Develop Bugs

[Q] Unique Problem With SGH-T989 Galaxy S II! Need Expert Advice!

I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S II T989 off of craigslist. It was described as Brand New, and came with box and all original accessories, etc. Still had screen protectors and everything on it, so i assumed i would have no problems. I am using AT&T and wanting to unlock it so that i wouldn't have to switch carriers. I paid a pretty reputable website 25$ for the unlock code, which i received and entered as directed.
I attempted to enter my SIM and i get an invalid SIM message. I called Samsung to figure it out and they had me send them the phone. They received it and inspected it to ensure nothing was wrong. They then tested the IMEI which came back as a black-listed phone, but would not disclose the reason.
So t-mobile will offer me no help what so ever, nor will samsung. I try calling the *#7465625# number to test if the phone is unlocked, but i get an error message stating "The process com.android.phone has stopped unexpectedly" and i have only one option which is force quit. I used the factory reset option a couple times to see if this helped at all, and got nothing.
I only have experience with iphones, so i really know nothing about the android OS. I've heard a lot about "rooting" and such for the unlock but it's like a whole different language for me. If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated. This phone has just been sitting in my drawer for the past month because i have absolutely no idea what to do.

Sounds to me like you may have bought a phone that someone perhaps filled an insurance claim on. I know I had a phone taken once and filed a claim on it and got a new one, eventually got the old one back and when a friend took it in it was taken on the spot. This may or may not be the case.

Yup sounds like someone bought a phone, Reported it lost,Kept the replacement, and sold you the stolen one. The same thing happened to me about a year ago with a HTC G2 from craigslist. You could try rooting (really not as scary as it seems) putting a new ROM then try to unlock again
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

That is what i'm assuming the case is. I've heard of friends and such running into the problem, but never thought i would fall victim to it.
Do you know where i might be able to find a rooting guide for a complete noob like myself? Step by step in depth kind of stuff? Would the fact that the phone is blacklisted cause me to get the error i'm getting whenever i try to test the unlock? Is it possible to unlock the phone for another GSM carrier even though it is blacklisted with t-mobile.

Explore all the options of getting your money back. If no good, you can always try to get someone to chqnge the imei for you, beware tho, its same illegal as changing vin plate on a car. Theoretically noone will help you, but practically, there are plenty shops selling nintendo cardridges with 100 original games in one...
Sent from my ST18i using XDA

You cannot ask on here how to fix this problem. It is against the rules, and illegal. This thread will be closed.. Just saying.
Ebay it with bad efs in the title, sell for parts, will probably get a coupe hundred for it. Don't buy a phone off frauds list unless you meet them at the retail store and have the number ran. At least then if they report it stolen you have some record of the transaction and may be able to get it UN black listed. Crappy situation that is for sure.
Sent from my SGH-T989D using xda premium

As stated, the course of action you were proposing is illegal and therefore discussing it on the forum will not be tolerated.
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[Q] "new" advice on rom/kernel

I just got this a few days ago from the s3. I am familiar with rooting; am installing the toolkit as i type now. I have used cm on my original nexus. But its obviously been awhile. The only real reason i desire to root is for tethering. "The assistant mgr at sprint told me a few things, thats why he would root but your risking battery life, said a few other things but i wasn't paying attention". He also said they can tell w/in 3min if you have ever rooted it and warr is voided. I however have insurance from b buy i think theirs is better. I was under the impression if you do the flash reset with that triangle app it looks as if you never flashed it.
Now with the rom and possibly kernel. I am very happy with the stock rom; so what is the closest thing to it out there at the moment that is maybe better or faster?

