What phones are compatible with both CDMA and GSM networks?

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Nimisys

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Wifes Icon is failing, and needs to be replaced. We half toying with going to T-Mobile, but there are persistent concerns over network quality vs Verizon, for some of the specific areas we travel to. that being said, T-Mobile's current plans look a lot more fair towards the customer than Verizon.

so i am wondering what phones, if any, are out there that could start on Verizon and possibly go to T-Mobile in the future? i really don't want to invest in a high end phone (we tend to hold on to phones until they fail or are completely obsolete), that may not be usable in the near future. selling back will not be an option, small children and all.
 
Nexus 6P

One of the best selling phones in the world: iPhone 6S Tmo/Verizon/Sprint model.

The upcoming ZTE Axon 7
 
Any Nexus phone from the past 2 years (6, 5x, 6P), Moto X from last year, HTC 10, and there are unlocked Galaxy S7 models (these aren't available through any carriers) that just came out that support all carriers.

I know you hated Android a few years ago, but I think a lot has changed since then and you shouldn't too many issues with current models today.

Also, note that all Verizon phones are unlocked out of the box and most of which support at least band 2 and 4 on T-Mo, which is what I had to use when I switched form Verizon to TMo a few months ago with my Verizon One M8 and wife's GS6 while we were shopping for and waiting for our new phones. Band 12 is good to have if it's deployed in your area, but it seems that some local TV broadcasters have it locked down throughout the majority of my state, so it doesn't help me much. I'm not sure any current Verizon phones support band 12 though.

CHANG3D said:
The upcoming ZTE Axon 7
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I read that they may have to wait at least a few months to get "certified" on Verizon. I'm not sure why though since any other unlocked phone hasn't had to do this as long as it supports their CDMA and LTE bands. Has anyone used/tested it on Verizon yet?
 
iPhone 6S/Plus support LTE band 12 on Verizon. The only band they don't support is 30, which is only a slight issue if you go to AT&T. The unlocked versions supports every carrier and includes band 30.
 
T4rd said:
I read that they may have to wait at least a few months to get "certified" on Verizon. I'm not sure why though since any other unlocked phone hasn't had to do this as long as it supports their CDMA and LTE bands. Has anyone used/tested it on Verizon yet?
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Being certified just means that you can activate a Verizon sim card on the device. If the sim is already activated, there's no reason why it wouldn't work on Verizon.
 
CHANG3D said:
Being certified just means that you can activate a Verizon sim card on the device. If the sim is already activated, there's no reason why it wouldn't work on Verizon.
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Yeah, it was never an issue until the unlocked HTC 10 came out though. Despite it being compatible with Verizon, it wouldn't connect to their network with an already-active SIM. I think eventually someone figured out that you had to flash the Verizon 10's radios for it to enable their band support. So I'm wondering if Axon may disable those bands too until they're "certified" and push an OTA to enable Verizon/Sprint support. I'd say it's unlikely they may do this, but possible.
 
True carrier-agnostic phones that don't have any carrier-branded versions to muck things up:

Nexus 6/6P/5x
Moto X Pure Edition (2015)

If you want full Google Fi compatibility, that narrows it down to the 6P or 5x, as of right now.
 
Even Nexus 4 would do it. And it can be made to function on LTE as well as getting Android 6 installed.
 
Moto G for$150. You could look at someone like straighttalk that uses Verizon's towers too.
 
This is for the wife, her priorities are functioning as a phone/communication device, internets/music listening and taking pictures of the kids.

My priorities are not hearing her bitch about the phone or asking me how to.make something work.

She does not like iPhones. She loves her icon, but its starting to fail as a phone with a speaker that doesn't always work.

She likes the Moto X pure, however it still shows as shipping with 5.1.1. Does it get 6? Or is it unofficial through ROMs?
 
Nimisys said:
This is for the wife, her priorities are functioning as a phone/communication device, internets/music listening and taking pictures of the kids.

My priorities are not hearing her bitch about the phone or asking me how to.make something work.

She does not like iPhones. She loves her icon, but its starting to fail as a phone with a speaker that doesn't always work.

