Related
If I unlocked the bootloader before activation, would it cause Verizon to think the ESN is dirty?
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium
No unlocking boot loader does not affect the esn of the phone
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
An ESN being bad is something they handle on their side if a phone is reported lost/stolen etc.
Got my phone from eBay, but the seller looks legit. 600+ positive feedbacks and sold a bunch of phones recently. Waiting for a response at the moment.
The phone also didn't come with a SIM card (where was it placed for those of you that have it, in case I just couldn't find it?), but my brother also bought his w/o a SIM card and Verizon didn't have any issues activating his.
I'm thinking if I should try a different store after work. The rep didn't seem to be competent. What's weird is that I got the "Welcome to your Galaxy Nexus!" email from Verizon.
cigar3tte said:
Got my phone from eBay, but the seller looks legit. 600+ positive feedbacks and sold a bunch of phones recently. Waiting for a response at the moment.
The phone also didn't come with a SIM card (where was it placed for those of you that have it, in case I just couldn't find it?), but my brother also bought his w/o a SIM card and Verizon didn't have any issues activating his.
I'm thinking if I should try a different store after work. The rep didn't seem to be competent. What's weird is that I got the "Welcome to your Galaxy Nexus!" email from Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon gives you the SIM. You need it for LTE.
martonikaj said:
Verizon gives you the SIM. You need it for LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's how my brother got his. I'm just curious if the phone is supposed to come with one or not.
cigar3tte said:
That's how my brother got his. I'm just curious if the phone is supposed to come with one or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not if you're buying it 2nd hand. Its just like GSM. You don't give away your SIM with the used phone
martonikaj said:
Not if you're buying it 2nd hand. Its just like GSM. You don't give away your SIM with the used phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it brand new though...
And the Galaxy Nexus uses microSIM, won't work with other LTE phones.
Anyways, the seller got back to me and told me to send it back for full refund.
Okay so I found galaxy note 2 from a craiglist deal, popped in sim card, everything worked great as its a tmobile version but said per seller that it was unlocked. 30 minutes later after the deal my device had been blocked from network use. My sim would no longer work in my older phone, so I called and got that fixed, but I now have a stupid nice phone that im using for a paper weight. Obviously the person who sold it to me either knew it was reported lost or stolen, or reported it after selling it to me, its whatever it happens right.
What are my options? I really want to be able to use this phone and spent a lot of money on it. I appreciate all input.
Try using another sim card I suppose
Sent from my Xperia Ray
I did, I even went to the AT&T store and they gave me a new sim card and it worked, made calls, surfed the web for like 10 minutes and the same thing happened.
pr0cl1v1ty said:
I did, I even went to the AT&T store and they gave me a new sim card and it worked, made calls, surfed the web for like 10 minutes and the same thing happened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the only thing you can do is have the seller call att or tmobile, what ever its branded and tell them they found the devise and att can unblock the imei
Sounds like u was scammed.
Sent from my SGH-T889
Only other option may be to try it on the other carrier. If it's a TMo phone, try it on ATT and vice versa.
---------
G1(CM7)--> G2(CM9)--> Note 2 T889 stock (root + multiwindow mod)
darocsfinest1 said:
the only thing you can do is have the seller call att or tmobile, what ever its branded and tell them they found the devise and att can unblock the imei
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, I've been trying to figure out how to lookup the original buyer of this phone.
pr0cl1v1ty said:
Okay so I found galaxy note 2 from a craiglist deal, popped in sim card, everything worked great as its a tmobile version but said per seller that it was unlocked. 30 minutes later after the deal my device had been blocked from network use. My sim would no longer work in my older phone, so I called and got that fixed, but I now have a stupid nice phone that im using for a paper weight. Obviously the person who sold it to me either knew it was reported lost or stolen, or reported it after selling it to me, its whatever it happens right.
What are my options? I really want to be able to use this phone and spent a lot of money on it. I appreciate all input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it is locked. Unlock and use through other carrier either tmobile or something that uses tmobile network mvno. If u have att note 2.
Its starting to look like its just not safe to buy this phone off Craigslist...
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Its not this phone. Its any phone. Run the numbers before you buy like a good consumer
Sent from my SGH-T889
I don't know if you guys have reading comprehension problems or what... Dude said he used on tmo for 30 minutes and then got blocked, and then did the same thing with AT&T. For those of you that don't know AT&T and T-Mobile now share their blacklists, meaning it will not work on any carrier that uses any of those towers. Sad to say your best option would be to sell to an international user on celltraderonline. Be very clear that it is on the US blacklist and will not work with AT&T, T-Mobile or their sister carriers.
