Buying another carrier's z10 to run on tmobile in the US?

**austriker** · 01-31-2013, 08:26 AM

Alright.. watching more vids on the z10, Im quite convinced I want it.

Especially the white one. A year or so ago I bought the rogers 9900 and used it on att (as they dragged their feet).

So what canadian carriers should I look at to buy the z10 and use it on tmobile and preferrably get tmobile's LTE?

Thx

**AlexAllen** · 01-31-2013, 08:35 AM

There might be a better way to do this, but I tried to use a "foreign" 9900 on T-Mobile a while back. I had all the right antennas but could never get it working 100%. I ended up selling it and buying a T-Mobile 9900. This time, no Q10=no T-Mobile.

FWIW, I'm going to email them about the Q10 this afternoon. Enough interest and they might change their mind.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Tapatalk

**rjkolo** · 01-31-2013, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by austriker

Alright.. watching more vids on the z10, Im quite convinced I want it.

Especially the white one. A year or so ago I bought the rogers 9900 and used it on att (as they dragged their feet).

So what canadian carriers should I look at to buy the z10 and use it on tmobile and preferrably get tmobile's LTE?

Thx

From what I have read on the site if you get the Z10 from another network it will not run on T-MO's 4G network, it will be stuck on Edge. Why that is I am not sure, but it was what people had complained about in the past and have been looking for a fix for with past devices.

**austriker** · 01-31-2013, 08:44 AM

Originally Posted by rjkolo

From what I have read on the site if you get the Z10 from another network it will not run on T-MO's 4G network, it will be stuck on Edge. Why that is I am not sure, but it was what people had complained about in the past and have been looking for a fix for with past devices.

Oh man, that is not good news. Hopefully someone will be able to test out my theory. It really sucks having to wait another 1.5 months or so

**rjkolo** · 02-02-2013, 12:01 AM

We will make it...just hang in there champ!

**raino** · 02-02-2013, 01:08 AM

You shouldn't have any problems using Wind Mobile/Mobilicity/Videotron's 3G/'4G' phones on T-Mobile. All four networks use the same band--the AWS 1700 MHz.

In some areas where T-Mobile has deployed the 1900 MHz they got from AT&T, you can use Rogers/Bell/Telus HSPA phones too. But these cities are fewer in number compared to 1700 MHz cities, so just to be safe, I'd rather get a 1700 MHz phone.

I do not know about LTE compatibility.

**ealvnv** · 02-02-2013, 01:11 AM

the easiest way to find out is to check what band is tmobile using for its lte and check what BB10 sku supports said band

**joeybee** · 02-06-2013, 02:08 AM

Originally Posted by rjkolo

From what I have read on the site if you get the Z10 from another network it will not run on T-MO's 4G network, it will be stuck on Edge. Why that is I am not sure, but it was what people had complained about in the past and have been looking for a fix for with past devices.

The Canadian ones will run on T-Mobiles HSPA+(4G) but we aren't sure about LTE yet as it has not been launched. IF you want a Z10 now i am buying them in Canada and shipping to the States. Check out joeybeechey.com for details.

**peacefulberry** · 02-08-2013, 12:48 PM

First thing's first... I would go to tmobile.com and use the "Check your Coverage" feature to check to see if there is even LTE in your area. I would do this FIRST, because even if you find a phone that is compatible with Tmobile's frequencies, your area might not have LTE yet, and therefore you still won't be able to get LTE data.

Secondly, this is Tmobile's chart for frequencies:

tmobile.jpg

So you have to do a bit of research (not hard to find), but look at each carrier's website to make sure they operate on the same frequencies.

Thirdly, if it is not an unlocked device, remember there is a new law in effect regarding the legality of unlocking phones in the US now. CB has an article as well as androidcentral.com (CB's sister site.)

Lastly, I used an unlcoked BB 9860 on Tmobile's network with no difficulty at all! The phone is not a 4G phone, so I can't speculate if it would have picked up 4G, but just to give you some idea that lots of non-Tmobile devices still work fine on Tmobile.

Bottom line, is do your research and make sure you have the correct frequencies/bands for both the carrier and the device models (don't forget that different device models may also differ in frequencies.) If Tmobile will carry the device in 4-6 weeks, it may be worth the wait to ensure a hassle-free experience with your new BB.

Sorry for the length! LOL!