Lab rats, sts, digiblurs rom are 3 of the usual mentioned in these type of threads.
Lab rats has a few changes from stock to make it different, but they are all easily set back to stock in the updater.
Just look around at the OPs of various roms and pick what sounds like what you want.
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check out our rom website, http://updater.team-nocturnal.com/labrats/

bocaccio said:
I just got this a few days ago from the s3. I am familiar with rooting; am installing the toolkit as i type now. I have used cm on my original nexus. But its obviously been awhile. The only real reason i desire to root is for tethering. "The assistant mgr at sprint told me a few things, thats why he would root but your risking battery life, said a few other things but i wasn't paying attention". He also said they can tell w/in 3min if you have ever rooted it and warr is voided. I however have insurance from b buy i think theirs is better. I was under the impression if you do the flash reset with that triangle app it looks as if you never flashed it.
Now with the rom and possibly kernel. I am very happy with the stock rom; so what is the closest thing to it out there at the moment that is maybe better or faster?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I got my phone from best buy and they asked about black tie I said hell yes and told the guy I like to play with my phones outside the box he said it would be the perfect plan for me.. Lol.. He also mentioned he had the same protection on his ifail and had recently jailbroken it... Screw Sprint's warranty and their insurance plan.. I have yet to lose a phone (knock on wood) and theft and loss seems to be the only thing not covered.. Hell, on my paperwork it even says no deductible, which I'm sure would change eventually as that's a lot of money, but in my opinion root away and have fun!!! Oh, and don't believe anything sprint tells u like that, they don't know jack!! I called them to switch my evo lte to my oldest boy and in the process they told me I had remove the (nonremovable) battery to reset it... Lmmfao!!
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

[Q] Refurb phone = Battery doesn't drain

I got a refurb S3 through a GeekSquad Black Tie warranty for a cracked screen. Since I had my initial S3 for about a year and LOVED how it worked since day 1, I never rooted it or put any aftermarket ROMs on it. I'd had my phone "just the way I like it" and ran my business on it so I didn't want to have ANY issues. I tried about 20 different ROMs on my Epic4G over the previous 2 years and LOVED the flexibility, so that tells you how much I liked the S3 stock.
When I got my refurb phone, I instantly rooted and put the newest LiquidSmooth on it since I was starting from scratch anyway. After a couple hours, I noticed that my data was TERRIBLE (all I ever got was "1x" unless wifi was connected... and I have a beautiful shiny new 4G tower about 1000 feet from my house) and that my battery would stay frozen at 100% until it would just die. I have since flashed back to Stock (rooted) and the data problem seems to have taken care of itself, but the battery still never drains.
I feel like an absolute idiot for not verifying full functionality of the phone before I flashed it, but is it likely that the phone is bad?
I never "charge" my phone (and never have with this phone). I have 2 identical batteries that I charge on a battery charger that I've been cycling evenly since the day I bought it. Am I missing a key step for calibrating the batteries with the new phone?
Sorry if this is a repeat n00b post, but after about 10 minutes of Googling, I got nothing.
FYI, I tried the Battery Calibration app from the market, but it didn't seem to do anything.
Thanks in advance!

Question go in Q&A not general.
But your saying that you run the phone all day and the battery can die but the phone reads full 100% all the time?
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4

Questions and Help issues go in Q&A and Help section
Thread moved
Thanks
FNM

Ah, I hadn't seen the question, just the fact that it was moved.
Yes! The battery says it's 100% all the time until it dies. It did this with LiquidSmooth and after I went back to stock, Since the phone isn't aware that it's about to die, it just shuts off without going through the chime/vibrate/shutdown process and it can go unnoticed for quite some time if I'm working.
Any ideas?

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Flash it back to stock and take it back.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4

edfunkycold said:
Flash it back to stock and take it back.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I would triangle away it (to get rid of flash counters) then Odin back to stock and take it back.
------------------------
Sprint Galaxy S3
Need Help? PM
Hit the "Thanks" button if I helped!

Is it even possible that it's a hardware issue? The fact that it's a refurb isn't alarming at all? I flashed it back to the stock rom and then tried a different kernel after a couple days (as far as I can tell).
I only say this because it takes a day or 2 to get the phone "just how I like it" and get all my stuff copied back over.
Not being the super-savvy user, where are the stock sprint Odin files? I installed the stock rom (clearly the wrong one) through CWM.
Thanks again.

