Develop Bugs

Need help- EVO won't activate/MSL problem

RESOLVED!!!
Bought a rooted EVO off craigslist and the hands free activation fails after moving it to my account (ESN was clear). Went to a sprint store for help and they tried resetting through EPST menus (not sure which, maybe 786 and I tried 3282) but it fails every time because the MSL is rejected. They told me whatever ROM was on it didn't retain the MSL or blew it out so the phone didn't recognize it. Is that possible?
I tried loading the latest Fresh and the xHaus stock ROM because they said loading a stock style ROM may fix things. Neither worked.
Can anyone help? I hope I didn't get ripped off!
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App

There's an app in the market that can read your MSL code for you, can't remember the name of it but a simple search for MSL should turn it up
Regards

Thanks, it gave me a different MSL than what Sprint gave me. The MSL from the app (MSL Reader) also seems correct as the EPST menus accept it. However I still can't get the phone to activate. I'm on the newest Fresh ROM (4.2.0.0) if that matters.
I'm certainly not an expert on this topic. What are the appropriate steps to take to get this thing activated?

Okay so after reading more I think the issue is that the phone thinks the MSL is different than the MSL in the Sprint system.
I don't know how to fix this....
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App

Maybe take the phone back to that Sprint store and show them the MSL you have works but the phone won't activate?

I'm not going to a Sprint store ever again for activating rooted phones. I flashed this 3.70x all-in-one from fastboot and then activated through my Sprint account online and it was pretty easy. I had to enter the MSL the MSL Reader app gave me in the ##786# menu for the reset and then used the ##{the MSL the Sprint site gave me}# and it worked. I still don't understand why I've basically got an MSL for my phone and another for Sprint- they should be the same. But I'm up and running...maybe this will help someone else in the future.

For everyone with data problems, I think I have found the solution

Ok, so I know a lot of us are having data issues and some are not
I think I may have figured it out
It is most probably because you ordered from a 3rd party retailer that didn't program the phone properly.
I ordered from Wirefly, and they never programmed my MSID, just the cell phone number
1. So, call tech support and have them reprogram your phone. They will give you a ##xxxxxx# code, then you enter in your cell number and MSID
2. let it reboot
3. update PRL, Firmware, and Profile in that order. Restart again
you *should* have better data connectivity.
PLEASE REPORT WITH RESULTS

Its called data reset and you can do it by your self if you ask them for the MSL number...
The MSID should be in the phone already if its activated the other SSID or w.e. Is your phone number
But good looking out for others who dont know
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

nate420 said:
Its called data reset and you can do it by your self if you ask them for the MSL number...
The MSID should be in the phone already if its activated the other SSID or w.e. Is your phone number
But good looking out for others who dont know
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
see, when i came to sprint, i ported from another carrier...as a result, the cell number and MSID are different
maybe we are the ones who have sucky data? with a MSID diff than cell? I'm still sure the MSID has to be programmed in for everything to work correct, even if its ure cell #

eyecon82 said:
see, when i came to sprint, i ported from another carrier...as a result, the cell number and MSID are different
maybe we are the ones who have sucky data? with a MSID diff than cell? I'm still sure the MSID has to be programmed in for everything to work correct, even if its ure cell #
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No if those numbers are wrong even by one number your phone will not be ativated
(I believe)
I think it just resets the phone signal to server/tower but frequently check for prl and profile updates that always seems to help a little bit especially when traveling out of your normal usage area
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

How do you determine if the MSID is correct?

ioos said:
How do you determine if the MSID is correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think its on the box

ioos said:
How do you determine if the MSID is correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprint would have the MSID.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App

nunyabiziz said:
Sprint would have the MSID.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. The only way to know what your MSID should be is by looking in our system.
The other number in question is the MDN.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

so is my msid and phone number suppose to be the same or different?

