Dilemma - Phone not Compatible

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Dilemma - Phone not Compatible

PetAT

239 posts

Master Geek

#151053 12-Aug-2014 13:29

I was very excited to Join Skinny however that quickly faded, My Phone IME number was listed as Compatible (Nokia 5800 Express Music). Now that I got the Sim this morning it wouldn't work on my phone, I activated it and I didn't get any txt's. So Called Customer Service and the Girl was very uninterested to be even bothered to care about my problem or hear what I had to say. Couldn't even send me a list of phones that worked with their network, and just gave me the area of the site where it lists the phones for sale. Told me about some rubbish disclaimer at the bottom oftheir site,. But its Just $10

Anybody wants it?

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2348 posts

Uber Geek

#1107046 12-Aug-2014 13:52

$10? Sims are supposed to be $2 or $4

Unfortunately alot of phones don't support the 850mhz/2100 3g frequencies (850 being the most important) that the Spark/Skinny network uses. And the imei checker isnt always 100% accurate

This phone is from 2008, might be time for a new one perhaps?

It is quite unfortunate though :(

Would you post the first 8 digits of the imei here? Ill see what it comes up with

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PetAT

239 posts

Master Geek

#1107067 12-Aug-2014 14:10

Yea, I actually bought a $8 bonous Credit and was going to switch my vodafone to Skinny. Unfortunately seems I cant unless I buy a new phone. :( I'm a technology dinosaur, got any suggestions? I *need* a Music Phone since I do a lot of out door activities & stuff and got dedicated earphones for running & hiking, hence why I kept my old 5800 express music for so long. I prefer Nokia but may take a HTC but not an Apple.

phones IME is 35201204

jonb

1739 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1107073 12-Aug-2014 14:25

A lot of the phones from China support the Telecom/Skinny 850MHz network.

Check that any phone supports 3G: WCDMA 850/2100MHz frequencies. For 2degrees and Vodafone, phone needs to cover WCDMA 900/2100MHz

For music get a phone that supports SD card.

This iNew v3 might be good, NZ$190 delivered
http://www.inewmobile.com/inew-v3-octa-core-mtk-mt6592-android-smart-phone-dual-camera-wifi-gps.html

If you like Nokia the Windows Phone Nokia 1020 has a great camera and supports SD card for music storage

timmmay

19625 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1107091 12-Aug-2014 15:00

PetAT: Yea, I actually bought a $8 bonous Credit and was going to switch my vodafone to Skinny. Unfortunately seems I cant unless I buy a new phone. :( I'm a technology dinosaur, got any suggestions? I *need* a Music Phone since I do a lot of out door activities & stuff and got dedicated earphones for running & hiking, hence why I kept my old 5800 express music for so long. I prefer Nokia but may take a HTC but not an Apple.

phones IME is 35201204

What does your "music phone" do that a regular phone doesn't?

PetAT

239 posts

Master Geek

#1107092 12-Aug-2014 15:00

I only want Big Branded Phones, Like Nokia, HTC.. Not comfortable with China stuff.

Is HTC Rezound for sale in NZ? Will all new phones work on the Skinny Network? :)

timmmay:

What does your "music phone" do that a regular phone doesn't?

I am not sure, but its special. I want a Music Phone. :P

NikT

1710 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1107095 12-Aug-2014 15:31

PetAT: I only want Big Branded Phones, Like Nokia, HTC.. Not comfortable with China stuff.

Is HTC Rezound for sale in NZ? Will all new phones work on the Skinny Network? :)

timmmay:

What does your "music phone" do that a regular phone doesn't?

I am not sure, but its special. I want a Music Phone. :P

The HTC Rezound is a Verizon Wireless CDMA device for the US. It would not be good times in NZ. It's also getting on a few years and doesn't have particularly good battery life. :)

There are plenty of phones that are excellent for music in terms of quality, and have a micro SD slot for expansion all the way up to 128GB, but may not necessarily be branded as 'music phones' per se as that has largely gone out of vogue now that the heydays of the iPod are over - it's just expected that every decent smartphone will have a good music experience. :)

Big brand + great for music? Take a look at HTC's latest flagship, the One M8. Stereo speakers for listening out loud, micro SD slot for expansion, excellent sound quality with a dedicated headphone amp, and it will work on every network. Plus, it's future-proof, as it supports the new 4G band that's just getting rolled out.

