Please read this entire post before trying. There are now problems with unlocking the phones!-John

I now have, in my hands, a mostly working Bluetooth Verizon phone! It is possible, though not 100%. Here's the deal. First you need to purchase a Sony Ericsson T608 phone (only CDMA bluetooth phone I know of), and designed for Sprint. Sprint may have a limited number left though 1-877-PCS-AUTO (I think), but you need a Sprint number to get one (use a friend's number if you have to, they don't have to activate it). Otherwise, you are stuck with EBay. These phones were only made in a limited quantity and were not sold in stores (Verizon, wake up, Sprint sold 10,000 or so of these in less than 2 weeks).

Then you will need to purchase something called an MSL (master subsidy lock). These can be found for $8-30 - look on www.cellphonehacks.com. Lastly follow the directions found at www.T608.com or www.cellphonehacks.com (also includes a place to buy the MSL).

Edit: Here's the direct link: http://www.cellphonehacks.com/viewtopic.php?t=16318

Why is it not 100% solution? First, you lose the ability to send SMS messages (you can receive). Second, you lose ability to access Web. Third, you lose any possible support from anyone. Who the heck knows what this does to your warranty, and Sprint is not going to help you and neither is Verizon. And, if the phone breaks, there probably are no others to replace it anyway. Fourth, many of the menus and messages say Sprint, instead of Verizon, as does the face plate. You lose *86 for voicemail (it dials your phone number, but seems to work - may be a workaround, I don't know yet). I have to assume, but don't know, that you may not be able to upload pictures, games, ring tones, etc. I don't know.

But you gain a Bluetooth phone that works in the TL, mostly as advertized as far as I've seen so far (it's only been an hour or so). And you get to keep your Verizon service and no cancellation fee.

Please note, this worked for me with the caveats above, but your milage may vary, so don't yell at me if it don't work. PM me if you can't find the detailed instructions on the sites quoted above. I still have to read the instructions for the phone.

Note, cost = $199.00 + tax for phone, and $15 for MSL code. Need to buy car charger from Radio Shack $10-15?

My guess is, though, now that I did this, Verizon will come out with a better, cheaper phone in a matter of days!

Please read this entire post before trying. There are now problems with unlocking the phones!-John

 

Ingenious!

Definitely crafty, could be worth a try.

 

Well you've made the trade off of giving up many of the phone's features for BT, but I'm not sure it is worth the $200 IMO. I just saw a T608 on ebay this morning sell for $275 with the MSL. But I'm not clear as to whether or not one loses most of the phones features when buying an unlocked one. Also, dialing *86 is very important for a lot of people. I'm considering switching to cinglair, but I'd have to pay the $175 ETF from Verizon to get out of my contract.

 

nice work -- I gave up and bought a SonyEricsson T616 from AT&T Wireless and kept my verizon phone...

 

Great work!

Where did you buy the phone? From Sprint? Were there any issues in getting Verizon to activate it?

 

I'm still working on the voice mail issue. What I did for now, was to program position 11 with *86[pause][pause]password# (you know what I mean). Then I dial it by hitting 1 and then hitting and holding 1. Almost as easy as just hitting and holding 1 with the same functionality I had on my old phone. You need to program a similar thing into the TL anyway to use it with the bluetooth interface. So this is not the issue I thought it would be.

As to the cost, I paid $220 for a a bluetooth phone with Verizon. That was better than paying $175 to cancel, and then paying for a phone and getting a service provider without the coverage of Verizon. If you need the web access or to send SMS messates, or if your contract is up, that's a different story of course. I mostly wanted to let people know that there is an option out there, albiet one with tradeoffs.

 

I bougth the phone from Sprint, itself. You can only order it from telesales, and you have to have a Sprint phone number for them to even look it up and order it. I did it with a friend's number, and even though they could charge it to my credit card, they had to ship it to his house.

As for activation on Verizon, that is dealt with in the instructions to unlock the phone that I posted in the first message. Since I already have Verizon, I changed my ESN on line. Waited a few minutes, followed the posted directions, and programed the phone over the air. I never talked to anyone at Verizon.

 

Note, discovered another "compatibility" issue. Not a biggie, but there just the same. Those with Verizon phones for a while on the America's choice plan may know that often you can't tell if you are really roaming or not. They came up with an upgrade call Enhanced roaming indicator, but your phone may need a firmware upgrade to do it. With that, you always know if you are really roaming or in an extended Verizon area. Well, on the info screen of the new phone, the ERI software is noted as "N/A", which means you get a PRL (preferred roaming list) which does not support the enhance roaming indicator. Back to the old days. It's not that you are charged or not any differently, you just can't be certain when you place the call. I haven't found out yet if there is some setting I am missing.

 

WOW, you must be pretty good at TECH solutions!

 

Thanks for the info jgrahamiii.

I saw the same link (from cellphonehacks) posted in the bluetooth sticky last week, and decided to try it also.
But I bought from ebay for $259, and am still waiting for the phone to arrive.

It's good to hear that someone else has got it working already. Very helpful info on the voicemail too.

 

jgrahamiii! well done! Very good info. need to find some friend with sprint service.

 

You da man!!!

You are the new cell phone guru on the forum.

 

Not really much of a guru. I just found the instructions via a google search and followed the directions!

