Develop Bugs

[Q] Got unlock code from AT&T but phone won't take it! Pls Help!

Hi guys,
I easily got the unlock code from the folks at AT&T. They were super nice and freely gave me the code once I provided them with the IMEI.
The problem, though, is that the phone won't accept the code -- it says it's incorrect, and takes away one of the 10 attempts each time. I tried it two or three times at the T-Mobile store once I inserted the brand new micro sim the rep gave me, then restarted the phone, and tried twice more, for a total of five attempts. I'm afraid to try it again.
I've called AT&T three times and Nokia twice, and the final time with AT&T a super nice level 2 tech called Misa helped me and stayed on the line while we called Nokia together. She was on my side the whole time, wondering how Nokia could have no knowledge on how to unlock their own phone. It was nice of her and the service almost made me want to go to AT&T (but I like my $50 a month unlimited talk, text and data plan with T-Mobile).
Any ideas on how to do this? I can't really understand why the code is being rejected, as we've verified the code three times at AT&T, and I'm sure I'm reading the IMEI right.
I did try Nokia Care Suite "refurbish" prior to doing the unlock, but not sure if this would have had any impact, as the process failed with a timeout error. As I write this, however, the phone is actually letting the entire refurbish process go through, for the first time, flashing the same version of the software that was on the phone (2175.2301.8779.12223).
Thanks!

Got it, in a very weird way.
OK. I'm sure a lot of people have been searching for this. I have, but my google skills weren't good enough to keep me from spending hours on the phone and at stores today trying to get the damn thing unlocked. I'd just about given up when my brother searched and found this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=35674606# (Thanks Breex243!)
Basically, you just keep trying the code provided by AT&T, ten times, until you use up your ten attempts. I know, it sounds scary, but just do it. Then, it will ask you for your PUK, and give you 32 attempts. You enter the code provided by AT&T at this point (not your PUK). That will unlock the phone. Strange, especially since no one at AT&T nor Nokia seems to know this.
Anyway, thanks Breex243 for posting this! Good luck to anyone else trying it.

I just wanted to verify what sshanky had said above.
We've had a number of people contact us recently about their unlock codes for the Lumia 900 locked to AT&T being wrong, however the process of entering it just needs to be altered.
Simply use up the 10 attempts then try again.

Pantech Discover unlock

Hello people i'm a newbie to this forum and i'm a newbie to unlocking phones. I don't care about Rooting my phone as i don't think i have the skills to do it. However i just want to unlock a Pantech Discover from AT & T so it will work on T-Mobile can anybody give me the unlock code so i can unlock the Discover so it will work with T-Mobile. Thanks for any and all help

cowboyy2087 said:
Hello people i'm a newbie to this forum and i'm a newbie to unlocking phones. I don't care about Rooting my phone as i don't think i have the skills to do it. However i just want to unlock a Pantech Discover from AT & T so it will work on T-Mobile can anybody give me the unlock code so i can unlock the Discover so it will work with T-Mobile. Thanks for any and all help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried unlocking my discover and I called AT&T they told me that I couldn't unlock the phone because it was strictly for AT&T. Not sure if that is true or not because I looked at unlocking sites and they say that they can unlock the phone but im not too sure how true that is.
Sorry if that was not any help but being as I have the same phone and tried the calling at&t way of doing it thought I would share that with you.

i tried
TheAtreus said:
I have tried unlocking my discover and I called AT&T they told me that I couldn't unlock the phone because it was strictly for AT&T. Not sure if that is true or not because I looked at unlocking sites and they say that they can unlock the phone but im not too sure how true that is.
Sorry if that was not any help but being as I have the same phone and tried the calling at&t way of doing it thought I would share that with you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried three different 'pay to get the code to unlock' websites. One flat out said that it can not be unlocked and refunded my money. the other two tried to help me but nothing worked. they all gave the same unlock code, so I kinow that they at least tried to generate one. am waiting to see if I can get refunds from the other two.
its strange - I can root the phone (which I am not really interested in doing), but can't unlock it. Mmmmmm.

Unlocked - WORKING
I've been noticing a few too many people having a hard time with some of the sites someone mentioned. I've had to use one of them myself a few weeks ago for a ZTE Merit from TracFone. Luckily, I was given a working code and move about my way. This phone however, due to limited support has been an obstacle to root and unlock. I am proud to say that I FINALLY have both and even managed to make a working mini-sim after two tries.
Maybe I could help you guys out. I unlocked mine and have it working 100% with Simple Mobile and T-mobile.
All I need is the phones IMEI. I spent hours last night trying using different methods and came really close to paying only to find out the Discover wasn't supported for some reason or another. A buddy came up with a minor tweak in the way the IMEI was loading into the unlocking software to get it working.
PM if anyone is interested. Here are some screenshots.

