Unlocking T-Mobile phone

[55pilot]

I stopped by a T-Mobile store today to look at the Sensation-4G. I really liked it. With a bigger battery and an efficient CPU, this may be the first HTC that does not have a battery problem.

But the deal breaker is that T-Mobile does not have a Canada plan and I am traveling there a lot these days.

The sales person suggested that I get a prepaid SIM card for use when I am there. I pointed out that it requires an unlocked phone. She initially claimed that the Sensation-4G would work with any SIM card right out of the box, but after I pushed her to check with a manager, she changed that to claiming that if I explain my situation to T-Mobile, they would unlock the phone as soon as I am past the 14 day trial period. That whole exchange sounds a bit fishy.

What have people's experience been with T-Mobile's willingness to unlock their Android phones?

 

[NunyaBidnez]

From what I've heard, T-mobile is usually good about unlocking phones as long as you complete your contact or pay full price for the phone. Getting the phone unlocked shouldn't be a problem but there are other issues you should be aware of. Rogers, Bell, and Telus use the 850/1900 mhz frequency bands for their 3G data service, while T-mobile US uses 1700/2100 mhz. If you buy a T-mobile phone, you will not get service with Bell or Telus, and you will only get 2G data speeds on the Rogers network. On the other hand, the HTC Sensation is fully compatible with some Regional carriers in Canada, such as Wind Mobile, Mobilicity in Toronto, and Videotron in Quebec.You will get full 3G service with the listed regional carriers.

 

[55pilot]

From what I've heard, T-mobile is usually good about unlocking phones as long as you complete your contact or pay full price for the phone.

In other words, the promise of getting a phone purchased on discount price, unlocked 14 days after purchase is just BS?

Rogers, Bell, and Telus use the 850/1900 mhz frequency bands for their 3G data service, while T-mobile US uses 1700/2100 mhz.

Am I wrong in my understanding that a quad band GSM phone can receive data in any of the bands?

Thanks for the info.

 

[NunyaBidnez]

I believe the 14 day rule applies to phones bought without a contact at full retail price. If you bought the phone subsidized with a contact, you usually have to wait 3 months before T-mobile will give you the unlock code.

As for the issue with frequencies. A quadband gsm phone means that you will be able to make phone calls and use the slower EDGE data service on a compatible GSM/2G network . Unfortunately most Canadian service providers use WCDMA/3G technology for their network which is not compatible with phones from T-mobile. Rogers is the only service provider with GSM/2G service in Canada, which will work for calls and EDGE data speeds but you will not get 3G speeds with a T-mobile phone.

If you want a phone completely compatible with all the major Canadian service providers, buy an unlocked phone from AT&T.