IS THERE ANY WAY TO USE MY METRO PCS PHONE WITH ANOTHER COMPANY ?
MetroPCS uses CDMA digital phones, a different digital standard. The account identifying number is the ESN, electronic serial number, and is manufactured into the phone, and is not changable. This is why when you change phones in this system, the service provider has to be notified of the new phone’s ESN. Most CDMA service providers will only accept into service those phones that have been manufactured for them, and marked with their name. So if you see a used phone with features you like better than their current new phone offerings, buy it and activate it. Some time ago, I activated a used Cricket phone I had purchased at a second hand store. All I needed was a credit card to bill to. Sources: http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/all-other-carriers-suncom-cricket-metro/13532-unlocked-cellphones-for-metro-pcs.
Flash or Flashing–Technically, flashing refers to the overwriting or re-writing of the phone’s firmware. There are many phones which can be flashed to cricket with all features working. On most CDMA phones, programming the phone can be done “over the air” by dialing a special code, usually *228 or some variation. Colloquially speaking, flashing can also loosely mean making a phone from one carrier work on another carrier. The easy way to tell the difference is that if your phone does NOT take a SIM card, then it is probably CDMA. To flash a phone to cricket you will be overwriting th phones firmware. The firmware is software in the phone that doesn’t change when you turn it off, and it cannot be deleted unless it is overwritten, hence flashed. It requires specific files called prl files.PRL or PRL File–Short for Preferred Roaming List–A small text file containing instructions for how a phone connects to a specific network’s radio towers It is usually loaded by connecting the phone t
This is an article dated July 8, 2008 1:45AM ETD MetroPCS opens network to compatible CDMA phones on’t you wish you could use your favorite phone on your network of choice? One network is heading in the right direction by letting new customers use their existing cell phones when they switch over to its network. MetroPCS recently launched MetroFlash, a service that will reprogram any phone purchased through Sprint, Verizon, or Alltel at any of its stores for use on the MetroPCS network. Since MetroPCS doesn’t require a two-year contracts from customers, anyone who signed up for its service prior to MetroFLASH had to purchase a new handset at full price. Now, customers can simply use their own CDMA compatible handsets after choosing one of the unlimited flat-rate service plans the network offers. I think what’s really cool is that MetroPCS doesn’t require a credit check, contracts, or deposits. There is a one-time $30 charge for reprogramming your phone, but to make up for it, new custom
