Sprint with unlocked iPhone?

[TheGooch69]

Since the iPhone has been unlocked, is there any other providers that I can use the phone with other than T-mobile? I currently have a Motorola Q with Sprint, but I want an iPhone Will I be able to use the SIM card out of my MotoQ in an unlocked iPhone?

 

[chris07]

nope sprint isn't gsm which means u cant use the sim with and unlocked iPhone..

y don't u switch to tmobile or att i cant stand sprint!

 

[ahaxton]

Since the iPhone has been unlocked, is there any other providers that I can use the phone with other than T-mobile? I currently have a Motorola Q with Sprint, but I want an iPhone Will I be able to use the SIM card out of my MotoQ in an unlocked iPhone?

Why'd you get Sprint?!? They use CDMA technology. Practically nobody on this planet uses that.

Taken from Wikipedia on GSM:
Global System for Mobile communications (GSM: originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. GSM service is used by over 2 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories.[1][2] Its ubiquity makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs significantly from its predecessors in that both signaling and speech channels are digital call quality, and so is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system. This has also meant that data communication were built into the system using the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

 

[TheGooch69]

Cause I originally had Nextel for the longest time and was sick of their crappy phones and didn't want to pay a ETF fee so just switched to Sprint. There are several tricks that I learned since then to cancel my plan without paying a ETF. Looks like I'm going to have to get dirty with Sprint.

 

[aggieman]

Since the iPhone has been unlocked, is there any other providers that I can use the phone with other than T-mobile? I currently have a Motorola Q with Sprint, but I want an iPhone Will I be able to use the SIM card out of my MotoQ in an unlocked iPhone?

iPhone only works on GSM networks and Sprint uses CDMA technology. Also the Moto Q does not have a sim card. Only GSM phones have a SIM card.

 

[TheGooch69]

iPhone only works on GSM networks and Sprint uses CDMA technology. Also the Moto Q does not have a sim card. Only GSM phones have a SIM card.

No, my MotoQ has a sim card that you can remove.

 

[jbarrack]

I switched from Sprint ... GSM has it alll overrrr CDMA .. The GSM carriers get all the best phones long before the CDMA ones even think about converting GSM phones to CDMA ... Sprint and Verizon come out with phones AT&T has had for years. For example the HTC mogul (Sprint) and the Cingular 8525. The Mogul just came out, and the 8525 has been out since forever. That was the second reason why I switched, iPhone number one ...

 

[aggieman]

No, my MotoQ has a sim card that you can remove.

that would be a flash memory mini SD card for storage that installs on the side panel of the phone. Totally different than a SIM card. A GSM phone has to have a SIM card to be activated. CDMA phones such as the Q are activated by the ESN number through the provider.

 

[aggieman]

I switched from Sprint ... GSM has it alll overrrr CDMA .. The GSM carriers get all the best phones long before the CDMA ones even think about converting GSM phones to CDMA ... Sprint and Verizon come out with phones AT&T has had for years. For example the HTC mogul (Sprint) and the Cingular 8525. The Mogul just came out, and the 8525 has been out since forever. That was the second reason why I switched, iPhone number one ...

very true but i tend to favor Verizon. Never a dropped call and cant beat the data network. That said i haven't had too many problems with ATT.

 

[TheGooch69]

that would be a flash memory mini SD card for storage that installs on the side panel of the phone. Totally different than a SIM card. A GSM phone has to have a SIM card to be activated. CDMA phones such as the Q are activated by the ESN number through the provider.

Yes I know the difference between a SD card and a SIM card. I have both. The SIM card is underneath the battery and slides right out.

 

[jbarrack]

very true but i tend to favor Verizon. Never a dropped call and cant beat the data network. That said i haven't had too many problems with ATT.

Yeah my Sprint had good service too. Not so good EVDO as far as coverage. My uncle had Verizon and he had EVDO everywhere and my Sprint phone had it no where. I have had no att problems, infact I think there better in my area then sprint.