Have you tried any T-Mobile or AT&T MVNO's like Simple Mobile or Red Pocket? That might work. If not your pretty much screwed. Unless you use it in another country.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
JOSE89178 said:
Have you tried any T-Mobile or AT&T MVNO's like Simple Mobile or Red Pocket? That might work. If not your pretty much screwed. Unless you use it in another country.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, I guess you didn't read my post above yours.
I have been "burnt" also with buying a T-Mo Note 2 on Craigslist. I used my phone for 2 mos before it got blocked from T-Mo. I used the dialer tricked and unlocked the phone and now using it on Straight Talk Att sim. But you are right you can't use it on T-Mo network or any of the mvnos. You can only use it for ATT mvnos. I get 4g speeds and everything.
KillaHurtz said:
Wow, I guess you didn't read my post above yours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, I guess two people can't answer at the same time.
The posts are just three minutes apart.
I guess you read my mind lol. I never saw your post. I never would of posted something double and make myself look like a fool CD they were less then 3 min apart. So excuse me :banghead:
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
dwest3784 said:
I have been "burnt" also with buying a T-Mo Note 2 on Craigslist. I used my phone for 2 mos before it got blocked from T-Mo. I used the dialer tricked and unlocked the phone and now using it on Straight Talk Att sim. But you are right you can't use it on T-Mo network or any of the mvnos. You can only use it for ATT mvnos. I get 4g speeds and everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if the phone has been imei blacklisted it will not work on any united states gsm service that includes straight talk... highly doubt you have a blocked phone working on straight talk
I had another thread going about being blocked on imei.
I just called tmobile and talked to them for about thirty minutes about my situation.
A quick summarization of the conversation is:
- The previous owner has been accused of fraud so that is the reason of the blocked IMEI.
- Can't do anything to unblock it, unless the previous owner retracts ther dues or whatever it is that needs to be payed.
- No third party unlocking will work.
Well for me, I fortunately have his information such as address and phone number and the text conversation still logged on my old phone. Luckily I called him today as a private number to check if he's phone still worked and still does, thank god.
Now I'm planning on calling him up tomorrow and, professionally, tell him my situation. When I met the guy, he didn't seem like a bad guy but hey, never judge a book by it's cover eh.
If he refuses any of these or won't agree to a median than I'll have to take legal actions.
That's my plan that is. I am not going to let $600.00 go to waste on a blocked phone! I'm taking this guy all the way.
*#06#
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
not sure but can't you get rid of your IMEI by flashing a bunch of times? I had this happen with my SK4G, my IMEI number under settings was a bunch of 0s. When I called up T-mobile and asked for an unlock code for the phone, it didn't work because my IMEI was screwed up. I ended up having to alter some Hex file in order to unlock it
Hi guys, I am sorry if it was already posted here, I could not find similar topics or posts. I have a problem with the network. When I try to call someone it says 'not registered on network'
I have been using galaxy s3 tmobile since last year november. I bought it from a police officer, he gave me unlock codes from tmobile. I used the phone on tmobile for 6-7 months and than I switched to staright talk unlimited and have been using it till yesterday. Yesterday suddenly my phone/ data/ sms.... stopped working. I was using cm10.1.3 than I thought, it is related to kernel/radio or modem and flashed back to stock rom.
But I still have the same problem.
The signal bar is full. I went to apn setting and played with it little, but no results. I tried to connect to the network, it says ' sim card does not allow a connection to this network'. I chatted with tmobile agent: she said, it must work on any network other than tmobile. I put my sim card on iphone, it works, but when I insert any simcard on my phone, it gives same issue. I checked my imei on tmobiles network, the result is: imei blocked. Could anyone help me with it please. ???? :banghead:
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
bek23 said:
Hi guys, I am sorry if it was already posted here, I could not find similar topics or posts. I have a problem with the network. When I try to call someone it says 'not registered on network'
I have been using galaxy s3 tmobile since last year november. I bought it from a police officer, he gave me unlock codes from tmobile. I used the phone on tmobile for 6-7 months and than I switched to staright talk unlimited and have been using it till yesterday. Yesterday suddenly my phone/ data/ sms.... stopped working. I was using cm10.1.3 than I thought, it is related to kernel/radio or modem and flashed back to stock rom.
But I still have the same problem.
The signal bar is full. I went to apn setting and played with it little, but no results. I tried to connect to the network, it says ' sim card does not allow a connection to this network'. I chatted with tmobile agent: she said, it must work on any network other than tmobile. I put my sim card on iphone, it works, but when I insert any simcard on my phone, it gives same issue. I checked my imei on tmobiles network, the result is: imei blocked. Could anyone help me with it please. ???? :banghead:
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the IMEI is blocked then the seller has reported the phone to be stolen. There's not much that can be done in that case to the phone. You can talk to the Seller if you want.