Exactly why I said flash it back to stock triangle away to 0 and take it back. There's something wrong with the device itself.
here you can flash this and it does it all in one shot returns the stock rom, triangle away and stock recovery. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=31981341 and you do it all from custom recovery.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4

edfunkycold said:
Exactly why I said flash it back to stock triangle away to 0 and take it back. There's something wrong with the device itself.
here you can flash this and it does it all in one shot returns the stock rom, triangle away and stock recovery. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=31981341 and you do it all from custom recovery.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the proper link. Just got the ball rolling on another replacement through Best Buy, but will certainly try this now!

Ive had two refurbs from Best Buy and both of them have rebooted like crazy and done all kinds of other odd things. Im on my second one now.. picked it up last night, its going back today.

Replacement phone modified?

I just got an I there s4 from tmobile because my charger port was loose. The new s4 is on mk2 modem and 4.3 bootloader. If I hit update software in the settings I get 'your phone is modified and cannot get updates' . I haven't even installed a single app yet. Should I return this one too?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

PostMeridianLyf said:
I just got an I there s4 from tmobile because my charger port was loose. The new s4 is on mk2 modem and 4.3 bootloader. If I hit update software in the settings I get 'your phone is modified and cannot get updates' . I haven't even installed a single app yet. Should I return this one too?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a refurbished phone that the factory didn't wipe properly. It had been rooted and the factory just did a full wipe. (Someone got lazy)
If it's on 4.3 it's probably got the Knox bootloader, meaning you can't just Odin it back to stock and make it like nothing happened. You can check this by booting into download mode (power and volume down) and seeing if it says it in the upper left hand corner of the screen.
Personally though, since you just got the phone and it's clearly not been properly refurbished, I'd send it back. Even if you can fix the software issue there is obviously something wrong with it because someone has already sent it back and you know it wasn't properly refurbished. So you might run into another problem later.
I'd tell T Mobile to send you a new one, and make it clear that you're not going to pay the $20 for shipping since they sent you a broken phone.

Skipjacks said:
It's a refurbished phone that the factory didn't wipe properly. It had been rooted and the factory just did a full wipe. (Someone got lazy)
If it's on 4.3 it's probably got the Knox bootloader, meaning you can't just Odin it back to stock and make it like nothing happened. You can check this by booting into download mode (power and volume down) and seeing if it says it in the upper left hand corner of the screen.
Personally though, since you just got the phone and it's clearly not been properly refurbished, I'd send it back. Even if you can fix the software issue there is obviously something wrong with it because someone has already sent it back and you know it wasn't properly refurbished. So you might run into another problem later.
I'd tell T Mobile to send you a new one, and make it clear that you're not going to pay the $20 for shipping since they sent you a broken phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man, took your advice and they are sending another free of charge. I never knew they sent refurb phones back if your new one breaks. Always thought they sent brand new phones. I guess that's why they only send the phone with no battery or back cover.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

PostMeridianLyf said:
Thanks man, took your advice and they are sending another free of charge. I never knew they sent refurb phones back if your new one breaks. Always thought they sent brand new phones. I guess that's why they only send the phone with no battery or back cover.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. And you're going to get another refurb too to replace that last one.
The easy was to tell is the label under the battery. If it's a new phone the label looks like this...
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If it's a refurbished phone the label is different. It's a little thinner as I recall. (Sorry, I couldnt' find a picture of one.)
The refurb facility is not the manufacturing plant so they have slightly different stickers.
Usually the refurbs are fine. I wouldn't worry about getting the next one. I had a refurbed S4 for a while and it was better than the new one I had originally. (It didn't survive being dropped onto the granite sink in my bathroom, then subsequently the tile floor. But it was better before that!)
You just got a bad one from a lazy worker at the refurb place who didn't do a thorough job. As soon as you get the new one though test it thoroughly. Make sure every system works. Bluetooth, GPS, LTE, GSM, every spot on teh touchscreen, etc etc etc

Do I need to unroot to trade my phone it?

