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Hey guys, I've been a reader of XDA for years now but for the first time in my history here I wasn't able to find a precise answer after spending days scouring every resource available. That said, if my question HAS been answered before, I throw myself to your mercy and beg forgiveness
As some of your are no doubt aware, MetroPCS is now offering a pilot program in select metropolitan areas where they will allow you to bring your own CDMA device to their network. I live in one of the pilot areas for this program (DFW). Depending on which resource I'm reading I gather that the toro either CAN'T be flashed to other carriers or that it can but that doing so is a very intensive process. My question is whether or not this new offering from MetroPCS changes the traditional answer in any way. After doing as much research as I could online I also went to a MetroPCS store and spoke with an associate who told me that all I'd need to do was buy one of their SIM cards ($18) and pay for the first month of service and I'd be good to go. I also had a look at the SIM card they are offering, and it looks identical in dimension to the 4G LTE SIM currently in my GNex. Being naturally suspicious of anything that seems to simple to be true, I held off on taking the plunge until I could pick the collective brain of XDA to be sure. The associate did guarantee that I would have access to calls, text and at least 3G data, no LTE for obvious reasons.
If this will legitimately work I'd be willing to do whatever necessary to make it work with my GNex. With regards to my familiarity and comfort level with the toro, I bought it within the first month it was out and unlocked and rooted it right away. I change my ROM somewhere bordering between frequently and ZOMGCRACKFLASH!!!1 so I'm fairly intimately acquainted with my phone and what to do when things go wrong. ADB, fastboot etc. are well within my comfort level and I'm the kind of guy that if you give me direct instructions on a process I can follow them precisely and not panic if it doesn't work right the first time. Backtrack, evaluate and try again. I'd like to hope that it will be as simple as switching the SIM but part of me knows better and would be willing to go through the process no matter how long or involved it would be.
On a personal note, I'm not doing this just on a whim or out of curiosity. I've been with Verizon for over four years but about four months ago my father was diagnosed with cancer and I've taken leave from my job to live with and care for him full time. Having no major sustainable income I couldn't keep up with my $170/month family plan bill (my fiance has a GNex too ;p). That said, we both love our phones and would love to continue using them as our primary devices for quite a while if it's at all feasible. Any answers or direction would be greatly appreciated.
TL/DR:
MetroPCS: "Here! Magic SIM make stubborn toro work on our network!"
Me: "I smell either a trap or witchcraft..."
Esteemed XDA Guru/technopath: "<ACTUAL ANSWER HERE>"
Thanks for your time
you would need to modify the VIA Chipset firmware to work for metroPCS. there is a thread about this somewhere, just search for VIA chipset, or VIA or something like that in the title.
LTE would not work. period. different frequencies.
In short, metroPCS guy = idiot.
Re:
Zepius said:
you would need to modify the VIA Chipset firmware to work for metroPCS. there is a thread about this somewhere, just search for VIA chipset, or VIA or something like that in the title.
LTE would not work. period. different frequencies.
In short, metroPCS guy = idiot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much! I'll do some research into modding the VIA firmware and go from there. I sense a project for me coming on
So my gf has a Galaxy SIII from sprint, w no sim card. I have an at&t contract with two lines. I called AT&T and they replaced the IMEI for my 2nd line, to the IMEI of her SIII. Well obviously it's not that easy bc the **** don't work lol. I don't even know where to start, and don't bother telling me to "read the forums" bc I did and it's all gibberish to me anyway. Long story short I don't have any sim cards, never did. Not for my two htc one mini's through AT&T nor her SIII. Her SIII is running 4.1.2, which if i read some of the other posts right, it means it's impossible to transfer her phone to AT&T? I guess for starters is it even possible to bring a 4.1.2 SIII onto AT&T service? AT&T already changed the IMEI to her SIII, for whatever that's worth....
And on a side note, the SIII is completely stock from the manufacturer, aside from having the most current updates (Firmware etc). And I would like to emphasize that I have no access to any kind of "sim" card, nor will I ever. If there is a way to connect a Sprint SIII to the AT&T network, the method absolutely can not involve sim cards, and must be able to be done on a completely updated S3.
The last time I ever messed with the internals of a phone was back when the LG Ally was first released, and I did a one touch root, so I could use Verizons data through a WiFi hotspot, and not have to pay for a hotspot data package. So other than that I have not one pinch of knowledge or experience in this, as I've never had the need for it until now. I can follow instructions, but every single thread I've found on this site is so mind numbingly vague, it may as well read "insurt teh usb, do teh magix stuff, unplugs teh usb, ta-da!" And I'm not trying to start anything, I'm just trying to put into perspective how absolutely lost i am.