Doesn't sound like a police officer to me. Probably lied to you to make the sale. Either he reported it lost/stolen like Perseus said, or he never fully paid it off and stopped making payments. Either way, the device is now almost certainly considered to be stolen property. You can unlock it and sell overseas, but otherwise you are pretty much screwed I am sorry to say.
You need to call T-Mobile to find out why it's been blacklisted. If it's been reported stolen, or was never fully paid for try to contact the seller and ask about it. If you can't get in touch with him you may want to consider filing a police report.
Only other possibility, but highly unlikely, is if some a$$ cloned their device using your imei (either randomly entered or obtained some other way). In this very unlikely scenario it wouldn't be the sellers fault, unless he gave the IMEI to someone to use or used it himself.
It's much more likely the seller did this to you since this, unfortunately, happens all the time.
Like stated previously, there isn't much you can do if you can't resolve things with the seller.
Sorry to hear about your misfortune.. good luck though.
Sent from my SGH-T999N using Tapatalk
Thank you for the replies, I have called tmobile, they say it's not fully paid off or the customer has stopped the services at all, at the time of purchase I was 100% sure he was police officer, he showed his badge and all the stuff in the car.
How can I unlock it? I might want to sell overseas.
Anyway, I was thinking about move to n5, but it is too early, coz n5 is not out yet
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
In the general section is a SIM Unlock thread. Should be on the first page or two.
If he is actually a cop, I'd call him up and ask about it. If he only recently cut his service, it may have been unintentional that you got screwed as a result. Maybe he had forgot all about it. Considering how long it's been, he probably had it close to paid off, so maybe he'd be willing to pay off the balance to T-Mobile to have it unblocked. Or it might be worth it to you, depending on the amount owed, to pay it yourself if he can't or won't.
Granted, it would suck to have to, but if he only owes like $50, might be worth considering.
Sent from my SGH-T999N using Tapatalk
bek23 said:
Thank you for the replies, I have called tmobile, they say it's not fully paid off or the customer has stopped the services at all, at the time of purchase I was 100% sure he was police officer, he showed his badge and all the stuff in the car.
How can I unlock it? I might want to sell overseas.
Anyway, I was thinking about move to n5, but it is too early, coz n5 is not out yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If its not paid for then t-mo will release it after you pay up. Nexus 5 is ways away. You will have to go without a phone.
Unlock, ask T-mo or use online services on ebay
Well it is pre unlocked, or should I unlock again?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
bek23 said:
Well it is pre unlocked, or should I unlock again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No Need. If you know its unlocked then go ahead and sell Overseas.
Thank you very much who helped me with this issue, and of course the seller cut his services and even his number is not available anymore, no replies from email, but I am happy that nexus 5 is play store now, yeey
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I have never done BYOD, can someone give me a rundown of how to proceed, and how its worked for you on the pixel (not yet showing as a viable device on their BYOD page!)
i would love to be able to activate without dealing with a store (from my account page) is that possible?
I did a chat with Sprint rep. You need a SIM card that you can either order and self-activate, or go in-store. I was told no charge for the SIM card in-store but $30 activation fee. The UPC for the SIM you need is: 019962040146
Personally, I'm considering moving to Fi since my Sprint service has been poor last 4-5 months due to alleged "tower improvements", just not sure if I want to give up $60 unlimited everything. ?
Sent from my LGLS990 using XDA-Developers mobile app
I was about to say "if you already have a nano SIM, you should be able to just swap it out into your new phone"
But did a search on sprint's site and came across this - https://www.sprint.com/landings/howtoactivate/index.html?id16=swap |All&question_box=swap |All
My SIM is sitting and waiting for my darn phone to ship!! I don't think it will be a problem. I would move to Fi, but I just couldn't afford it at this time.
nightmare with Sprint. Got my phone this afternoon and have been to 3 Sprint stores, a Best Buy, and a Best Buy Mobile.......CANNOT ACTIVATE ON SPRINT!! I purchased the correct SIM Card, but when the Rep goes to activate it, I get 2 answers as to why I cannot activate it: #1 (from the less informed) the device is not compatible with Sprint. I was given this answer at 2 sprint stores, and over the phone when I called to activate the device & SIM Card. #2 (at a Corporate Sprint Store) They have an email that walks them through how to activate the Pixel. FOllowing the steps, he got an error stating that the SKU is assigned to a PREPAID phone and it needs to be reassigned to POSTPAY before it can activate. He called some number, on the phone for about 20 minutes and handed my the phone and said the ladt was no help, try calling Customer Care. So, 3.5 hours into my trying to activate I call customer care who does nothing, transfer to tech support - NOTHING and says its not a compatible device. I asked to speak to supervisor who then basically told me to go to the store and they can fix it. when I explained I have been to 3 stores and they cannot fix it, he says sorry, I cant do anything over the phone.