Hi all.
I've just bought unlocked Pantech Discover on Ebay. Can you tell me where can i find unlock code or what do i have to do if i want to update ROM and don't want to lock it again?

RE: Flip956
Hey, Can you still unlock AT&T discovers? If so please let me know so I can send you the IMEI for and get this unlocked so I can use it on metro.. Thanks SOOOO MUCH!! :fingers-crossed:
Flip956 said:
I've been noticing a few too many people having a hard time with some of the sites someone mentioned. I've had to use one of them myself a few weeks ago for a ZTE Merit from TracFone. Luckily, I was given a working code and move about my way. This phone however, due to limited support has been an obstacle to root and unlock. I am proud to say that I FINALLY have both and even managed to make a working mini-sim after two tries.
Maybe I could help you guys out. I unlocked mine and have it working 100% with Simple Mobile and T-mobile.
All I need is the phones IMEI. I spent hours last night trying using different methods and came really close to paying only to find out the Discover wasn't supported for some reason or another. A buddy came up with a minor tweak in the way the IMEI was loading into the unlocking software to get it working.
PM if anyone is interested. Here are some screenshots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Yep

I helped a lot
thanks

MetroPCS Sends Unlocking Codes for My S4 -- with No Instructions

So I've owned my S4 for 90 days and paid my bills on time. As other S4 owners on MetroPCS will tell you, that made me eligible for unlocking codes -- as the MetroPCS salesperson who convinced me to buy the phone assured me it would.
Sure enough, after requesting the code, I received a ticket number and, three days later, was sent a "network code" and a "service provider code" -- and no instructions whatsoever on how to use them.
Since then, I've called MetroPCS and gotten customer service people with no idea what to do -- "ask your new carrier to do it" was the common answer. Eventually, I called the corporate office in Harlem and was subjected to one of the rudest women I've ever encountered. When I explained that I had a ticket number for the request, she chanted "MetroPCS doesn't unlock phones!" loudly and at a continually escalating volume -- it was like being stuck in a room with the most obnoxious character in a reality show about career alcoholics. When I tried to tell her to look up my account, and that MetroPCs had in fact sent me the code she said was "illegal," she continued to yell the words until she hung up on me.
This is a process I was promised from the first day I bought the phone. I hadn't even been interested in changing carriers just yet (though that woman is making me reconsider!). All I want is to be able to swap the SIM when I leave the country and root my phone while using it on the GSM carrier of my choice. As long as the phone I bought outright is locked, I can't do either thing.
I realize that discussions about unlocking phones without permission is forbidden on these forums, but MetroPCS gave me permission! They just don't seem to know how to do the thing they gave me permission to do!
I was on the phone with MetroPCS for a solid hour today. I'd rather give myself a home vasectomy than go through that again.

You simply put in a SIM card from a different carrier and the phone will popup a window that requests you to input an unlock code, which I'm guessing is what MetroPCS gave you.

Exel said:
You simply put in a SIM card from a different carrier and the phone will popup a window that requests you to input an unlock code, which I'm guessing is what MetroPCS gave you.
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Click to collapse
People who have tried to root MetroPCS S4s have been unable to do so because the phone is locked. Will unlocking the SIM unlock that capability as well?

Reignogleph MMXI said:
People who have tried to root MetroPCS S4s have been unable to do so because the phone is locked. Will unlocking the SIM unlock that capability as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SIM unlocking and rooting is two totally different thing.

baseballfanz said:
SIM unlocking and rooting is two totally different thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I thought.
The two codes offered by MetroPCS were a service provider code and a network code.
A few people who tried to root the phone reported being stopped by a restriction which prevented it (I'll link to the thread on XDA which contains those posts later tonight -- I'm about to go to sleep before work).
I wondered whether either of the two codes sent by MetroPCS might have any effect on that restriction. As I say, I'll be more specific later tonight.

Reignogleph MMXI said:
As I thought.
The two codes offered by MetroPCS were a service provider code and a network code.
A few people who tried to root the phone reported being stopped by a restriction which prevented it (I'll link to the thread on XDA which contains those posts later tonight -- I'm about to go to sleep before work).
I wondered whether either of the two codes sent by MetroPCS might have any effect on that restriction. As I say, I'll be more specific later tonight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you're talking about the KNOX thing, where it sees root it "blocks" it due to how KNOX functions.
But as someone said before, rooting and unlocking are two different things. Unlocking does not require root nor any file changes. Simply input the unlock code as I said earlier.

