Is straight talk CDMA 1429 or GSM 1429

Oh for cryin out loud. My initial statement was based on the fact that this is an iPhone specific forum. Forgive me for making the assumption that we were discussing an iPhone.

The CDMA portion of the Verizon iPhone 5 IS NOT UNLOCKED.

Your failure to comprehend this will not alter reality.

Don't believe me? Go buy a Verizon iPhone 5 and take it to Sprint. Ask them to activate it. There is your proof.

ZagrosSadjadi wrote:

Isn't it interesting that before you were saying that there were no unlocked CDMA phone but now you admit that there are. Only you still insist that there are no unlocked CDMA iPhones (although it *is* true that you cannot get them directly from Apple, which will only sell you unlocked GSM phones because a CDMA phone, even when unlocked, can only be used on the network [NOT CARRIER] for which it is programmed).

You are apparently misunderstanding what Tim is saying. There are no iPhones that have the CDMA portion unlocked. None. The iPhone 5 sold by Verizon has the GSM portion unlocked. You cannot use a Verizon iPhone on any other CDMA network, at least not without a potentially-illegal hack despite your previous claim. Straight Talk resells Verizon's network, so it is not a different network and the statements made are still correct. A Verizon iPhone may work on Straight Talk's service, though it's not to my knowlege officially supported so someone attempting it may have difficulties getting support if problems arise.

The unlock of the GSM portion may or may not apply to Straight Talk. If Straight Talk tells you that the GSM portion of the iPhone they sell are also unlocked, against the informaton that's been available thus far, they may or may not be correct. The only way you will know is buy purchasing one or their iPhones and trying it with a GSM carrier.

I hope this settles this argument once and for all.

Why must you CONTINUE to act in an uncivil manner?

Here is what I wrote:

"My point is that if we are on the Verizon network, we can take an unlocked CDMA phone to ANY carrier on that network (though we cannot port them to the Sprint network)."

Therefore, your statement of "Don't believe me? Go buy a Verizon iPhone 5 and take it to Sprint. Ask them to activate it. There is your proof" does not apply. I pointed out MYSELF that my phone cannot go to Sprint. What I wanted was the ability to go to Verizon if I wanted to do so -- and I CAN (see below).

CDMA phones that are unlocked by Verizon CANNOT be ported to Sprint regardless of make or model. It is NOT because they are locked. It is because of the database that is used to control the networks. It is Sprint's POLICY, not requirement, that CDMA phones are not ported, while Verizon cares not where you get your phone from:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9823944-1.html

By the way, I just went to VERIZON'S website and confirmed that my iPhone (from SmartTalk!) *is* eligible for porting to Verizon if I so desired.

You can check whether you can port your iPhone to Verizon here:

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/nso/enterDeviceId.do

I await your answer or are you telling me that Verizon Wireless is *also* somehow unable to determine whether I can port my SmartTalk phone to their network?

ZagrosSadjadi wrote:

Why must you CONTINUE to act in an uncivil manner?

Here is what I wrote:

"My point is that if we are on the Verizon network, we can take an unlocked CDMA phone to ANY carrier on that network (though we cannot port them to the Sprint network)."

That statement is false. Just because an MVNO resells service on Verizon's network does not mean you can use a Verizon CDMA phone on that carrier. The link you posted has absolutely nothing to do with bringing your own iPhone to the Verizon network. It has to do with activating your Verizon CDMA device.

Varjak Paw,

Thank you for the clarification. It wasn't that I was misunderstanding Tim, it is that he is misunderstanding me. I understand the difference between the Sprint and Verizon networks and their inability to communicate with one another due to the database issue. However, earlier, Tim had stated, "No. StraightTalk does not offer unlocking. The StraightTalk iPhone is permanently locked to StraightTalk and can not be used on any other carrier."

That is simply not true as I can port my StraightTalk phone to Verizon (according to BOTH Verizon and StraightTalk).