I have that jump program and feel like getting the GS5. I got this GS4 about 6 or so months ago and if I remember correctly (which I don't) I used odin to root it.. Had it rooted for a couple months then decided to put a rom on which was Wicked 5.0 or something. About 2 months ago I put wicked 9.1 on.
I'm pretty sure I saved a recovery before even putting the first wicked rom on, but WTF is up with the way it saves the files, maybe someone can help with this image, but what is the oldest date of these recoveries ?
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If I was to go back to just the stock recovery but still rooted, would a t-mobile rep know this? and if they did would it be a problem?
If I did get back to the stock recovery, could I unroot it? I remember buying a triangle app or something ,that reset the flash counter on this phone? does that ring any bells? lol
Thanks

What version are you running and did you acquire KNOX at any time?
Sent from my Nokia 3310 using morse code. ¤Insane KitKat¤

Kriptik210 said:
What version are you running and did you acquire KNOX at any time?
Sent from my Nokia 3310 using morse code. ¤Insane KitKat¤
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's 4.3. And I dont know what knox is.
thanks for the reply

You could Odin the stock image. That's all I usually do.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Android_Monsters said:
You could Odin the stock image. That's all I usually do.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im going to follow these instructions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2336392
thanks

Yes, you need to unroot if you want to trade your phone and also make sure you didn't trip Knox.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2

You dont know what KNOX is? You lucky bastard, you....
Sent from my Nokia 3310 using morse code. ¤Insane KitKat¤

Look at the jump contract. I looked at it briefly when I signed up for it. If i remember correctly there are 3 conditions to exchange your phone.
1. no water damage
2. screen isn't cracked
3. it turns on
I didn't see any sort of refusal of service if the phone is rooted.

gregorina said:
Look at the jump contract. I looked at it briefly when I signed up for it. If i remember correctly there are 3 conditions to exchange your phone.
1. no water damage
2. screen isn't cracked
3. it turns on
I didn't see any sort of refusal of service if the phone is rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The guy told me yesterday that it can't be rooted, he said "we will check" all night last night till like 4am, I was reading and working on getting the GS4 into shape and ready to go.. I followed those directions above that I posted the link for and it worked awesome..
I go and trade my phone in today the guy just made sure it went to the setup screen after you factory reset it.. That was it, lol.
Now its on the GS5 this thing is a beast so far, I love that I can wash it I dropped it into my pool (3 feet deep) for a minute or so and it held up just fine! put it under running water same thing, no water inside the battery compartment! Sure its not worlds better than the GS4, but I don't think I'm gonna rom this one, I will root it eventually because I tether about 15+ gigs a month Well, later all, hope to see you follow me over to the GS5 forums one day.. or maybe wait until the GS6?

To anyone's knowledge, has anyone ever been refused a JUMP upgrade due to a tripped KNOX counter?

andymetoo28 said:
To anyone's knowledge, has anyone ever been refused a JUMP upgrade due to a tripped KNOX counter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's hard to prove a negative...but I read this board daily. I read every topic regarding trade in adns warrenties.
I have never seen anyone talk about being denied a trade in on XDA due to KNOX.

they don't check
The clerk handling returns/exchange is instructed to check just 2 points:
The phone powers up
The IMEI/ESN is the same as what you claim, they check behind the battery, they don't even check to confirm the software IMEI matches the sticker,

Skipjacks said:
It's hard to prove a negative...but I read this board daily. I read every topic regarding trade in adns warrenties.
I have never seen anyone talk about being denied a trade in on XDA due to KNOX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I can tell it's a "no" for now. Anyone aware is this is going to persist or are we still on a "not right now but but they could start checking for KNOX any day now" status?
I have a GS4 and I don't think I'll upgrade until winter at the earliest... But I REALLY REALLY want to root my phone.

What version of android are you using? If you were on 4.3 or lower you could do something like this:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GiZ7D2zjJdA
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app