Exel said:
I believe you're talking about the KNOX thing, where it sees root it "blocks" it due to how KNOX functions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd love to know more about "the KNOX thing" -- specifically what it is and whether it can be defeated.
I'll do a search on XDA and google the term as well, but any other help would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to be able to customize my S4.
Edit: Aha! You're talking about this: "The KNOX thing."

By the way, since you were given TWO codes, perhaps we can clarify. The unluck code is probably the Network code, probably denoted "NCK". The other code is in case the phone is also locked by the Service Provide (MetroPCS in your case), in which case you'll also need to put this one in. But use the Network code first.

WhosAsking said:
By the way, since you were given TWO codes, perhaps we can clarify. The unluck code is probably the Network code, probably denoted "NCK". The other code is in case the phone is also locked by the Service Provide (MetroPCS in your case), in which case you'll also need to put this one in. But use the Network code first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, WhosAsking -- that's exactly what I was asking about!
My understanding is that, once you unlock the SIM option, you need never worry about unlocking it again even if you go back to using the original SIM (as it were).
Is the same thing true of the provider code? Will unlocking it have no effect on one's service with that provider or is unlocking it something that is only done when one changes providers?
BTW: This is the message I meant to look up before. Given what the two of you have said, I think I misunderstood the message and that it applies only to changing the SIM.
I realize these questions make me sound like a diaper-clad novice, but I think it's better (and more honest) to get the help one really needs in depth than to pretend to be knowledgeable and not quite understand what one is doing.

Reignogleph MMXI said:
Thank you, WhosAsking -- that's exactly what I was asking about!
My understanding is that, once you unlock the SIM option, you need never worry about unlocking it again even if you go back to using the original SIM (as it were).
Is the same thing true of the provider code? Will unlocking it have no effect on one's service with that provider or is unlocking it something that is only done when one changes providers?
BTW: This is the message I meant to look up before. Given what the two of you have said, I think I misunderstood the message and that it applies only to changing the SIM.
I realize these questions make me sound like a diaper-clad novice, but I think it's better (and more honest) to get the help one really needs in depth than to pretend to be knowledgeable and not quite understand what one is doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those instructions are if you don't have an unlock code.

Exel said:
Those instructions are if you don't have an unlock code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, but there's the irony -- there haven't been any instructions. That person was talking about the impasse he reached because he didn't have codes to unlock the SIM but thought there might be a deeper issue.
The reason I don't feel too stupid about this is because I note that when one pays for unlock codes, they're accompanied by actual instructions for the person who's doing it all for the first time (and since I've been on non-GSM carriers until now, that would be me).
Anyway, thanks.

I thought like what was already suggested that you put other carriers sim in and it'll ask for said codes?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

futty said:
I thought like what was already suggested that you put other carriers sim in and it'll ask for said codes?
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Click to collapse
WhosAsking answered the question, which is why I thanked that member.
On the other hand, the email that contained the codes and reps of the carrier -- MetroPCS -- not only offered no instructions but couldn't give any. As I mentioned above, one of them even screamed repeatedly that what I was asking for was illegal and then hung up the phone in mid-scream. That MetroPCS Harlem corporate store -- classy!
BTW: I've been reading about the region prompt and I wonder whether the lock isn't imposed by MetroPCS at all but is rather the region lock we've been associating with the Note 3. Perhaps the only difference is that T-Mobile gives you the code right away and MetroPCS, a pay-as-you-go variant, makes you wait to ensure that three months.
See this article.
Samsung shed further light on its region-locking policies on Friday, explaining that the locks only affect users the first time they activate the handset. The manufacturer also said the locks apply not only to the new Galaxy Note 3, as we reported on Thursday, but also to units of the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S4 mini, Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III that were produced after July.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Here at last is an article that details the differences between the region lock and carrier lock which are particular to the Note 3 in general and to the Galaxy S4 sold (like mine, technically) after July 2013:
The article and video
And by the way: This article is reason enough for me to have hesitated before using various codes. MetroPCS users appear to have gotten locked S4s, so this might be a good read for anyone who did:
How to Avoid Regional SIM Lock Problems

