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anyone know of any good stickies on flashing a Samsung s3, note, or any other new Samsung, or iphone. im curious which prepaid carrier is the best to flash to. and should I try to get a phone with a sim card? just looking for some ideas. thanks
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Are you implying that you currently have a phone on a postpaid plan, and you want to use it on a prepaid plan? What are you thinking of flashing?
well ill put it this way. my friend wants a nice phone on prepaid. doesn't care about cost. he has 2 phones now. one is on straight talk other is on T-Mobile..he wants a nice phone I was curious if anyone has done it and if anyone had any suggestions on what phone to use with what prepaid. like Sprint Verizon or AT&T iphone 4/5 on tmobile or straight talk. or a Sprint galaxy s3...he'll use just about any new-ish phone.
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I guess the 1st decision is what service he wants to go with. Phones are either CDMA or GSM, and not both, with few exceptions (like the new iPhones). So, if he gets a Verizon phone, he can't use it on T-Mobile or AT&T prepaid, and vice versa.
Since cost of the device is no issue, he just has to buy one that's factory unlocked (a.k.a., SIM unlocked).
apologies, I personally have an s3 through Sprint which Ive rooted along with numerous other phones just never did anything of this nature. so I should have him buy a phone that takes a SIM card we'll say and use either straight talk SIM card or tmobile? as an example.
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where would be the best place to buy factory unlocked phones? ebay? and obviously the easiest would be to go the SIM card route
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If the phone he has/gets is unlocked, he should have no problem swapping the SIM cards, and using the phone on either provider. If you want help mulling over specifics of what particular phone to buy, post it here. You'll get shut down if you start a thread asking what phone to buy.
pharmacist101 said:
where would be the best place to buy factory unlocked phones? ebay? and obviously the easiest would be to go the SIM card route
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Click to collapse
"Best" is subjective. Some would say to buy it from the manufacturer, as then you would have warranty, return policy, & everything.
well I talked to him and he says he'd prefer to go the galaxy s2 or 3 route. would it be cheaper to buy a unlocked GSM s2? im just confused about the SIM ordeal and what carrier to go with, with what phone. I've tried changing MEID before on a epic to use it on straight talk, which it was CDMA but I couldn't get the MEID to write properly so that was a fail.
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Yeah, you don't have to deal with that stuff with GSM phones. That whole "flashing to another provider" thing is a CDMA issue. Basically, any unlocked GSM phone will work, with any GSM provider.
Another thing to consider, though, is 4G data speeds. AT&T (and their MVNOs) and T-Mobile (and their MVNOs) use different frequencies for the highest speed cellular data connections. For example, if you buy an AT&T phone and then unlock it, you won't get 4G data speed on Simple Mobile, since Simple Mobile is a T-Mobile reseller. Therefore, even when you've finally decided which phone to buy, you still need to decide which bands you want it to have, based primarily on which service provider you plaln to go with. One exception to this is the Galaxy Nexus HSPA+, which is pentaband, and can be used just about anywhere, at full speed.
nice. any suggestions for iphone? My apologies. just seems those appear to be the cheapest route via ebay for a gsm unlocked one.
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pharmacist101 said:
nice. any suggestions for iphone? My apologies. just seems those appear to be the cheapest route via ebay for a gsm unlocked one.
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Click to collapse
I assume you live in Richmond VA. You probably have a choice between T-Mobile or AT&T 3G/4G. T-Mobile is far better than AT&T and the Monthly Prepaid stuff from T-Mobile isn't bad. I like the $30 plan personally.
MrObvious said:
I assume you live in Richmond VA. You probably have a choice between T-Mobile or AT&T 3G/4G. T-Mobile is far better than AT&T and the Monthly Prepaid stuff from T-Mobile isn't bad. I like the $30 plan personally.
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Click to collapse
There's two 30$ plans (the one with 100min, unl texts and 5GB data and a 1500 min/texts and a small amount of data (30MB?? I forget))
You should be specific. The 5GB data one is only available online or at Wal-Mart.
The other one is available in T-Mobile stores.
Sent from somewhere....if I could only remember where....