Kunji said:
so is my msid and phone number suppose to be the same or different?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I have yet to figure out any type of pattern as to what numbers are assigned. However, most commonly, it is your MDN that is the same as your phone number (PTN).
There's no good general rule of thumb to go by. Sometimes both of them are the same. Some times they're in different area codes as your PTN. Can't say I've ever seen an MSID be the same as the PTN without the MDN being the same as well. But anything is possible.
If you want, you can PM me your phone number. I don't work until Wednesday, but it only takes a couple clicks once I get in. I'm willing to do this for people, but within reason. Just PM me.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

The MSL can be found by downloading "terminal emulator" and typing "getprop ril.MSL" It is case sensitive.
From there, go to the phone, and type ##72786# , at the SCRTN screen select yes, let the phone reboot, let the activation go through its thing NOT TOUCHING THE SCREEN unless it tells you to. Let it do a reboot again.
This will do everything in OPs post without so much hassle.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium[/QUOTE]

kingsway8605 said:
The MSL can be found by downloading "terminal emulator" and typing "getprop ril.MSL" It is case sensitive.
From there, go to the phone, and type ##72786# , at the SCRTN screen select yes, let the phone reboot, let the activation go through its thing NOT TOUCHING THE SCREEN unless it tells you to. Let it do a reboot again.
This will do everything in OPs post without so much hassle.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[/QUOTE]
worked like a charm i wasn't able to send mms earlier and now after this method all is good.

I'm one of those oooollllldddd time Sprint customers whose MDN and MSID are the same. Going on 13 yrs now, same number, same carrier.

squshy 7 said:
Honestly, I have yet to figure out any type of pattern as to what numbers are assigned. However, most commonly, it is your MDN that is the same as your phone number (PTN).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have figured it out......they are the same if you got your number from sprint
if you ported from another carrier, then MSID is different
worked like a charm i wasn't able to send mms earlier and now after this method all is good.[/QUOTE]
LOL..same here!! The mms issue was killing me since I use that a lot

So even if you have your MS, MSID etc, is there a way to reprovision it without having to call Sprint (If you got your phone from Sprint)?

boe said:
So even if you have your MS, MSID etc, is there a way to reprovision it without having to call Sprint (If you got your phone from Sprint)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. ##SCRTN# in the dialer resets the radio data (msid and mdn and a couple other obscure codes); think of it as a hard reset only for your activation. Upon reboot, the phone will go through hands free.
Also, ##"your msl"# takes you to the manual programming screen
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

squshy 7 said:
Yes. ##SCRTN# in the dialer resets the radio data (msid and mdn and a couple other obscure codes); think of it as a hard reset only for your activation. Upon reboot, the phone will go through hands free.
Also, ##"your msl"# takes you to the manual programming screen
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do we do a data reset using the ##3282# menu?

Never been able to figure that out, it contains info that I would have to call in to support to find out what it's supposed to be.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

You can get your MSL if you're rooted.
Just open Terminal Emulator (in Market if you don't have it) and type:
su
getprop ril.MSL
Ta-Da!

kingsway8605 said:
The MSL can be found by downloading "terminal emulator" and typing "getprop ril.MSL" It is case sensitive.
From there, go to the phone, and type ##72786# , at the SCRTN screen select yes, let the phone reboot, let the activation go through its thing NOT TOUCHING THE SCREEN unless it tells you to. Let it do a reboot again.
This will do everything in OPs post without so much hassle.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[/QUOTE]
Ok, n00b question. Do I have to be rooted to use terminal emulator?
I am using Terminal Emulator Pro and when I enter getprop ril.MSL and hit enter, I get nothing but the next line. Also, everytime I enter the ril.MSL part, the "i" changes to capital "I".......is that the problem? I assume I an not supposed to use the quotations either right?
Also, another n00b question, what is SCRTN? Is that just the phone dialer screen?

Q: Need help getting sprint to recognize my phone

If someone could use the QPST software to make a backup of what the e4gt has inside the device.. since i flashed a file in the wrong slot of odin i have had so many problems.. currently my phone can make phone calls, text(no MMS) and connect to 4g but if i dont have 3g. it also says it needs to be activated yet i can still receive and make calls. i think it is something i did with qpst when i had to put the meid numbers back into the phone and somehow changed some other stuff.. you can remove any personal info(phone number, username, etc) but i just need to know what to do to get this back working properly.
i thought about using a pit file in odin but not sure if that would even help in my situation.
ok so just got finished talking to sprint and got my msid and msl back to what they were supposed to be. now i just need to figure out what else i changed in qpst. if someone could use qpst and save the file from there phone(take out msl, msid and phone number) then i could just put my information there and be good to go... PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME do this