**austriker** · 02-08-2013, 03:04 PM

No worries, thanks for the info.. I am really hoping someone else will get one and confirm it..

For me, there are several reasons to find one from canada.
1. Impatient
2. Im on a prepaid plan thus wont have a discount and will pay full price
3. I would really like the white one. Which tmobile will not be getting (thanks vz)
4. Im still on the fence on LTE, it would be nice to tether but I barely get hspa+ on my phone (and a 9000 is my daily driver).. hmm..
4b. But I will be in seattle which tmobile has said is getting their LTE in the earlier rounds

But heres my attempt at some research.. Here is a screenshot from telus on their z10:
Screen shot 2013-02-08 at 3.59.38 PM.png

So conclusion: A telus z10 will not support tmobile's LTE when it comes?

Wind mobile doesnt seem to list the frequencies online for their z10..

**bulls2213** · 02-09-2013, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by austriker

No worries, thanks for the info.. I am really hoping someone else will get one and confirm it..

For me, there are several reasons to find one from canada.
1. Impatient
2. Im on a prepaid plan thus wont have a discount and will pay full price
3. I would really like the white one. Which tmobile will not be getting (thanks vz)
4. Im still on the fence on LTE, it would be nice to tether but I barely get hspa+ on my phone (and a 9000 is my daily driver).. hmm..
4b. But I will be in seattle which tmobile has said is getting their LTE in the earlier rounds

But heres my attempt at some research.. Here is a screenshot from telus on their z10:
Screen shot 2013-02-08 at 3.59.38 PM.png

So conclusion: A telus z10 will not support tmobile's LTE when it comes?

Wind mobile doesnt seem to list the frequencies online for their z10..

AWS is 1700/2100 MHz.

**dosto** · 02-09-2013, 07:03 PM

TMONews.com has article stating that T-mobile wants to be the first US Carrier to release Z10, possibly by mid March...earlier than originally thought.

Regardless of whether TMO releases Z10 on 3/27 or 3/15, that's only a few weeks away.

IMHO, I would suggest patience, but that's just me. It's a free country (well, sort of) so do what's best for you.

Because I want the Q10, I've resigned myself to waiting until May/June, so to me mid/late March isn't far away at all.

**austriker** · 02-09-2013, 07:59 PM

Originally Posted by dosto

TMONews.com has article stating that T-mobile wants to be the first US Carrier to release Z10, possibly by mid March...earlier than originally thought.

Regardless of whether TMO releases Z10 on 3/27 or 3/15, that's only a few weeks away.

IMHO, I would suggest patience, but that's just me. It's a free country (well, sort of) so do what's best for you.

Because I want the Q10, I've resigned myself to waiting until May/June, so to me mid/late March isn't far away at all.

So besides my lack of patience my excuse is I want the white one which isn't coming to tmobile. Also I won't be saving as much as some people because I'm on prepaid ($30 per month!!) And buy all my phones off contract

**lawguyman** · 02-10-2013, 03:14 PM

I have an unlocked Fido Z1010. Today I switched from att to tmobile because of their unlimited plan. I booted up. At first I had an E for Edge. Now it shows 4g!
My number isn't fully ported yet so I switched my SIM back. But, it seems like I am getting 4g on Tmobile.

**austriker** · 02-10-2013, 04:21 PM

Originally Posted by lawguyman

I have an unlocked Fido Z1010. Today I switched from att to tmobile because of their unlimited plan. I booted up. At first I had an E for Edge. Now it shows 4g!
My number isn't fully ported yet so I switched my SIM back. But, it seems like I am getting 4g on Tmobile.

Good news, thanks for confirming! Any chance you live near vegas and could test the lte when it rolls out? (On second thought its not coming out until late march right?)

**lawguyman** · 02-10-2013, 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by austriker

Good news, thanks for confirming! Any chance you live near vegas and could test the lte when it rolls out? (On second thought its not coming out until late march right?)

Sorry. I am in New York. On Long Island.

**mvjeepman** · 03-18-2013, 02:03 AM

Originally Posted by rjkolo

From what I have read on the site if you get the Z10 from another network it will not run on T-MO's 4G network, it will be stuck on Edge. Why that is I am not sure, but it was what people had complained about in the past and have been looking for a fix for with past devices.

That is what was the case w my Torch 9810 only edge