bretweb24 said:
nightmare with Sprint. Got my phone this afternoon and have been to 3 Sprint stores, a Best Buy, and a Best Buy Mobile.......CANNOT ACTIVATE ON SPRINT!! I purchased the correct SIM Card, but when the Rep goes to activate it, I get 2 answers as to why I cannot activate it: #1 (from the less informed) the device is not compatible with Sprint. I was given this answer at 2 sprint stores, and over the phone when I called to activate the device & SIM Card. #2 (at a Corporate Sprint Store) They have an email that walks them through how to activate the Pixel. FOllowing the steps, he got an error stating that the SKU is assigned to a PREPAID phone and it needs to be reassigned to POSTPAY before it can activate. He called some number, on the phone for about 20 minutes and handed my the phone and said the ladt was no help, try calling Customer Care. So, 3.5 hours into my trying to activate I call customer care who does nothing, transfer to tech support - NOTHING and says its not a compatible device. I asked to speak to supervisor who then basically told me to go to the store and they can fix it. when I explained I have been to 3 stores and they cannot fix it, he says sorry, I cant do anything over the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you were the individual they were talking about when I walked in with my Pixel in hand. I told them I needed a sim and to have it activated. 3 guys were telling me about someone that had just left, who had been there for over an hour, with a SIM they bought at Best Buy, while they were on the phone, talking about it registering as a prepaid phone. I said, "well, just let me buy a sim kit for the nexus 6". They brought it out, said, "we'll give it a shot". They pulled up my account, scanned the SKU on the box, scanned the sim, put it in, and I was out with an activated Pixel within 10 minutes.
I'm not sure what they did wrong with you or the other guy. Did you have your box with you or just the phone?
lgldrgdlr said:
Sounds like you were the individual they were talking about when I walked in with my Pixel in hand. I told them I needed a sim and to have it activated. 3 guys were telling me about someone that had just left, who had been there for over an hour, with a SIM they bought at Best Buy, while they were on the phone, talking about it registering as a prepaid phone. I said, "well, just let me buy a sim kit for the nexus 6". They brought it out, said, "we'll give it a shot". They pulled up my account, scanned the SKU on the box, scanned the sim, put it in, and I was out with an activated Pixel within 10 minutes.
I'm not sure what they did wrong with you or the other guy. Did you have your box with you or just the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just the phone....I wonder what was different. I just got off the phone with Tech support AGAIN! and they confirmed the device is not registered with Sprint yet. NO issue with the Sim. Nice job getting it to work though!! Maybe I can try again tomorrow :crying:
bretweb24 said:
Just the phone....I wonder what was different. I just got off the phone with Tech support AGAIN! and they confirmed the device is not registered with Sprint yet. NO issue with the Sim. Nice job getting it to work though!! Maybe I can try again tomorrow :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take your box with you. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it but at least they'll have it to scan. I know it shouldn't matter but, you never know.
using a sprint mnvo had my own sim activated just fine
I found several pixels in stock at Verizon stores. Will my sprint sim work with it if I bought it for the retail price?
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers mobile app
Went to a sprint store where the guy told me I need to order a special SIM for the Pixel, and they expected them later this week. I asked him to try it with the SIM in my LG G5 which he was nice enough to do but he couldn't get it to work, claiming each device maker has it's own SIM (...ok...).
At any rate, when I got back home I went to the site that jj14 posted - sprint.com/landings/howt...=swap%20%7CAll - and tried first with the SIM that was in my old Nexus 6 (didn't work) then again with the one in my LG G5, and that worked! Up and running, making calls, etc. No issues!
Has anyone tried putting a sprint sim in a Verizon pixel?
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers mobile app
bretweb24 said:
I was told no charge for the SIM card in-store but $30 activation fee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No activation fee for BYOD.
Sprint does adtivated
bretweb24 said:
Just the phone....I wonder what was different. I just got off the phone with Tech support AGAIN! and they confirmed the device is not registered with Sprint yet. NO issue with the Sim. Nice job getting it to work though!! Maybe I can try again tomorrow :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is listed on spring page as a bring your one phone
It does
lgldrgdlr said:
Take your box with you. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it but at least they'll have it to scan. I know it shouldn't matter but, you never know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thr box has a number not the imei another number is a heckh or somethis that is what they scan
---------- Post added at 06:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:52 PM ----------
Androidnj said:
The phone is listed on spring page as a bring your one phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That the number sprint needs is on the box and about my phone on your setting
Got my pixel xl from the Google store, ordered the card from Sprint and activated thru Sprint support chat.