Richmond Indiana, my apologies. I appreciate all of the suggestions. I can root phones and such no problem, very new to this prepaid & gsm(sim card) stuff, as I have had Sprint for 6 years lol
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so I can order a iphone 3g gsm unlocked for like $120 on eBay (or is there a better place to order them?) and it will work with a straight talk sim card? it's for a friend, im not a fan of either xD
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Yes it will.
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Try typing your question in the thread, not as the thread topic...
If I was to order s att lte sim card and when they ask for a imei no. If I was to give them one from a regular att prepaid non smartphone could they tell that the phone wasnt a smartphone and if I could get by that if I got the prepaid $50 unlimited everything monthly you think that I could take that prepaid sim card and put it in a smartphone and get unlimited Lte data.Does anyone think this could possibly work. Thanks
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http://www.amazon.com/AT-T-Micro-SIM-Card/dp/B003YTSXYO
LostInMyHead said:
http://www.amazon.com/AT-T-Micro-SIM-Card/dp/B003YTSXYO
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Im actually wondering if my idea eould possibly work if it would I was going to put the att sim card in my unlocked tmobile Gs4.I kind of want to see if att's lte speeds are faster than tmobiles. Thanks
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Greg1964 said:
Im actually wondering if my idea eould possibly work if it would I was going to put the att sim card in my unlocked tmobile Gs4.I kind of want to see if att's lte speeds are faster than tmobiles. Thanks
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Well it's area dependent but my best is about 52 down, 21 up on AT&T
I heard if I go to att store that they will give me s free lte dim card. Is that correct I dont have to be an att customer? Thanks
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I went to att store to get a sim card for I can unlock my tmobile Gs4 and they wouldnt give me one or sell me one. I basically need a att sim card for I can unlock my tmobile Gs4.I can order one but thats kind of a pain.anybody have any suggestions. Thanks
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rp56 said:
I went to att store to get a sim card for I can unlock my tmobile Gs4 and they wouldnt give me one or sell me one. I basically need a att sim card for I can unlock my tmobile Gs4.I can order one but thats kind of a pain.anybody have any suggestions. Thanks
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Click to collapse
I have a dead TMO & ATT SIM you can have, PM me...
As the title suggests, I am talking to a guy who has a t-mobile nexus 4 that he is currently using on t-mobile.
I wanted to buy it but he said I would have to take it to a store to get it unlocked to work on AT&T. Is that true? Or can I just pop in my AT&T sim card and be good to go?
Thanks!
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WizeGuyDezignz said:
As the title suggests, I am talking to a guy who has a t-mobile nexus 4 that he is currently using on t-mobile.
I wanted to buy it but he said I would have to take it to a store to get it unlocked to work on AT&T. Is that true? Or can I just pop in my AT&T sim card and be good to go?
Thanks!
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Click to collapse
Yeah, it comes factory unlocked. Pop in an AT&T micro SIM, adjust APN settings accordingly and he should be good to go!
+1 on above post.
theres no such thing as a "t-mobile" nexus 4 , t-mobile just sells it, its the exact same nexus 4 you can buy from the google play store.
just pop your sim in and youll be fine. it comes factory unlocked already.
You can, but, I've read that the data speed is not as fast as it would be on T-Mobile. So just something to keep in mind.
Check the bands for speed reference and its only LTE that operates on a different band for AT&T so you won't be able finger that. Other than that you will be OK.
Hello, I was curious about something when it comes to doing a SIM unlock. I did some research and found that there are different ways to do sim unlocks depending on what type of phone you have (of course). In my case I'm running a GPE edition ROM on a i337. Would I use the i337 way or the GPE way? Or...would I have to flash a factory ROM to do it? Found a ton of troubleshooting for unlocking but never saw anything about using different ROMs. Thanks for your help!
I actually used this method. Read it carefully before attempting. I recommend printing it so you can have it to refer to. The *#0011# code is the one that I used. Remember that when instructed to hit the 'back' key, that doesn't mean on your device. It refers to the 'back' button you will see when you press your phone's menu button.
http://gs4.wonderhowto.com/how-to/c...y-s4-so-you-can-use-another-sim-card-0148110/
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So you had a custom ROM installed when you did it?
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Just ask at&t for the code. That service menu can cause trouble in the long run. Plus theres no known method of returning settings to stock.
Will they give it to me even though I'm still under contract?
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agent929 said:
Will they give it to me even though I'm still under contract?
