Unlocked cell phones, were to buy?

[bigq]

So at the boat show my wife got her purse stolen and it had her cell in it. Of coarse we just renewed our contract and cant get out with a huge fee:rolleyes: So I need to purchase a cell, but not for $200.00 or more. I heard you can purchase unlocked phone for around $60.00. Has anyone done this and where is a good place for purchase?

[Baja Big Dog]

ebay

[uvindex]

Amazon too (just search for "unlocked" under Cell Phones & Service). :)

[eman1625]

I just got one on ebay!

[bigq]

cool thanks, heard some had problems on ebay, I'lll give it a shot.

[Just foreplay]

Definately try ebay...
I have had one for a year and a half, no issues

[76ANTHONY]

cool thanks, heard some had problems on ebay, I'lll give it a shot.
buy from one of the sellers that has 250 or more positive feedback and you shouldnt have a problem on ebay:D

[Boozer]

If you don't want to do ebay you can look on Craigslist.
There also several websites out there that sell unlocked phones. Google unlocked phones.

[beever_retreever]

good luck.

[RitcheyRch]

I've bought a few from ebay. Only had an issue with one. Apparently, the guy worked for the cell company and stole a few phones. I happened to buy one of them. Thankfully, the cell provider gave me another phone since showed proof of purchase with my PayPal receipt.

[kronikenergy]

www.wirelessimports.com is where I get all my stuff from. Unlocked, unbranded and most of the time unavailable in the US. Cool phones, but not necessarily the cheapest.

[dumbandyoung]

while on the subject of cell phones;
What does PCS mean. When you call someone and a recording says ''The PCS telephone number you have dialed is temporarily out of service."
What does that mean? They didn't pay their bill?

[JET-O-VATOR]

while on the subject of cell phones;
What does PCS mean. When you call someone and a recording says ''The PCS telephone number you have dialed is temporarily out of service."
What does that mean? They didn't pay their bill?
Sprint pcs?

[dumbandyoung]

Sprint pcs?
I dont think its sprint. I was think Prepaid Calling Service:confused: :confused:

[lalhc]

PCS stands for Personal Communication Services. It is a generic acrynom for wireless subscribers.

[jaimer00]

got to tigerdirect.com

[dumbandyoung]

PCS stands for Personal Communication Services. It is a generic acrynom for wireless subscribers.
Thanks;)

[XtrmWakeborder]

I got mine from ebay, but be careful. My internet couldn't be hooked up, and thats the reason why I wanted it. Waste of money.

[sorry dog]

I've bought a couple of clearance phones from Tiger for $60. One was a LG slider with a keypad and the other was a NEC 535 - they still had the NEC a month ago. Liked the NEC because it had a "flash" for the camera but in actuality it made a great night/ key finder light.
Last time a needed a quick replacement phone I went to Wally world and bought a prepaid phone for $50 from the same provider and had them unlock it and I put my SIM in it (GSM/ Cingular). I guess it depends on the provider if they care. Verizon used to not care as long as you knew what your IMEI was (CDMA phones).
I've bought a few phones off ebay and while they worked they usually had some "issues" or bugs in them like camera out of focus or a dim screen. I think the phones there are too much given the risk of getting crapped on.

[HotDogz]

Depending on the phone, alot of em can be unlocked with a series of key inputs and resets. Have done it with a number of verizon phones as well to unlock features and remove branding. When you "hard reset" some phones, they run a batch file that unpacks and executes a series of .cab files that program the phone, brand it, lock it and install certain features. With some you can hard reset and interrupt with a soft reset before .cab file execution, it will prevent the .cab files from installing leaving the phone unlocked and unbranded. You then go back and only install specific .cab files to get the features you still wish to use.
Good source of info is the internet based on what phone you want to unlock.

[adjones419]

I got mine from ebay, but be careful. My internet couldn't be hooked up
Same thing here, but the iTunes works and I can receieve calls, text, and pictures...just can't get on the Net.

[essexjet]

So how do you know what phones work with your carrier?

[Riverdog1]

go to www.cellphonehacks.com. You buy a phone from ebay and they can tell you the unlock codes for it. They will usually charge you like 5-10 bucks. I have used this in the past to unlock Sprint phones so I can sell them. Make sure you get a phone compatible with the network you are using (CDMA or GSA) depending on which carrier but not with your carrier. The thing is, if you buy a phone from someone who still owes a bill, you cannot activate it if it is with your same carrier. No, I bought them but when I went to another service, they were rendered a $300.00 paperweight and I wanted to recover some of my money. You can find your info there. It's kind of like the ***boat board, you ask and they will help.

[essexjet]

So how can you make sure that a phone will work with you carrier.