Develop Bugs

SIM Unlock

I know its probably a "no no" to post HOW to SIM unlock this phone but I just want to know if there is a way to unlock it for free without calling t-mobile...i'm NOT asking for a how-to, i'm just asking if this information is out there somewhere...a how-to would be GREAT but totally understandable if it can't be posted...i just don't want to be out there on a wild goose chase trying to unlock this thing without having to pay $38 or calling t-mobile...
i saw an application in another subforum on this site but it says it is for PPC only and this is a smartphone so i don't think that'll work...

There's no free unlocker at the moment. My guess is someone will come up with a way to do it but I wouldn't hold my breath for it. If you are going to be using this phone, I suggest you pony up the cash for it.
You can't call T-Mo if you aren't a subscriber. If you are a subscriber, there's no problem in getting the unlock code, I got it within a week.

monakh, can you please provide more info about getting the unlock code from T-Mo? Did you purchase the phone from T-Mo? It surprises me that they would be willing to do this.

hassan-dash said:
I know its probably a "no no" to post HOW to SIM unlock this phone but I just want to know if there is a way to unlock it for free without calling t-mobile...i'm NOT asking for a how-to, i'm just asking if this information is out there somewhere...a how-to would be GREAT but totally understandable if it can't be posted...i just don't want to be out there on a wild goose chase trying to unlock this thing without having to pay $38 or calling t-mobile...
i saw an application in another subforum on this site but it says it is for PPC only and this is a smartphone so i don't think that'll work...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is wrong with paying $38 to get the phone SIM unlocked as well as CID unlocked (T-Mobile won't CID unlock the phone for you). The phone is useless unless you do it. I did mine through IMEI-CHECK and it took 2 minutes and I was up and running. It was well worth the $38

Dan, I think for most people not having the phone CID-unlocked is not a huge deal so I disagree with you that the phone is 'useless' without it. Very few people go through with the tinkering the way you and I do. Frankly, so far I have not come up against this limitation and I have tweaked the phone to my satisfaction.
Someone mentioned that there's a way to downgrade the bootloader to install (at least) the new HTC test ROM that's been mentioned lately in this forum. I am not sure how true that is but if it is, then CID unlock is unnecessary at the moment. I do agree though, that $38 is a small price to pay to be able to have the freedom to do as you like with your phone. I keep wondering how IMEI-check does it. I have a feeling they have someone working with them over at HTC to make this work. It's not technical ability, it may be something else. They had an unlocker within a day or two of the Dash release. Corporate espionage or internal collusion or technical expertise, I am not sure what it is but somehow I don't think this has anything to do with the technology. We saw similar behavior with the Universal unlock application earlier this year.
maddog, it's a well known/enforced T-Mo policy that if you have been a customer in good standing with them for 90 days and have not made a similar request in that period (this is my 7th year with them), they will handily supply you with an unlock code upon request. For most people it's not a problem but if you are switching to T-Mo just to get a phone then you will obviously have to wait. I have had several phones unlocked through them since Y2K and have never had a problem.

monakh said:
Dan, I think for most people not having the phone CID-unlocked is not a huge deal so I disagree with you that the phone is 'useless' without it. Very few people go through with the tinkering the way you and I do. Frankly, so far I have not come up against this limitation and I have tweaked the phone to my satisfaction.
Someone mentioned that there's a way to downgrade the bootloader to install (at least) the new HTC test ROM that's been mentioned lately in this forum. I am not sure how true that is but if it is, then CID unlock is unnecessary at the moment. I do agree though, that $38 is a small price to pay to be able to have the freedom to do as you like with your phone. I keep wondering how IMEI-check does it. I have a feeling they have someone working with them over at HTC to make this work. It's not technical ability, it may be something else. They had an unlocker within a day or two of the Dash release. Corporate espionage or internal collusion or technical expertise, I am not sure what it is but somehow I don't think this has anything to do with the technology. We saw similar behavior with the Universal unlock application earlier this year.
maddog, it's a well known/enforced T-Mo policy that if you have been a customer in good standing with them for 90 days and have not made a similar request in that period (this is my 7th year with them), they will handily supply you with an unlock code upon request. For most people it's not a problem but if you are switching to T-Mo just to get a phone then you will obviously have to wait. I have had several phones unlocked through them since Y2K and have never had a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are on this forum you are probably interested in changing ROMs and modifying your Excalibur. I'm just dumbfounded that people are willing to buy this phone and then have it just sit there and not work because its not SIM unlocked and they don't want to pay an extra $38 to have it unlocked.
You still need to have your Dash CID unlocked to install the test ROM from HTC.