In the interest of learning

Years ago, I had a Note 3, and a few China brand tablets. I learned to root them. For the tablets, I was interested in learning how to make them the most compatible for Deaf - understand this was years and years ago. (My parents are Deaf). So I have some understanding - but it's been awhile.
I've been buying a few used android phones in the interest of having loaners and was toying with the idea of repairing phones as a hobby/pin money kinda thing. I'm a veteran and now living on my disability retirement. I've been working in technology - most notably repairing PCs - software and hardware but I've had a few years here and there, networks, databases, security, etc. My resume is wide but shallow.
One of the phones I bought was a Verizon Moto G6Play (obviously I'm here). And I've come to the conclusion I'm an idiot for not researching it closer. My current provider is Verizon and I just naively thought if I put my daughter's verizon sim in it - it would work. I paid no attention to the warning on the back of the box about purchasing up to 50.00 of prepaid in order for Verizon to recoup their money invested in the cheap prices offered for the phones. To be honest, I bought this phone off of "shopgoodwill.com" auction for 6.95. I don't have a lot of money invested in and not sure I even know how much it goes for right now. I don't honestly care. When I put the verizon sim in it - at first it showed 1X - I rebooted and was looking at rooting options but had not gotten real far. I also forgot to pay my bill like always - and got online and caught it up. When I did that - it looked like the sim card updated to 4G and texting was working. But I wrongly assumed calling was not working because I had wrongly assumed in the first place it was not dialing out because I thought I let my bill lapse. (I do this all the time. I'm an idiot).
So, long story, short - I called Verizon and asked why my phone was working but hers wasn't - we got into the discussion of prepaid, etc. The help person said, I wasn't going to get around the prepaid prerequisite - but I might get away with 30.00 instead of 50.00. Ok. Fine - I give. My daughter was willing to pay 30.00+ for a new screen for the other Motorola she had wrecked (E3). I was just trying to get her out of my hair. She is very OCD/Annoying while at the same time always breaking her phones. I told her the skinny on the phone. I told her to take it to Verizon store - tell them you want to go pre-paid cheapest plan - 30.00 and bring it back home. I removed the TWRP and Terminal Emu from the phone and she took it there with her instructions - but somehow muffed it all up. The salesperson claimed it was already activated to our account. In retrospect, I thought I had seen the G6 Play as the model for her phone line. But I told her that was not possible since it didn't work. Right? So a manager came over - and told her the phone was phu(ked I do believe she told my daughter "bricked" and that she'd have to buy a new one. Needless to say I told my daughter to get out of there - they were not interested in helping - they just wanted her to buy a phone. Prior to sending her to the store - I had run through the steps here or where-ever I was - and found the codes needed to determine if I could unlock this phone and was told, nope, nope, nope.
I reset the phone completely from the Fastboot Flash Mode (sorry, if I'm not using the right term - I always want to call it bios, ). As far as I know, it was successful...
So here is the thing. Looks like I'm stuck with it - and I'd like to try my hardest to crack it anyway. I don't care if I brick it or not. I'm looking at practice here. Do I absolutely need the unlock code to get started? Can I just jump over that step and flash a new OS to the phone? Bearing in mind that I might brick it?
Thanks,
Wynne

impy2101 said:
Years ago, I had a Note 3, and a few China brand tablets. I learned to root them. For the tablets, I was interested in learning how to make them the most compatible for Deaf - understand this was years and years ago. (My parents are Deaf). So I have some understanding - but it's been awhile.
I've been buying a few used android phones in the interest of having loaners and was toying with the idea of repairing phones as a hobby/pin money kinda thing. I'm a veteran and now living on my disability retirement. I've been working in technology - most notably repairing PCs - software and hardware but I've had a few years here and there, networks, databases, security, etc. My resume is wide but shallow.
One of the phones I bought was a Verizon Moto G6Play (obviously I'm here). And I've come to the conclusion I'm an idiot for not researching it closer. My current provider is Verizon and I just naively thought if I put my daughter's verizon sim in it - it would work. I paid no attention to the warning on the back of the box about purchasing up to 50.00 of prepaid in order for Verizon to recoup their money invested in the cheap prices offered for the phones. To be honest, I bought this phone off of "shopgoodwill.com" auction for 6.95. I don't have a lot of money invested in and not sure I even know how much it goes for right now. I don't honestly care. When I put the verizon sim in it - at first it showed 1X - I rebooted and was looking at rooting options but had not gotten real far. I also forgot to pay my bill like always - and got online and caught it up. When I did that - it looked like the sim card updated to 4G and texting was working. But I wrongly assumed calling was not working because I had wrongly assumed in the first place it was not dialing out because I thought I let my bill lapse. (I do this all the time. I'm an idiot).
So, long story, short - I called Verizon and asked why my phone was working but hers wasn't - we got into the discussion of prepaid, etc. The help person said, I wasn't going to get around the prepaid prerequisite - but I might get away with 30.00 instead of 50.00. Ok. Fine - I give. My daughter was willing to pay 30.00+ for a new screen for the other Motorola she had wrecked (E3). I was just trying to get her out of my hair. She is very OCD/Annoying while at the same time always breaking her phones. I told her the skinny on the phone. I told her to take it to Verizon store - tell them you want to go pre-paid cheapest plan - 30.00 and bring it back home. I removed the TWRP and Terminal Emu from the phone and she took it there with her instructions - but somehow muffed it all up. The salesperson claimed it was already activated to our account. In retrospect, I thought I had seen the G6 Play as the model for her phone line. But I told her that was not possible since it didn't work. Right? So a manager came over - and told her the phone was phu(ked I do believe she told my daughter "bricked" and that she'd have to buy a new one. Needless to say I told my daughter to get out of there - they were not interested in helping - they just wanted her to buy a phone. Prior to sending her to the store - I had run through the steps here or where-ever I was - and found the codes needed to determine if I could unlock this phone and was told, nope, nope, nope.
I reset the phone completely from the Fastboot Flash Mode (sorry, if I'm not using the right term - I always want to call it bios, ). As far as I know, it was successful...
So here is the thing. Looks like I'm stuck with it - and I'd like to try my hardest to crack it anyway. I don't care if I brick it or not. I'm looking at practice here. Do I absolutely need the unlock code to get started? Can I just jump over that step and flash a new OS to the phone? Bearing in mind that I might brick it?
Thanks,
Wynne
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this phone currently in a running state? If so, do you have twrp and root? I may be able to help you. I know it's G6 play but do you know which model it is? mine is XT1922-7 for example
Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk

He isn't able to unlock the bootloader and wants to know whether he could unlock it without the unlock code.
@impy2101 You'll need that code to unlock the bootloader and being able to do modifications. Every attempt to flash another firmware while bootloader is locked will fail or could lead to a hard brick.
Did you follow the steps from Moto's website to unlock it?

WoKoschekk said:
He isn't able to unlock the bootloader and wants to know whether he could unlock it without the unlock code.
@impy2101 You'll need that code to unlock the bootloader and being able to do modifications. Every attempt to flash another firmware while bootloader is locked will fail or could lead to a hard brick.
Did you follow the steps from Moto's website to unlock it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The short and long answer to that is no. The process is relatively straight forward though.
Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk

Sands207 said:
Is this phone currently in a running state? If so, do you have twrp and root? I may be able to help you. I know it's G6 play but do you know which model it is? mine is XT1922-7 for example
Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, brand spanking new - It's just that I bought it from GoodWill so there is no returning it. And it's all good. I only paid a few bucks for it. It's an XT-1922-2. Thanks. I found the, um, erm, (sorry, old lady stuff going on) the OS MOD for it? jeterxxxblahblah and downloaded it - just not sure how I would get it loaded up if I cannot unlock it, etc.
I need to understand a little better some of the things that "we" do to the phones. For example - when unlocking the BootLoader - who locks it in the first place? What does unlocking the bootloader give us access to vs. what does root give us access to? I ask because I also have a Moto E6 and I managed to get past the pre-paid requirement and have unlocked it, rooted it (sorta - kinda weird work around where I have to boot it "recovery mode" if I want to use root - otherwise not. And I've discovered I still need another step to get rid of the provider USCellular so I can stick a VZW Sim in it. (Not asking for an answer here - just saying that I can follow instructions and understand to a certain degree but would like more indepth detail on what it is I'm doing. I even went so far as to look for the OSI model equivalent for Android - I found it - but it wasn't quite as satisfying as the one for PC - I'm still a bit puzzled.)

WoKoschekk said:
He isn't able to unlock the bootloader and wants to know whether he could unlock it without the unlock code.
@impy2101 You'll need that code to unlock the bootloader and being able to do modifications. Every attempt to flash another firmware while bootloader is locked will fail or could lead to a hard brick.
Did you follow the steps from Moto's website to unlock it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I followed the Moto website to unlock it - it was considered unlockable. I'm well aware it could lead to a hard brick. Apparently, when I put my Verizon sim in - I did something to it already that effed it up. According to them. I made the dumb assumption that if I had Verizon as my carrier I could use a prepaid phone as a backup device. And I'm sure I've done it before when I was with AT&T. So it may be I already made it unusable. I would like to go from knows enough to be dangerous - to really qualified. There are big chunks of information that I need to understand in order to put it all together - sometimes breaking something is a good way to learn - in fact, it's often the best way, I've discovered.

