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Anyone know a quick, reliable website for unlocking a handset online? I'm trying to hand one of my old devices down to a friend and it's too loving cold to go hunting for a local hole-in-the-wall cellphone shop.
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Jan 24, 2014 16:23
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eBay?
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Jan 24, 2014 19:00
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Re: Tethering chat: I'm on the $30/6GB with Rogers and have tethered for years, I'm obviously allowed or they don't care. Even on 4.4.2 now!
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Jan 24, 2014 19:07
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ante posted:eBay? Yeah, unless it's Blackberry (which you can unlock for free if you're willing to wait 48 hours) ebay is always the cheapest. Even websites that do cell unlocking sell the service for a bit less on ebay. A lot of them will say they have to physically mail you the code as per ebay's policies, but they usually actually do just email it. They just can't advertise that. CLAM DOWN posted:Re: Tethering chat: I'm on the $30/6GB with Rogers and have tethered for years, I'm obviously allowed or they don't care. Even on 4.4.2 now! Rogers blanket allows tethering.
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Jan 24, 2014 19:10
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Aphrodite posted:Rogers blanket allows tethering. On data plans 1GB or more. (As of the last time I looked at the tethering policy.) Also, on the topic of upgrading your phone with an old 3 year term price plan, Rogers does let you keep your plan and renew for 2 year with full subsidy on any phone on the condition that your plan (MSF on a term, not counting valuepacks, discounts etc.) is equal to or greater then $60. despite the fact that new customers must reach a MSF of at least $70 to get subsidy on any phone (ie iPhones) I assume Bell, Telus, and their subsidiaries would have a similar policy, but I could be very wrong about carriers other then Rogers.
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Jan 24, 2014 20:00
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I'm assuming the reason no one has a problem with tethering now is because almost everyone has a limited data plan. If you have a limited amount of data, even if it's a lot, you will eventually use it all up and can be charged money/throttled to ensure you don't hog the bandwidth. If you have an unlimited plan, you could theoretically use hundreds of gigs per month with nothing to stop you, and put undue strain on the network, so they don't really want you tethering if that's the case.WienerDog posted:I assume Bell, Telus, and their subsidiaries would have a similar policy, but I could be very wrong about carriers other then Rogers. I can confirm Bell does not have that policy. If you are switching from a 3 year to a 2 year, you have to change your plan to something that's in market. Period.
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Jan 24, 2014 21:43
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OilSlick posted:At the same time. That said, it's possible that something could have been done in advance to allow you to keep the plan. Yeah, the employee accounts had tethering included for free.
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Jan 24, 2014 22:05
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OilSlick posted:I can confirm Bell does not have that policy. If you are switching from a 3 year to a 2 year, you have to change your plan to something that's in market. Period. That really sucks for Bell customers. They must have a lot of people porting their numbers out because of it. And I can't believe Rogers has a proactive policy which favors the customer. I got to keep my 6GB, 200 local mins plan because it's exactly $60 + $7 for call ID. It is nice the 2 year plans have unlimited nationwide voice and text, but that and only 2gb of data for $85 is too much imo.
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Jan 24, 2014 22:28
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WienerDog posted:That really sucks for Bell customers. They must have a lot of people porting their numbers out because of it. Not overly. We had a lot of people complain, leave to go check out the other carriers in the mall, and then come back 20 minutes later to do an upgrade after finding they were no better. Cell phone competition, folks.
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Jan 28, 2014 00:17
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I'm leaving Bell in early May and switching to Wind, still rocking a GSM Galaxy Nexus.. due to the android thread I'm really tempted to get the N5, and while the moto X looks appealing for its uniqueness and overall features, I know i'd be kicking myself in the future if I spent $350 on a lesser spec device. My gf is on wind, and sometimes signal in the basement of her house drops out, but for the most part I cant see a reason not to switch when I spend most of my time in wifi zones in Vancouver..
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Jan 28, 2014 01:13
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This is only tangentially Canadian Cellular, but seems closely related enough. If people object I'll retract the question. My dad's colleague is claiming that it is possible to watch American Netflix in Canada on an Apple TV by changing the DNS settings. A few websites seem to confirm this. I haven't tried it myself (traveling right now), but I intend to. I'm wondering - assuming this indeed works - why does it work? If Netflix truly was dead set on doing regionalization properly, wouldn't they filter by geolocated IP (thus requiring a VPN)?
