Database Users

HTC Hero130 (Telus Version)

First off - I Private Messaged a couple of people about this, but realized that I should have just posted this in the forum. So, my apologies for anyone seeing this a second time.
I've been getting all sort of conflicting information about the Hero 130 (The Telus one) and which UMTS bands it supports.
Most of the information I see at places like PDADB says that it's UMTS enabled for 850/1900 only, which are the North American bands. FCC reports and the Telus user manual show testing for WCDMA (UMTS) 850/1900 only.
However, HTC's Canada Hero website (http://www.htc.com/ca/product/herotelus/specification.html) says "Dual Mode UMTS" and lists frequencies for US (850/1900), EU/Asia (900/2100) and Telstra (850/2100). Two HTC support techs from their website also confirm that the Hero 130 supports UMTS for US EU/Asia and Telstra, but it feels like they are just regurgitating information from the extremely vague website.
The device is a quad-band worldwide device. These are the bands the device is capable of using:
Europe/Asia
UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (900/2100MHz for EU/Asia)
North America
850/1900
Telestra
850/2100
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900Mhz)
If the bands you are needing are any of these then the device should work.
Kay
HTC Technical Support
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone with a HERO130 actually gone overseas and seen if you get UMTS/3G to work overseas - or has seen anything that conclusively and definitively proves if it does or does not work?
Thanks!

I'm wondering the same thing. I'd like to get the Telus one and use it here on AT&T 3g in the states... anyone know if that is possible?

The Telus version of the HTC Hero (aka HERO130 or A6265) definitely supports ATT's 3G bands. It's been confirmed via the FCC documentation as well that 850/2100 is supported. T-Mobile's 1700MHz is not supported.
My question is specifically in regards to the European/Asian (900/1900MHz) bands. HTC's confirmed that it does support by phone, but I'm still a little dubious. However, I'm ordering one and am going to give it a test!
Stay Tuned!

itpromike said:
I'm wondering the same thing. I'd like to get the Telus one and use it here on AT&T 3g in the states... anyone know if that is possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. It is possible. I've got the Telus Hero, unlocked and running on the Rogers network. HSDPA/3G works fine on Rogers. North American radio bands for 3G are supported with this hardware.

BlueHawk said:
Yes. It is possible. I've got the Telus Hero, unlocked and running on the Rogers network. HSDPA/3G works fine on Rogers. North American radio bands for 3G are supported with this hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! How difficult is the unlocking process?

I just thought about something. I'm used to the iPhone where you have to root your phone to unlock it for other carriers. Is the way it work with the HTC Hero and the like is that you just pay full price for the phone ($499) and it comes unlocked already? No tinkering needed?

itpromike said:
Awesome! How difficult is the unlocking process?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The unlocking process is not painful at all, but it costs you $20-25. When you insert a non-Telus sim into the device and power it up, it will tell you that you are using the wrong sim and ask you to enter the unlock code. The unlock code is specific to the IMEI of you phone, so they can't be shared. They can be purchased on eBay for slightly more than $20.
Note that you cannot unlock your phone by flashing a custom ROM. So unless you figured out the magic formula for generating these unlocking code (different for each device and different for each carrier), you have to pay for it one way or another.

tsekh501 said:
The unlocking process is not painful at all, but it costs you $20-25. When you insert a non-Telus sim into the device and power it up, it will tell you that you are using the wrong sim and ask you to enter the unlock code. The unlock code is specific to the IMEI of you phone, so they can't be shared. They can be purchased on eBay for slightly more than $20.
Note that you cannot unlock your phone by flashing a custom ROM. So unless you figured out the magic formula for generating these unlocking code (different for each device and different for each carrier), you have to pay for it one way or another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I buy the full priced ($499) phone from Telus, then I have to buy the unlock code from Ebay? Hmm... I feel leery about buying something like this from Ebay. Is there an official channel I can buy an unlock code from?

itpromike said:
So I buy the full priced ($499) phone from Telus, then I have to buy the unlock code from Ebay? Hmm... I feel leery about buying something like this from Ebay. Is there an official channel I can buy an unlock code from?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I paid mine for the full price too, but this doesn't make the phone automatically unlocked. Telus enters an exclusive contract with HTC to be the sole carrier of this phone in Canada (at least for now), and they have every right to make sure that an average-joe, who knows nothing about unlocking, who wants this phone have to go to them, with or without contract. Exclusive dealings are extremely common in cell phone industry, and they are not free for the carrier.
I doubt Telus would unlock the phone for you. In the US, T-Mobile will unlock their phones for you a few months into the 2-year contract, may be Telus will do the same, if you signed a contract with them that is.
I just went to eBay and notice that there are now many sellers selling Telus Hero unlock code, and some are selling for as low as $13. I bought mine from a seller called cellfservices, it is not the cheapest but it worked (and it took them about an hour after the sales to send me the code).

