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By select handsets, I assume any big name handset, e.g. iPhone, Pixel, Galaxy, would be allowed, but a no-name handset wouldn't be allowed? Isn't this similar

By select handsets, I assume any big name handset, e.g. iPhone, Pixel, Galaxy, would be allowed, but a no-name handset wouldn't be allowed? Isn't this similar to the pre-iPhone days, when if you brought an overseas GSM phone you had to go through some hoops to get it activated with Cingular/T-Mobile? I remember getting handsets from China and Europe and the reseller would have to circumvent something to get it activated on the networks.

Causality1 5y ago
Generally, but with a lot of exceptions and weirdness. For example, my OnePlus 6 is not supported, but if I modify my IMEI and APN those "impossible" features like VoLTE suddenly start working. Before they stopped automatic activation, I could put my SIM out of a supported phone, put it in an unsupported one, and those features would work for between fifteen minutes and a couple of hours. On the other hand, some handsets that are blatantly missing LTE bands are on the whitelist, such as the Chinese Oneplus 8T.
- oneplane 5y ago
  Keep in mind that supported and features are not the same. Even if it technically can work doesn't mean that the provider wants to support it. Sometimes it's a simple as simply not having put the device through the testing process yet, or it simply hasn't been documented. And until it has, they don't want to risk any service costs so they simply don't whitelist it when the user base is insignificant enough.
  - Causality1 5y ago
    That argument sounds good until you remember T-Mobile, a company with less than half the annual revenue of AT&T, has absolutely no problem servicing any device with the proper frequency bands.
    - oneplane 5y ago
      Servicing does not equal support. It doesn't get more direct than that.
      - Tostino 5y ago
        That's all I see people wanting though. Service, not support.
joecool1029 5y ago
>when if you brought an overseas GSM phone you had to go through some hoops to get it activated with Cingular/T-Mobile? To be frank: No. You popped your SIM in and the phone worked immediately on the network. If it didn't work you manually entered APN settings in. Some years later AT&T started maintaining a whitelist of smartphone IMEI numbers so they could charge more for data plans than a featurephone would pay. T-Mobile did not do this. AT&T went as far as maintaining whitelisting for phones that would be allowed on wifi calling or voLTE, T-Mobile phones just needed to carry the profiles. No 'circumvention' other than carrier/subsidy unlock was ever required to use an international phone save for the very rare times international phones had bands software disabled (and this is quite rare).

Causality1 5y ago

Generally, but with a lot of exceptions and weirdness. For example, my OnePlus 6 is not supported, but if I modify my IMEI and APN those "impossible" features like VoLTE suddenly start working. Before they stopped automatic activation, I could put my SIM out of a supported phone, put it in an unsupported one, and those features would work for between fifteen minutes and a couple of hours. On the other hand, some handsets that are blatantly missing LTE bands are on the whitelist, such as the Chinese Oneplus 8T.

oneplane 5y ago
Keep in mind that supported and features are not the same. Even if it technically can work doesn't mean that the provider wants to support it. Sometimes it's a simple as simply not having put the device through the testing process yet, or it simply hasn't been documented. And until it has, they don't want to risk any service costs so they simply don't whitelist it when the user base is insignificant enough.
- Causality1 5y ago
  That argument sounds good until you remember T-Mobile, a company with less than half the annual revenue of AT&T, has absolutely no problem servicing any device with the proper frequency bands.
  - oneplane 5y ago
    Servicing does not equal support. It doesn't get more direct than that.
    - Tostino 5y ago
      That's all I see people wanting though. Service, not support.

joecool1029 5y ago

>when if you brought an overseas GSM phone you had to go through some hoops to get it activated with Cingular/T-Mobile? To be frank: No. You popped your SIM in and the phone worked immediately on the network. If it didn't work you manually entered APN settings in. Some years later AT&T started maintaining a whitelist of smartphone IMEI numbers so they could charge more for data plans than a featurephone would pay. T-Mobile did not do this. AT&T went as far as maintaining whitelisting for phones that would be allowed on wifi calling or voLTE, T-Mobile phones just needed to carry the profiles. No 'circumvention' other than carrier/subsidy unlock was ever required to use an international phone save for the very rare times international phones had bands software disabled (and this is quite rare).