My Cell Dashboard

Can you use and unlocked cell phone with a monthly plan from other companies not prepaid plans.

Yes, as long as the carrier you choose uses the same technology as your cell phone. This is mainly an issue in the US & Canada. For example, you can’t use a GSM phone (AT&T, T-Mobile) on a CDMA network (Verizon, Sprint) or vice versa.

Some carriers (T-Mo in US) will offer you a less expensive plan for the same features or more features for the money. Most don’t give you a break but at least you don’t need to sign a contract!

I always find unlocked cell phones that I want to buy but I have Sprint. I know you can use unlocked cell phones with other carriers but I’m not sure if it will work with Sprint cause they don’t use sim cards.

It depends on the network that the phone operates on. Typically "Unlocked" refers to a GSM phone that is not SIM Locked to a specific carrier. If the phone is GSM, you will need a SIM Card to operate it, which means it is not compatible with SPRINT. If the phone is an unlocked CDMA network phone, you should not have a problem.
If the reason you are looking for an unlocked phone is that you want to upgrade your phone without changing your contract I would suggest buying a used SPRINT phone and transferring your phone number.
You can find thousands of unlocked phones and used SPRINT phones online at www.zendoo.com

I want to buy an unlocked cell from ebay,but will it work with my Tracfone? I would like to know before i buy one.

No it will not work with Tracfone

I currently have Verizon Wireless as my cell phone provider. I’m not due for a phone upgrade for another year, but my current phone is busted. I wanted to get an unlocked cell phone (they seem less expensive) and wondered if any of them will work with Verizon.

Dam people dont know what there saying Most unlocked phone operate on a gsm network verizon operates on cdma wich is a older technology. when the bigger companies got gsm verizon bought up all there towers. NO IT WONT WORK

Can I buy an unlocked phone and then get it activated by my cell phone company without the company forcing me to change or upgrade my current plan?

There are actually a couple questions here. unlocked phones as explained in some of the other answers refers to not having a "subsidy lock". A "subsidy lock" means that the wireless provider has had the equipment locked to their network in an effort to minimize financial loss when providing phones at a significantly discounted price or sometimes for free with a new contract. If you have an unlocked phone of the correct technology you can get it activated.
The second part about not changing your plan will depend on a few things. Primarily if your old phone is the same technology or not. Changing phone technology will frequently require changing rate plans. If both old phone and new phone are the same technology you should be able to switch phones. Be sure to notify your provider so they can note the new phone’s identification (IMEI) in their system. That will help confirm that data services will work correctly and if you carry insurance on your phone you can make sure the right phone is insured.

Not sure what an unlocked cell phone is. I broke my new phone and dont have insurance on it.

An unlocked phone means it doesn’t have a specific carrier’s brand on the phone. You’d be able to use any SIM card in the phone or use the phone on any compatible network. If you want the ease of not having to call Technical support and wading through a 15 minute call while programming your WAP/MMS/Email settings, then it’s best to buy a locked phone with the brand of the carrier you’re subscribing with.

FYI, Cheese: A site that sells IMEI codes (*#06#) has got to be illegitimate.

I mainly need to have mobile internet as I don’t make a lot of cell phone calls. How can I get full mobile internet on my unlocked cell phone?

Get T-Mobile and get the full unlocked internet plan from them. Fastest way to do it, for the lowest price.

You can also do it by getting an iPhone and purchasing the AT&T plan for it, or by purchasing a Blackberry and getting the unlimited internet plan for it from T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint or Verizon.

I’m going to Barbados and want to activate a prepaid account on Digicel while I’m there. I have a new Rogers SIM that has never been used and an unlocked world cell phone. Can I use that Rogers Sim or and I going to have to get a digicel sim?

You need a Digicel Sim…

Rogers sim only works for ROGERS only… No other carrier.

What does it really mean to have an unlocked cell phone? I would like to also know how much would be my monthly bill for the unlocked cell phone?

it really depends on the phone and wireless company.

for example- the iphone is more expensive with verizon (unlocked) than it is with the contracted carrier (att)…. depends on your data plan and how much and what you have to pay for.

but a rarz is a basic phone that only requires minutes and text messages.. unlocked or not.

what does an unlocked cell phone do that a locked one doesn’t?
Are unlocked cell phones illegal? and if so were.

Locked phones are phones which only allow you to use the network sim that you were supplied with ie T-Mobile phones are locked to the T-mobile network so you can only use their sim cards, not an Orange one.

If you get your handset from Carphone Warehouse or O2 these phones come already unlocked (O2 wont tell you this).

Getting a handset unlocked so you can use any sim brand is perfectly legal. The network provider can do it and so can most mobile phone repair shops (the repair shops are cheaper).

So an unlocked phone allows you to use many different network sims.