On various legitimate e-stores, Newegg.com - Computer Parts, Laptops, Electronics, and More! and Best Buy: Making Technology Work for You, you can buy an unlocked cell phone. Then, you can put in a SIM card from one of the providers, AT&T, Verizon, etc., and use it on that network. I have AT&T and plan on going to their no-contract pay-as-you-go plans but I don't like their selection of no-contract phones. I don't like my current phone that much.
Has anyone done this?
A while back, I bought a new unlocked phone via eBay from China. It was an authentic phone but it worked for only ten minutes. I don't know if the network determined it to be an unlocked phone and shut it off from use on the network. My plan was a 2-year contract, not pay as you go. I ended up just using parts from that phone to use on my existing phone. What a waste of money.
I see some interesting phones on there that would work with the AT&T network, but they are phones that were never distributed in the US.
Has anyone done this?
A while back, I bought a new unlocked phone via eBay from China. It was an authentic phone but it worked for only ten minutes. I don't know if the network determined it to be an unlocked phone and shut it off from use on the network. My plan was a 2-year contract, not pay as you go. I ended up just using parts from that phone to use on my existing phone. What a waste of money.
I see some interesting phones on there that would work with the AT&T network, but they are phones that were never distributed in the US.