monakh said:
Someone mentioned that there's a way to downgrade the bootloader to install (at least) the new HTC test ROM that's been mentioned lately in this forum. I am not sure how true that is but if it is, then CID unlock is unnecessary at the moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's right, if you flash the bootloader (SPL-1.11) published here, you will be able to flash any ROM without CID checking, so you don't need to CID-Unlock your device.
monakh said:
I keep wondering how IMEI-check does it. I have a feeling they have someone working with them over at HTC to make this work. It's not technical ability, it may be something else. They had an unlocker within a day or two of the Dash release. Corporate espionage or internal collusion or technical expertise, I am not sure what it is but somehow I don't think this has anything to do with the technology.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They buy preproduction units to start investigation earlier, disassemble them, take all the flash chips out, read them... and I'm sure they kill several devices before they can release an unlocker.
DanITman said:
You still need to have your Dash CID unlocked to install the test ROM from HTC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you just need to flash the RUU_Excalibur_SPL-1.11_UpgradeOnly.exe first, no need to CID-Unlock, really!

Wow, great info, thanks pof.
Dan, I think one year ago you could have said that 'if you are on this forum, you are tinkering with ROMs and the like' but I daresay this is no longer true. Nowadays (thanks to Google and word of mouth), you will see many a newbie coming here looking for free unlockers and hoping for a silver bullet to solve all their problems. Just look at some of the posts in the newer device forums from people who *just* signed up and you will know what I am talking about. I think it would be fair to say that this site is no longer limited to incredibly hard-core geeks the way it was 12-18 months ago which is a lifetime in Internet time. That's probably a good thing and a bad thing. It's good because it drives traffic to this site and keeps them afloat but it's bad in the same a small mom & pop shop grows to the size of a Walmart losing the focus on the individual.
It's just the nature of the beast.

monakh said:
" I keep wondering how IMEI-check does it. I have a feeling they have someone working with them over at HTC to make this work. It's not technical ability, it may be something else. They had an unlocker within a day or two of the Dash release. Corporate espionage or internal collusion or technical expertise, I am not sure what it is but somehow I don't think this has anything to do with the technology. We saw similar behavior with the Universal unlock application earlier this year."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Almost all of your unlocking software is conducted by using an a pattern matching check sum. If you are a programmer of any sorts and understand how a GUID data type is constructed then the concept of unlocking is similar. A GUID is a data type that is a globally or guaranteed unique identifiable value that can be traced down to the exact machine, date and time the value was created. This is done be cause of an algorithm that uses the date time, machine name and computes a value.
SIM Unlock apps do the same thing, it uses the IMEI number as part of it's alogrithm. There have been documents published on how Motorola does it's sequencing for Locking and Unlocking devices. Once you have that pattern it is just a matter of knowing where in the ROM's flash memory the check sum value is stored, with that the IMEI number and the pattern algorithm you should be able to unlock your phone.
Why do you suppose IMEI-CHECK was able to produce an unlocker only two days after the Excaliburs Release?, and not only for the Excalibur, but simular phones from the same manufacture? like the T-Mobile MDA and SDA?

RazrV3 said:
SIM Unlock apps do the same thing, it uses the IMEI number as part of it's alogrithm. There have been documents published on how Motorola does it's sequencing for Locking and Unlocking devices. Once you have that pattern it is just a matter of knowing where in the ROM's flash memory the check sum value is stored, with that the IMEI number and the pattern algorithm you should be able to unlock your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might be true for Motorola, but it's completely different in HTC phones.
HTC phones are NetLocked and SimLocked using vendor specific AT command "[email protected]". The MSL code is a 8 digits string and has nothing to do with the phone's IMEI. If your phone is unlocked you can lock it to any MSL using this [email protected] command through the GSM AT command debugger ('rtask 7' or 'rtask b' bootloader command depending on which HTC device you're using).
imei-check only requests your imei to make sure you don't use their unlocker with other devices, but that's it, it is not used for computing the unlock code nor the radio patch.
Read here if you want understand it more deeply:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=280819&p=1046444

This was a great thread. Thanks pof for re-educating those that need it--not even a "thank you" from them. Especially those in denial of spending or "wasting" $38. I got my FREE unlock code from TMO (took about 5 business days) and have no problems with CID checks for at least the current HTC Excalibur ROM. Hopefully, the same will be case with future ROMs.