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Click to collapse
Sometimes they will come times not. Never hurts to ask. And if the first try didn't work give them a call on another day. Sometimes it depends on who you get a hold of.
agent929 said:
Will they give it to me even though I'm still under contract?
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Click to collapse
What previous post said. But they have a policy some of their reps follow. Some are more nicer. They give it when youre 90 days in contract
j510 said:
What previous post said. But they have a policy some of their reps follow. Some are more nicer. They give it when youre 90 days in contract
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I'm way past 90 days into my contract. You didn't mean 90 days from your contract expiring did you? By the way thanks for your help along with everybody else in this post that has helped me!
90 days into contract. So you should be good to go. Shouldnt be a problem once they see that you meet requirements.
Thanks guys!
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At&T will not allow me to unlock my phone since it is still under service until 2015 >.< It took 4 people to finally get someone who spoke real english and well this is the last straw with att, no longer buying phones through them. Hello nexus.
toxicpaulution said:
At&T will not allow me to unlock my phone since it is still under service until 2015 >.< It took 4 people to finally get someone who spoke real english and well this is the last straw with att, no longer buying phones through them. Hello nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you actually don't call them to do it. You can go to https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/client/en_US/ and do it there.
agent929 said:
I guess you actually don't call them to do it. You can go to https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/client/en_US/ and do it there.
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Click to collapse
Says it wont allow it.
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Says right on the site...
Postpaid Smartphone Customers: Account has been active for at least ninety days and is in good standing (i.e., it has no past due amount or unpaid balance owed AT&T.
This doesn't apply to Apple products (not that you have one, but I thought it's good to know)
So I got the unlock codes from AT&T a few moments ago..and I'm a little unsure how to enter them into the phone..i thought you type it in the dialer but that didn't work. I just read that you need to insert a sim from another carrier...lol my intention was to sell an unlocked s4 so I could buy a different one. How do I unlock without a different carriers sim card...I have the unlock code
No suggestions?
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agent929 said:
No suggestions?
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Don't think you can. Hopefully, i'm wrong because I can't enter the code due to the previous 'free' attempt and can't get back into service menu (CM rom)
agent929 said:
No suggestions?
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Click to collapse
You need to pop in another carriers sim card or any older non att based sim card.
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Some back info first... I had most of the high end AT&T androids and the iphone 5 in the past year. I tried numerous times to get unlock codes from customer service. Unlocked phones just have better resell value. Nothing works cause still under contract.
I currently have 3 smartphones with data share. $250/month is killing me. So recently traded my iPhone 5 for a S4. I didn't activate it on my line. I was looking towards the prepaid especially with Straight talk having ATT lte now and the nationwide release of Aio Wireless but T-Mobile $30 plan (100 min unlimited text and unlimited data up to 5gigs) is what I really wanted. This made me want to unlock the S4 since I live in a refarmed area. I can live with Hspa for $30.
I read on numerous forums that ppl may get a better chance of unlocking their device thru ATT international online chat. I tried so many times but they were always busy. Got lucky, finally spoke to a someone online. Gave them my ATT account info and etc. Was thinking I never got them to give me the codes before. This was just another time they would deny me. Another thing this s4 isn't even activated on my account. Gave them the imei, few minutes later I got directions and the unlock code for it. So damn excited but that's not the best part.
There's also an "Aws T-Mobile mod" for our ATT S4 to enable the Aws bands on the att s4. I'm like this is perfect. I can use the refarmed spectrum and the other hspa+ bands on the s4 and pay only $30/month. This is a no Brainer. Unfortunately. Couldn't get the Aws mod to work because you need a PC and I have a mac.
Took one of my old reg tmobile sim, using a sim template, I cut down the sim to a micro sim. Did the unlock procedure and it worked. Went to best buy to buy a tmobile prepaid kit and activated it with the $30 plan (only available to new activations). I'm thinking the 1900mHz refarmed band is reg but my phone showed 4g and was confused but I was getting 4-6mb down. Definitely could live with this. This is where I live. Driving to work, it showed full bars 4g lte. Got excited so I did a speed test. The highest I got was 12mb. I also looked it up just as I got home and one forum confirmed the same thing. Unlocked AT&T S4 works on T-Mobile Lte.
