Buying a Cell Phone in Canada : eBay Guides

THIS GUIDE HAS BEEN UPDATED AS OF APRIL 10, 2009. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF ANYTHING IS INCORRECT OR MISSING! THANKS FOR READING!
eBay can be a great source of cellular phones and accessories. But there are some things you should know when shopping for them. Things you should consider before buying include provider compatibility, network technology, locked or unlocked, and usage times. There is also the question of whether to get a push-to-talk phone. All of those things will be covered here.

Provider Compatibility

If you are going to buy a phone that is not unlocked, you need to know which provider the phone is programmed for. Preprogrammed phones will only work with the service provider they are set up for. For example, if you buy a phone that is set up for Bell, you cannot use it on the Telus network even though both networks use the same technology (and some of the same towers!)

Sometimes a phone that is set to a specific provider can be unlocked (see Locked vs. Unlocked section below). In general, it is quite safe to buy an "Unlocked" GSM phone since you can just swap the SIM. Phones that work on CDMA (see Network Technology section) are harder to purchase unlocked because you then have to convince your provider to "load" that ESN onto their network for you. Many CDMA providers aren't willing to do this since they are losing potential phone sales by not being able to force you to purchase their phone, but it CAN be done so if you're willing to be pushy, this option can work for you.

Network Technology

This really comes into play when you are buying an unlocked (multi-network) phone, or if you don't have a phone currently and are trying to decide which network to go with. Knowing a little bit about each type of network can really help. Watch for sellers that advertise their unlocked phones as being compatible with "all networks"....for example, I have seen auctions advertising Bell, Telus, Solo, Rogers and Fido for one phone. You want to be careful with listings like this even with an unlocked phone because regardless of whether it's unlocked, a CDMA phone will not work on a GSM/HSPA only network and vice versa. Make sure you know which technology the phone uses and use that information to determine network compatibility.

UPDATE: Complete information about Canadian providers and which network technology each uses can be found in a Wikipedia article entitled "List of Canadian Mobile Phone Companies" (you will have to search for it as eBay will not let me put a link to a non-eBay page).

CDMA/EVDO: CDMA for voice, EVDO for data. These phones are currently the most common cellular technology in Canada. CDMA providers include Telus and Bell as well as Virgin and Solo Mobile, which are owned by Bell, and Koodo Mobile which is owned by Telus. NMI, MTS and Sasktel also use CDMA. A CDMA phone will have excellent coverage in Canada and fairly good coverage in the United States, but will be almost useless when traveling anywhere else since most of the rest of the world uses GSM/HSPA. If you have more than one CDMA phone, you can switch between them but you have to call in each time for an “ESN swap” or perform the swap online if your provider allows it. Also, you will need to manually transfer all your data from one phone to the other.

GSM/EDGE/HSPA: GSM is the voice technology, and EDGE/HSPA is the data technology. As of November 2009, all of Canada's "big three" providers offer HSPA technology with Telus and Bell having just added it to their networks. GSM/HSPA is a technology used worldwide and Canada's providers have roaming agreements with GSM/HSPA companies all over the world. This means that although it will cost more, you can use your GSM/HSPA phone almost anywhere you go. The main physical difference between CDMA and GSM/HSPA is the use of a SIM card. This in itself is a nice thing to have since with a SIM card, you can switch phones at any time without calling in. Simply put the SIM card into the phone you want to use and that phone will automatically be programmed with your phone number.

UPDATE: In November 2009, Telus and Bell launched their new 3G HSPA networks spanning almost all of Canada. This means Telus and Bell are now GSM providers as well as CDMA providers, so an unlocked GSM phone will work on their networks as long as it is capable of the correct frequency. Watch carefully when buying a phone that was originally Rogers, it MUST be 3G capable. An EDGE-only phone will work on Rogers and Fido, but NOT Bell and Telus.

Push-to-Talk Phones: Currently Telus and Bell both offer this option. Telus has a separate network for their push-to-talk phones (called Mike phones) and Bell's (called 10/4) work on their regular network. Bell has the advantage in this area because the Mike network is very limited and Mike phones don't work with Telus's regular towers.

