T-Mo Motorola Defy working on AT&T 3G (850 band only)

[colnago]

FWIW, I got the T-Mo Motorola Defy last night at full retail (I have both Tmo and At&t) and had to put in service call to get a "working" unlock code, but 2nd one worked. Customer service was more than willing to provide it to me, but the ones they had initially didn't work, and were half as long as what did. Getting 2Mbs+ down 1.5Mbs up on the AT&T 850 band (no 1900 UMTS, does have 1900 Edge).

I'm sure its not as "full featured" as the Pro, but for those looking for an AT&T alternative, this should fit the bill, especially compared to the flimsier Bravo cousin. Another thing to consider is that it works on the $15/mo Media Net plan (helps if you're grandfathered in with Unlimited). Its really small/light (3.7" screen), but again, feels much more durable than the Bravo (water resistant, ruggedized plastic, and Gorilla Glass). I do miss a hardware keyboard, but at least I have slingmobile again. Another plus is that the sound quality/volume are really good. I was running the Skype Echo test and a decent level, and realized it was playing thru the earpiece, and not the speaker...this at half volume.

Also, on T-Mo, it was holding signal in the problem areas in my town (inside some buildings), a little better than the N900 and Moto Q I was previously using...2-4 bars vs. 0-2.

Just a heads up.

 

[ysjl03]

Oh wow! I thought DEFY does not have the 850 UMTS band!

Quote from T-mobile site:
"Band (frequency):850 MHz;900 MHz;1800 MHz;1900 MHz;UMTS: Band I (2100);UMTS: Band IV (1700/2100)"

So does this mean that DEFY can actually run on the Canadian Rogers 3G network which is also 850/1900? Omg, this is big!!

Quick question though, where did you call the unlock this phone?

 

[colnago]

Yeah, I always check a few sources to confirm...always some incorrect info floating somewhere.

From the Motorola site:

DEFY with MOTOBLUR - Android Smart Phone with Blur - Touchscreen - Water Dust Scratch Resistant - Tech Specs - Motorola USA

NETWORKS
WCDMA 850/1700/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (Category 7/8), EDGE Class 12, GPRS Class 12, HSUPA 2.0 Mbps, eCompass/aGPS

As far as getting it unlocked, I just called the main Customer Service line at T-Mo: 800-866-2453

I do miss a hardware keyboard, as well as a D-Pad/arrows, but for $379, its a decent Android phone for AT&T, that lets me keep cheaper data plan. Having the hardest time mapping phone to network share folders on my PCs. It was automatic, once I connected to WiFi, on my Nokia. Not sure if its the Defy, and Motoblur, or Android...been a while since I had my Droid 1.

If someone reports that they got the Droid 2 Global working on AT&T, I'm switching...too hard for me to type on the 3.7" screen.

 

[cchai]

Hi thank you very much for this brave experimentation!

I am wondering whether your Defy is connected to AT&T high-speed data, or the slower EDGE? If it uses high speed connection, may I know whether you have done some specific settings or is it just simple plug-in-SIM-and-play?

I am very attracted to Defy's water-proof feature. The only thing holding me back from purchase is just my question about Internet functionality on AT&T network.

Please kindly let me know. Enjoy your cool smart phone~

 

[colnago]

Hi thank you very much for this brave experimentation!

I am wondering whether your Defy is connected to AT&T high-speed data, or the slower EDGE? If it uses high speed connection, may I know whether you have done some specific settings or is it just simple plug-in-SIM-and-play?

I am very attracted to Defy's water-proof feature. The only thing holding me back from purchase is just my question about Internet functionality on AT&T network.

Please kindly let me know. Enjoy your cool smart phone~

No, per the picture of the status page, its definitely on AT&T 3G (hint "Mobile Network Type - UMTS". That and I was getting 2-3Mbs download and 1-1.5Mbs upload with my AT&T SIM, per Speakeasy - Speed Test. When the Defy drops to "Edge" the "E" icon is displayed in the status bar...something which frequently happens in some buildings in my town with T-Mo. Oddly enough, at my new job site, T-Mo gets better reception "inside the building" than any of my co-workers providers. But I think its mainly due to a new cell being installed about 2 miles away.

