Help Nexus 6 will work on all major US carriers

[NunyaBidnez]

Does anyone know if the NEXUS 6 will be locked if purchased through a carrier or after being activated by the carrier?

I'd like to take advantage of T-Mobile's equipment installment plan, so I don't have to throw down $700 all at once on the Google Play store but I'm worried that if I buy it through them, they'll lock it up when they activate it. AT&T has already confirmed that they're planning to defile the NEXUS 6 with their bloatware, so it wouldn't be surprising for carriers to lock it to their networks too.

 

[Sinsear]

It shouldn't be. However, some carriers refuse to activate a new nano SIM in a device not purchased from them. Therefore, you'd need an already activated nano SIM to insert into your Nexus 6 from wherever you purchased it from.

 

[kate]

Does anyone know if the NEXUS 6 will be locked if purchased through a carrier or after being activated by the carrier?

According to this article AT&T and T-Mobile are easy, but with Verizon & Sprint it's harder to switch to their network unless it's from Google Play.

PSA: CDMA Carriers Probably Won't Activate Your Nexus 6 Unless It Was Purchased From Google Play Or That Carrier (And What You Can Do About It)

 

[jkc120]

According to this article AT&T and T-Mobile are easy, but with Verizon & Sprint it's harder to switch to their network unless it's from Google Play.

PSA: CDMA Carriers Probably Won't Activate Your Nexus 6 Unless It Was Purchased From Google Play Or That Carrier (And What You Can Do About It)

The moto one should work as well, there are plenty of reports of people activating them on Verizon, even with a new nano sim. The trick is to either:

a. get the nano sim activated in another device, or
b. get a rep who knows how to just plug in an compatible IMEI to activate the sim when you call. Or you can try bluffing and given them an iPhone IMEI.
c. potentially, you can also just activate the sim via a sim adapter in your existing phone (YMMV)

In any case, it's not a technical issue. They'll work (at least on Verizon), but you may have to jump through a few hoops. But the good news is that's a one time thing to activate the nano sim.

 

[Geese1]

The moto one should work as well, there are plenty of reports of people activating them on Verizon, even with a new nano sim. The trick is to either:

a. get the nano sim activated in another device, or
b. get a rep who knows how to just plug in an compatible IMEI to activate the sim when you call. Or you can try bluffing and given them an iPhone IMEI.
c. potentially, you can also just activate the sim via a sim adapter in your existing phone (YMMV)

In any case, it's not a technical issue. They'll work (at least on Verizon), but you may have to jump through a few hoops. But the good news is that's a one time thing to activate the nano sim.

Yeah, that article just clarified what I already figured: that my Google Play Nexus 6 will work on Verizon, but I'm going to have to cut down my current micro sim in order for it to work unless Verizon mysteriously gets the device into their system by the time I receive my phone.

Not a huge deal, as it looks to be a pretty easy procedure to do, but I'd just rather not have to do the extra step if I didn't have to.

 

[NunyaBidnez]

Looks like AT&T is not only planning to desecrate the Nexus 6 with their bloatware and logo, they're also going to SIM lock it to their network. http://phandroid.com/2014/11/21/make-att-nexus-6-pure/

Hopefully T-Mobile doesn't have plans to deflower a pure Android phone like AT&T.

 

[jaj324]

According to the piece, they are removable. The only AT&T bloatware I want is visual voicemail. If I need something else, I'll install it.

One thing I don't get about these corporations is, don't they understand the customer wants to be in control?

The at&t bloat never dl'd onto my N6. I set it up over wi-fi and it remained bloat free. As for the at&t visual voicemail, which I have never considered as bloat, it doesn't work with the N6. The one at&t app that I've always used doesn't work on the Nexus 6 that I purchased from AT&T! Google voice works just as well...

 

[halon]

2 Verizon apps tried to download upon setup. I stopped them.

 

[halon]

From a Sprint employee: http://www.reddit.com/r/nexus6/comments/2n3kn4/the_sprint_nexus_6_on_verizon_and_tmobile/

We got a few Sprint Nexus 6s in stock a few days ago, and I've been itching to try out my SIM cards. Here's what I found.