mobileincanada.ca seems to be one that is very popular for unlocking, $20cdn, and they usually send unlock code very fast (within 5 minutes)

all right people.
I am here to bust the myth.
Telus hero does not have asian HSPA band.
I have two heros: GSM and Telus.
Tested location: Taiwan.
Telus hero with Taiwan sim card = GPRS only, no 3G connection.
GSM hero = 3G connection.
Telus hero does not have dual model 3G, period.

So which do I get for AT&T
Ok so I'd like one of these WITH 3G connection on AT&T so which one would I get to make this happen? I'm leaning toward the Telus model from what I've been reading but if anyone can confirm or deny this, that would be great. Also once I have it and it's been unlocked, then what do I tell AT&T? Just order a second line with a data plan? Won't they ask me what type of phone is this for or how should I do this?

itpromike said:
Ok so I'd like one of these WITH 3G connection on AT&T so which one would I get to make this happen? I'm leaning toward the Telus model from what I've been reading but if anyone can confirm or deny this, that would be great. Also once I have it and it's been unlocked, then what do I tell AT&T? Just order a second line with a data plan? Won't they ask me what type of phone is this for or how should I do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Telus Hero is the only current Hero model that will work with 3G/HSDPA in North America. The European Hero will only use Edge for Data - it doesn't support the North American radio bands. The Sprint model only supports CDMA.
Do you need a second line? Are you planning to run two cell phones? If not, just switch your current AT&T SIM into the Hero and get a data plan for that SIM/line.

I do plan on running a second line yes. I have an iPhone 3GS as my main phone and I am planning on using the Hero to play around with as my second phone. The hero is a decent phone and fun to flash and play around with etc... but I couldn't ever really use it as my main phone. I definitely couldn't give up my iPhone 3GS for an Android phone just yet there are still some refinements that Android as a mobile OS needs to undergo and still some refinements that HTC needs to bring to the SenseUI as well. I rely too heavily my phone and it doing what I need it to do as fast as possible. I did have the Sprint Hero for a month before I took it back, I just didn't like it... it was slow, laggy, and some of the things I wanted to do with the phone that I was just so used to doing on my iPhone either couldn't be done OR had to be done in a way that didn't make very much logical or design sense. I had a lot of those 'why can't I just press this to make it do that?' moments or 'why the heck would they put this menu under here?' moments. Anyhow with that being said, Hero and Android are still fun platforms to play with and flash and try different settings and home screens and different ROMS etc so I'm going to get another one but this time on AT&T so I can use voice and data at the same time (one of the things I hated about having the Hero on spring was the inability to use data and voice at the same time as well as how slow sprints data was compared to AT&T)... but I wouldn't want a phone that I flashed and played around with so much to be a phone I relied on for mission critical work.
So what's the best way of going about this? What type of line should I order from AT&T? What should I ask for when i call or go into the store to get another line? Any suggestions?

I just got my Telus Hero last week, and coming from a 3G iphone, this blows it away. Not sure about the 3GS as it is a faster processor..... Also better than the Tilt 2. Love it. Just waiting on Eclair to get Google Navigation and other goodies...

Broken said:
I just got my Telus Hero last week, and coming from a 3G iphone, this blows it away. Not sure about the 3GS as it is a faster processor..... Also better than the Tilt 2. Love it. Just waiting on Eclair to get Google Navigation and other goodies...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the iPhone 3G (I have both a 3G and 3Gs) and the Hero are pretty comparable. Browsing the web (which I do a lot) is faster on the 3G but the loading of applications etc... are pretty much the same. This is stock to stock so no modding on either phone. The scrolling on the 3G is much smoother than a stock Hero. I know that there are ROMS that make the device faster which is the only reason I'm even rethinking about getting one. The 3GS however is just no contest. But I've pretty much had all the fun I can out of the iPhone; not talking about the the apps as there are so many apps to choose from and a lot of them are awesome and fun to use, but with modding the phone itself and playing around with the OS etc I've done all I can do with the iPhone and want something new to play with...

itpromike said:
So what's the best way of going about this? What type of line should I order from AT&T? What should I ask for when i call or go into the store to get another line? Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tell them you have an existing phone so you want a new SIM and to purchase a plan for a smartphone (data and voice plan) - they can advise you on deals and packages then. The carrier should never care about the phone - it's not like they make money on it - they usually subsidize the manufacturer for a unit anyway, in a profit sharing deal. The only thing the carrier is really interested in is the data and voice carriage charges.