Everything is working great! Best Android phone out there!
I don't know how I missed this thread. I was super curious about why I was experiencing so much trouble getting proper activation.
I activated mine the day I got it, online, with the sim card from my HTC 10. It went through but have me an error after it was activated. So I'm currently using that sim and it works with the exception of minor issues like unable to send SMS over 160 characters and MMS not always behaving. Other than that it works.
I went to 3 stores local and while I'm Richmond VA, I checked a corporate store. No one has the damn sim needed! It completely baffles me. Phone rep is having one mailed to me.. how nice of them
got my phone from the google store, trid switching sims but it didnt work. went to a sprint store and told them i need the "3 in 1" simcard to activate an unlocked phone and a guys which actually knew what he was doing swapped the phones for me. there is no activation fees because you are swapping phones, not activating. its working great so far, however sometimes i have some weird signal drops which happens randomly. anyone experiencing the same?
Went to the store and they did it for me
---------- Post added at 08:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:57 PM ----------
southernstyle said:
I don't know how I missed this thread. I was super curious about why I was experiencing so much trouble getting proper activation.
I activated mine the day I got it, online, with the sim card from my HTC 10. It went through but have me an error after it was activated. So I'm currently using that sim and it works with the exception of minor issues like unable to send SMS over 160 characters and MMS not always behaving. Other than that it works.
I went to 3 stores local and while I'm Richmond VA, I checked a corporate store. No one has the damn sim needed! It completely baffles me. Phone rep is having one mailed to me.. how nice of them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprint has em. They just dont wanna give em out
bretweb24 said:
nightmare with Sprint. Got my phone this afternoon and have been to 3 Sprint stores, a Best Buy, and a Best Buy Mobile.......CANNOT ACTIVATE ON SPRINT!! I purchased the correct SIM Card, but when the Rep goes to activate it, I get 2 answers as to why I cannot activate it: #1 (from the less informed) the device is not compatible with Sprint. I was given this answer at 2 sprint stores, and over the phone when I called to activate the device & SIM Card. #2 (at a Corporate Sprint Store) They have an email that walks them through how to activate the Pixel. FOllowing the steps, he got an error stating that the SKU is assigned to a PREPAID phone and it needs to be reassigned to POSTPAY before it can activate. He called some number, on the phone for about 20 minutes and handed my the phone and said the ladt was no help, try calling Customer Care. So, 3.5 hours into my trying to activate I call customer care who does nothing, transfer to tech support - NOTHING and says its not a compatible device. I asked to speak to supervisor who then basically told me to go to the store and they can fix it. when I explained I have been to 3 stores and they cannot fix it, he says sorry, I cant do anything over the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I activated my pixel XL within 10 minutes as well lol idk why they're giving u the runaround. U just need to go to a corporate store and ask them for the sim card with the last 3 numbers ending in 146 or tell them u need a simple card used for the htc M8 it's the same card that ends in 146.
This is very long and I was going to reply to the thread "Unlocked V30 & Verizon... all bands?" but I figured some people would get upset so I gave this it's own thread. If you're trying to bring an LS998 to a non-Sprint carrier this story may be of interest to you.
As expected, despite the previous Verizon agent telling me they have no problem offering me service and sending me a SIM card, I called Verizon (800 225 5499) today and they said won't do it, based on the IMEI of the LS998.
Last time I called ATT prepaid support (800 901 9878) they told me I needed to call regular sales support (888 333 6651) to get a SIM card for prepaid service, which I thought was weird. This time I called the regular number and was told they aren't allowed to send out SIM cards anymore. They said that maybe the prepaid support could do it but regular sales cannot.
So I called ATT prepaid support today and now they've suddenly changed their story too. After waiting 18 minutes to speak to someone, I was told once again that the regular sales department support is the only one who can give me help. I explained that they told me this less than a week ago and just now before I called the prepaid support and now he's telling me prepaid support can't send out SIMs. Why does it even matter by the way? Why can't they all just do it? What a ridiculous and inefficient setup. He told me he's giving me the "online support phone number" instead, since they "told me the wrong information".
As instructed by prepaid support, I called the "online support" number (866 267 4510) and the horrible voice detection failed miserably then hung up on me (I'm actually calling from the internet using a high quality mic so it's even better than what would usually come through a phone line..it even failed several times to understand the word "yes" when given the options of "yes" and "no"). I called it again and wasn't able to speak to anyone because it kept asking for all this nonsense and wouldn't actually let me speak to a real person in any way.. so yeah, that outsourced moron who could barely speak English gave me a useless number, as I expected.