Network Coverage: Each provider will try to tell you that their network is the stronger one for a variety of reasons. However, in reality, all the (major) networks in Canada are nearly the same when it comes to coverage. Telus and Bell, although they are separate companies, actually use the same network of service towers so their coverage is absolutely identical. Rogers uses a different network because their technology is different, but their coverage area is the same size as Telus or Bell. Fido has a much smaller network, but since they are owned by Rogers, Fido customers can access the entire Rogers network. The only network that is at a significant disadvantage for coverage is the Telus Mike network, which doesn't work in the mountains or in many rural areas. Knowing this before choosing a provider can really help, since each provider will talk up their own network. Telus will tell you that they have better coverage than Bell, for example, when they actually use the exact same towers.

One thing of note in terms of coverage that you should keep in mind when purchasing a 3G phone: Rogers and Fido offer HSPA service, but ONLY in large cities and along major highways. Most of Canada has only EDGE service available so your 3G phone will drop to EDGE when you're outside of urban areas. Telus and Bell deployed 3G across their entire network, so although their CDMA coverage is still better, you can get 3G almost anywhere in the country on their networks. NOTE: They do NOT have 3G in Saskatchewan and Manitoba yet because they are forced to wait for the providers there (Sasktel and MTS) to upgrade their networks.

If you are looking at using one of Canada’s many smaller wireless providers, you can use the Wikipedia link above to find which network they use as most of the smaller providers use either Telus, Bell, or Rogers’ network. This can affect users on these smaller networks in terms of call priority; for example, if traffic is high on the Telus network a Telus call will be prioritized over a Sasktel one roaming on a Telus tower. Therefore if your provider “roams” on someone else’s network rather than having their own towers, you may experience more dropped calls.

Locked vs. Unlocked

Why does it matter if your phone is unlocked if you have already chosen your cellular provider? If a phone is provider-branded, you are chained to that provider for as long as you use that phone. If another provider offers a better plan and you want to switch, you have to buy a new phone even if the network technology is the same. With an unlocked phone, you can use any provider that uses the same technology. For example, with an unlocked GSM/HSPA phone you can use Fido, Rogers, or any of the other GSM/HSPA providers around the world. This means that if you go overseas with an unlocked GSM/HSPA phone, you can take out your Rogers SIM card, put in a prepaid SIM card that you buy overseas, and by using a local provider you save huge $$ on roaming costs!

Another benefit to unlocking (even if you don’t have to) is that you may have access to features of your phone that your wireless provider has blocked (GPS capability, the ability to use WiFi, etc). For example, on my Telus Blackberry, I have WiFi capability but even if WiFi is turned on, my phone still uses the cellular network for all its data unless I turn off my connection to the cell network. Telus blocked the phone from automatically switching to WiFi because allowing that feature to function would eat into their data profits.

There are a couple of different ways to unlock a phone and it helps to know about both. If you don't travel and you are happy with your current provider, it won't be a problem to buy a locked phone as long as you purchase one that's compatible.

Factory or OEM Unlocked: This means that the phone is programmed exactly as it was from the factory and has never been branded or locked to a specific provider. This is the best kind of phone to buy because you know that every function of this phone will work with every available provider. For the same reason, this is also the most expensive type of phone to buy.

Carrier Unlocked: This means that the phone in question was at some point locked to a certain carrier, but has since been unlocked (usually using codes and specific software). These phones can be used with different providers, but higher functions (ie. text messaging and browsing) may still not work properly with all providers. When you are shopping, if the auction does not specify factory or OEM unlocked, ask the seller which company was the original provider. Normally a GSM phone that has been unlocked after branding is 100% fine to buy, I have successfully used several such phones. This is just something to keep in mind.

Digital vs. Analog:

DO NOT purchase an analog-only phone. It used to be that analog had better voice coverage than most digital phones. However, in 2008 Telus and Bell turned off their analog networks. Currently the only province where analog phones will work is in Saskatchewan, and in 2011 Sasktel will also be turning off their analog service. Digital service is now available on every cell tower in Canada regardless of carrier.

Usage Timers

This can be important when buying a used phone. Most phones will have a call timer built in which shows the total minutes from all calls ever made on the phone. The higher this number is, the more the phone has been used. While the phone may still work perfectly (mine works great after three years of heavy use) keep in mind that large usage times can mean other things. These may include but are not limited to: scuff marks and scratches, marks on the screen, dead pixels in the screen, weak hinges, and broken antennas. These are all things that result from normal wear and tear but the call timer can give you an idea of what to expect. If you are buying a phone with high usage times, make sure that the seller show photos of the actual phone and close-ups of all screens so you know what you are getting. Watch out for sellers that just post stock photos, and ask them to post or send photos of the actual phone before bidding! Also the auction should include a detailed description of the phone's condition, not just specs.