i would just tell them you want to add a line for regular phone with unlimited data. that way you dont have to pay extra for the smart phone data. unless of course its cheaper and you can just for like ten dollars make your smart phone data plan you have now a family unlimited

BlueHawk said:
Just tell them you have an existing phone so you want a new SIM and to purchase a plan for a smartphone (data and voice plan) - they can advise you on deals and packages then. The carrier should never care about the phone - it's not like they make money on it - they usually subsidize the manufacturer for a unit anyway, in a profit sharing deal. The only thing the carrier is really interested in is the data and voice carriage charges.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would not be the best option. If you are going to add a line, figure out which phone they are giving away for free they you can get the biggest profit by flipping on eBay. Most likely the Solstice.
This way you can get away with the cheaper non-smart phone data plan and get about $200 back by selling the "free" phone they give you.

Can anyone confirm if the telus hero ships with the updated faster firmware? Thanks.

[Q] Should I Buy a GSM Phone?

I've been with Sprint for years and have never used a non-CDMA device. I don't want to leave Sprint, but Sprint network coverage isn't the greatest and non-existence outside of the US. Should I purchase a GSM phone as a backup for when I travel to areas I know not covered by Sprint? I'm thinking I should be able to go to a GSM provider and get some type of short-term plan, like a week or month plan. Is that naive?
I'm sure the device has something to do with it, too. What is a best device out there to give me the most flexible support from major GSM providers? I supposed one that at least support voice and SMS, but data for GPS would be good.

Yes it wouldn't hurt you could buy an unlocked gsm phone and just use pre pay sim cards with it! I sell verizon and thats what I usually recommend that to any customers that are traveling outside the country but it applies to everywhere

Unlocked GSM Phone, got it. I just need to find one that supports multi-GSM frequencies. Suggestions? Nexus One?
Prepaid SIM card, now that I'm not familiar with. Is it tied to a particular provider, such as T-mobile, O2, etc. or frequency(ies)?

werkx said:
Unlocked GSM Phone, got it. I just need to find one that supports multi-GSM frequencies. Suggestions? Nexus One?
Prepaid SIM card, now that I'm not familiar with. Is it tied to a particular provider, such as T-mobile, O2, etc. or frequency(ies)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All Sprint World phones are GSM capable and come unlocked. The one that comes to mind that is blocked from working in the US is the Photon, but Blackberries should work fine.

You could get a phone with both a GSM and CDMA radio. The best phone I can think of is the Motorola Droid 2 Global, which is a good phone if you like slide-out QWERTY smartphones. It's also quite cheap coming in at $320 for a brand new unlocked version.

Thelolinator said:
You could get a phone with both a GSM and CDMA radio. The best phone I can think of is the Motorola Droid 2 Global, which is a good phone if you like slide-out QWERTY smartphones. It's also quite cheap coming in at $320 for a brand new unlocked version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No because Verizon prevents the GSM radio in Droid phones from working in the US. Blackberries work though. It might be a Motorola thing, I'm not sure about the Droid Incredible 2 (HTC).

Product F(RED) said:
No because Verizon prevents the GSM radio in Droid phones from working in the US. Blackberries work though. It might be a Motorola thing, I'm not sure about the Droid Incredible 2 (HTC).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I see, that sucks! I guess no-one has bypassed it yet then.

So this would be a reason to get a BB.
Thanks all. Craigslist, here I come.

HTC Trophy on Sprint?

So I see that it is possible to unlock cdma Android phone for other carriers but I am wondering you can do it with the WP7 devices, I don't want the Arrive because of the keyboard. I am just curious so any help would be appreciated. Sorry if i posted this in the wrong forum but I thought this would be a development question.

63 views and no replies, I guess I will write this off and wait until Sprint releases new WM7 phones, they are supposedly looking at the fall.

There are some listings on eBay purporting to sell unlock codes for the HTC Trophy. Some have already sold and the buyers have left positive feedback for the seller indicating success. Here (link) is the one I found, and I have no affiliation with the seller, eBay, etc. and cannot speak if this is legitimate or not. But apparently, it is possible.

Sprint as of current, will not allow any non Sprint branded phones on to their network. Even if you unlock the device, if it is not Sprint branded, and the ESN is not in their database, they will not allow it on their network.

