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Question

Can my carrier sell me an unlocked phone?

by Jun 15, 2015 2:28PM PDT

Can my carrier sell me an unlocked phone?
Are there any regulations about that?
Because I bought a Samsung Galaxy 4 last month at MetroPCS. It doesn't work. the reception is very bad and data connection is dropping all the time. They replaced it 2 times. New phones don't work. They said there is no refund because we passed the 1 week guarantee.
Anyway.. MetroPCS doesn't even sell Galaxy 4 anymore. I realized it's an unlocked AT&T phone.
I asked them and they said "Yeah because we don't sell this phone anymore". What legal advice can you tell me about my situation? Thanks

Discussion is locked

11 Posts
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Answer
we got a tracfone
by Jun 15, 2015 2:42PM PDT

with someone's pictures left on it once.

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Answer
Tell more.
by Forum moderator Jun 15, 2015 2:45PM PDT

I hit MetroPCS.com https://www.metropcs.com/phones.html and didn't find one mention of UNLOCKED.

All look to be subsidized models. I can't tell about your situation for lack of details.

If you told me you paid 199 bucks for this Samsung Galaxy 4 then I would write "locked." But you didn't so I'm left to guess. Models can change daily.

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Receipt
by tsibace Jun 15, 2015 3:08PM PDT

I use MetroPCS for years so I already had an account.
I lost my old phone so I decided to buy a NEW one. They gave me this phone and never told me it's unlocked (AT&T logo at logon) until I asked them. They say it's legal (I doubt it). It cost me $419+tax. They gave me this receipt nothing else.

Link to receipt

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There is no law blocking such sales.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jun 15, 2015 3:17PM PDT

I'm guessing if yours is a legal question but in short it's great to get an unlocked phone. Now you can try out ATT, Tmobile and TING GSM SIM cards to see if they do any better in coverage.

Coverage is never a sure thing. Then we see folk want coverage INSIDE a building. That's even a worse area to try to connect.

So legal? Yes. Don't agree? Get to a lawyer.

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Answer
Re: unlocked phone
by Forum moderator Jun 15, 2015 3:03PM PDT

If it's unlocked and a no-contract phone, you can switch to a provider that gives you a better reception where you live.

Kees

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reception is excellent with any other MetroPCS phones
by tsibace Jun 15, 2015 3:20PM PDT

My old phone and any other friend's phone has excellent reception in my area. This phone doesn't have reception at all. Nowhere. And they replaced this new phone to an other unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 with the same problems. They are not willing to give my money back or replace it to an other type of phone unless I pay extra.

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The thing is, this is not easy to explain.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jun 15, 2015 3:26PM PDT
http://www.gsmarena.com/network-bands.php3 shows a witches brew of GSM channels so what if your model phone omitted the one channel that worked with the other phones?

I want to warn you that coverage is far from a sure thing. And all agreements at in their favor when this happens. I'd pay a little more for the next model up and test it before you leave the store.
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OK, so they sold me a phone
by tsibace Jun 15, 2015 6:02PM PDT

which doesn't even work on their network. I doubt that's legal.

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It does work on their network.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jun 15, 2015 6:17PM PDT

Just not 100% of the time where you are. Some of your younger consumers are miffed to explosive about that. I'd try to bail out and keep asking.

Or get a better phone even if it costs.

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questions
by Pepe7 Jun 15, 2015 10:39PM PDT

Could you post the info on your phone @ 'About', in settings(?)

Which MetroPCS market are you in?

It's possible the phone is simply a lemon. But AFAIK, the ATT S4 does not contain the appropriate frequency bands for use on T-Mobiles network (didn't they merge w/ T-Mobile?).

More digging is needed. But if you simply place your SIM into a friend's MetroPCS phone you say it works fine?

Why not spend a little more time calling customer service? If they still won't accommodate you, time to sell it online and move to another carrier.

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Answer
MetroPCS.
by Dec 16, 2015 10:49PM PST

I am going through the same issue. I got my S4 in 2014. My brother paid about $650 for it from the MetroPCS dealership. I found out it was AT&T, when I did not ask for it. I took it to the corporate store. They told me to take it back to the dealership and get the right carrier device (Metro or T-Mobile). I was told that the dealership should not have sold us the unlocked S4 and it not be an T-Mobile device at least.

So the answer is no. You were sold a BYOD that does not work well because the AT&T connection is still looking for it's tower. However, Metro will offer to send you a "test" phone of lesser value. A downgrade.

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