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Jan 28, 2014 21:32
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The trick is this: When you're using Unblock-US' DNS servers a request to "Netflix.com" does not actually return the address of Netflix.com. Instead your device gets the address for Unblock-US' actually in the US Netflix proxy server. This server passes the geo-check for you and then hands you off to connect directly to Netflix's CDN. Very, very little of your traffic has to pass through anything they own and there's no VPN involved. Unblock-US isn't the only service, but it's the most popular and it's easier to use a name than generics. Aphrodite fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Jan 28, 2014 |
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Jan 28, 2014 21:38
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E: beaten. Also the above answer was better written.
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Jan 28, 2014 21:42
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Aphrodite posted:The trick is this: When you're using Unblock-US' DNS servers a request to "Netflix.com" does not actually return the address of Netflix.com. Instead your device gets the address for Unblock-US' actually in the US Netflix proxy server. This server passes the geo-check for you and then steps out of the way for you to connect to Netflix's CDN. I thought unblock-us was a VPN though? That approach at least makes sense to me. This colleague of my dad's is saying that the only thing needed is the DNS setting. He didn't mention anything about Unblock-US or setting up an account with them or anything. Entirely possible he's mistaken.
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Jan 28, 2014 21:43
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On the user end Unblock-US is literally no more than 2 DNS server IP addresses. You sign up with them because they're subscription based. They only service requests coming from subscriber IP addresses. There are free ones too. They're not as reliable and/or don't cover as many services. Aphrodite fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Jan 28, 2014 |
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Jan 28, 2014 21:44
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Aphrodite posted:On the user end Unblock-US is literally no more than 2 DNS server IP addresses. Hmm ok, interesting. Thanks for the info. Back to your regularly scheduled complaints about Robelus....
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Jan 28, 2014 21:46
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e: Regarding the Netflix DNS services I've been using Unotelly for some time now and have many friends also on it. The front end is a little klunky but it's reasonably priced and works well so that's another option. Forgive me if these are stupid questions, but I'd really appreciate some advice from a complete phone neophyte  but I was recommended I come to this thread for some real newbie questions. I've used cells for years but never had my own, they were always work issued.Now things are changing and we're expected to supply our own phones with a whopping $50/month reimbursement stipend. I think I might be able to claim more above that possibly as a separate expense, but for recommendations $50 is probably where I am at for a ballpark budget. I guess what I'm saying is I would like to find a provider that can give me appropriate service for $50/month. I guess I'm not dead set against buying a phone outright but if I could get one included on a 2 year contract I would probably prefer that. I am using an old telus issue Samsung Fascinate 4G that has given my blindingly mediocre service. http://www.samsung.com/ca/support/detail/supportPrdDetail.do?menu=SP01&prd_mdl_cd=SGH-T959HAPTLS&srchword=SGH-T959P I talk around an hour or so a day on the phone, and typical data usage is "around" 300MB/month give or take. I need to be able to synch with MS Office, have good camera and preferably not break if you look at it the wrong way. Recommendations for providers/phones? I live in Southern Alberta (Not Calgary). I'd probably like to stick with an android based phone but other than that I'm not really picky. I've heard good things about the Nexus 5 but by no means am I sold on anything. I have done some preliminary research and it looks like I'm probably realistically looking at around $60/month for appropriate plans, does that sound right? What are the typical taxes and fee bullshit on top of that for a typical bill?
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Jan 28, 2014 22:02
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There's typically not many additional fees other than taxes these days, but yeah you're probably going to be looking at $60+ before taxes minimum if you want a subsidized phone. The Nexus 5 and Moto G are both relatively cheap to buy outright (and also pretty good phones) and that would give you more options for cheaper plans. I'm most familiar with Virgin since they're my provider, but if you bring your own phone you can sign up with the fairly reasonable "Silver" plans which either can come with data buckets or you can use their fairly flexible tiered pay-per-use data option. Right now they have a $39/month plan with 400 min canada wide, unlimited evenings/weekends from 5pm, unlimited intl. texting, and 400MB of data. They also give you 10% off for bringing your own phone but that's pretty common across most carriers these days.
