3 years, 2 months ago
Is it possible to unlock the verizon phone in my GM OnStar system?
The $0.35 per minute (the cheapest price) for the OnStar service seems excessive. I have an ATT contract that isn't expiring anytime soon.
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M$1 Answer
If a phone is Verizon and is not a world phone edition then no it would not be possible. Verizon uses a technology called CDMA while ATT uses the more widely used (worldwide) GSM. GSM utilizes SIM cards to identify phones while CDMA devices have a unique id within the baseband of the phone itself. So sadly no, there is no way to do this.
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M$
That isn't possible though if it is GSM based then it would have a sim card and would not work on Verizon's US network. If you look at this article it even says it is a CDMA phone...."The embedded digital phone is compatible with CDMA wireless service." from http://www.roadandtravel.com/oempages/onstar/verizon.htm
Ah yes.
I was confused and remembering CDMA as analog, and thinking when they went digital, they went GSM.
http://www.onstar.com/us_english/jsp/explore/onstar_basics/helpful_info.jsp?info-view=tech_equip
In a digital cellular system, voice is converted to a digital signal and then transmitted over air. Digital cellular service operates in both the 800 MHz and 1900 MHz frequency range. There are two dominant systems in the U.S. and Canada, CDMA and GSM. OnStar-equipped vehicles with dual-mode (analog/digital) equipment have been engineered to work in the 800 MHz frequency for analog or CDMA digital networks, in addition to the 1900 MHz CDMA digital networks.
Yeah, it is understandable, but yeah, sadly there is no way to unlock the GM Onstar system away from Verizon because of the way the technology works. In some ways it favors Verizon but in many ways it also hurts them because you cannot use "unlocked" gsm devices on their network.
The OnStar phone provided in GM's vehicles is GSM.