I tried the *# code in the dialer, and nothing. (probably bc i have NO sim cards)
I called AT&T and had them change the IMEI on my second line to the Sprint SIII
I read countless novel length threads on here, all of them seemingly useless.
I went to the sprint store to have them unlock it, they refused, naturally.
There is not an AT&T retail location for MANY miles, not like they'd be helpful anyway I assume...
I'm just stuck, all these threads do not apply to me, but I'm sure there's a way... There has to be.
To be able to connect the phone to the AT&T network you have to have a SIM card, without SIM you will never get to connect to the AT&T network. Your best bet would be to check here or craigslist to see if someone might be willing to exchange phones. or to purchase or upgrade to a phone with a SIM card slot, no sim card slot no service with AT&T.
I'm not a dev but I can tell you this.
1. Please do not insult one of the best source for Android development because you refuse to read the stickies and tutorials.
2. I'm sorry but a CDMA only Sprint Galaxy S3 does not have the necessary hardware to use AT&T's network. Though you state there must be a way you are unfortunately wrong in this case.
3. Prepare to get flamed and possibly have this thread closed.
4. You should try a Sprint MVNO or other CDMA based phone company like Boost, Virgin Mobile, etc.
5. I feel sorry if by girlfriend's phone you mean you bought a hot phone off someone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
We're not here to flame, he has a legitimate question and simply needs an answer. Bit1 is right it's a CDMA phone and won't work with AT&T. It's very unfortunate but you won't get it to work. Your best bet now is to resell it as a CDMA phone and purchase the AT&T version.
Well, I guess that solves that, lol. Yeah I did some foot work around the city, talked to several retailers and a couple techs, learned a lot more a lot quicker. So yeah it basically comes down to the radio being in a completely different band/freq wtfe than AT&T uses. (The whole CDMA and the other deal). I mean the IMEI isn't locked, the phone isn't "hot". She's behind $250 on her sprint bill and now has a $300 paperweight, so I was trying to add the phone to my AT&T plan. Anywho, thanks for clearing this up. As far as trying to sell the thing, I saw a kiosk with a used S3 for $280? Is there even a market for S3's? They don't exactly seem like the "in" thing anymore if you catch my drift. My next question would be, if I sold the phone to someone who wanted to use it on the Sprint network, can they use it? More specifically I know they lock IMEI's if they're reported stolen/lost, but would they do it for not making a bill payment? (She hasn't used the thing/had service in over a month now...) My goal really is to figure out what to do with the thing. Best Buy offered $150 for an S3, but I don't know if the IMEI is good or not : / The screen is cracked so i was going to get a $15 one off EBay, fix it, and sell it. My concern is on selling the thing, should I make the $15 investment and chance not being able to sell the thing? I'm broke as all get out, so I'd rather have the 3 packs of cig's than a wasted investment lol.
Anybody need an SIII?
LMAO
I'm looking for a little nudge in the right direction here. I've read many posts about this, but few seem to have any resolution or firm answer.
A friend is asking me to convert his Sprint phone to a different carrier. I noticed in watching videos that this phone has a micro SIM slot if you take it apart. My questions start there.. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I cannot confirm the state of his ESN, but knowing the guy I can only assume he probably owes them a large chunk of change and that is his reason for making the switch.
So can anyone point me towards options for flashing to say Boost/Virgin? Would a bad ESN hinder me from doing this?
I, myself, have AT&T.. would I be able to use AT&T roms on this model of phone or would it be similar to my current Galaxy S4 in that every carrier has different firmware and therefore all the ROMs for AT&T would be useless and cause a brick..
Alternatively, would I be able to find a debranded ROM and edit the APNs to make this functional?
I am pondering the idea of buying the phone myself for very cheap and using it to profit if I can switch it to a different carrier. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Most of the links online lead me to total crap. Thanks!
It's possible for several carriers
It's possible to Flash to Boost(some say Illegal) & it can also be flashed to Selectel,Page Plus or Next G & u may be able to use it on prepaYd not sure. I can check it if u need to see if it will work with them. It's not an easy phone to flash the data settings don't stick so you have to use a NV Item Script. Hope this info helps you
Hello folks, Ive lurked here for a while and gotten great info and am hoping to get some help here. I apologize if some of what Im asking is obvious to you folks but it isnt to me so here I am. I tried HoFo but got no help there.
Ive been using factory unlocked Sony Xperias for a while (Z, ZL, Z Ultra)so never had this issue before, but I have an HTC One M8 coming and unfortunately its ATT branded, though I bought it from a private seller and not ATT themselves. Im also grandfathered into unlimited data for many years now, and with my Sonys can turn on mobile hotspot anytime and use my data with ATT none the wiser. Now Im assuming since I was dumb enough to buy an ATT phone, I will be told to contact ATT once I pop in my SIM and try to turn on mobile hotspot, is this correct? If so, will unlocking the phone resolve this issue? As of now ATT has no idea Ive bought this phone, nor did they ever even recognize my Sonys because they never sold them, but since this is an ATT M8, Im assuming theyll know immediately what Im using, identify my plan and lock me out. Im hoping I can get around that.