 

[aggieman]

Yes I know the difference between a SD card and a SIM card. I have both. The SIM card is underneath the battery and slides right out.

here is a picture of my CDMA Q on Verizon's network. Note that there is only a slot for the battery, no SIM slot at all. Verizon's and Sprint's Q hardware is the exact same. Both Verizon and Sprint use CDMA technology which does not use SIM cards-SIM cards are only found on GSM phones (Cingular/ATT and T-Mobile and providers abroad). I have a Sprint Q at home as well that I no longer use and will post pictures of it later as well.

anyways back to the original topic, iPhone = GSM, Sprint = CDMA thereforee iPhone and Sprint are not compatible.

 

[Redfor]

Personally CDMA is actually a better technology than GSM. The Larger carriers use GSM because it's simple on the end user ( pop a SIM out and stick in new phone where as CDMA phones have to be programmed ). It's not that GSM gets better phones, the larger carriers are GSM, The larger Cellular companys can buy phones in extremely large Bulk which overall gives them priority on phones. Where as some of your smaller carriers actually create "Groups" where they get together and buy phone from Cellular manufactureres which means they usually don't get the hottest phones out until the large carriers exclusive contract runs out.

 

[aggieman]

Personally CDMA is actually a better technology than GSM. The Larger carriers use GSM because it's simple on the end user ( pop a SIM out and stick in new phone where as CDMA phones have to be programmed ). It's not that GSM gets better phones, the larger carriers are GSM, The larger Cellular companys can buy phones in extremely large Bulk which overall gives them priority on phones. Where as some of your smaller carriers actually create "Groups" where they get together and buy phone from Cellular manufactureres which means they usually don't get the hottest phones out until the large carriers exclusive contract runs out.

agreed i've generally had a better experience with CDMA carriers. but Verizon isn't exactly a small company, #2 carrier in US and only + or - 2 million subscribers from ATT/Cingular's subscriber base. I have a hard time believing they can't get better phones than what they get.

 

[Redfor]

Oh... btw in case this hasn't made it out, which I would be surprised if it hasn't yet.. When I was working with a local cellular carrier for 2 years recently ( last 6-8 months ) Nokia is talking about abandoning CDMA. I think the biggest reason is that they don't want to pay Qualacom (msp?) for their chip technology and have been making their own chips instead. But again, Last I heard, Nokia plans on Droping CDMA all together, so.... ya get the idea.. less quality phones for CDMA unfortunately

 

[jbarrack]

That must be such a pain in the ass to make a phone thats GSM then have to change the chip to cdma, get it fcc approved all over again and do all this stuff. I don't blame them ...

 

[dagoo98]

Yes I know the difference between a SD card and a SIM card. I have both. The SIM card is underneath the battery and slides right out.

I'm 99% sure that SIM cards are exclusive to GSM networks which means your Sprint phone does not have a SIM card.

If by some miracle it does, you still will not be able to use a unlocked iPhone on the sprint network because sprint is CDMA and the iPhone only supports GSM networks.

 

[kdarling]

That must be such a pain in the ass to make a phone thats GSM then have to change the chip to cdma, get it fcc approved all over again and do all this stuff. I don't blame them ...

Nyah, that kind of thing is relatively easy these days. Chip makers provide a reference design. Then your engineers wack it around a little.

FCC approval means you pay about twenty thousand dollars for a lab to test your unit and confirm it doesn't emit too much under certain conditions.

Now here's the dirty little secret: you can not only pay like Apple did an extra $150 or so to keep the documents under cover, but you don't even have to have the test results made public until the day you start selling the device, if you use special third party approval authorities.

So when people say there'll be warning if say, Google, is about to launch a competitor phone, then no, not necessarily.

For that matter, Apple could've hidden the iPhone. The whole deal about having to show it off early because of the FCC approval was just another PR stunt.

 

[patnukem]

hmm

Sprint does have sim cards for international roaming phones
sprint help page about sim cards
several sprint phones have sim cards but local calls are not made on them still cdma. I hope this helps.

 

[aggieman]

Sprint does have sim cards for international roaming phones
sprint help page about sim cards
several sprint phones have sim cards but local calls are not made on them still cdma. I hope this helps.

correct, the international phones have SIM cards, such as the Samsung one Sprint offers, but none of the standard CDMA phones such as the Moto Q which the OP was referring to have SIM cards.