Try updating profile usually any problems with connecting to the network or the I'd of your phone to the network will be fixed. I if not review your steps on what you did in qpst and try to find out what you may have changed.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

No nees to pit.
I swear I responded to this already. Hm.
What does settings/about_phone/status say your MSID is. It may be the problem. If it is not a number clise to your phones number call sprint and ask for it. They will tell you how.
Other options: a reprovision, as suggested.
##72786# is a DSA reset. It may help force a reprovision.
If all else fails, back up EVERYTHING and do a ##786# as a last resort. It will work, but has risks.
You will need your MSL for my suggestions unless you make an anycut/nova/apex activity shortcut to com.android.sprintmenu/ SCRTN (i think. Its the only one that looks like that)
Good luck
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

well i think my problem may be that my msl is 0000000... should i call and get the msl from sprint and then change it with qpst?

kicker07cvr said:
well i think my problem may be that my msl is 0000000... should i call and get the msl from sprint and then change it with qpst?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, do you mean your Msid?
I dont think your MsL CAn be 000....
Interesting.
Did you look from terminal mode with
su
getprop ril.MSL
?

kicker07cvr said:
well i think my problem may be that my msl is 0000000... should i call and get the msl from sprint and then change it with qpst?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats usually the default.. i used 000000 as my msl in qpst to flash prl 11119. If not theres an app on the market and other ways to get your real msl.. the guy above was speaking about your MSID.. sometimes its the same as your number but a lot of times different.. but if your msid is wrong on the device it will cause all kinds of problems
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

elliwigy said:
Thats usually the default.. i used 000000 as my msl in qpst to flash prl 11119. If not theres an app on the market and other ways to get your real msl.. the guy above was speaking about your MSID.. sometimes its the same as your number but a lot of times different.. but if your msid is wrong on the device it will cause all kinds of problems
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guess Im the odd duck, as usual... My MSL hasnt ever been close to 0 or my number. Lol
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Edit: I misread you the first time.

Sahn-J said:
Guess Im the odd duck, as usual... My MSL hasnt ever been close to 0 or my number. Lol
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Edit: I misread you the first time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again the person stated could be MSID.. im not talking about tye MSL.. MSID/MIN is a ten digit number.. its needed to provision the phone correctly.. if he messed up his MSID/MIN in QPST then he needs to find his and correct it..
MSL is like a SEC or sublock code needed for the device to change certain things.. default is normally 000000. If that doesnt work you need to retrieve it from the device or from sprint. I dont think he could have wrote a prl to tye device if he didnt have the correct MSL thus he probably did something else wrong.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

Yeah ( i know, thats why I said he should check it. )
ADD: If it is MSID he could get it frim Sprint if he doesnt have it,
then, assuming a stock dialer, could ##(puthisMSL)# and enter MSID manually.
Is MSID one of the ten thousand number sequences on the box¿
I think its MAC, MEID etc

Sahn-J said:
Yeah ( i know, thats why I said he should check it. )
ADD: If it is MSID he could get it frim Sprint if he doesnt have it,
then, assuming a stock dialer, could ##(puthisMSL)# and enter MSID manually.
Is MSID one of the ten thousand number sequences on the box¿
I think its MAC, MEID etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.. mac and meid are on there.. msid wouldnt be because its assigned by sprint.. the meid is tied to the device.. msid/min and the telephone number are assigned by sprint.. for example if you change your telephone number your msid is likely to change but in some instances it will remain what it was before.. if people are having issues like he described first thing you would want to check is the programming of the phone.. if the phone was manually programmed (qpst in this case) he could have messed it all up lol.. thats why in the prl threads it says dont do it if your not sure what it is.. qpst has lots of tools in it.. he could have done a number of things wrong if directions werent followed to a T.. either way hope he gets it working right lol
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

