I was just wondering, If i bought a G1 (ATT Subscriber) without contract and just unlock it through the web service for $24 will I be able to use it? Or do I first need a T Mobile sim to activate the phone?I am confused by the last question there, so please help.
You need a T-Mobile account and data plan just to set the phone up initially. I have one, so I've done it. When you first fire up the phone, it expects to find a T-Mobile sim with an active data plan, and you have to set up Google access with either an existing account or a new account set up on the phone. Once you do that, I understand you can unlock the phone and use it with other GSM systems (like ATT), but there are a couple of caveats: 1. You won't be able to use the T-Mobile data network, even with a ATT data plan. 2. You can allegedly tweak the phone to use the ATT data network, but you still have to have a data plan to do so. 3. You won't have any 3G access on ATT or T-Mobile's network. It will work with the edge network, but since the phoen si a 3G phone, you lost the advantage of that higher speed network. To me, doing it this way is no advantage. Even though ATT has better 3G coverage (currently), T-Mobile is rapidly rolling theirs out, and it is available in many major cities. I have it where I work in DC, but not where I live yet in Jacksonville, Florida, but the edge network works there really well. I know you have an ATT plan, but if your contract is up or close to it, I'd switch. I'm very happy with T-Mobile (been with them many years) and the G1 is an excellent phone.