pof said:
That's right, if you flash the bootloader (SPL-1.11) published here, you will be able to flash any ROM without CID checking, so you don't need to CID-Unlock your device.
They buy preproduction units to start investigation earlier, disassemble them, take all the flash chips out, read them... and I'm sure they kill several devices before they can release an unlocker.
No, you just need to flash the RUU_Excalibur_SPL-1.11_UpgradeOnly.exe first, no need to CID-Unlock, really!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think so. My Dopod c720w is the Excalibur, as you all know, but I still can't downgrade my bootloader. It says : Invalid Model ID.
And by the way, my dopod is not SIM Locked. I don't know if it is CID Locked or not.
Any one have ideas?

SIM Network Unlock PIN - GSM Galaxy Nexus

Hi Techie folks!
All right, hopefully everyone would excuse any blunders made by a noob but this is my dilemma.
This is my first, and most assuredly not my last, post on this quite interesting platform.
I had recently purchased a device (Google Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 Android Smartphone 16Gb) which was supposedly 'unlocked' from an online store (Expansys USA) out here in the US.
I bought it outright for $409.99
Link: http://www.expansys-usa.com/google-nexus-prime-android-smartphone-unlocked-16gb-224148/
I had received that device without any issues and had been using it for over three weeks.
I have the StraightTalk (USA) GSM SIM on it and like I mentioned, no issues whatsoever was faced during daily day-to-day use.
However, yesterday for the first time, I noticed that the network was not connecting and so I rebooted the phone thinking it was some network error.
Now when I did that I received a message after the boot-up which stated 'SIM Network Unlock Pin' and the options were to enter the PIN or dismiss that.
When I dismissed the message notification, I found out that the network was not available.
But the other features of the phone was not affected, as in navigating through the phone and applications (non-internet based) was without an problems.
Just that the network was not connecting although I observed that I could make emergency calls.
So I tried rebooting it again, by taking out the battery and SIM card as well, the issue still persisted.
So I started to troubleshoot the issue, by inserting in another GSM SIM card into the phone, but found the issue to persisting.
To double-check, I took out my StraightTalk SIM card and put in another phone, the SIM card was working fine! :good:
Just to be on the safe side, I called StraightTalk Customer Support and had asked them for some clarification as to why this SIM Network Unlock PIN was shown.
They suggested that this was the phone issue and needed to be sorted out by the place of purchase/manufacturer.
I even tried entering the SIM card's PUK code but did not reach far in that regard.
On searching the net (which is why I had come here for proper support and answers), I had found quite a lot issues with regard to this problem.
I was under the assumption that this phone was the GSM Unlocked International Version, but after this incident, it so happens that this is not the case.
The solution given online and out here is to root the phone using the Wugfresh method and after rooting, run the device with the application (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1548210) which would take care of this issue.
However, I am not too keen on voiding my warranty on this account, and also the steps are quite complicated with respect to rooting the device.
Yes I am noob! So please don't roll your eyes!
This is the issue, and now to what I would appreciate this forum's assistance.
Being an expensive product, I dont want to buy another one just because of this issue.
I do not know where this phone is purchased from, which means, I have no idea which network provider this is locked to.
I can only provide the IMEI number.
Question 1: Is it possible to find out to which network this phone is locked to?
I have to add that the phone does not have any network branding on it, nor does it show any during the boot-up process.
Question 2: Can the phone be unlocked with online unlocking sites?
Question 3: If so, can someone provide me any good sites that can unlock the device.
Is this site any good? Link: http://www.unlockallcellular.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus-unlock-code-p-196144.html
Like I said, worse case scenario, I would indeed have to root my phone and proceed to install that software which will help me get rid of this issue once and for all.
As you all can see, I'm desperately looking for some solutions/answers and would appreciate it if someone would shed any light to this issue.
PS: I do know that there are threads on this issue, but mine is more or less around finding the invisible network provider that this phone is locked to.
Best Regards,
Reena Johnson

Your device was not factory SIM-unlocked. The vendor probably unlocked it using a code. That said, you should call Expansys and ask them for the code.
Otherwise, you can take a look at the following two threads. The first one is easy, but temporary -- in other words, you will need to do unlock every time you flash a new ROM. The second is permanent, but not as straight-forward to accomplish.
1) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1548210
2) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1606982