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Jan 28, 2014 22:13
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slidebite: This manoeuvre takes a bit of effort, but it works a goddamn charm (no, you don't need to live in SK). I got my girlfriend on this a month ago. How does $49.50 a month for unlimited country-wide calling, SMS/CID/VM and 5GB of LTE sound? $40.50 if you drop the data down to 1GB. (That's assuming BYOD - it'll be a bit more if you go on a tab for a device, but in general, I think you're better off buying that separately anyhow. It is so nice to have an unlocked phone, not to mention the lack of contract encumbrance, and the economics are the same or sometimes a bit cheaper).
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Jan 29, 2014 00:17
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^ This is what I'm on right now. Switched from Wind's 40 dollar holiday miracle plan for it and it's a good trade. It's nice to have signal outside of the city, and LTE is awesome.
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Jan 29, 2014 00:35
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That's really interesting, thanks for the info. I don't have my own device though  but I'd be all over that otherwise.So I had an interesting chat with Telus. My past 3 months history has me at an average of: Approx 350MB/month 650 minutes/month, of which virtually all is prime time. Telus tried to get me on a plan as an existing customer which = $rape$ $60 for unlimited voice Canada, Data extra. When I asked about the $60 1000 min/500MB plan they said that's for new customers. When I said I am a new customer and I can just as easily go to another carrier, she agreed I have a point. After my CSR talked to loyalty they eventually yielded and said I could also get the "new customer" plan. ($60/1000min/500MB) Turns out there is still 1 year on my contract so I'd be stuck with my existing phone for at least 8 months, at which time they'd upgrade me. Bonus though, I get to keep my existing number which, I must admit, I would prefer but it wouldn't hurt my feelings tremendously if I don't keep it. Thoughts? I would like a new phone, but it's not a HUGE deal. What do you think the odds are that Telus would give me a new phone if I asked? Or do you think I'd have to wait out the corporate contract time? I don't care for Telus as a company, but I will say it was nice talking to people that were not offshore and I could understand them without asking them to repeat themselves repeatedly.
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Jan 29, 2014 01:56
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Honestly? If you're a long term customer you should be able to get a better plan. I'd wait until you were closer to your renewal date and see what options suddenly appear. Add to that your upgrade window is around the time back to school promos come up.
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Jan 29, 2014 02:24
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slidebite posted:That's really interesting, thanks for the info. I don't have my own device though That's sort of the point though - you pick a device of your choosing (e.g. a Nexus 5 for $350 USD - unlocked and straight from Google for instance), and then combine it with that very awesome month to month plan. Ultimate flexibility, no contract, and the 24-month cost of device+plan compares very favourably to a plan with a built in amortization (and a heap of other restrictions like a SIM-locked device). I can understand it being too much hassle though, particularly for people who are getting reimbursed or what not - not to mention the need to concoct a story to acquire an SK number. In general though - the principle of unbundling device and service is a really good one. We don't pay for anything else in this way - I see no reason why cellular should be different.
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Jan 29, 2014 04:27
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Am I missing something here? How does buying a phone outright at $350+ to save $5-$10 per month help me out? Honest question, I'm not trying to be an rear end, I'm a cell idiot.
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Jan 29, 2014 05:32
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A contract that includes a new N5 will overvalue it, so if you decide to leave the carrier, the balance on the phone subsidy has the potential to be higher than the price Google charges. e: to be a bit more specific Telus/Rogers/Bell consider the 16GB version a $500 phone. The Dark One fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Jan 29, 2014 |
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Jan 29, 2014 05:40
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slidebite posted:Am I missing something here? How does buying a phone outright at $350+ to save $5-$10 per month help me out? In short: you, notionally at least, need a new phone and a good service plan. You can get this the traditional way, with the price of the former baked into the latter, or do something like I've proposed. Don't forget: a traditional monthly tariff includes an invisible device financing charge that never gets retired. I totally get that it may not be worth the hassle for you however.
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Jan 29, 2014 05:55
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slidebite posted:Am I missing something here? How does buying a phone outright at $350+ to save $5-$10 per month help me out? It made a lot more sense when contracts were 3 years and not 2.
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Jan 29, 2014 06:11
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Lexicon posted:Don't forget: a traditional monthly tariff includes an invisible device financing charge that never gets retired. So, if I sign a 2 year contract which includes a phone, I don't own the phone after the contract term? it goes back to the carrier? I had no idea.  I just assumed I would. quote:e: to be a bit more specific Telus/Rogers/Bell consider the 16GB version a $500 phone.