She likes the Moto X pure, however it still shows as shipping with 5.1.1. Does it get 6? Or is it unofficial through ROMs?
Click to expand...
MXPE 2015 received 6.0 in December, so you're covered there.

However, it's yet to receive 6.0.1, and Lenovorola caused a stir recently by announcing they won't be pushing monthly security updates (instead preferring to bundle them with "major releases"). They finally pushed an update last month, but it was inexplicably based on the May security update and still 6.0.

It remains to be seen whether we'll get 7.0 - probably so, but I'd bet it's the last real update. If longevity of stock ROM updates is a priority and microSD isn't important to your wife, the 6P probably makes more sense.
 
My Sprint iPhone 5S worked with T-Mobile. I sold my phone to my brother and we slapped his sim into my iPhone 5S and it connected, made calls, and data worked, so he bought it from me.
 
I know the iPhone 6's that Verizon sold are unlocked for GSM use, I've been using a Verizon provided iPhone 6 Plus for coming up on 2 years with T-Mobile. It was initially activated on Verizon and once active I just popped out the Verizon sim and replaced it with the T-Mobile one. I'd assume the 6S and 6S Plus are the same but it's probably worth checking to see if others have done it.
 
Gsmarena.com is your best source of info. T-Mobile uses 1700/2100 MHz band.
 
brettjrob said:
MXPE 2015 received 6.0 in December, so you're covered there.

However, it's yet to receive 6.0.1, and Lenovorola caused a stir recently by announcing they won't be pushing monthly security updates (instead preferring to bundle them with "major releases"). They finally pushed an update last month, but it was inexplicably based on the May security update and still 6.0.

It remains to be seen whether we'll get 7.0 - probably so, but I'd bet it's the last real update. If longevity of stock ROM updates is a priority and microSD isn't important to your wife, the 6P probably makes more sense.
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saw this morning they updated to 6.0, but the rest of that is disturbing.

my issue with the 6P is the lack of MicroSD, she uses all 32gb on her Icon, and wants more room. the 6P at 64GB comes out to 450$ vs the 300$ for the MotoX which does support an SD card. 128gb MicroSD card is less than 50$. MotoX also has some water resistance, which would be a bonus.

how well do aftermarket pure android roms work out? my experiences with my S4 were less than pleasant and downright unacceptable for wife usage.
 
Nimisys said:
saw this morning they updated to 6.0, but the rest of that is disturbing.

my issue with the 6P is the lack of MicroSD, she uses all 32gb on her Icon, and wants more room. the 6P at 64GB comes out to 450$ vs the 300$ for the MotoX which does support an SD card. 128gb MicroSD card is less than 50$. MotoX also has some water resistance, which would be a bonus.

how well do aftermarket pure android roms work out? my experiences with my S4 were less than pleasant and downright unacceptable for wife usage.
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I got my 64GB 6P on Swappa for $410 a few months ago and think I've seen them for sale for $350/$400 for the 32/64GB on Best Buy and eBay a few times in the past month or two. I was then able to RMA that 6P (Google even cross-shipped me one with 2.day shipping so I wasn't without a phone) for a blown top speaker for a like-new refurb still.

If you go with the Moto X, I wouldn't worry about rooting/ROMing it. It runs great on 6.0 still (have a friend that got one at launch and is still happy with it) and I'm sure it will get N/7.0, it will just take 4-6 months probably. Unless security patches are your concern, I'll bet you'll trade stability for updates if you root/ROM it. My mom had a 2013 Moto X and despite it only being on 5.1/Lollipop, it ran great still, I was actually surprised how responsive it was for how old it was. It seemed to keep up pretty well with our phones that were 2 years newer than it.
 
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I've Nexus 6P Battery life is great. awesome
 
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6P is awesome.

I actually signed up for Cricket Wireless a couple weeks ago and use it on my 6P now. Live out in the country, and took a business trip last week and never saw it lose LTE. Unlimited for $65 isn't too bad for one line.

Not giving up my unlimited on VZW though. Put my VZW SIM back in my NoteII, which now just serves as a modem hooked up to my router 24/7 so wife has internet at home.
 
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