So instead of calling Sales for the 2nd time today and 3rd time this week, I decided to call regular ATT wireless support (800 331 0500). I waited on hold for 17.5 minutes until I was finally able to speak to a person, who I explained to that I just want a nano SIM card. I found out she's from the prepaid support.. so despite calling the regular support number I was sent to the prepaid support, which was probably the reason I was on hold for so long once again. Anyways she told me she could send me a card and when I gave her my number and 4 digit ATT code/password she said I have to go pick it up at a store LOL.
She said I have to go to a "big" store and I asked her to explain herself because that's a subjective term and she asked for my ZIP code. I don't understand this because in 2013 when I first became their customer they were fine sending SIM cards for two phones in the mail and about 2 months ago they were fine sending one out in the mail for someone else (though this was never gone through with) and less than a week ago they told me it was fine too. All of the sudden, it's a big deal and they just can't send SIM cards in the mail? what??
I had already planned to call my local Verizon store and ATT store to see if they could handle this simple task but once she told me that I decided to just accept the SIM she wants to give me. She never asked me for the phone's IMEI but due to the course of the conversation I eventually explained the situation with the phone.
She told me to call Sprint and make sure it's unlocked, which I already planned to do actually. After suggesting I try putting my old SIM in my new phone I explained the old one is a micro and new one is a nano so I told her I might cut it if I can't get them to give me one. She actually said she had done that once; pretty funny.
I called Sprint (888 211 4727) to ask about the phone and make sure it's unlocked. They asked for my number in the automated thing but I pressed "#" as instructed since I don't have one. After speaking to someone finally, they asked for my full name and I only gave my first name and explained that I'm not a customer. I was then asked for my phone number and once again explained I'm not a customer. They asked why I was calling and I explained and after a brief moment on hold was told it's already unlocked. They didn't bother trying to keep me on their network AT ALL, which I was very surprised about. It was the fastest of any call, totaling under 5 minutes where all the others so far have taken me over an hour (mostly due to waiting on hold).
So I called Verizon again (800 922 0204) [wow they have too many support numbers at these places] to ask WHY they won't give me a sim since Sprint says it's unlocked. The sassy black lady had a terrible attitude when she realized I wasn't going to accept "the system says it won't work" because "it isn't compatible with Verizon network" as an answer...after having already explained that it's unlocked by Sprint and it supports the Verizon network. All I did was say "well there has to be a reason it isn't compatible, do you have any information?" and she got an attitude with me. Eventually she told me she'd get me over to tech support so they can look into it if I'd like and I accepted (anything to get away from her + they're probably more knowledgeable about this than the ordinary, lowest tier customer support representative). I was instead sent to an automated system asking for a phone number and got past it eventually and was put on hold once again while I await a new CSR from tech support.
Line quality was horrible and was asked for my first and last name and I explained I'm not a customer and gave my first name. I asked if it's tech support and was told it's new line support.... so that rude lady didn't even transfer me properly. What a surprise. I was given the number to their tech support (866 271 7585, option 2) and then transferred to it by the lady with the poor line quality.
At this point I've been talking with the carriers and waiting on hold for at least 2 hours and on this call with Verizon for 28 minutes... most of it on hold. I heard random voices come through the hold music a few times and just now it happened again and the call was disconnected. Thanks for hanging up on me again, Verizon.
So now I'm calling the Verizon tech support number I was given (866 271 7585) by the last person I spoke with, since I was hung up on. Option 2, which I was told to press is for SPANISH, not anything related to my call... so I pressed 1 (also it makes no sense for an American company to do that. We speak English here). The automated system asked for a phone number and I didn't have one so I just waited and they said the usual about call being monitored/recorded and I'm once again on hold...
This lady was VERY friendly (she sounded a little older) but this was NOT tech support. I explained the entire ordeal to her after she asked what problem I'm experiencing. After I got to the part about why I was trying to reach tech support (their agent told me to) she told me she would actually get me there. So I'm on hold again...
...She came back and asked which phone it is then told me she'd get me straight over to tech support and put me back on hold. She came back once again and asked me for clarification or something and I explained the situation with the LS998 and that it DOES work on the network and Sprint says it IS unlocked so there's no reason for it not to work. It's a matter of it being cheaper than the unlocked one and me choosing to put software on that allows it to take advantage of the available hardware in the phone. She said she was thinking of transferring me to tele-sales but she will bring me to tech support (what? she already said at least two times she would transfer me to tech support... if I ask for tech support - give me tech support. I didn't ask for her opinion on where to transfer me). She's very nice but not very good at transferring customers to where they try to go, it seems.