Further queries now arise ....
efrant said:
Your device was not factory SIM-unlocked. The vendor probably unlocked it using a code. That said, you should call Expansys and ask them for the code.
Otherwise, you can take a look at the following two threads. The first one is easy, but temporary -- in other words, you will need to do unlock every time you flash a new ROM. The second is permanent, but not as straight-forward to accomplish.
1) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1548210
2) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1606982
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the quick reply.
Wow! You guys are fast!
Much appreciated.
Now I have a query. The option 1 which you have stated, is the one which I have looked at.
Even that requires me to root my phone.
Isn't it so?
Cause the OP in that thread specifically mentions the need to root the phone.
I have asked Expansys USA for that code, and since Saturday/Sunday is off for them, I am hoping to get a reply from them on Monday.
Like I said, my main concern is that I would like this process to be hassle free.
You guys (no-offence intended for the male demographic) are quite capable of rooting the phone.
Unfortunately, I wish not to choose that route, unless no options are left available at my disposal.
Which is why I am bending towards the easy unlocking method.
So my next question really is since its (read: the phone) not a factory SIM-unlockedissue, can I find the original network provider to which this phone was locked to?
As in, is there any where on this device which can tell me that information?
Once again, I sincerely thank you for your support and assistance in my life a lot easier! :victory:
Regards,
Reena J

djjohnson said:
Thanks a lot for the quick reply.
Wow! You guys are fast!
Much appreciated.
Now I have a query. The option 1 which you have stated, is the one which I have looked at.
Even that requires me to root my phone.
Isn't it so?
Cause the OP in that thread specifically mentions the need to root the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you are right it does require root. (I didn't realize that it was the link you had looked at and mentioned in your post.)
djjohnson said:
I have asked Expansys USA for that code, and since Saturday/Sunday is off for them, I am hoping to get a reply from them on Monday.
Like I said, my main concern is that I would like this process to be hassle free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably best to wait until Monday then, as that would certainly be the most hassle-free option.
djjohnson said:
You guys (no-offence intended for the male demographic) are quite capable of rooting the phone.
Unfortunately, I wish not to choose that route, unless no options are left available at my disposal.
Which is why I am bending towards the easy unlocking method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe it or not, "rooting" a Nexus device is extremely easy, and should not take more than 5 minutes. The part the takes the most time is to make sure the drivers are set up properly on your PC... Once that is done, no more than a few minutes is all it takes.
djjohnson said:
So my next question really is since its (read: the phone) not a factory SIM-unlockedissue, can I find the original network provider to which this phone was locked to?
As in, is there any where on this device which can tell me that information?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, there is a way, although I believe you need root, although I could be wrong here. You need to post this file from your device: /factory/mps_code.dat and someone will be able to tell you. Or you can look in that file and compare the code in there to this list.
---------- Post added at 11:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:18 PM ----------
djjohnson said:
[snip]
Question 2: Can the phone be unlocked with online unlocking sites?
Question 3: If so, can someone provide me any good sites that can unlock the device.
Is this site any good? Link: http://www.unlockallcellular.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus-unlock-code-p-196144.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And yeah, you should be able to get it unlocked by one of those site, even the one you mentioned. But I can't vouch for it, nor can I recommend any site, as I have never used any.

Hey djjohnson
I've got the exact same problem, but bought my phone from a different seller.
Did you manage to get any information (or PIN) from expansys??

Thymine said:
Hey djjohnson
I've got the exact same problem, but bought my phone from a different seller.
Did you manage to get any information (or PIN) from expansys??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like OP disappeared after getting his issue solved. Expansys has great customer service and would have exchanged the phone with no problems. Which retailer did you get it from? There are unlocking sites out there but you have to know which network its locked to. Or root it and try the methods listed in this thread. GL

Cheers mate,
I bought mine from an ebay seller and have already sent them a message asking for either the PIN or the name of the original service provider.
If that falls through, I'll have no other option but to root....or just be the first of my friends to not have a phone number and live exclusively on the internet...
I'll probably root.