I just don't get why people would prefer to have the SparkW (VZW Trophy) on Sprint vs the GoldC (HTC Arrive). The Arrive is made out of a nice metal, feels just like a Touch Pro2 but nicer... and its screen is only ever so slightly smaller then the Trophy. The Trophy, I got that thing in a tank of a case just so I know its in my pocket (I HATE small phones).
If anything I can't understand why Verizon didn't get GoldC or ask for a "GoldW" variant with World phone...
@MyNamesTheDoctor's You can't swap Sim cards to Sprint, Sprint is CDMA and doesn't use SIM cards. Due to Sprint's policies.... well.. only an illegal option is available to put the phone on Sprint.
Putting GoldC onto Verizon could probably be done legally, with a custom rom with Sprint software installed, and passing it threw Verizon's program to get the ESN/MIED added to their database... if they still do that. I can't wait for LTE to be the standard, then we won't have these issues with phones and everyone can have a SIM card.. and porting can be done with a simple unlock.
This really should be in Q&A though.

deleted

inteller said:
thanks for reminding me why I stick to GSM carriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If AT&T was worth a damn where I live, I would be back on them. They have poor coverage here though, so I am almost forced to use Verizon, which works wonderfully I have to say.

For me, Verizon has the best voice service in the area... while AT&T covers the area slightly better, Verizon has 3G data EVERYWHERE (they are 100% 3G), while AT&T has HSPA+ only closer to to Erie, and 1X in the rest of northwest PA.

(Historically) Which are the preferred carriers to purchase from?

CDMA - Verizon (not), Sprint?, U.S. Cellular?
GSM - AT&T?, T-Mobile?
As with a lot of other people on this site, I'm wondering which carrier will be best to pre-order from? I use Verizon but HATE the fact that most of the times it's one of the last carriers to be able to root the phone. I would also hate for this to turn into another Verizon Samsung Note 4 issue. Too bad the rumors where Samsung was going to start making phones that were both CDMA & GSM/UTMS were not true (as far as I am aware of).
This way since I'm now paying outright for my phones (roughly $800 bucks for 7 Edge), I could use it if I moved between carriers. After reading some other posts, now I'm wondering If I'm paying full price (paid in full), Will it be unlocked? I can't be the only one that feels RIPPED OFF when I pay $800 for a device and can't have root = have my own admin access. Can you imagine buying a laptop and not being able to install/change your own OS? not having admin rights/root?
I feel it's a MAJOR excuse for a carrier to even say - if we give you root & you change the ROM, then it makes it more difficult to help you. Guess what?!? I have not ever asked for help and nor would I... Besides, why couldn't they ask for the ROM version your using... if it matches theirs, they assist... if it doesn't, they tell you before they can assist you, you must put their ROM back on? Yes - there will always be that one person... but hey - if they were able to gain root and swap the ROM, they should be able to swap it back or pay to have it swapped back. OR at least pay for insurance and "accidentally drop it" and have it replaced.
It really bites that I (along with so many other people) want to pre-order the phone for several reasons (the free VR and games along with getting the phone first) but don't want to be SCREWED by one specific carrier and not be able to unlock the phone, root and replace the ROM.
So after all that - which carrier (historically) is the best to purchase from?
CDMA - Verizon (not), Sprint?, U.S. Cellular?
GSM - AT&T?, T-Mobile?
Additional INFO - I'm also about to call Verizon to confirm - But I read 2-3 months ago that Verizon will now allow another carrier's phone on their network (if it is CDMA). If that's true, then why not purchase the phone thru Sprint or US Cellular if historically those phones have been rooted easier than Verizon? I've been on Verizon for so long, that I'm really not sure...
Comments? suggestions?

What I'm going to do is pre-order from eBay.
The phones have a hell of a mark-up (+$200/$300), but there are unlocked Qualcomms that are usually rooted much more quickly with better support for AOSP.
I hate paying that much, but I'm going to have this phone for years, and the hassle from carrier-branded phones just isn't worth it.
Edit: You should still be able to add insurance and such through your carrier too, depending on their policies.
Didn't have an issue insuring previous phones with AT&T even though they were bought off-plan through other retailers.

It is slightly cheaper when buying it from Best Buy, $779 vs $792. I saw the T-mobile version supports band 13 LTE, but I didn't see anything about CDMA support.

I also did follow up with Verizon about placing a phone on their network that was not purchased from Verizon. They said it is currently limited to 2 phones - I don't have the names because I didn't care much......they couldn't tell me the S7 would be added to the list. So does that mean people on Verizon are STUCK purchasing from Verizon?

