Moto X is here.

[jvillejoe]

https://republicwireless.com/phones/moto-x
299 off contract with sprint 4g LTE for 40 bucks a month. I would rather have a Nexus 5 on their network though. Still this is a great deal, and great phone. I just might make the switch. Has anyone ever bought a phone from them, and returned it? I was just wondering if the return process is easy. Thanks

 

[kate]

Here is their return policy, it's fairly detailed:

https://community.republicwireless.com/docs/DOC-1083

 

[ooshawn]

I got the Moto X, so far so good. Great value - even though I was on SERO (Sprint Employee...) before!

Just as a warning, the white Moto Xs are shipping in 1-2 weeks now as demand has been huge.

If you need a referral link to save $19 off your first month of service - I'll get $19 as well PM me

Thanks!

 

[yfan]

I'm surprised how Republic Wireless can sell the Moto X for only $300. Hypothetically speaking, if someone wanted to buy it RW and activate it on Sprint, could they? Or are there other differences between the Sprint and RW versions that justify the low price point?

 

[ffeatccn]

I've wondered the same- everyone points out that the custom ROM won't let you activate the X on another carrier but what if you flash a new custom ROM on top? Is that a one-way street or would RW let you come back if you wanted? No one seems to have an answer for this. I need to contact their help office tomorrow.

 

[DarkJedi]

The model is different. Republic Wireless sells the XT1049, while Sprint sells the XT1056, the largest difference being the RW version only has CDMA radios, while the Sprint model has GSM radios as well as CDMA. In fact, Republic Wireless and US Cellular are the two companies selling CDMA only Moto X's (and hence not available via Moto Maker).

Technically, with the right knowledge, it would be possible to migrate the phone to Sprint or Verizon... but I'm 99% certain it'd involve doing things that are still illegal... whether it be using copyrighted code, or modifying the phone's identity.

As for going back to RW after messing with the ROM. That would be questionable. Sometime soon, RW says they will allow re-activations. But, you'd almost certainly have to have the original RW ROM back on the phone to make it work.

 

[yfan]

Interesting. So could the lack of GSM/LTE radios account for some of the reduced cost?

 

[DarkJedi]

It does have an LTE radio for accessing Sprint's 4G LTE network.

There has been some discussion on if the GSM radio is just disabled in firmware or not, but as of yet, I haven't seen a teardown of a RW phone to confirm.

Personally, I think there are now just 3 models. 16GB CDMA only (physically missing GSM radio - making it cheaper), 16GB pentaband (with certain radios disabled via firmware), and 32GB pentaband (same). That keeps the manufacturing costs down and simplified.

But I don't have a definitive info yet on if I'm right.

 

[jvillejoe]

Well I ended up going with the moto x. I wanted the Nexus 5, but I love RW's layout. They're the best bang for buck to me. I get it in a day or two!

 

[ffeatccn]

It's a good choice. I've been on for two months now and have no complaints. I was also drawn towards the Nexus 5 at first but the hardware and voice commands on the X are so sweet I can live without it. RW really picked the right phone to offer as its flagship device.

 

[jvillejoe]

Really loving this phone. It is blazing fast. Getting good data speeds. Love it!