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s4/292079-t-s4-unlocked-lte-t-mobile.html
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---------- Post added at 03:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:13 PM ----------
Febby said:
You need to pop in another carriers sim card or any older non att based sim card.
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Click to collapse
You have to shut off your phone, insert tmobile sim, restart, entunlockrr code and voila.
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I bought two At&t Note 3s yesterday. One for me and one for a friend. I'm on At&t and my friend is on MetroPCS. I called At&t for an unlock and they couldnt get me a code, even though one was paid in full price and "qualified" to get unlocked according to them. So this is how I got the phones unlocked.
Reminder: I'm not responsible for any damage you may do to your phone. Proceed at your own risk!
Root is Required!
1. To root your At&t Note 3 follow this guide (Thank You designgears!)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2474422
2. You will need to allow unknown sources to be installed.
Settings>General>Security>Unknown Sources (Make sure its checked)
3. Install Chainfire's RegionLock Away App from Google Play Store (and buy him a beer :highfive or download it from here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2470551
4. Tap "Region Unlock" in the app
5. Let it do its thing
6. Choose Reboot Later (Thats what I did at least)
7. Turn off the phone and try a non-At&t sim card.
I tried my old T-mobile sim in mine and it pulled up, and we just got back from the MetroPCS store and have his running on that.
tyiphius said:
I bought two At&t Note 3s yesterday. One for me and one for a friend. I'm on At&t and my friend is on MetroPCS. I called At&t for an unlock and they couldnt get me a code, even though one was paid in full price and "qualified" to get unlocked according to them. So this is how I got the phones unlocked.
Reminder: I'm not responsible for any damage you may do to your phone. Proceed at your own risk!
Root is Required!
1. To root your At&t Note 3 follow this guide (Thank You designgears!)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2474422
2. You will need to allow unknown sources to be installed.
Settings>General>Security>Unknown Sources (Make sure its checked)
3. Install Chainfire's RegionLock Away App from Google Play Store (and buy him a beer :highfive or download it from here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2470551
4. Tap "Region Unlock" in the app
5. Let it do its thing
6. Choose Reboot Later (Thats what I did at least)
7. Turn off the phone and try a non-At&t sim card.
I tried my old T-mobile sim in mine and it pulled up, and we just got back from the MetroPCS store and have his running on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow thanks it work never thought it would work like magic
I can confirm that this worked to unlock mine. I tried a T-Mobile SIM and was able to make a call. Thanks.
munnarg said:
I can confirm that this worked to unlock mine. I tried a T-Mobile SIM and was able to make a call. Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing.. Is this permanent unlock?
coskevin said:
Thanks for sharing.. Is this permanent unlock?
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Click to collapse
Yes. I've soft bricked my phone, reflashed, stuck in my T mobile sim card without running the app and it pulled up the network.
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tyiphius said:
Yes. I've soft bricked my phone, reflashed, stuck in my T mobile sim card without running the app and it pulled up the network.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This works! I wonder if this affect the LTE because I think it modifies the modem. Have you notice a difference?
tyiphius said:
Yes. I've soft bricked my phone, reflashed, stuck in my T mobile sim card without running the app and it pulled up the network.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same question.
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I have an unlocked note 3 simply I went into the AT&T store where I live and said unlock it or I won't buy it and bam they did it. I have a simple pay as you go T-Mobile card popped it in, input the code and unlocked I was. I had to buy the phone outright so was costly but not at all risky. LTE showed up just fine on the T-Mobile network.
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coskevin said:
This works! I wonder if this affect the LTE because I think it modifies the modem. Have you notice a difference?
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Click to collapse
slidesear said:
Same question.
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Click to collapse
I havent noticed a difference. Everything is still fast for me.
Whoflungdu said:
I have an unlocked note 3 simply I went into the AT&T store where I live and said unlock it or I won't buy it and bam they did it. I have a simple pay as you go T-Mobile card popped it in, input the code and unlocked I was. I had to buy the phone outright so was costly but not at all risky. LTE showed up just fine on the T-Mobile network.
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Click to collapse
You lucky mother fu
I asked at&t here about that since i bought one full price and they said, to call customer service. So did the next day and they "couldnt" give me the network code. I honestly dont care about an unlock as I'm on At&t.