Verizon: Verizon nano SIM works. The SIM needs to be already activated on a device that takes nano SIM cards. Phone needed to be activated and rebooted twice, then LTE popped up. Switched to 3G mode and downloaded SignalCheck. Confirmed phone calls and texts both send and receive.

T-Mobile: SIM works out of the box on HSPA. Setting the APN correctly and rebooting gave me LTE. Device got APN settings by itself and offered me a few options. I chose fast.t-mobile.com.

Sprint: Phone is Spark compatible, and according to S4GRU, gets the roaming LTE bands, too. So, that's a big +1 for this phone.

No additional unlock is needed for retail devices. Price is $648, or $27 on EasyPay.

 

[CL3nglish]

So basically any sim card will work with a Sprint N6?

I'd love some concrete confirmation on this, as I'd go with theirs before AT&T.

 

[halon]

So basically any sim card will work with a Sprint N6?

I'd love some concrete confirmation on this, as I'd go with theirs before AT&T.

Seems that way. For more answers ask that guy in the Reddit thread.

 

[CL3nglish]

Yeah, sounds like Sprint is the way to go but they won't sell you a device unless you have an account. I'm on AT&T.

 

[CL3nglish]

Bestbuy.com let me order a Sprint N6. Should be by the 29th. Hope this works out.

 

[halon]

Bestbuy.com let me order a Sprint N6. Should be by the 29th. Hope this works out.

Let us know if it works out for you.

 

[kinfolk248]

Has anyone tried to put an sim that wasnt previously activated on Vzw in it to see if it works...?!!!! Like a fresh sim??

 

[jkc120]

Has anyone tried to put an sim that wasnt previously activated on Vzw in it to see if it works...?!!!! Like a fresh sim??

I did, but I had activated that nano sim via a micro sim in my galaxy s4. Worked fine, though I am not sure I'm getting the optimal LTE speeds. Not sure if I have a defective phone or just coincidence or what. Have to do more testing.

 

[CL3nglish]

Stopped by a T-Mobile just to see if they had a display model out. One of the reps grabbed one from the back for me to play with. It's pretty damn nice.

Had a short conversation about a few things. He claims every carrier device is locked to that carrier, so I should just get one there. I should drop AT&T and come back to them because they're the fastest growing cellular provider and just spent over thirty million expanding.

Yeah, I'll get right on that.....

 

[Androidcurious]

I find the current situation with the 6 bizarre. It's had virtually zero availability since launch. I think this is worse than any previous Nexus launch, and this one was supposed to be different. The first Nexus meant for more than just developers and early adopters, the Nexus for consumers. To underline that point, Google is currently offering a $50 credit towards Google Play apps and 6 months of Google Music for free. Generally companies provide those kind of incentives when they want to entice consumers into buying their product. However...there ain't no product to buy. I'll put it this way: this past Black Friday, people were actually able to order the OnePlusOne. No such luck with the Nexus.

I know there have been some issues with unions and such at the docks but I would think something like that would impact all vendors, and I don't think that would impact Google's ability to take orders for the device.

As you read the above please keep in mind this isn't posted out of personal frustration. I own a GN4 which I absolutely love, so it's not like I'm obsessively refreshing the Nexus site waiting for stock.

 

[jj14x]

This has been a frustrating launch - true. Nobody knows why it has been such a mess, but rumors are that Google wanted the carriers to have sufficient stock to push this device on subsidy, and underestimated the demand for the play store. Yet other rumors say that this was a change of plan for Google, switching the device over from Android Silver to the Nexus series, and so, ran short on inventory.