A delayed update ...
Techies folks!
This is just to update you guys on this issue and if in future any one else faces such similar issue just do this and get back your peace of mind.
First you need to root your phone as mentioned by Efrant and it is indeed a simple process once you have set up the required drivers.
Once again thanks a lot Efrant for your support and time in helping me out with this.
:good:
First you need to root your phone, period.
I tried all methods before diving into this method.
Rooting isn't complicated and all it takes is patience and the exact details to get this done.
What I am about to suggest is to be taken at the reader's risk and I am not responsible for any damage done to your phone.
That being said, I highly doubt that anything will go wrong unless you arent used to following instructions!
My Nexus was magically locked to an invisible network and you guys can find that out by going into fastboot mode.
What that means is to turn your device off and then press the buttons together (volume Up + volume Down + Power), you will get that info under the "baseband version" and "carrier info".
I could not resort to the online unlocking sites because ALL of them require the original network to unlock the phone.
I suggest that you root the phone and it is quite simple not taking you longer than 10-20 minutes.
1) First you will need to install the drivers onto your phone from your computer which you will need during the rooting process.
You can get that from here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20058157&postcount=1
It is called the Universal Naked Driver 0.7.
The download instructions are given in this link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=29044502&postcount=735
The OP was quite comprehensive in providing the exact details in what needed to be done. So once you have installed the necessary drivers proceed to the next step.
2) Download Wugfresh Toolkit which is the main tool needed to root your phone.
First you will need to unlock your phone and then root it.
The beauty of this software is that everything is on it. Just click on the Unlock button first and then you just have to sit back and wait for the magic to happen.
The instructions on the screen will tell you what its doing.
I would suggest reading through the entire process before going through with this.
http://www.wugfresh.com/dev/nexus-root-toolkit/
Extra material on this http://wugfresh.com/Help/
3) Once you have rooted your phone, the hardest bit is over. Then all you need to do is install this application on your device. And run it.
Simple.
You have yourself an unlocked phone!! :victory:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1548210
There will be questions as to if this will work in CDMA or GSM versions.
I got mine from Expansys and it was supposed to be an unlocked GSM model.
I hope that will help as it did with mine.
Actually I got my bf to do this for me as it is a tad bit complicated and it was a birthday gift from him.
mendezj666 said:
It looks like OP disappeared after getting his issue solved. Expansys has great customer service and would have exchanged the phone with no problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow!
I seriously didn't realize that I had a personal assistant or the CIA to track my moves!
I apologize if my bf didnt get back to you guys on this issue. I, on the other hand, have work which consumes 12hrs of my day.
So I really do not have the time to post a reply.
But hey! a simple 'I dont know where SHE is, but here's what I can do to help you out' would have sufficed.
I'm just saying. No offense intended mate.
By the way, I'm a girl, and in my opinion Expansys came highly recommended to me by all my co-workers.
But I had the most horrible customer support ever!
My personal opinion would be to NOT buy from there!
Get from Negri's or some place better.
God knows how many times I had tried calling them. Even tried sending them tons of emails and not even one peek into my issue.
Goes to show how "great" of a customer service they have!
Thymine said:
Hey djjohnson
I've got the exact same problem, but bought my phone from a different seller.
Did you manage to get any information (or PIN) from expansys??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope my post will help you also to resolve your issue.
Best way is to root your phone. But like I said earlier, do read everything, and download the drivers and the Wugfresh Toolkit before proceeding.
All the best.
Soon you'll be like me enjoying what can only be said as a beauty of a device.
A big thanks to Efrant for helping a gal out!
Cheers!
Regards,
Reena J