The fact that my phone cannot go to Sprint is not a locking issue. It is a database issue. The best way to think of it is the following:

A locked phone can only be used on the individual carrier (you cannot switch even on the same network). You MUST go to your OWN carrier to unlock your device. This is not the case for the StraightTalk phone as the StraightTalk phone is UNLOCKED.

GSM models that are unlocked can be used on ANY GSM network. All you need is the SIM card.

CDMA models that are unlocked can only be used on the CDMA network (not carrier) for which it was originally programmed.

Any StraightTalk phone can be ported to any other CDMA carrier on the same network (provided the new carrier is willing to flash your device, which is the CDMA equivalent of obtaining a SIM card) because the CDMA phone is NOT locked to StraightTalk. It cannot go to Sprint just like we cannot take any of our phones to Sprint because Sprint will not flash a phone that is not already in Sprint's database of allowed devices. This is not law, this is policy (the fact that Verizon, from time to time, have allowed Sprint devices on their network proves that it is not law and that this is not an "unlocking" issue).

ZagrosSadjadi wrote:

That is simply not true as I can port my StraightTalk phone to Verizon (according to BOTH Verizon and StraightTalk).

This has nothing to do with the phone being "unlocked". It has to do with a partial ownership stake in StraightTalk by Verizon. Since StraightTalk is, to a degree, Verizon, they use the same database. That does not mean you can use your phone with another CDMA carrier, even if they happen to be an MVNO reselling service that travels on the Verizon network.

Any StraightTalk phone can be ported to any other CDMA carrier on the same network (provided the new carrier is willing to flash your device

Again, you've shown your lack of understanding of how this works.

Flashing the phone would be a violation of the carrier's agreement with Apple. it would constitute an unauthorized modification to the phone.

That is simply not true as I can port my StraightTalk phone to Verizon (according to BOTH Verizon and StraightTalk).

Verizon and Straight Talk are the same network. Again, Straight Talk is just a reseller. So that point is rather a matter of semantics.

This is not the case for the StraightTalk phone as the StraightTalk phone is UNLOCKED.

Straight Talk has provided contridictory statements on that issue as regards the GSM portion of the iPhone 5. If it can be established that the GSM portion of the iPhone 5 is indeed unlocked at the time of sale, then the statement is correct.

CDMA models that are unlocked can only be used on the CDMA network (not carrier) for which it was originally programmed.

If you are referring to an iPhone 5 that has had it's GSM section unlocked, then that statement is correct.

Any StraightTalk phone can be ported to any other CDMA carrier on the same network (provided the new carrier is willing to flash your device, which is the CDMA equivalent of obtaining a SIM card) because the CDMA phone is NOT locked to StraightTalk.

The CDMA portion is absolutely locked to the Verizon network. You may or may not be able to use a CDMA iPhone sold by one of the Verizon MVNOs on another's network, such as moving between Verizon and Sprint.

But the change of providers applies only if the providers are all on the same CDMA network, as in the case with Straight Talk who uses Verizon's network. No iPhone sold in the US has the CDMA portion unlocked (nor does any CDMA iPhone sold anywhere in the world, to the best of my knowledge), and no US carrier, at least, will unlock one. Whether there are any carriers elsewhere that will flash an iPhone to unlock the CDMA I can't say with certainty but I have not heard of any, so the point is probably moot.

'nuff said on the matter.

Varjek Paw,

Thanks for this. I think that properly clarifies everything, although I disagree with Tim's statement that the CDMA portion of the iPhone is not unlocked for the reasons I gave (you can change carriers on the SAME network), though if what is meant by unlocking is broader, such as what you stated (what we might call FULL unlocking in that you can take it to Sprint), then I have no qualms with the statement. By the way, SmartTalk does allow you to bring other CDMA phones to them as well (I understand that they must be on the Verizon network already -- no Sprint phones allowed):

"Bring your own GSM or CDMA compatible phone:"

http://www.straighttalkbyop.com/

"Locked" by most measures means locked to a given cell network. So Tim's statement is accurate. Any further disagreement over that point is really only one of semantics as to "carrier" vs "network".