However when trying to see if AT&T had a better signal than T-Mo with the Defy, and an old AT&T Moto Q, somehow AT&T saw that I was using a "smartphone" and changed my plan from Unlimited Media Net, to the new 2GB smartphone plan, even though I only had the AT&T SIM installed for a few minutes. I'm not sure which one did it though. When the AT&T SIM was in the Defy, I get a few text messages stating that I had an "invalid number". Once I log in with my MotoBlur and GMail accounts, the texts stop...though I am not sure if the texts are coming from AT&T or Motorola/Google.

 

[cchai]

That is very helpful! I think AT&T signal towers always recognizes and updates your phone model whenever your phone first boots and connects to the service. But I guess both unlimited media net (for dumb phone) and 2 GB smartphone plan cost $15/month, right?

Still I am too weak for the temptation; I just bought a Defy on eBay today. Unfortunately I am not a T-mobile user and have to pay some extra to those unlocking companies out there...

 

[colnago]

MediaNet is $10/$15, and 2GB plan is $30/mo. Not sure what MediaNet limits are, as I am grandfathered w/unlimited.

 

[mfe018]

Yeah, I always check a few sources to confirm...always some incorrect info floating somewhere.

From the Motorola site:

DEFY with MOTOBLUR - Android Smart Phone with Blur - Touchscreen - Water Dust Scratch Resistant - Tech Specs - Motorola USA

NETWORKS
WCDMA 850/1700/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (Category 7/8), EDGE Class 12, GPRS Class 12, HSUPA 2.0 Mbps, eCompass/aGPS

As far as getting it unlocked, I just called the main Customer Service line at T-Mo: 800-866-2453

I do miss a hardware keyboard, as well as a D-Pad/arrows, but for $379, its a decent Android phone for AT&T, that lets me keep cheaper data plan. Having the hardest time mapping phone to network share folders on my PCs. It was automatic, once I connected to WiFi, on my Nokia. Not sure if its the Defy, and Motoblur, or Android...been a while since I had my Droid 1.

If someone reports that they got the Droid 2 Global working on AT&T, I'm switching...too hard for me to type on the 3.7" screen.

Hello colnago, so you are saying that every single US version DEFY supports WCDMA 850 mhz band for 3G networks after being unlocked, even if it is from T-MOBILE? I am planning to buy one from EBAY to be used in Costa Rica, where the carrier uses WCDMA 850 for 3G, but I am afraid I can end up using GSM only.

I guess I have to trust T-MO with this they have on their DEFY

 

[colnago]

Hello colnago, so you are saying that every single US version DEFY supports WCDMA 850 mhz band for 3G networks after being unlocked, even if it is from T-MOBILE?

No, I'm saying that the T-Mobile (USA) branded Defy (note the white colored housing) uses an AT&T 3G band, most likely 850, as per Motorola's website.

 

[komizutama]

However when trying to see if AT&T had a better signal than T-Mo with the Defy, and an old AT&T Moto Q, somehow AT&T saw that I was using a "smartphone" and changed my plan from Unlimited Media Net, to the new 2GB smartphone plan, even though I only had the AT&T SIM installed for a few minutes. I'm not sure which one did it though. When the AT&T SIM was in the Defy, I get a few text messages stating that I had an "invalid number". Once I log in with my MotoBlur and GMail accounts, the texts stop...though I am not sure if the texts are coming from AT&T or Motorola/Google.

Out of curiosity did it end up staying on the new 2gb plan?
thanks for all your help,
cheers

 

[colnago]

Out of curiosity did it end up staying on the new 2gb plan?
thanks for all your help,
cheers

I called AT&T and had them put me back on the unlimited "MediaNet" plan, and still use an unlocked/unbranded Nokia. I'm kinda bummed, given the recent "Atrix" announcement, because if I switch to an AT&T branded smartphone, I'll lose my unlimited plan.

 

[marhodges]

BTW I have been using my Samsung Captivate (that I did not buy from AT&T) since August with my unlimited MediaNet plan and using up to 8GB one month. I just put my SIM card in and it worked great even before I rooted.