WoKoschekk said:
He isn't able to ......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI - Old lady here...

impy2101 said:
FYI - Old lady here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So in terms of unlocking we have two different ideas here: 1. unlocking the bootloader so you can change to a custom version of android or obtain root access and 2. Unlocking the device's sim slot to use it with another network provider. This is usually done by asking the provider to unlock it, the pre requisite is that the phone or tablet must be paid off or good standing for at least one year. This is the policy of boost, sprint, virgin etc Verizon may be different. While some third parties may be able to accomplish this, it can be risky to the consumer and may even need to be done remotely. What exactly are you hoping to do? I'd be happy to help you if I can
Sent from my Moto G6 Play using XDA Labs

Sands207 said:
So in terms of unlocking we have two different ideas here: 1. unlocking the bootloader so you can change to a custom version of android or obtain root access and 2. Unlocking the device's sim slot to use it with another network provider. This is usually done by asking the provider to unlock it, the pre requisite is that the phone or tablet must be paid off or good standing for at least one year. This is the policy of boost, sprint, virgin etc Verizon may be different. While some third parties may be able to accomplish this, it can be risky to the consumer and may even need to be done remotely. What exactly are you hoping to do? I'd be happy to help you if I can
Sent from my Moto G6 Play using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm more hoping to unlock the device's sim slot - ironically - this is a Verizon pre-paid and I want to use it with Verizon - my current carrier. I bought the phone in hopes of replacing a phone that quit working on my daughter.
I would like to understand the difference though - I've been fooling around with a Moto E6 and have unlocked the Bootloader - I did go to Motorola's site to get the key based on issuing a fastboot oem get_unlock_data command from the cmd prompt screen. Got the mile long number sent it in and got a key and ran the command to unlock it. I think because it's a newer model - E6 - it's a bit of a weird hinky thing to root it. It can only be done by booting the phone in "Recovery Mode" - I can add all kinda Magisk modules, etc...I can even blow up the phone and reinstall it.
But I can see that the Network is still Consumer Cellular. I'm really getting confused about all of this, lots of terminology without explainations, etc...so in order to teach myself effectively I'm looking at schematics of phones and building my own diagram - sorta like the OSI model for a PC - showing where the bootloader resides, the os/recovery resides, and so on, right? After seeing the Consumer Cellular is still the provider - I searched again and found a page that says I need an unlock code - and as you also said - I've run into this advice a few times - that the owner must fulfill the prerequisite contract time. I had tried arguing with Verizon that I already spent more than 50.00 by being their customer for 4 years and letting them charge me for an entire year for international service despite me telling them to turn it off 4 or 5 times (no sympathy from them...)
I'm extremely confused - where is the "code" that locks the sim to a carrier? Obviously, its not in the bootloader. Clearly, it's not part of the rooting process - which I understand is just granting permission to root directories. Is this code the same code that locks out a pre-paid from a regular sim? I'm guessing whatever it is - it's not part of recovery.img at least.

impy2101 said:
I'm more hoping to unlock the device's sim slot - ironically - this is a Verizon pre-paid and I want to use it with Verizon - my current carrier. I bought the phone in hopes of replacing a phone that quit working on my daughter.
I would like to understand the difference though - I've been fooling around with a Moto E6 and have unlocked the Bootloader - I did go to Motorola's site to get the key based on issuing a fastboot oem get_unlock_data command from the cmd prompt screen. Got the mile long number sent it in and got a key and ran the command to unlock it. I think because it's a newer model - E6 - it's a bit of a weird hinky thing to root it. It can only be done by booting the phone in "Recovery Mode" - I can add all kinda Magisk modules, etc...I can even blow up the phone and reinstall it.
But I can see that the Network is still Consumer Cellular. I'm really getting confused about all of this, lots of terminology without explainations, etc...so in order to teach myself effectively I'm looking at schematics of phones and building my own diagram - sorta like the OSI model for a PC - showing where the bootloader resides, the os/recovery resides, and so on, right? After seeing the Consumer Cellular is still the provider - I searched again and found a page that says I need an unlock code - and as you also said - I've run into this advice a few times - that the owner must fulfill the prerequisite contract time. I had tried arguing with Verizon that I already spent more than 50.00 by being their customer for 4 years and letting them charge me for an entire year for international service despite me telling them to turn it off 4 or 5 times (no sympathy from them...)
I'm extremely confused - where is the "code" that locks the sim to a carrier? Obviously, its not in the bootloader. Clearly, it's not part of the rooting process - which I understand is just granting permission to root directories. Is this code the same code that locks out a pre-paid from a regular sim? I'm guessing whatever it is - it's not part of recovery.img at least.
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I know what you mean by the code and my best answer would be that the carriers themselves have it. It is not common place for the sim unlock codes to be public because if that was the case, no one would or could be locked into a contract and the carrier companies would lose big time money. There are services to unlock sims but as i mentioned before, I've never tried them. so i cannot say if it is a safe or good idea. I have switched carriers using other ROM's besides stock and using other cdma sims in my phone but i was switching carriers. I had to edit my access point names manually for it to work and root was also needed.
Sent from my Moto G6 Play using XDA Labs

