Not Eligible For T-Mobile Nexus One

Nexus One, Not Eligible

If you haven’t heard, the Nexus One (N1) has been released. It’s the newest Android-based phone, built by HTC and being “pushed” by Google. Unfortunately, ordering one has caused trouble for many people, myself included.

Rather than paying $400 for an iPhone via AT&T, I thought getting the $180 N1 would be a great deal, especially since I could switch to T-Mobile and pay just $80 a month for the plan (less expensive than either Verizon or AT&T). Unfortunately, I filled out the form and got the error: “You are not eligible for T-Mobile service at this time.”

Sadly, that’s all the info Google provides, other than comforting me with the option of buying it straight up for $530. I have no idea why I am ineligible. My roommate has a G1 on T-Mobile, so service is available. I have never had a contract with T-Mobile, so it’s not a matter of being an existing or past customer ineligible for upgrade. I’ve checked to make sure I can transfer my phone number, and it’s eligible for transfer. Why am I not eligible?

Update! Success!
I did it again and changed two things, and it worked. I’m not sure which of these two mattered, but here they are in the hope that they’ll help someone else:

1) Per eperor’s suggestion, I asked for a new phone number.

2) I changed my service area to downtown Seattle (where I work) rather than my home address.

This worked for me; good luck to everyone else!

Purchased Nexus One

About Ian G. Clifton

He served in the USAF and earned his secondary level teaching certification in Washington State. After that, he worked as a web developer and then as a mobile app developer, specializing in Android. He currently works in Seattle, WA as an Android developer and spends his off time on photography, drawing, developing, and doing technical review for other Android developers. You can follow his posts on this blog or his ramblings on Twitter.
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2 Responses to Not Eligible For T-Mobile Nexus One

  1. Justin says:

    The issues seems to be cause by trying to port your number. If you process it with getting a new number it should work no problem. It’s usually a simple process to port the number after the phone is already in use.

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