Hey all,

So I'm looking to reup for a 2 yr contract on the $39.99 450min plan. I want to get the Moto RAZR2 V9 in anything but man-hogg-any, but since thats the only color available and I have no idea when they will put out a color that appeals to people with taste, I'll take what I can get.

Here's the problem: Amazon is offering the phone for $49.99 which is a great deal. I've called around and no one will match it: Walmart, my local Chinese reseller, Bestbuy, Premier, Ratshack, ATT brick and mortar stores, etc. The best deals I can find are the Chinese reseller ($99.99) and someone posted on here that Walmart was doing $78 but I can't find that anywhere in my area, nor on Walmart.com so I'm not sure it really exists.

The reason I don't want to go with Amazon is:
1) when the 3G iphone comes out I'll probably upgrade to that and Amazon says that will violate their $250 conditional rebate

2) I read somewhere here they use some schlocky company to fulfill their orders and I had a painful time dealing with Buy.com's fulfillment company (inphonic) in the past. Anyone know who they use?

3) i forget

So my questions to you guys are:
Any other options I should consider?
Ay idea when a black/silver/brown/any other color will come out for this puppy? Because I would pay $100 or so for a decent color but have a problem paying that much for a color I'm not in love with. Please, no offence to those who like mahogany.

Thanks!! Any advice would be deeply appreciated!

Not sure when you're going to have different color options for that phone, but I would highly recommend getting your phone from an AT&T retail store. Even though there might be a price difference, there's always a representative that can help you in the store should you ever need it. Although it isn't company policy to not help individuals that have purchased devices elsewhere, you might get along better with your in store representative if you purchased the device from him/her since they got the commission which they do deserve.

The bad thing about Amazon and other third-party retailers is that they have their own terms since you're buying the device from them and the service from AT&T. To prevent any mishaps, you're probably always better going directly to AT&T if you're wanting to do an upgrade. Just my opinion, however.

1) if you were going to upgrade again when 3g iphone is out (if it comes out within 60 days), you better get v9 directly from ATT or wait until 3g iphone comes out. Because no matter where you get your upgrade this time (v9), you'll need to sign a second contract with that vendor stating that you need to keep the plan for 180 days. Some places allow you to upgrade your plan, but not downgrade. Some won't let you touch your plan, PERIOD! YMMV, know your risk before making your final decision.

2) I don't have problem with amazon's fulfillment in the past, but everything could change recently. However, I know amazon is better than buy.com in that area. could someone input their recent experience with amazon?

So my suggestion for you is the following:

a) if you could wait, wait until June for next Apple annoucement, hopefully 3g iphone is ready by then. it will give you clearer idea which phone you should get

b) AFAIK, there is no other color of v9 that is compatible with ATT's 3g (I might be wrong) and I don't know if ATT's will come out more colors later. If you don't use 3g, getting a v8 (gsm only) is a better choice for its newer os and color selections.

There is always the option of buying a Rogers V9 (it's the black/graphite gray color) and unlocking and unbranding it.

I believe there is a member here that is selling one.
Check on eBay as well.
I'm currently watching two of them lol.

And unlocking shouldn't cost too much, 10$-20$ extra.
And you could always get a phone from at&t and then sell it to make up for some of the price difference.

Thanks for all the replies, it's very helpful!!

Blackengaard,

Does that void the warranty and require flashing/flexing? Or just unlocking? Would it will be compatible with 3G data on the AT&T network too and function just like the AT&T V9 except for whatever software I have to load it with?

Thanks!

Unlocking is different than flashing and flexing.
There are some instances where you can unlock your phone by flashing and/or flexing a different firmware to your phone, but you run the risk of bricking it if you're not using a firmware that is compatible to your phone.
When you unlock your phone, you just punch a code that is unique to your phone and it takes off the carrier restrictions which don't let you use it on other networks.

It would still be compatible with 3G data as long as you bought it from Rogers and/or made sure that it works on WCDMA (same as HSDPA) 850/1900 mHz, which is what at&t uses. If you want 3G, make sure you don't get the Hong Kong version or the European version. Those have the color you're looking for but only support the 2100 mHz 3G band, which at&t does not support.

There is no difference between a locked phone and an unlocked phone besides the fact that an unlocked phone can be used on all other GSM networks, like T-Mobile. However, unlocked phones that are purchased directly from the manufacturer themself do not have branded menus, like if you see MEdia Net on your at&t phone.

Unlocking your phone does not void your warranty, you can actually ask at&t to give you the unlock code, in fact. Or if you bought it from Rogers, I'm sure you could ask them as well. Getting it from your carrier is free, but I think they would only be willing to give it to you if you were on contract.

Flashing, flexing, and modding your phone, however, DOES void your warranty so be
One last thing. My suggestion would be to purchase a Rogers V9 (I saw a couple for under $200 bucks on eBay), and then unlock and debrand it.
It'll run you probably around $250 total or so, give or take a few.

But then you can always get another phone from at&t when you sign your contract and then sell it to make up for your cost.
Just a though.

Sorry for the long post, btw. I hope I answered your questions though.

Blackengaard,

Thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time. I am new to this but willing to work and learn. I hear you on unlocking, I have done that before through AT&T and for this Rogers phone will look up some vendors on this board, costs $15-20 as you said. Easy.

