US Cellular phones

Does anyone know for sure if phones sold by US Cellular are locked or
unlocked?

I've asked their CS and was told they don't lock any of their phones,
but at
the same time, other people selling a US Cellular phone have said it
is
locked.

I'm planning on buying a US Cellular version of the KX414, since
Verizon
removed the games and changed some other functionality! I've got even
more
incentive after seeing this article. You'd think the cheap B******s
could
leave the pong game on anyways, but no, we gotta squeeze every last
cent out
of our customers! It's not even the lack of the games that gets me
mad, but
the fact that they changed the functionality of the shortcut key to
use two
worthless shortcuts(browser and brew) rather than the two very useful
shortcuts(silence and lock) that the phone was meant to have.

http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=16241

I haven't seen a US Cellular forum, so I figured this would be the
best place since I want to use the phone on VZWs network, at least
until we see what happens with Qwest and Sprint around here.

Thanks,

D

Having recently attempted to activated two USCellular phones on Verizon, I
can say that they are "locked". But the word locked is up for debate. As I
understand it, these phones come from the factory with one-time programming
code setup in the phone. Once activated, a 2nd set of programming codes
(created uniquely based on a USCellular algorithm and the phones esn) are
set-up for the phone.

So while the phone isn't per-se locked, you will "not" be able to program
the phone. This is not the "security lock", but the programming lock. In
both cases, I couldn't get thru the subsidy codes... some people call this
locked. I "convinced" USCellular to give me the programming codes, and they
gave me "three" different numbers, none of which worked. On the latest
attempt to activate a USCellular phone, they just declined to provide me
with the code. With or without the code, I was unable to program them. But
I did try.

Dr. Wire More
Wireless Consultant, and Midwest Master Agent

"D - Z" <ac_zr5002002@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:7e169f4d.0312111434.63ba4c6c@posting.google.com...
> Does anyone know for sure if phones sold by US Cellular are locked or
> unlocked?
>
> I've asked their CS and was told they don't lock any of their phones,
> but at
> the same time, other people selling a US Cellular phone have said it
> is
> locked.
>
> I'm planning on buying a US Cellular version of the KX414, since
> Verizon
> removed the games and changed some other functionality! I've got even
> more
> incentive after seeing this article. You'd think the cheap B******s
> could
> leave the pong game on anyways, but no, we gotta squeeze every last
> cent out
> of our customers! It's not even the lack of the games that gets me
> mad, but
> the fact that they changed the functionality of the shortcut key to
> use two
> worthless shortcuts(browser and brew) rather than the two very useful
> shortcuts(silence and lock) that the phone was meant to have.
>
> http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=16241
>
> I haven't seen a US Cellular forum, so I figured this would be the
> best place since I want to use the phone on VZWs network, at least
> until we see what happens with Qwest and Sprint around here.
>
> Thanks,
>
> D

For a US Cellular forum check www.howardforums.com scroll down to
providers...
Greg

> I haven't seen a US Cellular forum, so I figured this would be the
> best place since I want to use the phone on VZWs network, at least
> until we see what happens with Qwest and Sprint around here.
>
> Thanks,
>
> D

Dr. WireMORE <Dr.WireMORE@vzw-midwest.com> wrote:
> Having recently attempted to activated two USCellular phones on Verizon, I
> can say that they are "locked". But the word locked is up for debate.

I thought the phrase (as it applies to cell phones) was pretty well-defined:

a) locked against casual use by the use of a lock or security code, or

b) subsidy-locked so that you can't get into programming mode to make changes
without the MSL number, generally so that you can't use the phone on another
carrier.

Of course you are discussing b).


> So while the phone isn't per-se locked, you will "not" be able to program
> the phone. This is not the "security lock", but the programming lock. In
> both cases, I couldn't get thru the subsidy codes... some people call this
> locked.

A lot of people call it locked.

> I "convinced" USCellular to give me the programming codes, and they
> gave me "three" different numbers, none of which worked. On the latest
> attempt to activate a USCellular phone, they just declined to provide me
> with the code. With or without the code, I was unable to program them. But
> I did try.

I don't see how this can be legal, since you've already bought the phone.
I've never pushed the issue with any of the carriers I've dealt with, however.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services
22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950
Steve Sobol, Proprietor
888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net

On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 19:26:47 -0600, Steven J Sobol
<sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:

>I don't see how this can be legal, since you've already bought the phone.
>I've never pushed the issue with any of the carriers I've dealt with, however.

Well, since you've never done it why do you think you know the answer?
It's something that carriers commonly do. Whether it's legal or
illegal is an excercise left to those who want to test it in the
courts.

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To send an email reply send to
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Group Special Mobile <look@signature_to.reply> wrote:

> On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 19:26:47 -0600, Steven J Sobol
> <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:
>
>>I don't see how this can be legal, since you've already bought the phone.
>>I've never pushed the issue with any of the carriers I've dealt with, however.
>
> Well, since you've never done it why do you think you know the answer?

How does "I don't see how this can be legal" equal "I am absolutely sure
this isn't legal"? If I was sure, I'd have said so.

The only carriers I have used that lock their phones are Northcoast and
Sprint. Northcoast uses 1900 MHz CDMA, so using it where I was (at the time)
was not an option on any other carrier except Sprint. Verizon and Alltel are
both 800 MHz in that area, and Sprint won't activate a non-Sprint phone.

Sprint locks their phones and I still use Sprint, but in the event I wanted
to buy a Sprint phone and activate it, say, on my Verizon account, I am
pretty confident that I could social-engineer the master subsidy lock code
from someone.

But since most Sprint phones aren't available from Verizon and Verizon
therefore could not flash the phones with their specific firmware, I'd be
wary about activating a Sprint phone on Verizon's network anyhow. I'd just
pretty much expect that there would be some little glitches. I've moved an
Alltel phone to Verizon before, but it was a phone for which Verizon had
firmware because some of their indirect agents sold it.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services
22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950
Steve Sobol, Proprietor
888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net

Isn't it the case that VZW only insists that

1) They carry that model (so they can support the software on it).

2) It is not subsidy locked.

Whereas others, such as SPCS, insist that the actual phone have been
bought through them.

CharlesH <hoch@exemplary.invalid> wrote:
> Isn't it the case that VZW only insists that
>
> 1) They carry that model (so they can support the software on it).
>
> 2) It is not subsidy locked.
>
> Whereas others, such as SPCS, insist that the actual phone have been
> bought through them.

Yes. Sprint is the biggest carrier I know of that has this policy, although
I imagine AT&T probably does too. Alltel and Verizon do not, AFAIK.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services
22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950
Steve Sobol, Proprietor
888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net

Locked.