Can I buy an HTC G1 phone without a carrier, import it into Europe and stick my existing SIM into it?

[Autarkis]

I live in Switzerland, the HTC G1 Android does not even have a release date yet.

I have a sunrise prepaid card (unlikely that you'd know who that is ). I don't want to switch carriers, or numbers.

I already compiled my own images with the Android SDK and used its emulator to run the emulation, so you can guess I'm tech-savvy enough to get over some hurdles.

Can I order a HTC G1 without any branding or carrier from the US and use my existing SIM?

Thanks!

[BedHead]

Hi Autarkis, your best option at this time is (IMO) to have a good look on ebay and pick up a G1 handset there.

You also need to pay close attention to find a handset that has been unlocked by a "legal" unlock code from T-Mobile. That way you could just stick in your current SIM and all is well.

I cant imagine them being cheap, but if you want the G1 bad enough you might go for it.

Right now i'd be a little bit wary of purchasing a handset with a non-official unlock code. Unlocking with this method makes the G1 unable to access Gmail accounts/Android Market etc.

Hope that helps!

[Autarkis]

Hey BedHead,

thanks for your very quick reply. You seem very knowledgable.

Originally Posted by BedHead

Hi Autarkis, your best option at this time is (IMO) to have a good look on ebay and pick up a G1 handset there.

You also need to pay close attention to find a handset that has been unlocked by a "legal" unlock code from T-Mobile. That way you could just stick in your current SIM and all is well.

Okay, how can I make sure that it has been legally unlocked? Is there any way to tell?

Originally Posted by BedHead

I cant imagine them being cheap, but if you want the G1 bad enough you might go for it.

Right now i'd be a little bit wary of purchasing a handset with a non-official unlock code. Unlocking with this method makes the G1 unable to access Gmail accounts/Android Market etc.

Hope that helps!

It does! Hm, I don't care much for Android Market and could live without Gmail as well. I plan to do some little development on my own and use freeware whenever possible.

If I reflash the Android with my own firmware which I compiled from source (already done and working on the emulator), is the SIM lock gone?

And thirdly, can I buy an already-unlocked G1 directly from T-Mobile USA? It seems to be the safest way to go.

Thanks again!

[krzysiopl]

There is only one problem....once you get the g1 to your country, I don't think ur 3g is gonna work....the G1 is the states uses 1700 mhz frequency for 3G, europe uses 1900 mhz...so no 3g for you my friend...unless somone at tmobile told me some bs.

[HCSC]

I think that @krzysiopl have right but @Autarkis you can buy G1 in UK there is release.

[Phlogiston]

Originally Posted by krzysiopl

There is only one problem....once you get the g1 to your country, I don't think ur 3g is gonna work....the G1 is the states uses 1700 mhz frequency for 3G, europe uses 1900 mhz...so no 3g for you my friend...unless somone at tmobile told me some bs.

Could anyone else confirm this or give me a link?

I'm from Swizerland too and I'm planning to get a G1.

/edit: According to the wiki information about the G1, this is not true, so the phone indeed works in Europe and Swizerland.

[Andor]

Originally Posted by Phlogiston

Could anyone else confirm this or give me a link?

I'm from Swizerland too and I'm planning to get a G1.

No there's not entirely accurate, you'll be fine with the phone in Europe.

Here's the network specs from the HTC G1 product page:

Network HSPA/WCDMA:

• Europe: 2100 MHz
• US:1700/2100 MHz
• Up to 7.2 Mbps down-link (HSDPA) and 2 Mbps up-link (HSUPA) speeds

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:

• 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

(Band frequency, HSUPA availability, and data speed are operator dependent.)

Band frequencies from Wikipedia:

• Band I (W-CDMA 2100) in Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania (ITU Region 1) and Brazil (part of ITU Region 2)
• Band II (W-CDMA 1900) in North America and South America (ITU Region 2) Band IV (W-CDMA 1700 or Advanced Wireless Services) in the United States (T-Mobile USA)
• Band V (W-CDMA 850) in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the USA, other parts of South America, parts of Asia (ITU Region 2 and ITU Region 3)
• Band VI (W-CDMA 800) in Japan (NTT DoCoMo FOMA Plus)
• Band VIII (W-CDMA 900) in Europe, Asia, Oceania (ITU Region 1 and ITU Region 3), Australia
• Band XII - XIV were added for future use in the 700MHz spectrum auctioned in the United States and Canada in early 2008

[krzysiopl]

Ahh nice, good that someone was able to verify this. Tmobile ppl don't know shit about their phones, haha.

[zpon]

Originally Posted by Andor

No there's not entirely accurate, you'll be fine with the phone in Europe.

Here's the network specs from the HTC G1 product page:


Band frequencies from Wikipedia:

I am in the same situation (Denmark), did you try to contact htc?

[jabaloo]

I used an American T-Mobile G1 in Switzerland and the 3G works fine. It was unlocked by Google anyway (developer phone). I used a Lebara SIM (same network as Sunrise).