Will the world phone Droid Pro work on AT&T or T-Mobile in the United States?

By Phil Nickinson  | Nov 17 2010 | 11:38 am  | 23 Comments

Droid Pro on AT&T

The Motorola Droid Pro is a "global" device or "world phone," meaning it has a SIM card slot and can work on GSM networks. But will the Motorola Droid Pro work on AT&T or T-Mobile in the United States? That's one of the burning questions as we get our first look at the new Android smartphone on Verizon. According to Motorola's specs, the Droid Pro supports the 850MHz and 1900MHz GSM frequencies, which is what AT&T uses for much of its network.

We've got an e-mail in to Verizon to see what the official policy is regarding unlocking the device to work on U.S. GSM networks. But in the meantime, join us after the break as we see whether you can you the Droid Pro on a GSM network in the United States. And if you have any insight into opening up this bad boy, let us know in this forum thread.

More info and video of the progress is after the break.

If you haven't gathered by now, the answer to the questions above are, no, we can't yet use the Droid Pro on T-Mobile or AT&T. We've SIM unlocked the phone, but it's still not allowing calls or data on AT&T in the U.S. Poking around in it further we find that the APN settings have a little lock symbol next to them, ominous at best. And digging around in the innards of the phone we found more signs of AT&T and T-Mobile being locked out.

We actually did manage to get the APN settings unlocked, but then the radio shut down, and that's not much help. Anyhoo, here's video of the whole thing.


YouTube link for mobile viewing

Phil Nickinson Editor in Chief

"Phil is a recovering print journalist, editor of Android Central, subtitles and street signs."

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There are 23 comments. Add yours.

RETG says:

Similar to a BB on Verizon service. You cannot roam over to AT&T, but you can use it on GSM networds outside the USA.

Would also wonder why anyone would want to try and roam off Verizon to AT&T. If it was allowed, would not the rate be extremely high?

kill4kandy says:

I have used a blackberry storm on at&t and the rates werent extremely high and it was used for testing purposes...

Bodero says:

Except there are services that will unlock your Blackberry (usually around $60-$70).

I know, I did this on my Storm 2 and put an AT&T SIM card into it and successfully placed and received calls on the AT&T number.

Smokeaire says:

Most services I have used either charged $15 or actually did it for free.

Andromedo says:

Since you would be using the AT&T SIM to access the network, you would not be "roaming" on AT&T, you would be a native AT&T customer.

But yes, the rate would be "extremely high" just because it is AT&T. And you will drop a lot of calls. But I digress...

Eurotrash says:

The whole point of a GSM (and Global for that matter) phone, besides being able to use it outside the country is that you should be able to go to any GSM carrier you want. That is why all the major carriers offer "No contract" plans (and I'm not referring to pre-pay). The fact that Verizon is locking out other US carriers is just BS! I personally have had service with AT&T, Tmo, and walmart with my Nexus 1. Of course, because of the bands on AT&T I could only get edge, but that would be the purpose of a "global" phone...it should cover all the bands.

GabrielEF says:

Their policy, as told to my B2B when I unlocked BB Storm's back in the day, is that they will provide an unlock code for FREE if you have been a customer at least 90 days. Then they send you an email telling you how they are not responsible for other people's networks, blah, blah, blah. It doesn't void any warranty either. The only downside to using another carrier's SIM is the loss of 3G (or maybe 4G in this case).

Eurotrash says:

It is a well known fact that you can unlock any phone with any carrier. They do not have to right to deny you. Yes, some have "policies" like you have to been a customer for 90 days, but you can call your carrier whenever you feel like it and ask for the "unlock code". I personally have called Tmo about 4 times know in the last year and ask for unlock codes for TMO phones that had nothing to do with my TMO account.

icebike says:

Its not a well known fact.
And At&T will deny you every single time. Even after your phone contract is paid off.

Eurotrash says:

that is simply not true. It is part of your "fair use" rights. I have called AT&T and simply stated I was going on a trip outside the country and needed to use another sim. Please supply me with the unlock code and they did....

icebike says:

Read this thread on AT&T's forums, some posters on there are AT&T employees:

http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/Apple/Getting-unlock-code-after-paying...

Eurotrash says:

Thanks for the reply with a link that has nothing to do with what we are discussing. Maybe you should go back and read that thread again. The thread is pertaining to the iPhone. That has to do with APPLE and AT&T's agreement. We are talking about Normal usable GSM phones not iPhone which obviously if you are on Android central you know all to well what apple is all about.....

Eurotrash says:

They took my IMIE # and e-mailed the code the next day. Not only that, You can go to a ton of websites and get an unlock code for $10 in about 10mins and the carrier is not going to know you have unlocked the phone anyway.

Eurotrash says:

The point of the article isn't about unlocking anyway. ANY GSM phone can be "unlocked" from its carrier network. The point is that Verizon has gone the extra step of blocking the other US carriers APN's...thereby making it difficult to take your phone to another carrier and use it, as you should be able to with a "global" phone....

Smokexz says:

No surprise, make the device even more useless than it already is xD

experiment626 says:

What a joke. Why should Verizon even care? You: A)Bought the Pro at full price and are not even using their network. B)Bought the Pro w/contract but turned around and paid the hefty ETF smartphone fee so you could use it on GSM.Or: C)Renewed your contract to get the Pro but have decided,for whatever reason, you want to use YOUR device part time on T-Mobile or AT&T thereby freeing up traffic on VZW's network. How is Verizon adversely affected by any of these scenarios? This being Android Central I pray for "Second Amendment Solution" soon to this injustice.

mavricxx says:

Lets boycot Verizon! I don't use Verizon because they're not GSM anyways. I want a GSM network where, when I do travel overseas I can just pop in a local sim and go. I thought the Droid Global would be my way to go but I guess not now that I know this.

WhoIsThis says:

It seems that the 2 largest carriers - AT&T and Verizon are the ones out to mess with consumers the most.

ve2aed says:

Just a hint oon how to hack this thing my phone which I purchased in the US 2 days ago and sim unlocked worked as soon as I arrived in Montreal (Fido SIM) 3g etc...only thing I "cannot call forwward out of the verizon area" agrivating because I forward constantly even *21* doesn't work here (manual forwarding)

travelguy2500 says:

any info on how to do this would be much appreciated!

commander 4 says:

Although I got AT/T now but I still hold allegiance to VZW but c'mon BIG RED unlock that restriction so people can use the Droid Pro to whoever they want.I would personally like to see a GSM Version of the Droid Pro for AT/T because all they got is the Captivate w/no flash for the camera.

I really hope someone hacks it so I can get one and use it on AT/T.
BTW,AT/T isn't that bad.Yes you gonna get dropped calls but not that many,then what carrier these days don't drop calls.

THIS IS MY PLEA.Motorola,make a Droid Pro(gsm)!!! Android Nation:Someone please post on how to hack it so we can use it on ATT OR TMO!!!

I'm out!

jesusrr says:

i just bought one last week, I stay in Mexico now. Where can I get de unlock code for use it with a local companie? Please help me. Thanks in advance.

sidney102 says:

Hi,

I just tried the APN manager from the Android Market, it has multiple carrier settings for the APT.

Has anyone tried a turbo sim?