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Cellular Phones/Bad ESN
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Question
Hello,
I currently have a prepaid tmobile sidekick and ive been searching for an unlocked motorola droid 2, so i can use my prepaid tmobile sim card and still keep my prepaid plan, just with a new phone. anyway, i noticed than on ebay, and sites like it, some phones are considerably cheaper but they have "bad ESN" in the title. I was just wondering what this means and if it is fixable, and if it would be worth it to buy it since it's so cheap and just fix it, or if it would be better just to buy the more expensive one that has a good ESN. thanks for any info!
Heather
The Droid is a CDMA phone. This phone will not work with your T-Mobile SIM card. If you want a phone that has the Android operating system, you will need to get one that works on the GSM network (that was branded by AT&T or T-Mobile). Anything that talks about ESN's is a CDMA device and won't work for you. Also, keep in mind that if you use your prepaid plan with a SmartPhone, you will be paying for every kilobyte of data that you use on the network if you don't have WiFi and that can be very costly. It is smarter to have a post paid plan with a data plan and get your device directly from T-Mobile so that it isn't very expensive. Just a thought and I hope this helps.
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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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