[Q] Same problem, solved, but now how can I network lock it again...
Hi All,
In short, same problem here, I used another unlock code(bought it) and now i want to network lock it again? How can I lock it?
I had very same problem of this thread, I bought phone as factory unlocked but was code unlocked(Vodafone Spain), later after updating to 4.0.4 and then to 4.1.1, it asked for the code again.
I raged with the problem and I rushed to buy a unlock code (8$), a bit shady, but it works fine.
Now I want to confront the shop who sold the phone lying about its lock state, and it would be convincing if i can send them the phone network locked as it was.
How can I network lock the phone again?
I have tryed inputing the code *7465625*638*# or *7465625# and similar combinations with no lock, I don't get a popup asking me for the carrier data to lock it.
I also tryed to downgrade the phone to 4.0.4, with no result and later to 4.1.1 and the same it is not asking for the unlock code...
Just an obvious clarification, I am talking about carrier network locking, not lock/unlock the bootloader.
Thanxs a lot in advance
djjohnson said:
Techies folks!
This is just to update you guys on this issue and if in future any one else faces such similar issue just do this and get back your peace of mind.
First you need to root your phone as mentioned by Efrant and it is indeed a simple process once you have set up the required drivers.
Once again thanks a lot Efrant for your support and time in helping me out with this.
:good:
First you need to root your phone, period.
I tried all methods before diving into this method.
Rooting isn't complicated and all it takes is patience and the exact details to get this done.
What I am about to suggest is to be taken at the reader's risk and I am not responsible for any damage done to your phone.
That being said, I highly doubt that anything will go wrong unless you arent used to following instructions!
My Nexus was magically locked to an invisible network and you guys can find that out by going into fastboot mode.
What that means is to turn your device off and then press the buttons together (volume Up + volume Down + Power), you will get that info under the "baseband version" and "carrier info".
I could not resort to the online unlocking sites because ALL of them require the original network to unlock the phone.
I suggest that you root the phone and it is quite simple not taking you longer than 10-20 minutes.
1) First you will need to install the drivers onto your phone from your computer which you will need during the rooting process.
You can get that from here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20058157&postcount=1
It is called the Universal Naked Driver 0.7.
The download instructions are given in this link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=29044502&postcount=735
The OP was quite comprehensive in providing the exact details in what needed to be done. So once you have installed the necessary drivers proceed to the next step.
2) Download Wugfresh Toolkit which is the main tool needed to root your phone.
First you will need to unlock your phone and then root it.
The beauty of this software is that everything is on it. Just click on the Unlock button first and then you just have to sit back and wait for the magic to happen.
The instructions on the screen will tell you what its doing.
I would suggest reading through the entire process before going through with this.
http://www.wugfresh.com/dev/nexus-root-toolkit/
Extra material on this http://wugfresh.com/Help/
3) Once you have rooted your phone, the hardest bit is over. Then all you need to do is install this application on your device. And run it.
Simple.
You have yourself an unlocked phone!! :victory:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1548210
There will be questions as to if this will work in CDMA or GSM versions.
I got mine from Expansys and it was supposed to be an unlocked GSM model.
I hope that will help as it did with mine.
Actually I got my bf to do this for me as it is a tad bit complicated and it was a birthday gift from him.
Wow!
I seriously didn't realize that I had a personal assistant or the CIA to track my moves!
I apologize if my bf didnt get back to you guys on this issue. I, on the other hand, have work which consumes 12hrs of my day.
So I really do not have the time to post a reply.
But hey! a simple 'I dont know where SHE is, but here's what I can do to help you out' would have sufficed.
I'm just saying. No offense intended mate.
By the way, I'm a girl, and in my opinion Expansys came highly recommended to me by all my co-workers.
But I had the most horrible customer support ever!
My personal opinion would be to NOT buy from there!
Get from Negri's or some place better.
God knows how many times I had tried calling them. Even tried sending them tons of emails and not even one peek into my issue.
Goes to show how "great" of a customer service they have!
I hope my post will help you also to resolve your issue.
Best way is to root your phone. But like I said earlier, do read everything, and download the drivers and the Wugfresh Toolkit before proceeding.
All the best.
Soon you'll be like me enjoying what can only be said as a beauty of a device.
A big thanks to Efrant for helping a gal out!
Cheers!
Regards,
Reena J
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Google is selling these phones for $350 ? Why would you pay more and not get it from the source, just curious. Not trying to be argumentative.

jawmail said:
Google is selling these phones for $350 ? Why would you pay more and not get it from the source, just curious. Not trying to be argumentative.
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Maybe they're not in the US or purchased them more than 2-3 months ago.

The point is that google does not sell them worldwide, they don't sell them in my country (Spain), or at least not 3 months ago when I bought mine. And if they would sell them it would be more like 400€ minimum (equivalent to 500$ moreless)
But lets not lose the focus, of the question, any idea of how to network lock the phone again?
jawmail said:
Google is selling these phones for $350 ? Why would you pay more and not get it from the source, just curious. Not trying to be argumentative.
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I had let my nexus update to 4.1.1 before realising I had a sim unlock problem here, the guide above was spot on, if you are on 4.0.4. I just couldnt get the last bit done on JellyBean, so went back to google image 4.0.4 and it work flawlessly
Phone updated to JB an hour ago, and its still working sweet

[Q] Update to 4.4 KitKat Yes or No?

I had an i747M Galaxy S3 that I bought as an i747.
Had to send ot back, as thanks to DocHoliday77, I realized my network connectivity issues on AT&T in the US were because it was a Canadian version phone. Confirmed by AT&T as well.
I sent it back, got refunded, and now have a US version AT&T i747 running JB 4.1.1.
I keep getting prompted to update the software. (Firmware) According to AT&T TS, it would be an update to 4.4 KitKat.
My only option to avoid the update seems to be to root the phone. I really have no need to root the phone, but I don't know if I want the update.
I bought the phone outright, so it is mine. I do realize that rooting voids the warranty.
QUESTION 1: If I do root with the root injected firmware that does not trip the counter, will that prevent future OTA updates?
QUESTION 2: Is KitKat an improvement? Should I just let it do it?
I have gone to app mgr to try to force stop/ disable the "AT&T updater", but it is greyed out, so I can't disable it.
Thanks for any input!