You can get your correct msl mdn and msid all from logging into sprint's site and choosing to activate a new device
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

chris41g said:
You can get your correct msl mdn and msid all from logging into sprint's site and choosing to activate a new device
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good call. I'm just so used to having it all written down that I forget about the right way. Oh, so many networks... neatly written (gf..) it'll come in handy some day... for instance if someone's IP were banned and they wanted access anyway.... or something
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

deleted

kicker07cvr said:
deleted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you post your solution in full please for the benefit of others lke myself??? Deleted isnt really much of a solution.
---------- Post added at 07:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:58 PM ----------
chris41g said:
You can get your correct msl mdn and msid all from logging into sprint's site and choosing to activate a new device
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a samsung r720 and have never been on the cricket network before, how else could iget this info. Ive downloaded qpst but it asks for a serial which i dont have. I only have the imei number. I dont use the networks, cant i just make something up.

Cracked screen--Bought replacement--Dies when I swap
I have a black SPH-D710 on Sprint. I cracked the screen, so I bought a white replacement on eBay without the battery or most of the guts.
I took the phone apart and swapped the screens and reconnected the boards and it powers up great... except that I have no service. If I connect back to the cracked screen, it powers up great and I get great service. I was hoping for a quick and dirty swap, but it seems like there must be some code in the screen-side circuit board that is foiling my attempt. I found this video [goo.gl/YNLZE -- xda won't let me post links, yet] where the guy seems to suggest that my problem is the IMEI, but I don't have the first clue about trying to find that in the old part and moving it to the new one, if that's even the problem.
Ideas?

[Q] Default Sprint Banner

I picked up a used Evo 4G recently only to find the previous owner had it flashed to MetroPCS.
As far as I can tell I've got it all back on the Sprint network but still having some problems, example, it'll only call out or receive voicemail when roaming. I want to take it to the Sprint store but the banner says "MetroPCS".
I need to know exactly what the default Sprint banner says so I can fix it up before taking it in.
The device is showing my @sprintpcs email address, downloaded the latest PRL (60687).
I didn't know what the MSL was and didn't use cdma-workshop because on two different systems with two different antivirus software it came up as Malware. I set it to 000000 using a guide I found but could do with knowing what it should be. (Is the MSL unique to me as a customer, if so would I be able to find it from my Moment phone maybe?)
Anyway, the main thing is the banner. If I can set this then it'll be half the battle.
TIA.
P.S. Why wouldn't this be reset after a factor reset? Is there a code that will literally wipe everything or am I missing something that I need?

I think it didn't reset because its a radio thing, not software. Not the smartest on carrier flashing things though.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA

http://themikmik.com/showthread.php?8477-Radio-Update-1-21-2012-2-15-00-12-19
Post 1 and use the 3rd download link for the PRI, baseband and WIMAX.
Flash it and see if that fixes the issue.

Thanks for the link. I have to leave in 10 minutes so I'm not going to have time. I have tried to get into recovery before (hold down volume while powering on) but it doesn't seem to work for me so I need to look around and see what I'm missing. If Sprint can't help then I'll give this a go.
They did tell me they had a service outage in this area so I'll try on my way home.
Thanks for the suggestions.

Make sure fastboot is off in settings, and once that is off, pull out battery and put back in then try again. Or get quickboot or something from the play store.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA

Thanks for the posts. Sprint was saying that they couldn't get it to receive a signal so they'll just replace it for me. That $8 a month that I've been paying forever finally pays off!

[Q] Has my phone been flashed for another provider? Has Sprint stumped!

I picked up an E4GT a couple weeks ago, had been just playing around with it, flashing a couple ROMs and such, so I decided to replace the phone I currently have on my plan (EVO 3D) with the E4GT. So I proceeded to installing a stock FH13 ROM on the phone and I unrooted it (just to be sure nothing would be getting in the way of activation). Now I've called to try and activate it twice (assuming the first time I called the person didn't know what he was talking about) and each time the codes that the Sprint representative gives me do not work.
The first code he gave me was ##725465#, and said to hit edit when I was taken to the next menu, however, this code did nothing for me.
Then he asked me to enter ##72786#, then to change the MSL, however, the codes he gave me to change the MSL continuously gave me the error "Invalid Lock Code"
Both times the person let me know that the phone had been "tampered" with and that in its current state, it could not be activated.
SO......what did I do wrong?? Do I need to be on a stock GB ROM?? I wouldn't think so, but am rather confused, as I'm sure there is a logical explanation for my issue. Or is it the phone? Has it been flashed for another carrier (Cricket, Boost)? I don't know, so I turn to y'all....gimme your input!