The only difference is that you're phone wont be region unlocked. Sim unlock and region unlock are different.
Did you buy your phone full price/off contract?
tyiphius said:
You lucky mother fu
I asked at&t here about that since i bought one full price and they said, to call customer service. So did the next day and they "couldnt" give me the network code. I honestly dont care about an unlock as I'm on At&t.
The only difference is that you're phone wont be region unlocked. Sim unlock and region unlock are different.
Did you buy your phone full price/off contract?
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Click to collapse
Yeah I did buy it full price out of contract. As for the region unlock luckily we still have Chainfires method for that fix.
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Whoflungdu said:
Yeah I did buy it full price out of contract. As for the region unlock luckily we still have Chainfires method for that fix.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats kinda of upsetting. I walked into the store and told them I wanted one full price and they were like "There's no 'full price', its just at&t next and you pay it off all at once if you want". I went online and showed them the option to do full price OR next, and they said they couldn't sell full price in the store. Didn't understand that because my s3 and note 3 were both full price at the store, Plus I've found deals with coupons online and they've matched it before! I hate when I go somewhere and I know more than the person working with me (I think he was just trying to get more commission off me.IDK). : They made me wait longer for the phone than I should've too. Guess my store here just sucks :rolleyes
Kudos to you. Wish that would've happened to me!
tyiphius said:
Thats kinda of upsetting. I walked into the store and told them I wanted one full price and they were like "There's no 'full price', its just at&t next and you pay it off all at once if you want". I went online and showed them the option to do full price OR next, and they said they couldn't sell full price in the store. Didn't understand that because my s3 and note 3 were both full price at the store, Plus I've found deals with coupons online and they've matched it before! I hate when I go somewhere and I know more than the person working with me (I think he was just trying to get more commission off me.IDK). : They made me wait longer for the phone than I should've too. Guess my store here just sucks :rolleyes
Kudos to you. Wish that would've happened to me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had herd a lot of horror stories like this before I went it but I knew my facts as it seems you do too. An I was just very blunt and studdorn, but also polite. I explained I travel to Europe all the time since I am English and I refuse to pay international rates. An I guess I got the 1 guy in all AT&T that was willing to go to bat for me.
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Whoflungdu said:
I had herd a lot of horror stories like this before I went it but I knew my facts as it seems you do too. An I was just very blunt and studdorn, but also polite. I explained I travel to Europe all the time since I am English and I refuse to pay international rates. An I guess I got the 1 guy in all AT&T that was willing to go to bat for me.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too. Going back to London next month, I shall see if the my N900T works there with a local sim card. Any recommendations on what sim to get when out there?
Limeybastard said:
Me too. Going back to London next month, I shall see if the my N900T works there with a local sim card. Any recommendations on what sim to get when out there?
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Click to collapse
EE is the largest provider in England but there are also Vodafone, 3, and someone else.
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Whoflungdu said:
EE is the largest provider in England but there are also Vodafone, 3, and someone else.
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Click to collapse
Wasn't EE orange and t mobile joining? I have to verify the lte band support they offer and chose one based on what my unit is compatible with. There is O2 also.
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Limeybastard said:
Wasn't EE orange and t mobile joining? I have to verify the lte band support they offer and chose one based on what my unit is compatible with. There is O2 also.
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Click to collapse
That's exactly right yeah so you will probably have your best chance with them since your using a T-Mobile device here.
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Whoflungdu said:
That's exactly right yeah so you will probably have your best chance with them since your using a T-Mobile device here.
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Click to collapse
I'm thinking Band 7 2600 , according to Wikipedia both EE and Vodaphone support it.
I'm on ATT on a t mobile device.
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Limeybastard said:
I'm thinking Band 7 2600 , according to Wikipedia both EE and Vodaphone support it.
I'm on ATT on a t mobile device.
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Click to collapse
I would say go with EE first cause I have herd mixed results from my mates that are on Vodafone.
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Whoflungdu said:
I would say go with EE first cause I have herd mixed results from my mates that are on Vodafone.
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Click to collapse
Okay will do thanks. Going to research sim card prices.
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Limeybastard said:
Okay will do thanks. Going to research sim card prices.
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Click to collapse
They should cost more than £1 at most if your just after a crap pay as you go. Its up to you what you put on the account.
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