So I actually got tech support this time. I explained the situation. He seemed from the start like he did have more of an idea what he's talking about. He seemed like he was capable of following along with what I was saying. His initial suggestion was to have a friend or family member on Verizon let me try their SIM in the phone to make sure it works. I explained that's not an option and we had a bit more of a discussion about the topic.
I asked about a real tech support number because the one I was given didn't get me to tech support and he told me it's a queue system and that's why I got customer service instead of real tech support. He said they can only send me a SIM if I have a live account but at the store they can sell one for $10-15 (like Walmart or Sam's Club). A corporate/official store would give it for free. This must be what the ATT lady was referring to earlier...
He said the store would setup the SIM with a dummy phone number to make sure it works then I can port my ATT number over later.
I asked him to check the IMEI to make sure there are no other issues with it (since he may have some kind of superior access or information compared to a tier 1 CSR) and he was checking on it and kept coming back to let me know he's still there and it's taking a moment. Very professional... very satisfied with his attitude.
He said it didn't come up in the system but it should work since the V30 (non-plus) does and reiterated his statement about going to the store and making sure the employee doesn't test it while WiFi is enabled.
It was so refreshing to speak to someone with a powerful enough mind and who was well-spoken and polite.. didn't waste any time and helped me out. It's always better talking to tier 2 and above support with these phone and internet companies...
To sum up these companies:
I don't like T-Mobile and Sprint is merging with them (Sprint wasn't too great for me in the past either). However, when calling to ask about unlock status of the device it was the call with the best line quality and quickest resolution.
ATT's regular numbers have decent line quality usually, but the prepaid line quality is always bad.
Verizon's support often has bad line quality.
The outsourced people who barely speak English at ATT are either useless wastes of my time or incredibly friendly and somewhat helpful.
Verizon has a mixed bag when it comes to politeness of agents.
All of the above companies seem to be convoluted when it comes to giving out SIM cards as well as the system they've setup for contacting them via phone. There's no reason for this to be so complicated.
As expected, Verizon and ATT assured me there'd be no issue with this and there are issues with it.
So far, this entire thing has taken me at least 3 hours of speaking on the phone with mostly ATT and Verizon and I haven't even gone to a store to pick up a SIM yet... more as the story develops...
So now I need to go to my local "big store" (ATT) to get an ATT sim OR just cut my old sim and take the risk of something going wrong. I really want to switch to Verizon but I just paid for ATT a few days ago so I have a month left of that.
For now, I'm waiting on the phone to arrive so I can convert it to a US998. Also considering staying on ATT and just knowing that I can use Verizon later if something goes wrong.
If it doesn't work out I either have to argue with the carriers until they give me what I want, or use an unlocking service (though I'm not sure those are legit/worth it)... or return the phone, which I really don't want to do.
sneak310 said:
A corporate/official store would give it for free. This must be what the ATT lady was referring to earlier...
He said the store would setup the SIM with a dummy phone number to make sure it works then I can port my ATT number over later.
If it doesn't work out I either have to argue with the carriers until they give me what I want, or use an unlocking service (though I'm not sure those are legit/worth it)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing to unlock. When you convert LS998 to US998 firmware the phone is carrier unlocked, even if Sprint never unlocked it.
You just need a SIM card.
The only problem you would have is if the IMEI is blacklisted for some reason.
____
I warned you about Verizon -- that you would need something like an original US998, original VS996, or an already-activated Verizon SIM card. . They are very finnicky about phones with Sprint IMEI.
By the way, all AT&T SIM cards are the same. The only difference is internal accounting, whether it's Prepaid or Postpaid. Even with a Prepaid logo on it, it's STILL just a regular AT&T SIM card. You can switch from one to the other without actually changing SIM cards.
Had a friend who bought new Samsung Galaxy phone and they made him sign up with AT&T Postpaid to buy the phone. They wouldn't let him pay in full upfront. Once he signed the contract, he pulled out his credit card, made the full payment to pay off the phone -- then IMMEDIATELY switched to AT&T Prepaid (which is what he really wanted). They never touched his SIM card when they switched him over from Postpaid to Prepaid. And this was back when Prepaid division was confusingly called "GoPhone". STILL the same SIM card.
I have AT&T Prepaid, as do several friends, family members.
ChazzMatt said:
Nothing to unlock. When you convert to US998 firmware the phone is carrier unlocked, even if Sprint never unlocked it.
You just need a SIM card.