airswoosh1 said:
I picked up an E4GT a couple weeks ago, had been just playing around with it, flashing a couple ROMs and such, so I decided to replace the phone I currently have on my plan (EVO 3D) with the E4GT. So I proceeded to installing a stock FH13 ROM on the phone and I unrooted it (just to be sure nothing would be getting in the way of activation). Now I've called to try and activate it twice (assuming the first time I called the person didn't know what he was talking about) and each time the codes that the Sprint representative gives me do not work.
The first code he gave me was ##725465#, and said to hit edit when I was taken to the next menu, however, this code did nothing for me.
Then he asked me to enter ##72786#, then to change the MSL, however, the codes he gave me to change the MSL continuously gave me the error "Invalid Lock Code"
Both times the person let me know that the phone had been "tampered" with and that in its current state, it could not be activated.
SO......what did I do wrong?? Do I need to be on a stock GB ROM?? I wouldn't think so, but am rather confused, as I'm sure there is a logical explanation for my issue. Or is it the phone? Has it been flashed for another carrier (Cricket, Boost)? I don't know, so I turn to y'all....gimme your input!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so you never had the phone activated?

Why not Odin Stock EL29 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101.
This will take you to a stock (although rooted, but will not make a difference for OTA updates because of the stock kernel and other code)
Then try what they are asking.

Nope, I've never activated this phone myself.
Unless anyone has any other ideas, I'll probably trying the stock EL29 and see if that works

Did you buy it used?

Go online and try to activate it there
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app

airswoosh1 said:
Nope, I've never activated this phone myself.
Unless anyone has any other ideas, I'll probably trying the stock EL29 and see if that works
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What ROM are you actually running? The dialer codes don't work on the CM or AOSP roms, at least not normally.
You need to be on a Touchwiz based ROM.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

You broke it.. ........no soup for you !
Pp.
Sent from my ginger infused Mayan calculator.

@ravaged: Yes, I bought it used.
@DaMan: I tried to activate it online, went through the process, it wouldn't take, and then was told to call technical support
@Dalmus: I am on a TouchWiz ROM, stock FH13

Sounds like someone may have flashed it to boost or USC. Therefore the esn won't match because the original is no longer there. You may want to check out some of the guides for flashing your phone to another carrier. I've never done it but maybe you can reverse the steps. You may need a sacrificial phone with a good esn to do it. Someone on one of those threads may be able to assist you more.

I went ahead and put in on the stock EL29 ROM, and the codes still don't work.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking might be the case....

Someone else broke it,. ..................... no soup for then!
Pp......
Sent from my ginger infused Mayan calculator.

So I've gone about google searching for flashing back to Sprint, most suggestions start with flashing a Sprint PRL and that seems to be the secret to everything....but when I enter the RTN service menu, I've found this phone already has a Sprint PRL. The MSL is 000000 which seems to mean that it was indeed flashed to another carrier, but I can't figure out how to get the original MSL back.

Not completely sure, but I think that number is under the battery with the serial number.

Nah....the MSL is a 6 digit number which I believe for this phone should be 725465, although I'm not exactly sure, but that's the number the Sprint representative gave me to enter originally....I dunno.....
I'm figuring there has to be a way to revert the MSL back to its original....just can't figure out how.....

Where did you buy it from?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app

Deleted

ebay
I think I'm just gonna take it into Sprint on Monday and let them screw around with it and see what they say.

airswoosh1 said:
I'm figuring there has to be a way to revert the MSL back to its original....just can't figure out how.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CDMA Workshop is used to do just that along with some other stuff. just google it and rewrite the orig MSL.
Also since it is 000000 someone changed it via CDMAWS sprint phones do not have orig msl as 000000.
If the DEC under the battery (orig) and in the MEID phone info (programed) dont match then the orig DEC esn could of been a bad esn (blacklisted) or it has been flashed to another carrier....boost..etc with the donor ESN.

What does terminal emulator say when you try getting your MSL that way?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA