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Nexus One in Korea

J

jok52

Lurker
Hi, so my Verizon contract ended recently and I was thinking of getting the Nexus One. I read that the Verizon version will be released in spring but will be CDMA instead of GSM. I am a college student and want to get this phone and use it back home ( Korea) during summer break.

So here are the questions:

If I get the Nexus One with the T-mobile contract ($180) will I be able to switch the sim card and use it in Korea as well?

If the verizon version is released (CDMA) will I be able to use it overseas (korea)?

What will my bill be? Will I pay my regular monthly fee in Korea while I'm in Korea?

I was wondering if the Nexus One can be used in Korea and the States and if so, how? Thanks for all your help.
 
Tmobile is pretty friendly about unlocking phones. All you require is a 90 day period after you get the phone, then you can call t-mobile customer service and they will send you an unlock code (this can take up to a week or two). The phone will work on Korea's WCDMA networks or GSM networks by roaming....

BUT and this is a HUGE but... If you want to get a cellular account in korea, the cell system works in a strange way here. Instead of an IMEI blacklist like the US uses, Korea has an IMEI whitelist. What does this mean? Korea keeps a list of the digital serial numbers of every phone able to get onto the cell networks in the country. If your phone isn't on that list, you can't get on the network with a korean carrier, you can only go roaming with your US carrier and that can get expensive. There's a way to get your phone put onto the list, but it requires extensive testing to make sure your phone follows korean laws, and the testing is quite expensive (something around $400-500 was quoted to me).

However, I'm not sure what the policy is for phone models that are currently being sold in Korea, somebody else will have to answer that question.
 
If you buy the Nexus One from T-Mobile, even though it will be a subsudized device, you still get the SAME one as if you bought it directly from Goggle. Which means it is already unlocked.

The ONLY difference is that you are locked into a contract with T-Mobile. :D
 
What the guy with the little droid avatar said. All N1's are unlocked, whether you buy 'em direct from Google or with a T-Mobile contract. Part of the attraction; Google accepts no carrier lock or branding.
 
jok52 said:
Hi, so my Verizon contract ended recently and I was thinking of getting the Nexus One. I read that the Verizon version will be released in spring but will be CDMA instead of GSM. I am a college student and want to get this phone and use it back home ( Korea) during summer break.

So here are the questions:

If I get the Nexus One with the T-mobile contract ($180) will I be able to switch the sim card and use it in Korea as well?

If the verizon version is released (CDMA) will I be able to use it overseas (korea)?

What will my bill be? Will I pay my regular monthly fee in Korea while I'm in Korea?

I was wondering if the Nexus One can be used in Korea and the States and if so, how? Thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...

No you will not be able to. All of the Nexus One's are unlocked, it doesn't matter if it is subsidized from T-Mobile or not, it's the same phone unlocked.

However here is your problem: Korea is mostly CDMA, but they do have support for the UMTS(3G) band which the N1 supports and is what the iPhone in Korea uses. But, KT the carrier who supports it has a white list of all IMEI numbers and will reject your phone connecting to their network. You can't take an unlocked iPhone and use on their network either because it's IMEI number will not be on their white list.

Korea is probably the most screwed up place when it comes to cell phones, the government actually hugely taxes anyone importing other phones to protect Samsung and LG. Apple made a special deal with the government to get it in.

Anyways, I'm sorry but it won't work. My boss works 6 months in US and 6 months in Korea, so I did a bunch of research trying to find him a single phone and found all that info out.
 
My Nexus One is actually able to connect in Suwon using SK Telecom's UMTS network with a roaming SIM - for some reason my old G1 wasn't able to do this. Haven't tried the device with a local SIM though, and roaming for a summer is probably not a good idea with student budget.
 
Much of time is spent in Korea (back and forth from the U.S.). I would like to purchase the Nexus One, but am considering the most economical plan (maybe there isn't one). May I ask, are you using T-Mobile? If so, approximately what is the charge for using your roaming SIM here in Korea? Additionally, are you familiar with SeaRoam (global SIM); SeaRoam - Low Cost Roaming? It appears it may provide considerable savings.
 
keletappi said:
My Nexus One is actually able to connect in Suwon using SK Telecom's UMTS network with a roaming SIM - for some reason my old G1 wasn't able to do this. Haven't tried the device with a local SIM though, and roaming for a summer is probably not a good idea with student budget.
Click to expand...

roaming is always allowed. :) both SKTelecom and your host carrier make a bundle out of it so why won't they allow it?! it's when you try to use local SIM that is not allowed due to the aforementioned whitelist of devices.

If anyone is desperate enough to want one phone (two SIM) solution, there is a way but it'll cost about $500 USD and a week's time away from your phone.

-hechon
 
If I were to purchase a Nexis one in Korea through SK Telecom, would I be able to use that in the states? I know the device comes with a SIM card slot. And I know there are problems supporting the phone from the US in Korea. But is it possible to bring the Korean version of Nexus One over two the US and use it there. Meaning can I connect the Korean model of the Nexus one onto the T-Mobile network, for instance.
 
Same question as the last guy, but on ATT instead. The nice lady at the store quoted me 699,600 Won, which works out to about 600 bucks. I did some digging, and it APPEARS that this Nexus would work on ATT for 3G. Can anyone confirm this?
I can't get T-Mobile where I live, and have already been kicked off of their network once. Verizon isn't an option now because I'm out of the States half the year (right now, I'm in Korea), and I'd like to be able to use this most places. Also, would I be able to make this thing speak English if I got it? The screens are all in Korean.
 
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