After Rooting, will we be able to unlock the Phone(Different Carrier/International)

[zhengpoint]

Biggest Concern for me is will we be able to use the Phone for a different carrier after rooting. On the SIM card slot specs for this phone i found on the Motorola site is as follow:
NETWORKS[SUP]4[/SUP]
CDMA 800, CDMA1900, LTE B13 700

Does this mean it is compatible for international use?

 

[foamman]

Biggest Concern for me is will we be able to use the Phone for a different carrier after rooting. On the SIM card slot specs for this phone i found on the Motorola site is as follow:
NETWORKS[SUP]4[/SUP]
CDMA 800, CDMA1900, LTE B13 700

Does this mean it is compatible for international use?

Depends on what country...There are only a few carriers abroad running a CDMA network, most are GSM. Also, rooting is not the same as unlocking.

 

[zhengpoint]

Yes, i understanding that rooting isn't the same as unlocking. Just wondering is there an app or something that allows me to use the phone for a different carrier with the SIM card slot. But i guess most-likely not.

 

[kratt]

Depends on what country...There are only a few carriers abroad running a CDMA network, most are GSM. Also, rooting is not the same as unlocking.

The bionic has the mdm6600 baseband chip which supports gsm and cdma (same chip in the verizon iphone and the global Moto Droid Pro, see ifixit tear downs). I am not sure if the bionic has the other hardware necessary to support gsm. There have been pictures and posts in other threads and forums which someone has a picture of a moto bionic on gsm network (could be fake who knows).

Also if you read the fcc documents for the bionic the cover letter states the following:
WCDMA/GSM network functions have been disabled by the firmware and are SIM locked by all US operators on this product.


FCC bionic site: https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/...'IHDT56MX1'

Then select cover letter. You can also view the manual and external photos to confirm this is the bionic.

 

[SP120k]

I had a VZW rep tell me it will not work on a GSM network. The SIM is used solely for LTE. Who knows if his information was accurate though.

 

[kratt]

I had a VZW rep tell me it will not work on a GSM network. The SIM is used solely for LTE. Who knows if his information was accurate though.

Of course Verizon would tell you this. Verizon nor the FCC has approved the bionic to operate on GSM. Motorola/Vzw wireless may not have enabled gsm b/c it would further delay the release of the phone (remember this phone already suffered from significant delays). Enabling GSM would have required further testing by Motorola, Verizon, and the FCC.

Also, Motorola is using this chipset to save cost. They can reuse this design in gsm phones. This is the same approach apple is taking with the iphone.

 

[zhengpoint]

Thank you all for providing so much information for me. But no one has yet to officially announce that GSM will work for the Bionic. I'm in China right now for vacation. I have no idea who do I or should I go to to figure this out... *sigh* Really was hoping that the Bionic would be a world phone (i mean seriously nearly 1 year of waiting). Just my luck....

 

[dcafe]

i upload that pic.it comes from a manager wroking in moto.i think it is not a fake

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk

 

[kratt]

i upload that pic.it comes from a manager wroking in moto.i think it is not a fake

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk

Do you have any more info? How to enable gsm? Based on reading the FCC documents its a firmware lock of sorts. Is the code to run gsm, configuration etc... in the stock verizon firmware, thereby only requiring a change of a setting to enable the gsm?

 

[tbell6]

Do you have any more info? How to enable gsm? Based on reading the FCC documents its a firmware lock of sorts. Is the code to run gsm, configuration etc... in the stock verizon firmware, thereby only requiring a change of a setting to enable the gsm?

I drink coffee frequently with frequent foreign travelers. The consensus its unless you are going to stay for an extended time, buy a burn phone where you are when not in home country, to make calls. Avoid foreign roaming charges on your smart phone.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums