[Big_Ern]

I have an unlocked AT&T Bold 9700.

I use a Tmobile flexpay no contract plan with it and cannot get 3G

I know Tmobile uses different frequencies than my AT&T 9700, but why can't I "roam" onto AT&T's 3G network with my tmo sim?

My phone supports the frequencies that AT&T uses for 3G and 3G works fine with an AT&T sim card, but tmobile is much more reasonably priced so I want to use my tmo sim card primarily

2G/EDGE is painfully sloooooooow... There has to be a hack or work around that would allow me to connect to AT&T's 3G network with full access - not the limited SOS emergency only that I can get now... I know I would have to manually specify what network to connect to...

I can sometimes tell it to use AT&T's 2G network with full access (other times it gives me SOS service), but selecting AT&T's 3G network gets me SOS emergency services only - never full access.


The frequencies are hardware dependent - not related to the SIM card, so why can't this be done?

[Big_Ern]

I would switch to a Tmobile phone, however I live in Canda and my cell provider at home (Bell Mobility) uses the same frequencies as AT&T, so I got the phone unlocked to use at home with the hopes of being able to use a pay as you go no contract type plan for when I travel into the USA frequently & need full data & phone services.


Additionally if I use my T-mobile sim card at home I can only get 2G/EDGE service even though all of the local cell carriers offer 3G service... just not on tmo's odd frequency...

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum, but it doesn't seem to be directly Tmobile related and is more of a general BB help question. Thanks

[grahamf]

T-Mobile has roaming agreements with AT&T?
and chances are they have not negotiated 3G roaming, as their devices are not compatible with AT&T's network anyhoo.

[Big_Ern]

They must have some roaming agreements with AT&T because I find I'm often on AT&T while traveling but only edge. If I manually select AT&T's 3G I get SOS - even if no Tmobile is available

I want 3G darnit!

[powerhousevolley]

When tmobile does have a roaming agreement on at&t it doesn't do agreements for 3G since none of the phones would work.

This is not directly related to you but the vast. why do people by a at&t 9700 to use it on tmobiles network since tmobile has the exact same phone.. doesn't make since to buy it and not use the 3G..

I know tons use the storm on tmobiles network which makes since because tmobile doesn't have a storm

[Big_Ern]

I live in Canada. My home cell company (Bell mobility) uses the same frequencies as AT&T like damn near every other cell company aside from Tmobile

So I bought a phone where 3G will work for me at home, but US Data calling & texting while roaming is quite expensive, so I got a tmobile no contract SIM card to swap in while I'm traveling (which is quite often during the summer).

After being used to the fast 3G HSPA network at home, it is painfully slow to only have 2G/EDGE (at best) while traveling with tmobile where I need A LOT of data...

AT&T has their GoPhones, but they no longer have any BIS Blackberry data prepaid plans


There must be some way the phone can be hacked to allow 3G on AT&T with a tmo sim card

Or is there another cell company who offers prepaid BIS data?

[powerhousevolley]

Good luck but the at&t network is going to look and see the tmo sim and say declined. If there is a way it is probably illegal

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[Motorcycle Mama]

....
There must be some way the phone can be hacked to allow 3G on AT&T with a tmo sim card

Nope.

.
Or is there another cell company who offers prepaid BIS data?

Nope.

[Pi Guy 3.14]

Yeah for the one billionth time... You will NEVER get AT&T's 3G service on a Tmobile phone and you will never get Tmobiles 3G on an AT&T phone...

NEVER.

[MrObvious]

Why would you want to? Also I think you can get prepaid Boost BIS (or just use Sprint) and just get 3G wherever there is a signal.

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[grahamf]

Or, switch to Rogers. for just $10 a month more your Rogers data plan extends to the states.
you could probably try to see if Bell offers something similar when you cancel your account, but I doubt it.

[Big_Ern]

Nope.

Nope.

Thanks for the direct no bs answers. Not what I wanted to hear... Was hoping there would be a solution but thanks.

Yeah for the one billionth time... You will NEVER get AT&T's 3G service on a Tmobile phone and you will never get Tmobiles 3G on an AT&T phone...

NEVER.

For the TWO Billionth time, I do NOT have a tmobile phone. I have an AT&T phone and want 3G on the AT&T service (through my tmo sim tho )

Why would you want to? Also I think you can get prepaid Boost BIS (or just use Sprint) and just get 3G wherever there is a signal.

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How good is Boost & Sprints signal/coverage? I do a lot of traveling road trips and need/want decent coverage if possible...

Tmo's no contract plan is pretty cheap so I might break down & buy a tmo bold then do a phone swap thru DM when I travel then switch back when I get home... I was hoping to just swap sims to have all my data on one phone but that might not be possible unless Sprint or Boost would work.

Or, switch to Rogers. for just $10 a month more your Rogers data plan extends to the states.
you could probably try to see if Bell offers something similar when you cancel your account, but I doubt it.

