If I have a phone from one cell phone company can I get it hooked up to work with a plan on another cell phone

Question

company? Or are they gonna make me buy a phone from them and sign a contract?

Answer 1

It'll depend if it is an unlocked cell phone.

An unlock cell phone means you may use it with any cell phone carrier using the same technology that is designed for the cell phone.

Currently, there are 2 technogies used in US market. The first one is GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications ) system. It requires a SIM card in cell phones. For instance, T-mobile and Cingular are carriers uisng this technology in US.

The 2nd technology is called CDMA (Code division multiple access ). For example, Verizon and Nextel are carriers using this technology in US.

If your unlocked cell phone is designed to use under GSM system, you'll need to pick the carrier like t-mobile, or Cingular, and so on. Likewise, if your unlocked cell phone is designed to use CDMA system, you'll need to pick the carrier like Verizon, or Nextel, and so on.

However, if it is locked then you'll be forced to use the service from the carrier that it is designed for. Somewhere on the net you can find a way to unlock it if it is locked. The following is the link that offers this service:

http://www.thetravelinsider.info/roadwar...

Answer 2

With GSM networks yes just swap out the SIM card and have the MSL unlocked. GSM carriers in the US include Cingular and T-Mobile. Nokia has some phones you can buy like the greatest cell phone ever made and if you think differently you are so wrong Nokia N93 that will work on any carrier regardless of what technology they use. The cell phone companies only make money if you sign a contract and the sales reps don't get paid if they don't sign you to one they will tell you they can't but they can. However if you run by the independently owned stores they will most likely do it for a fee probably.

Some phones are set up to work with multiple carriers and come out of the box unlocked.

Those type phones usually are not cheap and cost a few hundred the N93 costs 700$ and can pretty much do anything a computer can do (play any type music file, record hours of video, 3.2 megapixel camera, access any website, edit video, etc.) but it will work with any carrier in the US regardless of whether they use GSM or wCDMA. If you check Nokia's site they list phones you can buy direct from them unlocked. T-Mobile's Nokia 8801 was 800$ when it first came out and was available for any GSM carrier for about a year.

Having the MSL unlocked is not easy some independent cell phone stores will do it when they set up service for you and some websites will give you the instructions for a small fee but be careful three wrong tries and the phone becomes an expensive paperweight.

Answer 3

If you get your cell phone unlocked and let's say it's from T-Mobile and you want it to be Cingular then you can do it, but only after the phone is unlocked. You can only do it for phones with sim cards in them.

Answer 4

it depends on who the carrier is, if its sprint or cingular phones, NO because they lock their phones to their network only, but like the person said above me if it is an unlocked gsm phone and your going to a gsm network like cingular or tmobile then yeah just pop in the SIM card, if it is a cdma network like verizon, us cellular, or alltel then yes but they wont activate it at the store if they see another name on it, you have to call tech support and get an esn change, with sprint they will only activate sprint phones and they have a cataloged list of their serial numbers so no way around that

Answer 5

They usually have a few free phones for new customers.

Yes, sometimes you can still use your old one. Take it in and ask them.