The only problem you would have is if the IMEI is blacklisted for some reason.
____
I warned you about Verizon.
By the way, all AT&T SIM cards are the same. The difference is internal accounting, whether it's Prepaid or Postpaid. You can switch from one to the other without changing SIM cards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I only asked him to check the IMEI for that reason you stated.. the blacklisting. They won't just send me a SIM... I have to go physically to a store for some reason instead of having them just mail me one like how I got my SIM from ATT in 2013.
Both Verizon and ATT are giving me identical trouble. They both require me to go to a store to get a SIM card and won't just send me a SIM card and give me service.
Due to the "if it ain't broke" thing, I'll probably just stick with ATT for now so I don't have to end up trying Verizon and liking it less than I used to/less than ATT then ultimately switching back to ATT... plus it should be easier to just get a new SIM instead of having to setup a whole new line of service with a new company... and finally I'm already pretty familiar with how ATT does things.
Phone should arrive on Thursday but Type C cable on Friday so I can probably go to an ATT store over the weekend.
PS - $238 is an amazing price ;D
sneak310 said:
Yeah I only asked him to check the IMEI for that reason you stated.. the blacklisting. They won't just send me a SIM... I have to go physically to a store for some reason instead of having them just mail me one like how I got my SIM from ATT in 2013.
Both Verizon and ATT are giving me identical trouble. They both require me to go to a store to get a SIM card and won't just send me a SIM card and give me service.
Due to the "if it ain't broke" thing, I'll probably just stick with ATT for now so I don't have to end up trying Verizon and liking it less than I used to/less than ATT then ultimately switching back to ATT... plus it should be easier to just get a new SIM instead of having to setup a whole new line of service with a new company... and finally I'm already pretty familiar with how ATT does things.
Phone should arrive on Thursday but Type C cable on Friday so I can probably go to an ATT store over the weekend.
PS - $238 is an amazing price ;D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wal-Mart also has AT&T Prepaid SIMs.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/AT-T-PREPAID-SIM-Starter-Kit/44938608
https://www.walmart.com/ip/AT-T-PREPAID-SIM-Kit/129539926
Sent via open market LG US998 V30/V30+
ChazzMatt said:
Wal-Mart also has AT&T Prepaid SIMs.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v30/development/us998-lg-v30-us998-us99820a040330-kdz-t3786337
Sent via open market LG US998 V30/V30+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah and according to these carriers they charge you for it. I'd also rather deal directly with the carrier than some random person at Walmart AND get it for free.
sneak310 said:
Yeah and according to these carriers they charge you for it. I'd also rather deal directly with the carrier than some random person at Walmart AND get it for free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, I understand. I also edited to put in the correct link.
You need to go to "corporate" owned AT&T store to get free SIM card. "Franchise" stores, which look almost identical, will charge you.
ChazzMatt said:
Sure, I understand. I also edited to put in the correct link.
You need to go to "corporate" owned AT &T store to get free SIM card. "Franchise" stores, which look almost identical, will charge you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hah, yea.. I was wondering why you sent me that original link. And yeah, they told me specifically which store is corporate.
So I'm curious to see if you switch to Verizon and your results. I'm currently on Verizon and I'm trying to get a V30+ so if you go with them I'd like to know how it worked out.
Hyperbomb64 said:
So I'm curious to see if you switch to Verizon and your results. I'm currently on Verizon and I'm trying to get a V30+ so if you go with them I'd like to know how it worked out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will have no issues since you have an already-activated Verizon SIM card. Just take your SIM card out, put it in new phone.
ChazzMatt said:
You will have no issues since you have an already-activated Verizon SIM card. Just take your SIM card out, put it in new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. Now I just have to actually get the phone and I should be good to go.
ChazzMatt said:
You will have no issues since you have an already-activated Verizon SIM card. Just take your SIM card out, put it in new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im also on verizon and just got this model online brand new it says its unlocked. do i need to avoid updating it when i get it?
Bamaboi89 said:
im also on verizon and just got this model online brand new it says its unlocked. do i need to avoid updating it when i get it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, don't update when you first get it, as you will possibly making your life harder, by having to downgrade to what you need for bootloader unlock and rooting. You can update after that.
Hyperbomb64 said:
So I'm curious to see if you switch to Verizon and your results. I'm currently on Verizon and I'm trying to get a V30+ so if you go with them I'd like to know how it worked out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ended up just sticking with ATT for now. Mostly one of those "if it ain't broke" things. I also realized (once I got to the ATT store) that I actually already HAD a nano SIM in my Nexus 5 with a converter. It was 2013 when I put that SIM in and I haven't messed with it so I completely forgot.