Hmm interesting. I'll have to call & bargain with bell. Maybe call roges first so they make me an offer to take to bell and have them match it or say I'm leaving

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[dictoresno]

you will not be able to roam onto at&t in order to use their 3G services. if you are considered to be in t-mobiles "home" market aka there is native t-mobile coverage/towers in your area, the network will not allow you to force onto at&t. its only when you move outside of your home network where there is no t-mobile market you will be offered the chance to roam onto at&t.

when i was traveling to SC a few years back when i had t-mobile, once i hit NC, my phone began roaming on Cingular. this is because at the time, t-mobile wasnt offered in the south beyond VA or something and had no native service. as long as you can get a valid t-mobile signal, in a t-mobile home calling area, you will not be allowed to force roam.

also, the fact you say you can sometimes get at&t's EDGE network might be because they limit their 3G bandwidth to their customers only. since you are attempting to access it via a t-mobile SIM while roaming, the network may be rejecting the request. roaming for non at&t customers may be restricted to EDGE only.

[Big_Ern]

....

also, the fact you say you can sometimes get at&t's EDGE network might be because they limit their 3G bandwidth to their customers only. since you are attempting to access it via a t-mobile SIM while roaming, the network may be rejecting the request. roaming for non at&t customers may be restricted to EDGE only.

That must be it. Because even when no tmobile is available and there is both AT&T EDGE & 3G I can only get on 2G - and its usually only edge, not EDGE... If I force 3G I can only connect with SOS emergency service. I was hoping there was a way I could hack the phone & sim to trick AT&T into letting me on with 3G.

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[MrObvious]

Sprint has way better coverage than T-Mobile. Here in Hutchinson, KS, they cover it pretty well but T-Mobile roams off US Cellular which is crap because I rather would switch to them if they had towers as they have good CS and pricing. I don't think the SIM can be hacked.

Check the area you live in and see if you can get reception. What areas do you need service?

[Big_Ern]

Sprint has way better coverage than T-Mobile. Here in Hutchinson, KS, they cover it pretty well but T-Mobile roams off US Cellular which is crap because I rather would switch to them if they had towers as they have good CS and pricing. I don't think the SIM can be hacked.

Check the area you live in and see if you can get reception. What areas do you need service?

Good to know thanks. Do you know if they have any no contract plans or pay as you go data with bis? Even a reasonably cheap monthly plan I would consider but I only travel in the US 4-6 months of the year...

I need coverage throughout the west mainly but also through the central states. On tuesday I leave for a road trip from Bellingham Washington waaaaaay over to southern Missouri. Most of my trips are through WA and down the I5 throughout Cali as well as over to Reno, Vegas and down to AZ. Basically everywhere haha.

I live in BC Canada 10miles from the Bellingham WA border crossing, so I just use this when I cross the border to save roaming charges.

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[Big_Ern]

Unfortunately Sprint is CDMA so they won't work for me unless I get a seperate berry for my travels... hmm

[Xopher]

You have to keep in mind that the phone really doesn't matter - it's just the radio. Your account is really the SIM card. Put a T-Mo SIM card in a T-Mo or AT&T (or Rogers....) phone and you're still a T-Mo customer. You'll get native access to T-Mo's towers, and have access to whatever speeds T-Mo has roaming agreements with in other areas. I don't think any carriers have 3G roaming agreements in place yet.

[Big_Ern]

You have to keep in mind that the phone really doesn't matter - it's just the radio. Your account is really the SIM card. Put a T-Mo SIM card in a T-Mo or AT&T (or Rogers....) phone and you're still a T-Mo customer. You'll get native access to T-Mo's towers, and have access to whatever speeds T-Mo has roaming agreements with in other areas. I don't think any carriers have 3G roaming agreements in place yet.

Unfortunately you're right... I was hoping there would be a way to change something in the OS, hack some setting with the SIM or something to trick AT&T into letting me on with 3G. Too bad because tmo has great no contract plans but I don't want to get a special phone just for them...

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[Pi Guy 3.14]

Wait, so it didn't work and still doesn't work? Get out of town! I'm shocked.

[Big_Ern]

Wait, so it didn't work and still doesn't work? Get out of town! I'm shocked.

Its always 'worked' just 2G which is painfully slow for how much I need it... No 3G

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[ridesno159]

Just like everyone has said you will never get 3G on a Tmobile phone running on Att, or vice versa.

Here's some research I did for you on why it will never happen. Take a look at the frequencies each company uses for their 3G network.

http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?t=490419

AT&T Mobility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

T-Mobile USA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[grahamf]

Just like everyone has said you will never get 3G on a Tmobile phone running on Att, or vice versa.

And because of this T-Mobile does not have 3G roaming agreements.

[Big_Ern]

Just like everyone has said you will never get 3G on a Tmobile phone running on Att, or vice versa.

And because of this T-Mobile does not have 3G roaming agreements.

that makes sense. I was hoping to somehow hack the sim to trick ATT into letting me on since they might think its one of their own since it is their phone they might recognize, but thats not gonna happen...


However, I KNOW the RIM gave every single 9700 the same chipset/radio that can handle all the frequency bands, but the firmware gets flashed the "brand" the phone to a specific carrier's network.

I want to debrand this somehow

[grahamf]

that makes sense. I was hoping to somehow hack the sim to trick ATT into letting me on since they might think its one of their own since it is their phone they might recognize, but thats not gonna happen...


However, I KNOW the RIM gave every single 9700 the same chipset/radio that can handle all the frequency bands, but the firmware gets flashed the "brand" the phone to a specific carrier's network.

I want to debrand this somehow

well, that's usually true (as in: Telus/bell/Rogers/fido/virgin mobile/MTS/Sasktel), but in the US T-Mobile uses a slightly different radio. it cannot be flashed to work on different frequencies.