I want to say there's a way to stop it w/o root, but I honestly can't remember!
I did want to suggest that while still on 4.1.1, take advantage and use the free Sim unlock method posted in General. That way if you ever sell it you can offer it to many more people than if it's locked.
Or if you ever need to use it on another network, you can.
As for kk, I can't do a full update unfortunately, but judging from the roms I've ported for the T999, I think it's great! There are plenty of people that will both agree and disagree though.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

I was only able to postpone it by doing a factory reset. No big deal as I do not have much stuff on the phone yet. It was going to do the update whether I wanted it or not, as I had postponed it a maximum of 3 times.
It's party the principle of the matter. I should not be forced to install a new version, but also I like this version fine, and AT&T has admitted problems with KitKat and the S4 (or maybe it was the S5?), and I don't want to run into any issues on mine. I own the phone outright, so I should be able to do what I want with it.
I still have 11 days to take it back to Best Buy and return it for full refund, so I guess I could let it update, and if I don't like it, I can return it, get another that has 4.1.1 on it, and root it.
I'll head over to general right now and do the free sim unlock.
Once again, thanks for your reply and insight Doc!

Evidently the update had already downloaded when I had the phone on wi-fi when I first got it. The install postponements were only allowed 3 times once the update was downloaded.
After I did the factory reset, I made sure I had wi-fi turned off.
Now, the check for updates button is the active one, whereas before, the continue update was highlited/active, and the check for updates was greyed out. This was because the update had already downloaded. Factory resetting got rid of it.
According to AT&T, the update can only be done when on wi-fi, so as long as I have my wi-fi turned off, it shouldn't be an issue.
I don't use wi-fi much at all, just my data plan.
This at least gives me some time to figure out a way to disable the updater, or root the phone, or go with the update. I may at some point want to use wi-fi, so I'll need to decide what to do.
Thanks again Doc!

I am using 4.4 and do not have any problems..... My battery life has been signicantly better on KK then JB and my ram sits at around 500mb.....this is my own opinion but I suggest to update after you do the free unlock

I will probably do that. I haven't unlocked the phone yet, as I guess I need another sim, non AT&T, to do the unlock?
Thanks for the info on the KK. I appreciate it!

Actually, no you don't need another sim! That's only if you unlock with a code.
There are unlock threads in all the forums, including this one. But I knew right where this one was so....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2023709
Just follow instructions. Theyre the same for tmobile and att. I just knew exactly where to find the tmobile one.
Quite easy to do!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

[Q] Noob questions about rooting for this phone

1) Is this phone likely to get root soon after release? Just based on LG history or whatever is known about the phone so far.
2) Does being on Verizon usually mean waiting longer or not getting root access at all? If Verizon-rooted phones are rare, please let me know some good alternatives.
Thanks all for putting up with me.

89titanium said:
1) Is this phone likely to get root soon after release? Just based on LG history or whatever is known about the phone so far.
2) Does being on Verizon usually mean waiting longer or not getting root access at all? If Verizon-rooted phones are rare, please let me know some good alternatives.
Thanks all for putting up with me.
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Im sure there will be root. but it will take a while, and i dont see anybody posting on the dev section talking about root. so probobly in afew months, once they read the source of the OS, and figure out how to make root.
Im from big red, and they always lock there bootloaders. so thats alittle more work and codeing which turns into abit more waiting time if you want custom roms. but G4 seems like a pretty popular phone, so im sure root will come eventually

89titanium said:
1) Is this phone likely to get root soon after release? Just based on LG history or whatever is known about the phone so far.
2) Does being on Verizon usually mean waiting longer or not getting root access at all? If Verizon-rooted phones are rare, please let me know some good alternatives.
Thanks all for putting up with me.
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Click to collapse
This phone hasn't been fully released yet. It will def get root. I'd give it a month or so.
I have Verizon and the G3 was unlocked within 3 months. I'm hoping since this is Qualcomm's first hexa-core, there'll be some exploits to gain root/unlock BL faster. Take it from a Sammy guy, WAIT THE FEW MONTHS. Samsung hasn't seen an unlocked BL for Verizon in 2 years.
Sent from my S5 using your mom

yep, probably gonna pull the trigger on the att g4 with their nasty corporate locked BL crap. I'd normally be concerned about root, but in this case I'm not terribly worried, because this phone will have SO much attention in the dev community. now, getting the att BL unlocked to run twrp... that's another story and could be a very long time if at all (just for the att version).