For my s6 edge I much preferred the unlocked UK version over the US AT&T version. (Which is why I asked in another thread when we can expect to see unlocked international versions).
AT&T not only added crazy bloat but removed really cool features from the phone. Just took em right out. They also removed Samsung deals/bundles from the phone (there was a MS suite and a free TB of storage or something removed). And in exchange for screwing with the phone they had crazy delays on updates (because they had to re-remove and re-screw the phone).
Coming from iPhone I just can't deal with carrier customizations. Unlocked for life. (crazy that Apple is unlocked now and Android isn't -- bizarro world).

JustWannaRom said:
I also did follow up with Verizon about placing a phone on their network that was not purchased from Verizon. They said it is currently limited to 2 phones - I don't have the names because I didn't care much......they couldn't tell me the S7 would be added to the list. So does that mean people on Verizon are STUCK purchasing from Verizon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nexus devices are the exception (6, 5X and 6P). The problem with VZW and Sprint is that they use proprietary CDMA technology for voice communication. You can bring just about any device to their networks and have data but you won't be able to make voice calls in most cases.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

JustWannaRom said:
CDMA - Verizon (not), Sprint?, U.S. Cellular?
GSM - AT&T?, T-Mobile?
As with a lot of other people on this site, I'm wondering which carrier will be best to pre-order from? I use Verizon but HATE the fact that most of the times it's one of the last carriers to be able to root the phone. I would also hate for this to turn into another Verizon Samsung Note 4 issue. Too bad the rumors where Samsung was going to start making phones that were both CDMA & GSM/UTMS were not true (as far as I am aware of).
This way since I'm now paying outright for my phones (roughly $800 bucks for 7 Edge), I could use it if I moved between carriers. After reading some other posts, now I'm wondering If I'm paying full price (paid in full), Will it be unlocked? I can't be the only one that feels RIPPED OFF when I pay $800 for a device and can't have root = have my own admin access. Can you imagine buying a laptop and not being able to install/change your own OS? not having admin rights/root?
I feel it's a MAJOR excuse for a carrier to even say - if we give you root & you change the ROM, then it makes it more difficult to help you. Guess what?!? I have not ever asked for help and nor would I... Besides, why couldn't they ask for the ROM version your using... if it matches theirs, they assist... if it doesn't, they tell you before they can assist you, you must put their ROM back on? Yes - there will always be that one person... but hey - if they were able to gain root and swap the ROM, they should be able to swap it back or pay to have it swapped back. OR at least pay for insurance and "accidentally drop it" and have it replaced.
It really bites that I (along with so many other people) want to pre-order the phone for several reasons (the free VR and games along with getting the phone first) but don't want to be SCREWED by one specific carrier and not be able to unlock the phone, root and replace the ROM.
So after all that - which carrier (historically) is the best to purchase from?
CDMA - Verizon (not), Sprint?, U.S. Cellular?
GSM - AT&T?, T-Mobile?
Additional INFO - I'm also about to call Verizon to confirm - But I read 2-3 months ago that Verizon will now allow another carrier's phone on their network (if it is CDMA). If that's true, then why not purchase the phone thru Sprint or US Cellular if historically those phones have been rooted easier than Verizon? I've been on Verizon for so long, that I'm really not sure...
Comments? suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tmobile period, not going to lock the boot loader you'll be able to root (provided the community finds a way, but it's a snap dragon and unlocked bootloader so they will most likely before it even releases. ) second if you don't want tmo service you can still root it and use am at&t sim so there's that.

Possible to sim unlock out of contract ?

have a verizon s5 id like to use on tmobile . the contract just ran out and there is no outstanding debt on the contract or device.

I believe that the Verizon S5 is SIM unlocked. I just went through the same thing when I switched from Verizon to AT&T with my phone. I found out the SIM is unlocked but the bootloader is not. When I tried to unlock the bootloader through Verizon, it definitely was like pulling teeth and I finally gave up because I didn't have the time or patience to deal with them anymore about this. When I tried to explain that I was out of contract, it seems like it fell on deaf ears. They wouldn't say whether there was an unlock key because of warranty issues and they didn't want to be responsible for any damage that might happen to the phone. That was the last straw with me. I've got a much better deal with AT&T and the people at the local AT&T store are very nice and helpful when I have any issues with my phone and system, When I took the phone to the AT&T store, they were able to get it to work with their system. The only minor annoyance that you'll have on the phone is that each time your phone boots up, you'll get a message that tells you that the SIM card is not from Verizon. Other than that, it works fine on AT&T. If I remember right, T-Mobile is a GSM carrier like AT&T. You best bet would be to take the phone to your local T-Mobile store and have them help you out with it.
Cindy