Again, nobody seems to have any facts at this time

 

[Rxpert83]

I find the current situation with the 6 bizarre. It's had virtually zero availability since launch. I think this is worse than any previous Nexus launch, and this one was supposed to be different. The first Nexus meant for more than just developers and early adopters, the Nexus for consumers. To underline that point, Google is currently offering a $50 credit towards Google Play apps and 6 months of Google Music for free. Generally companies provide those kind of incentives when they want to entice consumers into buying their product. However...there ain't no product to buy. I'll put it this way: this past Black Friday, people were actually able to order the OnePlusOne. No such luck with the Nexus.

I know there have been some issues with unions and such at the docks but I would think something like that would impact all vendors, and I don't think that would impact Google's ability to take orders for the device.

As you read the above please keep in mind this isn't posted out of personal frustration. I own a GN4 which I absolutely love, so it's not like I'm obsessively refreshing the Nexus site waiting for stock.

Its pretty clear google went the traditional route for selling the n6. The carriers have stock. Those that are out of stock can order it to the store and have it in a matter of days.

Thats what makes this launch different than before. This is the normal consumer oriented way for manufacturers in the US. Carriers are the major demand, and they're getting nearly all of the supply. I got the black Friday deal by ordering through sprint. $250 on a contract +$50 in GP store credit. I wouldn't be getting it if I had to pay full retail.

As for the OnePlus one - their black Friday deal was the ability to purchase a 6 month phone at full price. Nice for people who have been waiting 6 months, but not exactly a deal.

Google doesn't open up and tell us what's going on behind the scenes. It causes frustration and rumors to run rampant, but if you believe everything you see on blogs you're going to be up for a lot of disappointment in this hobby [emoji12]

 

[Androidcurious]

Its pretty clear google went the traditional route for selling the n6. The carriers have stock. Those that are out of stock can order it to the store and have it in a matter of days.

Thats what makes this launch different than before. This is the normal consumer oriented way for manufacturers in the US. Carriers are the major demand, and they're getting nearly all of the supply. I got the black Friday deal by ordering through sprint. $250 on a contract +$50 in GP store credit. I wouldn't be getting it if I had to pay full retail.

As for the OnePlus one - their black Friday deal was the ability to purchase a 6 month phone at full price. Nice for people who have been waiting 6 months, but not exactly a deal.

Google doesn't open up and tell us what's going on behind the scenes. It causes frustration and rumors to run rampant, but if you believe everything you see on blogs you're going to be up for a lot of disappointment in this hobby [emoji12]

Perhaps I'm missing something but the carriers don't seem to have stock either.

 

[Rxpert83]

Perhaps I'm missing something but the carriers don't seem to have stock either.

Not on site at each retail location, but they can place an order and have the phone be there in 2 days

The carriers have supply in the warehouses, google apparently doesnt

 

[paulw035]

Was meant to be available from carphone warehouse in the UK as from today. Just checked and its been pushed back to the 8th. My money is going elsewhere if this isn't sorted before soon. I've been off contract for 3 months and this damn thing has been launched 6 weeks and still not available. I could have got the new iPhone the week after launch on all carriers. Why are apple not affected by shipping delays?

 

[Rxpert83]

Was meant to be available from carphone warehouse in the UK as from today. Just checked and its been pushed back to the 8th. My money is going elsewhere if this isn't sorted before soon. I've been off contract for 3 months and this damn thing has been launched 6 weeks and still not available. I could have got the new iPhone the week after launch on all carriers. Why are apple not affected by shipping delays?

Obviously this is all conjecture, but some of the stock shortage from the nexus could very well be that there was truth to the rumors of em scrapping the nexus line internally, planning on manufacturers to fill the void with android silver, and then at the last moment scraping android silver and going back to a nexus device(s).

That could also shed light on the "premium" pricing on the nexus 6 and 9. They could have been meant to be a part of a larger selection of pure android experience devices with varying prices.

Or that could be all bologna, but such is life when dealing with rumor. No matter the path we took to get here, the end result is one of the best nexus devices ever - even if stock is low

 

[KingdomMan3]

If you are a Verizon wireless customer and waiting for the Nexus 6, please respond to this thread.

https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/844153