Unlocked G1 does it need to be activated in order to work properly?

[rdfry]

Hi

I just got an unlocked G1 off eBay. But is it true that the phone needs to be activated in order to run properly? I don't have a tmobile simcard needed to activate it. I'm from Denmark and have a dataplan (GPRS, EDGE and 3G). Now will the phone and Google Gmail and Calendars etc. work with my carrier or does it have to be T-Mobile only? I'm worried since T-Mobile doesn't operate in Denmark What should I do? Would it work if I know the APN addresses etc?

Br
Nerdherddk

From what I read you can set up the phone manually with out having the tmobile sim. Go to the xda developers website and search the htc dream forum. There is a thread explaining how to do this.

[ghoonk]

Okay, to set the record straight:

Hardware
The T-Mobile HTC G1 aka Google phone supports quad-band GSM and 1700 Mhz/2100Mhz UMTS. This means that, in an unlocked state, it will work on any network that supports any of these bands.

Most quad-band networks today support EDGE, which delivers a theoretical throughput of 115 Kbps, and 3G networks support a theoretical max if 384 Kbps. 3.5G or HSDPA networks can support 1.8/3.6/7.2 Mbps max throughput.

Phone OS
Phones can be locked by the carrier at the handset level. When a user inserts a SIM other than one that is locked to the carrier, an unlock code is requested by the phone, not the network. Upon entering the correct unlock code, the SIM locks to the handset are disabled and the phone will work with any SIM card, assuming that that valid SIM card is from a carrier that offers at least 1 of the GSM/UTMS frequencies.

Software
There may software coded specificcaly for use with a specific carrier. These will not work on any other carriers. One such example could be the Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger (can anyone confirm that they have it working on the AT&T network?).

Other applications may require specific settings, e.g. MMS settings to be able to send and receive MMSs, APN settings to be able to browse the web and send/receive email. In this case, all you usually need are the correct settings to get these generic applications working.

I hope the above information would be useful for those of you who are wondering if the G1 will work on other networks. The answer is

Yes, if your carrier offers service on any of the GSM/UMTS bands supported by the G1
Yes, if you have the MMS and APN settings
Yes, if you have the unlock code, or if the phone is already unlocked.