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Jan 29, 2014 06:24
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slidebite posted:So, if I sign a 2 year contract which includes a phone, I don't own the phone after the contract term? it goes back to the carrier? I had no idea. You do own the phone, but you continue to pay the increased monthly fee after the device is "paid off"
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Jan 29, 2014 06:36
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To get a "super"phone (aka any one you might want) requires a minimum $70 voice and data plan in Quebec from the big 3. This might apply to other provinces too, I don't know. Bringing your own phone lets you get in at like $45. $25 extra over 24 months is $600. That $350 Nexus phone (actually $425 after tax and shipping, and I guess even more with those dollar troubles) saves you some money over the length of that contract. The numbers with 3 year contracts were like $50 and $35, so still about $540 there. This is all in general and not necessary relevant to your situation though. Aphrodite fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Jan 29, 2014 |
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Jan 29, 2014 06:59
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So is it fair to sum up and say I can get a phone with a 2 year term but I'll be paying a premium month to month plus at the end of the term the phone is still locked so I'll have to either unlock it OR buy a new phone then? If that's the case, I can begin to see the benefits of buying a phone outright and having the ability to float around with your number contract free.
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Jan 29, 2014 15:18
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Correct. A rare few phones are sold unlocked even through carriers, but that's mostly the case. Of course $425 USD is up to ~$475 CDN right now so we're rapidly approaching the point a Nexus doesn't put you ahead. I got lucky and just ordered mine before the crash kicked in.
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Jan 29, 2014 15:22
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If you take a contract and your contract term runs out, most carriers will give you the option of switching to a plan that has the no contract discount built in, so you aren't necessarily stuck paying extra for your service even though the device is paid off. The plan may need to be updated, so it may or may not be better, but at least you're not always going to be paying more. We don't have many people going the route discussed in Atlantic Canada. We sell shitloads of iPhones, those are cheaper to take on contract.
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Jan 29, 2014 15:29
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slidebite posted:So is it fair to sum up and say I can get a phone with a 2 year term but I'll be paying a premium month to month plus at the end of the term the phone is still locked so I'll have to either unlock it OR buy a new phone then? Option A over 24 months: full-device price plus lower-monthly plan for 24 months Option B over 24 months: discounted-device price plus higher-monthly plan for 24 months (and beyond). In many scenarios, A and B cost the same. However, A gives you a more useful device (use it abroad), more flexibility (switch carriers if you want), and a higher residual value of the device (it's far easier to sell unlocked phones). If you go with the regional plan trick on Howard Forums, you also get a far better service plan too with A. edit: This was roughly the calculus used by my girlfriend for her recent plan switch. She ended up with an unlocked 5s and a regional-QC plan. 
Lexicon fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Jan 29, 2014 |
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Jan 29, 2014 15:49
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Aphrodite posted:Correct. A rare few phones are sold unlocked even through carriers, but that's mostly the case. Google actually charges $350/$400 in CAD, so we aren't losing out because of the exchange rate yet.
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Jan 29, 2014 18:48
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Oh, that's cool then. I figured since they ship from the US. ...I guess that shows how much attention I pay to my credit card bill.
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Jan 29, 2014 18:55
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Wow, Wind is launching a $15 per month add on for unlimited talk text and data in the US. Starts Feb 3. http://mobilesyrup.com/2014/01/30/wind-mobile-launching-15month-unlimited-u-s-roaming-add-on-gives-unlimited-data-talk-and-text/
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Jan 30, 2014 19:01
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Wow indeed, the cost of the current $40 promo plan (with voicemail) plus US roaming ($15) would be less than pretty much every US unlimited plan, and you get unlimited everything in both countries.
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Jan 30, 2014 19:23
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If this included roaming on non-WIND networks in Canada as well I would switch today.
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Jan 30, 2014 22:29
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eXXon posted:Wow indeed, the cost of the current $40 promo plan (with voicemail) plus US roaming ($15) would be less than pretty much every US unlimited plan, and you get unlimited everything in both countries. I'd bet that it'll be either unlimited EDGE data or like 500MB of HSPA+ then throttled down to like 128Kbs thereafter.
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Jan 31, 2014 04:17
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