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GSM unlocked with Sprint

Jak16
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

Looking at getting a new phone.  Does a GSM unlocked phone work with public mobile? Is public mobile GSM?

All I can find is gsm (whatever that is...) will work with....."GSM providers: Rogers, Fido, Bell, Virgin, Telus, Koodo, AT&T, etc. This phone will NOT work on Wind Mobile/ Freedom, Chatr. ". 

 

And are are their certain phone types Samsung/Apple that won't work with public?

 

8 REPLIES 8


@sheytoon wrote:

Another thing to consider is the customized software that US operators like Sprint will install on their phones.

 

Sometimes the software will prevent data from working, or disable certain frequency bands.


One favorite of some U.S. operators is to thave the mobile hotspot feature disabled.  I think we can make a comparision between some U.S. phones having hotspot disabled while some Canadian phones have FM radio disabled.

Another thing to consider is the customized software that US operators like Sprint will install on their phones.

 

Sometimes the software will prevent data from working, or disable certain frequency bands.

bridonca
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

I would need an exact model number of this phone.  This Sprint phone might work with Public Mobile, but only if it has a SIM card slot, and only if it supports 3G.  It might be labeled as a 2G phone to avoid confusion with Sprint's 3G CDMA network, which is not compatible with any carrier in Canada.

 

I have used a Sprint phone here in Canada, and it worked, but it took effort to get it to work.

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@Jak16 there's a bit of confusion because many people in the industry use the term "GSM" to mean different things.  Strictly speaking, GSM is a very old 2G network standard and as noted, only Rogers operates a 2G GSM network in Canada (so Rogers, Fido, and Chatr customers have access to it); however, it is being retired and decommissioned, I think sometime next year though I forget the date. 

 

However, you will often hear phone reviewers in YouTube videos say things like "this phone will work on GSM networks" but they don't literally mean GSM in that context.  They mean that the phone is SIM-based and will operate on networks that use UMTS/W-CDMA (not to be confused with CDMA) networking types, which on the data side are also called HSPA or HSPA+ or HSDPA networks.  Especially for reviewers in the USA (or those that target viewers in the USA), this term is meaningful because it differentiates between what they call "GSM" carriers such as T-Mobile and AT&T (though I'm not sure they even run actual 2G GSM networks anymore, but rather UMTS & LTE networks) vs. Verizon and Sprint which still operate CDMA 2G (maybe 2.5G I guess) networks for their calling and texting with LTE on top for data.  Phones that work on "GSM" networks in reviews won't necessarily work on CDMA networks and vice versa.  It's all a bit confusing!

 

Now, since you mentioend this was a Sprint device, you can be sure that it does include CDMA.  However, most reasonably new models that have CDMA are not CMDA-only (or CMDA+LTE-only) and also include at least some UMTS/W-CDMA frequencies.  Just because a phone was originally for Sprint or Verizon doesn't necessarily mean it won't work with Telus/Koodo/PM/Bell/Virgin/Lucky--but it does mean you'll need to check more closely.  If a phone was originally for AT&T or T-Mobile, you can be quite sure of it's network compatibility.

 

So the point of all this was:  there is a difference between a literal 2G GSM network and a GSM-technologies-based network (uses SIM cards and UMTS) and you can't always rely on descriptions in product pages or reviews to be sure.  You should check the site that @geopublic linked as it is generally quite accurate.  However, it is missing many phone models.  If in doubt, come back here with the specific model nubmer of the device you want to buy and we can help you determine if it should work.


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Sammy-45
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

There is an option to check your device on sign up page, not sure if that helps 

Triguy
Mayor / Maire

Some international grey market devices may only be able to support hardware connection to some radio frequencies and not others. In these cases, the phone won’t work in the areas with incompatible frequencies.

Public Mobile utilizes the following frequency bands: 4G LTE and LTE Advanced

700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz downlink and 1700 MHz uplink (AWS)

HSPA

850 MHz and 1900 MHz (UMTS)

Disclaimer

This information is indicative only. Your device's compatibility with our 4G or 4G LTE networks is based on the radio frequencies of your device. Public Mobile does not guarantee that your device will work on our mobile network.

popping
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@Jak16 wrote:

Looking at getting a new phone.  Does a GSM unlocked phone work with public mobile? Is public mobile GSM?

All I can find is gsm (whatever that is...) will work with....."GSM providers: Rogers, Fido, Bell, Virgin, Telus, Koodo, AT&T, etc. This phone will NOT work on Wind Mobile/ Freedom, Chatr. ". 

 

And are are their certain phone types Samsung/Apple that won't work with public?

 


PM does not support GSM(2G). Only Rogers/Fido/Chatr support GSM in Canada.

Is your unlocked Sprint phone support 3G?

geopublic
Mayor / Maire

@Jak16 wrote:

Looking at getting a new phone.  Does a GSM unlocked phone work with public mobile? Is public mobile GSM?

All I can find is gsm (whatever that is...) will work with....."GSM providers: Rogers, Fido, Bell, Virgin, Telus, Koodo, AT&T, etc. This phone will NOT work on Wind Mobile/ Freedom, Chatr. ". 

 

And are are their certain phone types Samsung/Apple that won't work with public?

 


@Jak16  What is the exact Make and model of phone? Best to check here to make sure. Smiley Happy

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