site/legal/mobile-wireless-device-unlocking.html

While I hope the article that said the S7 would; be automatically locked to the carrier for the Sim card you insert first - I am having a little trouble believing that - not saying it isn't true - and frankly for me, that is the perect situaiton - but it doesn't make sense.
If this were true, a user who purchased a phone with month to month payments - could conceivably insert a sim from a different carrier and use it without having paid in full for the device. Carriers typically won't unlock the phone if you still owe them money - there may be exceptions, but I haven't heard of any.
Just seems odd to me - but then I guess stranger things have happened....

It'd be nice if someone found a way to setup the phone without having carrier bloat installed before inserting the sim.

mocsab said:
While I hope the article that said the S7 would; be automatically locked to the carrier for the Sim card you insert first - I am having a little trouble believing that - not saying it isn't true - and frankly for me, that is the perect situaiton - but it doesn't make sense.
If this were true, a user who purchased a phone with month to month payments - could conceivably insert a sim from a different carrier and use it without having paid in full for the device. Carriers typically won't unlock the phone if you still owe them money - there may be exceptions, but I haven't heard of any.
Just seems odd to me - but then I guess stranger things have happened....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is another twist. I called T-M yesterday because my bank stopped payment because of the amount. I approved it but T-M cancelled the order. Just as well because I decided I wanted to switch to black instead of silver. That pushed me back a bit but they said I would still get the Netflix and VR set. and a phone by the 11th and overnight. I asked the agent about this issue and she had no clue. She did however say that because I had purchased the phone outright I could call in on day one and get the unlock code. I will believe if when I see it.
HOWEVER this is the twist which I never thought of. The phone is going to arrive with a SIM IN IT and ALREADY ACTIVATED. So I will have no choice. The only way to not have this happen is to purchase the phone on launch day and not let them put a sim in it. So all of us with pre-orders are going to receive carrier locked phones. Bare that in mind when you pre-order. Fortunately I have 14 days and can walk the phone back in if bad news comes.

noamaniac said:
Why not just purchase from US Cellular? The S6 and Note 5 came unlocked from them. http://www.uscellular.com/site/legal/mobile-wireless-device-unlocking.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
US Cellular doesn't offer service in my area for one and two, there is no mention on their website as to the status of the phone being locked or not. The price is right but no year of netflix only VR set. May be an option for some people.

jackler1 said:
There is another twist. I called T-M yesterday because my bank stopped payment because of the amount. I approved it but T-M cancelled the order. Just as well because I decided I wanted to switch to black instead of silver. That pushed me back a bit but they said I would still get the Netflix and VR set. and a phone by the 11th and overnight. I asked the agent about this issue and she had no clue. She did however say that because I had purchased the phone outright I could call in on day one and get the unlock code. I will believe if when I see it.
HOWEVER this is the twist which I never thought of. The phone is going to arrive with a SIM IN IT and ALREADY ACTIVATED. So I will have no choice. The only way to not have this happen is to purchase the phone on launch day and not let them put a sim in it. So all of us with pre-orders are going to receive carrier locked phones. Bare that in mind when you pre-order. Fortunately I have 14 days and can walk the phone back in if bad news comes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I have done Pre-orders in the past with TMobile - the SIM was not installed. Now, maybe they will install it this time - but that seems unlikely to me. That means they would have to open thousands of phones - work the sim card away from the business card holder it comes in and and insert in the phone. I don't think that is likely - but like I said, it could happen. Maybe because it does lock to the carrier of the first Sim card inserted, they will take the extra effort to insert sim cards in every pre-order.
But think about it a bit - anytime you buy a phone from a TMOBILE STORE - they have to manually insert the sim card while you wait - and like I said, all previous pre-orders I had to manually install the sim.
---------- Post added at 10:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 AM ----------
jackler1 said:
My credit card just charged this morning BTW the phone is on it's way I would presume.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also noticed today that I have pending charges on the card I purchased the S7 on - my best reccollection in the past for every pre-order I have done before is that I didn't see charges show up on my card until shipping was imminent. I don't know for sure that this is the case this time, but it has me hopeful for an early shipping date for pre-orders....Fingers Crossed!!! :laugh:
EDIT -
Shipping Label Created today by UPS 2-28-2016
Checked My UPS and discovered that a UPS Shipping Label has been created. (my credit card shows a charge today for the purchase price of my phone) looks like Shipping for my New S7 is Imminent!
---------- Post added at 10:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 AM ----------
jackler1 said:
There is another twist. I called T-M yesterday because my bank stopped payment because of the amount. I approved it but T-M cancelled the order. Just as well because I decided I wanted to switch to black instead of silver. That pushed me back a bit but they said I would still get the Netflix and VR set. and a phone by the 11th and overnight. I asked the agent about this issue and she had no clue. She did however say that because I had purchased the phone outright I could call in on day one and get the unlock code. I will believe if when I see it.
HOWEVER this is the twist which I never thought of. The phone is going to arrive with a SIM IN IT and ALREADY ACTIVATED. So I will have no choice. The only way to not have this happen is to purchase the phone on launch day and not let them put a sim in it. So all of us with pre-orders are going to receive carrier locked phones. Bare that in mind when you pre-order. Fortunately I have 14 days and can walk the phone back in if bad news comes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TMobile has very clear policies about unlocking devices - If you have been a customer for more than a year, you can get it unlocked immediately, if you own the phone (paid outright)
If you have been a customer for less than a year, you have to wait 40 days
if you have a Pre-Pay account, you can unlock immediately as long as their is a minimum pre-paid balance of $100 on your account. (but, you can't pre-order an S7 for a Pre-Paid account. They won't sell it to you. You would have to start a different account and then move the phone to the prepaid account by switching sims.)

