T-Mobile PPC PE, No coverage, SOL?

[lobrien]

I just cancelled my T-Mobile account because coverage in my hometown (Fairfax, CA) is too spotty. Does this make my hardware useless as a phone or does the fact that the hardware uses a SIM give me a chance to use another carrier? If so, which carriers can be used? (Someone say "AT&T" please -- they seem to have the best coverage in my hilly little town...)

TIA,
Larry :cry:

[shill79]

If AT&T has gone to a GSM network in your area (ask them) then you can get your PPC PE unlocked and use it with them. T-Mobile would be able to unlock it, but since you're not a customer anymore they probably won't... Try gsmphonesource.com to see if they can unlock it for you.

[bdegroodt]

I've had very good luck with T-Mobile unlocking phones. Try them at [email protected]. They are pretty responsive and from what I've seen the most liberal at unlocking SIM locked phones.

They'll need your IMEI number and model. They'll send you the code and the instructions to unlock.

That said, I've no idea if the PPCPE can be unlocked (I assume it can). And if so, how to do it (But TM will give you the steps.).

[Paragon]

yes the t-mo can can be unlocked....gsmphonesource is your best bet. if you are not a paying customer of t-mo you just fell off the face of the earth. the only way you will get an unlock code from them now is if they mess up in some way. gsmphonesource are cheap, quick, and easy. :)

dave

[lobrien]

www.gsmphonesource.com appears to be a hardware vendor. Is there a hidden "unlock phone" page? :|

[Paragon]

no just call or email them. same, or next day service.

dave

[BillTheCat]

I use a Siemens sx56 with AT&T. Same exact phone.

The phone sims even look identical. I too took back a T Mobile PPCPE because of lousy coverage.

The ATT works like the T Mobile should. I have great coverage now in Florida. Check the ATT coverage page to see what it's like for you.

http://www.attws.com/business/

on bottom of page on left. click the link for a coverage map for GSM

[lobrien]

I got the unlock code from T Mobile, but AT&T Wireless won't sell me just the SIM. "You need our software, too, and there's no way you can download it." Sheesh. I thought this was the whole point of SIM-based phones. Well, maybe I'll just sell the dang thing on eBay...

[Janak Parekh]

I got the unlock code from T Mobile, but AT&T Wireless won't sell me just the SIM. "You need our software, too, and there's no way you can download it." Sheesh. I thought this was the whole point of SIM-based phones. Well, maybe I'll just sell the dang thing on eBay...
Just get the cheapest GPRS-enabled phone that AT&T sells, pop out the SIM and put it into the T-Mo unit.

--janak

[pdhenry]

The AT&T version of the phone does indeed have different software than the T-Mobile version; the differences pertain to the "radio stack" and will affect the voice and/or data performance of using a T-Mo phone on the AT&T network. There's a user over at pdaphonehome.com named Lazarus who works for AT&T on their version of the software. IF you look there you can learn some more.

On the other hand, T-Mobile and AT&T are setting up roaming between each other (it's supposed to be up and running this month) so the differences can't be all that extreme. I'm still optimistic that this will help with the T-Mobile coverage black hole where my house is located. My AT&T CDMA phone works great at home and I hope that AT&T's GSM signal is comparable.

[lobrien]

I bought a Nokia 3590 and, sure enough, popped the SIM out of the card, slipped it into the PPC PE, and it seems to work fine for voice. :D I haven't been able to figure out how to configure GPRS. :?

My impression is that the Nokia has a slight but consistent edge in receiving a signal. At the moment, with the sparse coverage in my hometown, I'm sticking with the Nokia, but it will be interesting to see what I decide to do on my next business trip -- will I take the phone and the PPC, or just the PPC?

Thanks to all for their help!

P.S. The best thing about the PPC PE so far was that it made populating the SIM card phonebook incredibly easy!

[Cortex]

so what did you discover about using the at&t sim and coverage with the pocket pc phone? did the signal quality ever improve compared to the nokia? do you think the XDA just has inherently poor reception?

[lungbutter]

also check out http://www.xdadevelopers.com. they play with roms to flash on the xda, ppcpe, etc.

much to learn on there.

lb

[howardholton]

go to xda-developers.com and look in the forums. You can download the radio stack and rom from AT&T. AT&T makes it available to their customers and someone will help you out with it. You can also use the AT&T radio stack and upgrade to ppc2003 from xda-developers.