Note to all, I realized today that both the original poster of the instructions and I live in the Northeast. I wonder if these same instructions work elsewhere. Verizon bought up several companies and different rules and procedures might apply.

 

Nevertheless :worship: :worship: :worship:

 

Well I did some investigating of my own today and found what might be an alternative to the original post. Verizon did in fact sell a BT phone. It was called the motorola 270c and came out about 3 years ago. Apparently the phone was a favorite of many at the time, but it didn't sell that many probably because BT was just coming around. Anyways, you can still get new and used (ebay) 270's, but as I understand you must also purchase the BT module which plugs into the battery compartment. Nowadays, I guess this module thing is built into the phone.
I was thinking of switching to cingulair, but after paying verizons $175 ETF and getting a cingular phone, it'll be pretty costly. I've been looking around and it looks like a good used 270 plus the module would cost ~100. Not too bad. I was thinking of just using it as a 2nd phone and leaving it in the car.
The only downside might be the reception and the quality of the BT transmitted voice over the speakers, as I don't know how well the BT on this phone works, although I've heard the reception is good.

 

Nice job here!

So, does Express Network work? One of the main reasons I want Verizon BT is to use my PDA over Express.

I used to use a T61c with DBA-10 to get this to work. Worked great but was a bit kludgy. I'm actually selling this kit on Ebay if anyone is interested:

link

Deepak

 

Don't know about the express network, but here;s a breakdown of the 270's features, copied from an ebay listing:

It's capable of internet access
CDMA 800/1900 and analog 800 MHz networks
Integrated Two-Way Speaker Phone - allows you to hold conference calls in almost any location and allows for hands-free use of your wireless phone while in the vehicle
Bluetooth™ wireless technology with optional smart module - synchronization, dial up networking (01) and fax (01), capability are totally wireless
Large, High Resolution 128 x 100 Graphical Display
Voice Recognition Dialing and Menu Shortcuts
Voice Recorder - leave yourself a memo WAP 1.1 Enabled Microbrowser - access stock prices, local news and sport scores, all wireless!
Personal Information Manager (PIM) - 400 phonebook; 400 datebook with alarm
iTAP™ software for simplified text entry - anticipates the word you are trying to spell when entering text in email, short messages or other edit modes.
New Menu Navigation - travel effortlessly through your phone with enhanced visual queues and a list-based menu
Multi-point Synchronization - using optional Starfish® True Sync® software you can perform multipoint synchronization with compatible PIM manager devices, desktop applications and web based services (12)
Multiple Connectivity Solutions - RS-232, USB, Bluetooth™ wireless technology 32 Distinctive Ring Tones
VibraCall® alert - to discreetly notify you of incoming calls
Two-way SMS messaging - allows you to send, receive and store short alphanumeric text messages with another compatible wireless device or email address (01)
4.7 ounces with standard battery
7.63 cubic inches
5.1 x 2 x 1.0 inches (phone with standard battery attached)
Optimax® High Contrast Display
128 x 100 pixel display, 6 lines of text, one row of icons, plus one row of soft key icons
Voice Dialing
One-Touch Dialing
Speed Dial
Last 10 Numbers Dialed
Last 10 calls received
Phone Book - up to 400 entries Indicators/ Alert Features
Battery Meter
Missed Call Indicator
Roaming (01)
Text Message Waiting
Voice Message Waiting
Signal Strength Meter (always shown in display)
Security Features
Call Restrictions
Keypad Lock
Phone Lock
Application Lock
New Passwords

 

No, I don't think it does. There is no web access and no way to send SMS or email. That part of the phone is hard coded to Sprint's Vision, and you can't access that without a sprint account. When all is said and done, you strictly get a phone which can link to our car.

 

My understanding is that the 270 does NOT support the Hands Free Profile, and so it will NOT link to the TL. Someone else should confirm this.

 

Confirmed, the 270c does not support the HFP. Others on this board have tried this approach without success.

 

Bummer. Thanks for giving me the headsup before wasting my $$$

 

Followed instructions, and managed to get my T608 working with verizon. It went without a hitch. Very pleased to finally have a bluetooth solution for verizon.

*86 for voicemail works fine for me.

I also live in the NE.... so still no new data from other parts....

P.S.
I got mine from ebay for $259. Wish I had known earlier that sprint still had some left. Could've saved 50 smackeroos.

 

This was lost, so I'll repost. As of 2/4, you can no longer purchase MSL codes over the internet needed to unlock the phone from Sprint. Sprint changed some backdoor that used to permit this.

There may be another way, per the follwoing thread posted on www.cellphonehacks.com:

http://www.cellphonehacks.com/viewtopic.php?t=17625

Note, as you will see in the posts there, I tried to follow the instructions using the phones bluetooth capabilities instead of a cable, and I could not get it to work. Too bad.

Good luck!

 

I've decided to sell my T608 on Ebay if anyone is interested. I've had it for about a week. Works great on Verizon, but I decided to get another phone.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3078598469

 

Why would you be giving up this phone? Maybe because it isn't worth the price since the recent Motorola announcement.

 

What recent Motorola announcement?

 

Woops....never mind. I just found the Motorola announcement. Looks very promising....if they can get it released soon.