Alternatively, Sony Xperias are built with music in mind and have a Walkman app as well as a stack of audio tweaks. Check out the Z1, Z1 Compact, and Z2.

You just need to make sure that the phone you buy has the 850MHz 3G band for use on Telecom/Spark/Skinny. Modern high-end and mid-range devices will have this as well as the 900MHz band for Vodafone & 2degrees, but it was not common in this market a few years ago for phones to support both 850MHz 3G & 900MHz 3G. Low-end phones sub-$300 like the Nokia Lumia 520 will usually have one of these bands, but not both, so you'll need to go for the Telecom/Spark version to make sure it'll work on Skinny if you're getting a cheaper model.

Hope that helps!

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

jonb

1739 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1107096 12-Aug-2014 15:31

The HTC One and HTC One M8 probably have the best speakers of current phones and are compatible with all networks.

PetAT

239 posts

Master Geek

#1107097 12-Aug-2014 15:36

ok, might just stick to vodafone for now and later get the HTC one or HTC M8 (Bit expensive for a phone that is just for music, txt, calls and the odd snap of pictures) Thanks Guys :)

Yabanize

2348 posts

Uber Geek

#1107098 12-Aug-2014 15:36

Well basically every phone these plays music :P

How much would you spend?

Also curious as to why you wanted to move to Skinny?

PetAT

239 posts

Master Geek

#1107100 12-Aug-2014 15:39

I wanted to because of the good combos/txt prices. I use prepay, mainly txt and odd calls here and there, personal phone. Skinny had $8 txt plans that last a month, then i can select another one after it expires, unlike vodafone where you get 1 off txt and call bonous when you top up but cant renew that with left over credit the next month and are pretty much left making use of usual rates.

Wade

2225 posts

Uber Geek

#1107102 12-Aug-2014 15:41

Buy a Nokia 520 or 635 with 32GB mSD card = problem solved?

timmmay

19625 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1107106 12-Aug-2014 15:51

I had a Nokia XpressMusic a while back. My Android phone is far and away better as a music player. I sync MediaMonkey between the phone and computer using WiFi, the interface to find music is better, you can run a graphic equaliser if you want to, etc, etc. The Nokia was pretty rubbish in comparison.

Dulouz

849 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1107107 12-Aug-2014 15:52

I went through exactly the same thing last week with my wives Nokia Express music. I'm already on Skinny and thought it would be good to be on the same network.

I went through the whole registration process and even received a confirmation text, so I thought sweet. Then the phone's coverage kept dropping out. This is after I had requested number porting. It was a few stressful minutes while I struggled to find a number for the technical team to cancel the number porting.

I was pretty surprised that the network didn't support the Nokia 5800. It was a good phone in its day.

Amanon

NikT

1710 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1107125 12-Aug-2014 15:59

PetAT: ok, might just stick to vodafone for now and later get the HTC one or HTC M8 (Bit expensive for a phone that is just for music, txt, calls and the odd snap of pictures) Thanks Guys :)

No worries! There's a few cheaper options as well, but if you get a slightly pricier phone that supports all the networks, you can jump between them as the Prepay deals suit you.

Dulouz: I went through exactly the same thing last week with my wives Nokia Express music. I'm already on Skinny and thought it would be good to be on the same network.

I went through the whole registration process and even received a confirmation text, so I thought sweet. Then the phone's coverage kept dropping out. This is after I had requested number porting. It was a few stressful minutes while I struggled to find a number for the technical team to cancel the number porting.

I was pretty surprised that the network didn't support the Nokia 5800. It was a good phone in its day.

It's more the other way around - the phone doesn't support the network because that combination of bands was too new at the time the 5800 was produced. I'd wager there is a variant that has the 850MHz band, but it's probably a US AT&T version.

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

PetAT

239 posts

Master Geek

#1107156 12-Aug-2014 16:39

Okay Whats the verdict of you 5800 guys? I like it for what it is but I understand it may be time to upgrade and sell this off :)

Whats the make and model of your android phones? I want something better, not too fat, in similar to the 5800. I hate iphones and the big samsung stuff. Not really looking to spend big bucks. I figure I'll settle for something around 100 bucks or more off trademe. never saw the point of a $500 + phone for my requirements.

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