xenon_194

Hey,
I know some people on this board work @ various cellular providers. Just wanted to know can phones bought in US work here? For example, a Sprint phone work with Bell or Telus and an At&T or T-Mobile phone work with Rogers? I was just kinda curious.

Also, is it just me, or have Canadian cellular companies not been coming out with new phones?

Thanx

imported_SiR_YO

I'm assuming that if you have a "sim-card" then you can buy whatever phone that are compatible with it (uses the card as well)... I know this cuz a buddy of mine did buy a phone in the states which never came out in Canada.. as long as it's GSM and not digital you can do it this way... however I'm not 100% sure on it so don't quote me on it

however I am currently looking for a new provider (Bell is kinda starting to suck) and a new phone as well.. and shopping around locally in Canada kinda sucks right now.. the phones that are coming out from the bigger companies that we have are kinda ****

Astroboy

If its a GSM phone (fido or rogers compatible) and unlocked, you can just put in either a fido or rogers sim card and activate it on there network. A Sprint phone, which if memory serves me is a PCS phone will not work with bell/telus because the phone is locked to the sprint network. Even if you get it unlocked you would still need to get it transferred to the bell network which I don't believe they do. So get any GSM phone you want from HK or whatever, even if its locked to a certain service provider they can be easily unlocked (see www.howardforums.com) and you can throw in your sim card for fido or rogers gsm and your ready to go.

imported_gatherer

*shakes head*

hello I work for bell let me answer for the PCS carriers... don't speak just to raise your post count....

ok sprint roams on the bell network (and telus for western provinces) that being said there is a database in all Telus and Bell and Sprint phones called the PRL ... (Preferred roamer list) which is a list of SID's (system Id's) since the sprint and telus and bell phones all have each others SID in the PRL of the phones they sell the phones can be moved between networks...

Also most of the new phone testing is shared mean 1 network does it all approve afterwards ... it saves money big time for all 3 companies (well there are more involved but I'm not going to get complex) also do to saving money on the purchase of the units bell and sprint regularly get together and do "group buys" where the quantity of phones becomes an even bigger amount.

now why can't you activate a telus phone on a bell network ... simple they want the revenue from selling you a new phone ... although most technicians that switch between companies just move their phones around....

notice sprint wasn't mentioned in that last paragraph...???

well if you buy a sprint phone and it's a model of a phone we use here... you might be able to get it activated on the network. however it might not.... simply put the ESN would not be in the database of our phones and it would not allow the CSR to activate the account. however I do believe this can be circumvented.

Once again it's not Technology that prevents jumping between Telus and bell and sprint but it is the all mighty dollar and I love my pay cheques so just go buy a phone from bell .... we didn't become the most profitable company by leting you buy a phone from anywhere ...

if there is a sprint phone that is not sold by bell mobility ... well if you have an account with us ... call up loyality retention department of the customer service and tell them your switching because bell doesn't offer a certain phone (quote the manufacturer and model number) then get your friends with bell phones to do the same ... and voila I bet that phone will be on store shelves very very very fast.

my rant is done...

xenon_194

Great, thanx for clearing up things. Its just that I've had the same phone for a while, btw I'm with Telus, and they've had those simple colour screen phones for like 2 years now. Whereas in States I see the LG or Samsung with cameras and well just basically they keep coming out with new phones (even for PCS). Even the GSM phones have such a great variety. Too bad GSM isn't that good here in Windsor, so that’s why I would stick to Telus or Bell if need be.

Recently Telus came out with this gurly looking phone; it looks like a makeup kit. Plus phones in the states are cheaper, even without service plans. I can get a Samsung flip phone with a camera for the price I'd pay for a regular colour screen one with a year of Telus contract.

I guess its a hassle to switch phones, but what about people that move from Canada to US or US to Canada, what do companies do with them?

xenon_194

I found some interesting stuff on Howard Forums, the main guy on that forum says its pretty much impossible to do it, like get a Sprint/Verizon phone on a Bell/Telus network, unless you know someone like a tech or someone with a high position that would be willing to do it.

http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...hreadid=183275

But, some people have managed to do it, I guess it comes down to who you know and what they can do for u...