There is a lot of T-Mobile branded V20's on Swappa right now.

Like 23 right now compare that to 6 AT&T and 7 Verizon branded units. What exactly is the deal with T-Mobile?

maybe people who are stuck in twrp bootloop?

Tmobile service sucks maybe
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

Sub-Negro said:
Like 23 right now compare that to 6 AT&T and 7 Verizon branded units. What exactly is the deal with T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A good number of All but one of 'em are unopened/New,they probably bought 'em to take advantage of the $200 Rebate & headphone offers.
As long as they have a net gain from purchase price/rebate/sale price,I suppose it's a worthwhile endeavor.........

KOLIOSIS said:
A good number of All but one of 'em are unopened/New,they probably bought 'em to take advantage of the $200 Rebate & headphone offers.
As long as they have a net gain from purchase price/rebate/sale price,I suppose it's a worthwhile endeavor.........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile is basically giving these things away. If they used the trade in thing, it makes the phone either free or less than $200. They probably have another phone they are using and don't plan on leaving T-Mobile, so they just got one and are selling it. T-Mobile, effectively, puts you in a contract doing this. They take the price of the phone and give you bill credits for the whole term of the EIP. If you terminate service, you owe the phone. Combine that with the free line promotion they had a few days prior, I am guessing this is what is happening. The contract does not say anything about using the phone. As long as they keep their bill current and keep their service, it will be able to be used (I think...). I would be careful buying one of these V20s in case you are not allowed to use the phone on a line that isn't associated with the account, but that is me being a worry wort.

EDubs11 said:
T-Mobile is basically giving these things away. If they used the trade in thing, it makes the phone either free or less than $200. They probably have another phone they are using and don't plan on leaving T-Mobile, so they just got one and are selling it. T-Mobile, effectively, puts you in a contract doing this. They take the price of the phone and give you bill credits for the whole term of the EIP. If you terminate service, you owe the phone. Combine that with the free line promotion they had a few days prior, I am guessing this is what is happening. The contract does not say anything about using the phone. As long as they keep their bill current and keep their service, it will be able to be used (I think...). I would be careful buying one of these V20s in case you are not allowed to use the phone on a line that isn't associated with the account, but that is me being a worry wort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swappa won't let you sell a phone that still has anything owed on it. They check the IMEI.
I assume the bill credits wouldn't affect this as long as the phone is free and clear.

Sub-Negro said:
Like 23 right now compare that to 6 AT&T and 7 Verizon branded units. What exactly is the deal with T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought one unopened for $485. It was purchased with the T-mobile employee discount for $285.

Evilv2 said:
I bought one unopened for $485. It was purchased with the T-mobile employee discount for $285.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice find,congratulations! ?
Sent from my Xiaomi Mi Mix using XDA Labs

KOLIOSIS said:
Nice find,congratulations!
Sent from my Xiaomi Mi Mix using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume lot of the unopened were bought with significant discounts. They are being sold for $500 +/- $15.

Watch out t-mobile is the carrier that's gets the lg partner purchase program phones. They can not be carrier unlocked. That's why there up and cheap.

aknotts415 said:
Watch out t-mobile is the carrier that's gets the lg partner purchase program phones. They can not be carrier unlocked. That's why there up and cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing you can use a paid SIM Unlock service to override this........................

KOLIOSIS said:
I'm guessing you can use a paid SIM Unlock service to override this........................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Won't work. When they go to get the unlock code from T-Mobile the imei isn't in their system so they can't get it and it can't be done. Trust me. I've seen this happen on the v10 and g5. Just look it up.

aknotts415 said:
Won't work. When they go to get the unlock code from T-Mobile the imei isn't in their system so they can't get it and it can't be done. Trust me. I've seen this happen on the v10 and g5. Just look it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that's the case, I'd think the sellers would know better than to post a listing on Swappa.
Guess we'll find out soon enough how many of the listings are fraudulent.....

KOLIOSIS said:
If that's the case, I'd think the sellers would know better than to post a listing on Swappa.
Guess we'll find out soon enough how many of the listings are fraudulent.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There not fraudulent. Not sure why u think that. Theres nothing wrong with selling lg partner purchase program phones. They just can't be carrier unlocked and the sellers don't go out of their way to tell you. They just say their not sure.

aknotts415 said:
There not fraudulent. Not sure why u think that. Theres nothing wrong with selling lg partner purchase program phones. They just can't be carrier unlocked and the sellers don't go out of their way to tell you. They just say their not sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Full disclosure is a given when selling on Swappa,anything less would be fraudulent,if not to the letter of the rules,it certainly would be in spirit/practice.
This is some good information though,glad you brought it up. :good:
I'm betting a lot of folks have never heard of such a thing.

Yeah ur right. Lol I wast trying to buy a v10 and g5 earlier this year and ran into this situation. Very difficult to deal with. Most sellers selling them do t really understand them selves and they blame T-Mobile. It probly is T-Mobile fault since it's branded T-Mobile. Just want everyone to be aware they can't be unlocked, even a third party unlock service can't. Having it on ur account for 40 days doesnt matter either. It's a crappy situation lol

aknotts415 said:
Yeah ur right. Lol I wast trying to buy a v10 and g5 earlier this year and ran into this situation. Very difficult to deal with. Most sellers selling them do t really understand them selves and they blame T-Mobile. It probly is T-Mobile fault since it's branded T-Mobile. Just want everyone to be aware they can't be unlocked, even a third party unlock service can't. Having it on ur account for 40 days doesnt matter either. It's a crappy situation lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd heard of employee deals/mfg-partner phones/etc..,but,I didn't know about the SIM Unlocking issue.
Again,many THX for bringing this up,you've no doubt saved some people a lot of trouble. :highfive:
FWIW,here's Swappa's policy on clean ESN's:
https://swappa.com/faq/sell/share_esn_numbers
Bulletproof,no,but,it sounds as if they're doing their due dilligence w/researching the ESN/IMEI,perhaps w/more tools than the general public is armed with.
Some sharp individuals here on XDA/Swappa running the show,I'm guessing/hoping they have this scenario covered,enough to ensure the buyers are protected in a worse-case scenario.

A little bit off topic, can you get square trade insurance for phones purchased at swappa?

aknotts415 said:
Yeah ur right. Lol I wast trying to buy a v10 and g5 earlier this year and ran into this situation. Very difficult to deal with. Most sellers selling them do t really understand them selves and they blame T-Mobile. It probly is T-Mobile fault since it's branded T-Mobile. Just want everyone to be aware they can't be unlocked, even a third party unlock service can't. Having it on ur account for 40 days doesnt matter either. It's a crappy situation lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um I'm not trying to be a pain but I bought my G5 from Tmobile and had it unlocked in 24 hours as I was traveling out of the country. I used the app on the phone and the code the rep gave me. I've traveled to 7 countries since then and used sim cards from each one no problem.

seanmfield said:
Um I'm not trying to be a pain but I bought my G5 from Tmobile and had it unlocked in 24 hours as I was traveling out of the country. I used the app on the phone and the code the rep gave me. I've traveled to 7 countries since then and used sim cards from each one no problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ur probly wasn't a lg partner purchase program one then lol.

General [CLOSED] After Threatening Google W/ Class Action Lawsuit, they gave in...

Original Post : https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...s-class-action-lawsuit.4561849/#post-88247485
After emailing a threat to Google, that both them and VZW was up for a class action lawsuit for NOT having the Retail Box Read "VZW Bootloaders cannot and will not Ever be UNLOCKED even after Carrier Unlocking Device..."
A supervisor approved my VZW replacement with a Google Branded Replacement.
It's all about what you know and how you say it!
Replacement should be here Tuesday or Wednesday!
I can't believe they went against policy over a threat!
"
Greetings from Google!
I have glad news for you! I have checked with my specialists and we got approval for the unlocked version replacement. In order to help you with a replacement, we need to collect the device from you first and once the device reaches our warehouse, we will be able to send a replacement device.
I would need the below details:
Full Name
Shipping address
Phone number
I'll send the shipping labels when you help me with the above details.
Awaiting your reply!"

Can you please tell me where you emailed this to?
I've tried this through Google support and they just throw me over to Verizon.
Thank you and have a nice night!

AndroidAddict420 said:
Original Post : https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...s-class-action-lawsuit.4561849/#post-88247485
After emailing a threat to Google, that both them and VZW was up for a class action lawsuit for NOT having the Retail Box Read "VZW Bootloaders cannot and will not Ever be UNLOCKED even after Carrier Unlocking Device..."
A supervisor approved my VZW replacement with a Google Branded Replacement.
It's all about what you know and how you say it!
Replacement should be here Tuesday or Wednesday!
I can't believe they went against policy over a threat!
"
Greetings from Google!
I have glad news for you! I have checked with my specialists and we got approval for the unlocked version replacement. In order to help you with a replacement, we need to collect the device from you first and once the device reaches our warehouse, we will be able to send a replacement device.
I would need the below details:
Full Name
Shipping address
Phone number
I'll send the shipping labels when you help me with the above details.
Awaiting your reply!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why you not cry for Apple devices? You can't unlock bootloader, you can't install custom rom and Apple not give you permision to root it.

Glad u got that taken care of but they weren't afraid of your threat. They probably get that 600x/day. They wanted you to go away. I still dont understand the issue here. Everyone has known for 10 years you can't do this with a VZW phone. Why did you just get the Google phone again instead of hoping there would be an exploit someday to be able to root a carrier device?

AndroidAddict420 said:
Original Post : https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...s-class-action-lawsuit.4561849/#post-88247485
After emailing a threat to Google, that both them and VZW was up for a class action lawsuit for NOT having the Retail Box Read "VZW Bootloaders cannot and will not Ever be UNLOCKED even after Carrier Unlocking Device..."
A supervisor approved my VZW replacement with a Google Branded Replacement.
It's all about what you know and how you say it!
Replacement should be here Tuesday or Wednesday!
I can't believe they went against policy over a threat!
"
Greetings from Google!
I have glad news for you! I have checked with my specialists and we got approval for the unlocked version replacement. In order to help you with a replacement, we need to collect the device from you first and once the device reaches our warehouse, we will be able to send a replacement device.
I would need the below details:
Full Name
Shipping address
Phone number
I'll send the shipping labels when you help me with the above details.
Awaiting your reply!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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Nettwerk said:
Why you not cry for Apple devices? You can't unlock bootloader, you can't install custom rom and Apple not give you permision to root it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does apple have to do with his issue?

never get phone through a carrier to begin with. just get it right from the manufacturer delivered to your house then set up the sim through the carrier.

OP thinks two giant companies care about your idle threats. I'll laugh if they send you another VZW replacement or if the exchange never goes through. In the future buy unlocked and save yourself a headache.

AndroidAddict420 said:
Original Post : https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...s-class-action-lawsuit.4561849/#post-88247485
After emailing a threat to Google, that both them and VZW was up for a class action lawsuit for NOT having the Retail Box Read "VZW Bootloaders cannot and will not Ever be UNLOCKED even after Carrier Unlocking Device..."
A supervisor approved my VZW replacement with a Google Branded Replacement.
It's all about what you know and how you say it!
Replacement should be here Tuesday or Wednesday!
I can't believe they went against policy over a threat!
"
Greetings from Google!
I have glad news for you! I have checked with my specialists and we got approval for the unlocked version replacement. In order to help you with a replacement, we need to collect the device from you first and once the device reaches our warehouse, we will be able to send a replacement device.
I would need the below details:
Full Name
Shipping address
Phone number
I'll send the shipping labels when you help me with the above details.
Awaiting your reply!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So people were nice to you . . . and your response is to mock them online?