Sands207 said:
I know what you mean by the code and my best answer would be that the carriers themselves have it. It is not common place for the sim unlock codes to be public because if that was the case, no one would or could be locked into a contract and the carrier companies would lose big time money. There are services to unlock sims but as i mentioned before, I've never tried them. so i cannot say if it is a safe or good idea. I have switched carriers using other ROM's besides stock and using other cdma sims in my phone but i was switching carriers. I had to edit my access point names manually for it to work and root was also needed.
Sent from my Moto G6 Play using XDA Labs
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Well, clearly the code is not in the SIM card itself. I had good luck with AT&T prepaid. I think I found a page that indicates I can just call Consumer Cellular for my E6 and hopefully they won't force me into a contract fulfillment requirement first. For the G6, it's Verizon...and I'm thinking I gave up too soon. Verizon owes me a big favor because they kept charging me for International Calls. Granted I didn't call every month and yell at them but it took them a year to take it off my bill - I only checked once every 2 or 3 months. My bill was never the same regardless because of the constant adding and changing - so I missed it (and would forget to check).
That makes sense that the pre-paid "lock" is not public and not located in easy to search spot in the phone. I'm just trying to puzzle out the system. Is it something that would be found in the BootLoader? Unlocking the Bootloader is the first step - so you'd think it might be there. Probably not - because Bootloader's job is to load the boot the operating system. Is the Bootloader and OS on the same chip but with partitions? Or do they have separate chips? I've been studying the innards of an android phone - the various chips and there functions - it looks like two possible chips; either the ROM IC which I believe contains the bootloader and I know contains the OS (or just the kernel?) or the Flash IC which should contain "Software" and IMEI Number of the mobile phone. The others are for functions such as sound, network, tx/rx, power, CPU, etc. So? Is there a separate module (chip/ROM) in the phone specifically for the SIM slot - that the OS accesses at some point in loading? I just have a burning curiosity on where it would be stored. Don't worry, I have no real developer skills and no time to "hack" out the issue I'm having anyway. I just learn better when I understand how all the puzzle pieces fit together - I'm puzzled by this aspect of pre-paids - it must be an entirely separate module (software or firmware) that has been added to the basic OS - but where?.....

It's a matter of terminology.
SIM Lock / Carrier Lock - this determines if you can use different SIMs from other carriers. The setting could be stored in nvram or baseband image. Verizon phones usually automatically sim/carrier unlock after 24 hours on their network.
Bootloader lock/unlock - this allows modification of the partitions/software. Generally, if your bootloader is locked, you can only flash "signed" images. If you brick your phone, you can generally reflash stock roms to fix.
Most phones direct from carriers (Verizon, ATT and TMobile) don't allow bootloader unlock, especially the good deals.
MVNOs like Tracfone(and their subsidies Simple Mobile, Straight Talk, Net10) will sim/carrier unlock after 6 months to a year of paid service. They generally don't officially support bootloader unlock, that's usually through a hack.

impy2101 said:
Well, clearly the code is not in the SIM card itself. I had good luck with AT&T prepaid. I think I found a page that indicates I can just call Consumer Cellular for my E6 and hopefully they won't force me into a contract fulfillment requirement first. For the G6, it's Verizon...and I'm thinking I gave up too soon. Verizon owes me a big favor because they kept charging me for International Calls. Granted I didn't call every month and yell at them but it took them a year to take it off my bill - I only checked once every 2 or 3 months. My bill was never the same regardless because of the constant adding and changing - so I missed it (and would forget to check).
That makes sense that the pre-paid "lock" is not public and not located in easy to search spot in the phone. I'm just trying to puzzle out the system. Is it something that would be found in the BootLoader? Unlocking the Bootloader is the first step - so you'd think it might be there. Probably not - because Bootloader's job is to load the boot the operating system. Is the Bootloader and OS on the same chip but with partitions? Or do they have separate chips? I've been studying the innards of an android phone - the various chips and there functions - it looks like two possible chips; either the ROM IC which I believe contains the bootloader and I know contains the OS (or just the kernel?) or the Flash IC which should contain "Software" and IMEI Number of the mobile phone. The others are for functions such as sound, network, tx/rx, power, CPU, etc. So? Is there a separate module (chip/ROM) in the phone specifically for the SIM slot - that the OS accesses at some point in loading? I just have a burning curiosity on where it would be stored. Don't worry, I have no real developer skills and no time to "hack" out the issue I'm having anyway. I just learn better when I understand how all the puzzle pieces fit together - I'm puzzled by this aspect of pre-paids - it must be an entirely separate module (software or firmware) that has been added to the basic OS - but where?.....
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This post maybe helpful to you https://forum.xda-developers.com/chef-central/android/guide-android-rom-development-t2814763

