Cellular Phones/SciPhone I68

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Expert: DebiN - 6/30/2009


Question
I have purchased a SciPhone I68 from ebay which is supposed to be unlocked for Alltel.  Not sure how to activate it with Alltel since numbers on back of phone are different from our Alltel numbers.

Answer
Unfortunately, I can 100% guarantee you that this device will not work with an Alltel CDMA phone. If you happen to have an Alltel GSM phone (where you have a SIM card in it to make it work), then it will work. However, the vast majority of the Alltel network is CDMA which requires the ESN number of the phone to be coded in the Alltel network to your phone number. This device that you purchased is GSM (and isn't locked to begin with). A GSM phone cannot be flashed or made to work with a CDMA network. I'm not sure why anyone would try to tell a buyer that a GSM phone would work with a CDMA network, but I strongly recommend that you try to return this device as it is not compatible nor can it be made to be compatible with Alltel service. I hope this helps. Thanks. DebiN

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DebiN

Expertise

I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.

Experience

Over 20 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500). Also worked as a professor in Maryland for 10 years teaching telecommunications.

Organizations
I belong to several organizations

Education/Credentials
Master's in Telecommunications

Awards and Honors
Received several awards for papers that I have published over the years

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