No wifi calling because my phone is from Verizon?

I am having an issue where my phone cannot do Wifi calling, or Samsung Visual Voicemail. So I did some digging and found out that my gf's phone (which I flashed unlocked U1 firmware on) now has the service provider software information (SPS) of AIO/AIO/XAA, even though when I got her phone, it was designated to T-Mobile. However, for MY phone, even though I used the same exact firmware flash, my SPS is VZW/VZW/VZW.
Could this be the cause of my issue? Is there anyway to fix this? I flashed the phone using this firmware: https://samfw.com/firmware/SM-G986U1/XAA/G986U1UES2DUD4
I will provide more info if anyone asks for it, I just don't know what other info to provide as of now.

Here is one thing I know for certain, Verizon's Wifi calling uses an IPSEC tunnel that connects to them when turned on from your phone.
From this we can possibly assume that wifi calling is carrier specific. I am sure voicemail is the same.
So if your phone is technically on one carrier but the firmware thinks it's another, it would be mismatched so to speak.
I know this does not solve your issue but it might explain why those things do not work.

DarkQuark said:
Here is one thing I know for certain, Verizon's Wifi calling uses an IPSEC tunnel that connects to them when turned on from your phone.
From this we can possibly assume that wifi calling is carrier specific. I am sure voicemail is the same.
So if your phone is technically on one carrier but the firmware thinks it's another, it would be mismatched so to speak.
I know this does not solve your issue but it might explain why those things do not work.
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Right, I figured it would be something like that. The problem, at least I think, is that the phone still thinks it's a Verizon phone, even though it has U1 firmware. I tried flashing the firmware again, and putting in the SIM after I factory reset it, and nothing changed. I truly do need to change the SPS. I'm not sure if that's possible, but hopefully someone can shed more light on this problem.

guyguyguy1 said:
Right, I figured it would be something like that. The problem, at least I think, is that the phone still thinks it's a Verizon phone, even though it has U1 firmware. I tried flashing the firmware again, and putting in the SIM after I factory reset it, and nothing changed. I truly do need to change the SPS. I'm not sure if that's possible, but hopefully someone can shed more light on this problem.
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Here is just my 2 cents on it. For years I used to buy unlocked phones specifically so I could put custom firmwares on them. I had 3 reasons for doing so at the time. Get rid of the trash, custom firmwares were often updated more frequently and longer than manufacturer "official", and for root.
As it sits today, root is handy but not required like it used to be. Manufacturers now update their firmware FAR better and there are ways to debloat an official phone.
What I am getting at is this. Dinking with the firmware (IE changing away from official) is not worth it in my opinion today for most folks. Especially if you really depend on your device,, as I do for work.
However with all that said, if I did not depend on mine for work I would customize it anyway because while the processes for doing so are tedious, I find them fun.
Just my take on it. I wish you luck with your issue.

DarkQuark said:
Here is just my 2 cents on it. For years I used to buy unlocked phones specifically so I could put custom firmwares on them. I had 3 reasons for doing so at the time. Get rid of the trash, custom firmwares were often updated more frequently and longer than manufacturer "official", and for root.
As it sits today, root is handy but not required like it used to be. Manufacturers now update their firmware FAR better and there are ways to debloat an official phone.
What I am getting at is this. Dinking with the firmware (IE changing away from official) is not worth it in my opinion today for most folks. Especially if you really depend on your device,, as I do for work.
However with all that said, if I did not depend on mine for work I would customize it anyway because while the processes for doing so are tedious, I find them fun.
Just my take on it. I wish you luck with your issue.
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Thank you! My understanding is that if your phone is protected by Knox, if you root the phone, it would break the chip on the logic board, and it would either brick the phone, or totally disable all protections on the phone, so you would HAVE to do custom firmware and security. Which simply isn't worth it to me. I just think it's annoying that a phone that SHOULD have the built in compatibility, just simply doesn't because the company that commissioned the phone felt like being a ****. Worst case scenario, I just suck it up and deal with it, it's not a huge deal. But, if someone eventually comes along and offers a fix for it, I'll jump on it!