Question Desperately need to carrier unlock my galaxy zfold3 SM-F926U Verizon locked

Even if I have to lose the camera

The camera loss has nothing to do with a service unlock.
You should call Verizon, give them the IMEI number, see if it's clean and the phone is paid off. If so, they can unlock it.
You can go with online services but they aren't cheap and there are few other variables. You can read more in the several posts about others' need to unlock a phone.

dirtybudha said:
The camera loss has nothing to do with a service unlock.
You should call Verizon, give them the IMEI number, see if it's clean and the phone is paid off. If so, they can unlock it.
You can go with online services but they aren't cheap and there are few other variables. You can read more in the several posts about others' need to unlock a phone.
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It's not paid off, and one of the security breach results that happened to my phone left Verizon with the opinion that the symptoms on the phone were deliberate, and that I added a second phone line. So, they think that I added services that cost money and now I just don't want to pay for them. Which is not the case. So, if I don't pay them a substantial amount of money, they will suspend my service. I am definitely not paying for something that I didn't do or legitimately don't owe to them, or anyone else. Do you know if using the same method that is used to easily hack into any android could be modified to alter the source code that locks the device to a carrier? I don't mean specifically, better said, has anyone tried using Kali Linux , with metasploit/ Wireshark to get into an android and establish permissions, then try change the source code related to carrier locking?

Tech4fast said:
It's not paid off, and one of the security breach results that happened to my phone left Verizon with the opinion that the symptoms on the phone were deliberate, and that I added a second phone line. So, they think that I added services that cost money and now I just don't want to pay for them. Which is not the case. So, if I don't pay them a substantial amount of money, they will suspend my service. I am definitely not paying for something that I didn't do or legitimately don't owe to them, or anyone else. Do you know if using the same method that is used to easily hack into any android could be modified to alter the source code that locks the device to a carrier? I don't mean specifically, better said, has anyone tried using Kali Linux , with metasploit/ Wireshark to get into an android and establish permissions, then try change the source code related to carrier locking?
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Thank you for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it

No worries, it's not an uncommon issue.
Nothing I'm aware of can be done to unlock it using Odin or anything like that. You might explore the other options, but I know nothing about them. Search the forums here and you'll find a lot that ask about unlocking. There is a discussion in one about services. Might give you a direction to go and check in.

Here's the rub. If it is not paid off and you want to take it to another service, you're going to have a bad time.
If they close your account and you don't pay them money (especially paying off the phone), then they will blacklist the IMEI and NO CARRIER will ever be able to activate it on their network. Blocked IMEI's, there is no way to flash anything or root whatever or unlock anything that will get you to have it active on a service carrier until the originator has it removed from the blacklist.
I think that is going to be your biggest hurdle trying to take it to another provider.

VZW should automatically unlock it after 60 days if you bought it from them. If third party purchase, 60 days after activated.

Unlockboot.com P.S your phone will go straight to collections unless you pay it off the proper way

Most people wouldn't give info on how to unlock it because it's unethical. It's doable but the phone price will go to collections.

Hey, I am exactly in the same boat. I night s Verizon Fold 3 from someone on craigslist, they told me it was fully paid for, later I found out that it was not. Also it was not unlocked after 60 days. I know the phone cannot be used in the US, but I just want to unlock it for international use.

Did you guys found a solution? Same as Mjatta, i got f*cked on eBay, the even post that accepted returns, but got no response, and eBay didn't help either.

If anybody have a solution for this please reply I am also having the same issue and I can't even contact Verizon because I am in Nigeria.
I hope a paid service will be available soon for this to help owners who are not in the USA

banjicom said:
If anybody have a solution for this please reply I am also having the same issue and I can't even contact Verizon because I am in Nigeria.
I hope a paid service will be available soon for this to help owners who are not in the USA
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You're just out of luck. There isn't anything anyone here can do. You will just have to bite the bullet and take the hit on the phone and get another one. It's going to get blacklisted as soon as it's in collections and no carrier's network, that is legitimate, will activate the device.