you can buy it off craigslist or ebay but you will not be able to sign in. and the pnly way you can use the phone is if you sign in and you need internet to sign in, you can not turn on wifi either. if you know someone with a tmobile sim with internet they can pop their sim in and sign you in and then you can put your sim in. so unless you have a friend with tmobile and has internet on their phone (must be android or blackberry) you can use it. if not do not buy any android, unless its a nexus one, with no internet.