I was a bit confused by "unbranding", but after doing some searching, I found these posts. Looks like I only have to delete some files on the phone directory after hooking it up to my PC with the microUSB cable, right? These directions are for unbranding an AT&T V9 but I am assuming the same holds true for Rogers.
http://www.howardforums.com/showpos...4&postcount=748
http://www.howardforums.com/showpos...0&postcount=779

Is unbranding a cosmetic change or a functional change to the device? Reading some other posts it was unclear if I need to do something to allow the Rogers phone to access the AT&T datanetwork/Medianet? Do I need to somehow upload AT&T menus?

One last question regarding the warranty (I do not plan to flash/flex/mod if I can avoid it). In the past when I had a problem with a V3xx that was still under warranty, I forget whether it was Motorola or AT&T that sent me a refurb to replace it. If I'm using an unbranded Rogers phone on the AT&T network and have a problem, do I deal with Motorola directly? Will they replace the phone with a mahogany AT&T one and not freak out when they get a grey unbranded Rogers one in return?

Again, thanks so much. Your suggestion of getting a Rogers and unlocking/Ebaying the one I get from AT&T is great. Just want to make sure I understand what I'm getting myself into before I commit.

Edit: looks like there is a way to unbrand that involves flexing:
http://www.howardforums.com/showpos...636&postcount=2

Haha you're welcome. I'm willing to help people who will take the time to learn and research.

I believe that you will have to use directions for unbranding a ROGERS V9, not a AT&T one, as I know their software version are probably different. Thus, I don't think instructions on debranding an at&t V9 apply to Rogers' V9 as well, unfortunately. You might end up with a really nice paperweight.
You might check modmymoto.com or perhaps motox.com to find instructions on how to debrand a Rogers V9.

In my opinion, debranding a V9 is a cosmetic change and a functional change.
You'll change the way the menus look and you'll remove some pre-installed items from your carrier.
Function-wise, I believe that once you debrand an at&t V9 (I'm not sure what the Rogers V9 can do, whether it can view video on the outer screen, browse songs and whatnot. The at&t cannot do that.), you should be able to use your phone to its full capacity. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to do a few things an at&t V9 won't.
Again, I am not sure of just what the Rogers V9 can do.

Once you unbrand and unlock, you just need to ask at&t to send you the settings over the air (OTA). I also found a way to get your settings:

"Send the keyword MBALZCINA to the number 48361."
That's the message you'll get when:

1. Visit: https://motorolabackup.tarsin.com/getappsettings.htm
2. Select MOTORAZR V9 as device and AT&T as carrier.
3. Follow the instructions.

Your question with the V3xx, it was probably at&t that sent you the refurb. I've done that before. The phone probably came without a battery cover or battery or anything, just the phone and you send your old one in, correct?

If you use that unbranded/unlocked Rogers phone on at&t, then you may have to deal with Motorola directly. Of course, I would suggest calling into at&t first to find out your options, but I'm more than positive that they'll just ask you if you want them to transfer you over to Motorola.

Or you can always call Rogers and see what you can do.
But I'm pretty sure that either way you'd have to go through Motorola directly, or with the warranty options that your seller offered if s/he did if you bought through eBay or another source.

I wouldn't send in my Rogers V9 to at&t if I were you, btw.

About that flexing link, once again, it is for at&t so I'd search out directions for Rogers just to be more sure that you won't brick you phone.

If you need directions on how to flash/flex/mod/unlock, you might ask some others around here, as I am not an expert on flashing or flexing.
I modded my V3xx with P2K Commander, which was simple; I just selected the features I want or didn't want.

Some users that I've seen that might be able to help are Alpha_43, djdownhill, keiri, Baldilocks, DukeL, and George Knighton.
Just a few off the top of my head.
Ha even longer post, sorry. But I hope that helped.

EDIT: This skipped my mind. It occurred to me that your Rogers V9's warranty may get voided if you unbrand since that is considering modifying your phone.
Just a headsup. But perhaps one way to get around that is just to delete all the MMS/internet settings and then get the new settings sent to you, like I showed above. I do not believe that would void your warranty, since it is through Motorola.

Been spending too much time on this site. The black/grey V9s are soooo sexy, no way I can go for mahogany now. I've gone black and can't go back.

Looked on Ebay for black/grey/blue housings, but no dice. Only snap on covers.

Did a search on those other sites but came up empty on Rogers debranding instructions, they're probably out there somewhere though, just need to do more work... they were clear though that debranding would void the warranty unless you're able to reflash to your backup as you suggested, whether you can do that depends on what kind of warranty issue you get i guess.

Great find on the OTA process!!!

Yes when I had that V3xx issue i sent the phone in and kept the battery cover, they sent me a phone without a battery cover in return. Probably was AT&T I dealt with.

At this point, I'm thinking about waiting a month or two to see if a different color AT&T V9 is released. Several brick and mortar vendors I talked to (Walmart, Ratshack, even my local AT&T store) don't have mahogany V9s in stock, so I'm wondering if they will launch a new one, as has been rumored on the V9 thread.

I'm sure someone out there has Rogers debranding instructions, because I'm also pretty certain a lot of people are unhappy with at&t's color choice.

Haha thanks.

Yes it was probably at&t then.

Good idea. at&t has a habit of releasing so many colors of phones. Like the SE w580i and the RAZR V3xx. Come one. Gray, gold, platinum, pink, lavender, AND RED?
Good God that's a lot of colors.

I hope they launch a new phone.
And perhaps a new color of the Z9 as well...