I am curious for an update....I'm curious to see if the replacement wasn't "accidentally" a Verizon variant again...
There's more chance of it being an unlocked one since it's Google handling the replacement and it's coming (supposedly) from a Google warehouse, but I wouldn't be surprised -- whether on purpose or accidentally by a warehouse worker reading the order wrong -- if they accidentally send a Verizon variant because it's going to a Verizon customer...
Either way, I wouldn't count that there was any chance it being replaced on the Verizon side...I wonder how many Google reps would be willing to allow this kind of thing before denying it outright no matter how much pestering...

This class action lawsuit is about as dumb as fat people suing McDonald's because the food made them fat. Give it up already. Do some research before buying or go with a different carrier.

@AndroidAddict420, do you mind giving us an update? How is your device? Everything you expected? I'm very curious -- I'm sure you have at least some of us just as curious...

simplepinoi177 said:
@AndroidAddict420, do you mind giving us an update? How is your device? Everything you expected? I'm very curious -- I'm sure you have at least some of us just as curious...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will send him a Verizon model device, no question about it. Their "unlocked device" will be carrier unlocked and not bootloader unlockable. This once happened to me with a Pixel 3 that I got from Google but was Verizon branded. The problem was that Verizon locked the dual sim function and Google was just starting to roll it out. I begged, pleaded got Verizon on conference call with Google all to no avail. But I persisted and finally got a second tier rep that got be the exchange. But it took about a month of calling every day and was probably not worth my time since the dual sim was only single active. But hey, I've been wrong before although not often. lol

Hahaha
OP is busy sending another ‘threat’ email because the replacement they sent him was a VZW locked one too.

****posting. Mods lock and delete this fool

bobby janow said:
They will send him a Verizon model device, no question about it. Their "unlocked device" will be carrier unlocked and not bootloader unlockable. This once happened to me with a Pixel 3 that I got from Google but was Verizon branded. The problem was that Verizon locked the dual sim function and Google was just starting to roll it out. I begged, pleaded got Verizon on conference call with Google all to no avail. But I persisted and finally got a second tier rep that got be the exchange. But it took about a month of calling every day and was probably not worth my time since the dual sim was only single active. But hey, I've been wrong before although not often. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The funny thing is, this could have ALL BEEN AVOIDED. This so-called veteran android person bought the phone out-right at the beginning. It would be another story as he had to buy it from Verizon in payments. This is not the case. He completely paid for the phone from Verizon. That was a dumb mistake. He is trying to make Verizon pay for his stupidity.

schmeggy929 said:
The funny thing is, this could have ALL BEEN AVOIDED. This so-called veteran android person bought the phone out-right at the beginning. It would be another story as he had to buy it from Verizon in payments. This is not the case. He completely paid for the phone from Verizon. That was a dumb mistake. He is trying to make Verizon pay for his stupidity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you are correct but it might not have been stupidity merely ignorance. When you buy from Google on their store there are 3 versions, unlocked, Google Fi and Verizon. If you are on a VZW plan it's easy to chose that one if doing it quickly. One red flag is that the Verizon one is $100 more due to the availability of mmWave. I'm sure he won't make that mistake again. If he's outside the return window of 15 days then he's out of luck. The only way to correct the mistake is a full return and repurchase but that's a moot point now.

schmeggy929 said:
The funny thing is, this could have ALL BEEN AVOIDED...He completely paid for the phone from Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes it is hard to avoid simple mistakes when cannabis is involved. You might be an expert at something and then could potentially make a blatant, goofy mistake without even realizing it for a bit too long. And sometimes it could cause the polar opposite to happen!
But, ya know, perhaps I'm totally wrong and the user just likes the number in their username, haha ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

OP dodging with updating us. Must be enjoying his new VZW Pixel while calling Google and Verizon back again and again while drafting legal forms to start a class action lawsuit.