I also imagine since its an ATT phone it will have all sorts of abilities locked out and a lot of fluff added in. How can I get the features unlocked? Is there anyway to buy a carrier branded phone and get it to be similar to one that was bought factory unlocked from the beginning and never branded?
Any help and advice would be appreciated and TIA
Ok, if I asked too much stuff there that was obvious to you but not me, can someone just please tell me if unlocking the bootloader will at least unlock the mobile hotspot function for me so I can turn it on?
Well, just unlocked, rooted, s-off and twrpd my first phone. What a b*tch, lol! But I had to learn one of these days. Sadly, still cant get the native or any other mobile hotspot app to work though. I saw a thread about a VZW M8 hack but still cant seem to find anything for this ATT thing. No one even willing to talk to me?
Muti007 said:
Well, just unlocked, rooted, s-off and twrpd my first phone. What a b*tch, lol! But I had to learn one of these days. Sadly, still cant get the native or any other mobile hotspot app to work though. I saw a thread about a VZW M8 hack but still cant seem to find anything for this ATT thing. No one even willing to talk to me?
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You can try wiFi Tether Router. Its in the play market but you have to pay $2.50 for it. Has worked for me. I don't think this app can be dectected by the carriers like ATT because it does't use the native hotspot of the phone.
Youll have to flash a custom rom that has this feature [email protected] and is debloated,xarrier build will block it and tell you to conract them.....
This is not going to help you at all, but I pay the extra $30 per month. I use up to 50GB of data each month tethering, and I want to make sure the my carrier doesn't block me.
So now that I've done my service by telling you to do the right thing, you use to be able to go in using SQLLite and turn off the checker. For VZW it was around line 149 - 160. Can't remember. I would think you could do that for AT&T. Maybe someone knows? Or maybe AT&T doesn't work like that any more, of maybe KK doesn't work like that any more.
I have searched and I found many sites saying I can't bring a Sprint Note 4 to Verizon. What I'm asking here is, if I'm willing to risk bricking the device, is there any way to reimage this thing to take over to Verizon? In theory, could flashing a Verizon ROM to this phone make it work just like a Verizon Note 4? I don't want to brick it if I can avoid it, but I also am willing to risk it if there's a chance it will work.
WrlsFanatic said:
I have searched and I found many sites saying I can't bring a Sprint Note 4 to Verizon. What I'm asking here is, if I'm willing to risk bricking the device, is there any way to reimage this thing to take over to Verizon? In theory, could flashing a Verizon ROM to this phone make it work just like a Verizon Note 4? I don't want to brick it if I can avoid it, but I also am willing to risk it if there's a chance it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can Flash any verizon based rom along with datafix and custom kernel.
For example if you are flashing verizon marshmallow rom Make sure datafix and kernel based on marshmallow.
Its not gonna brick your device or anything just make backup rom &efs first before trying.
In the worst case you will stuck at bootloop ( soft brick ) if that happens just go back to twrp and restore your backup rom.
WrlsFanatic said:
I have searched and I found many sites saying I can't bring a Sprint Note 4 to Verizon. What I'm asking here is, if I'm willing to risk bricking the device, is there any way to reimage this thing to take over to Verizon? In theory, could flashing a Verizon ROM to this phone make it work just like a Verizon Note 4? I don't want to brick it if I can avoid it, but I also am willing to risk it if there's a chance it will work.
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Click to collapse
I know for sure that there's a unified Nougat build for our device that works on all carriers so that would solve your problem if you're an AOSP fan.
That's great! Do you know what that ROM is?
Here you go bud. This rom is great. Currently running it on my N910T
https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-verizon/development/emotionos-t3528639
WrlsFanatic said:
I have searched and I found many sites saying I can't bring a Sprint Note 4 to Verizon. What I'm asking here is, if I'm willing to risk bricking the device, is there any way to reimage this thing to take over to Verizon? In theory, could flashing a Verizon ROM to this phone make it work just like a Verizon Note 4? I don't want to brick it if I can avoid it, but I also am willing to risk it if there's a chance it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sim set up is a bit different.. I was told you can't.. Personally I hate Verizon. I was with them for 18 months, and came back to Sprint.. I love unlimited data, something Verizon does not offer anymore.. What ever issues you have with Sprint ask your self these questions. Are you willing to have to watch your data? $20 per each gig you are over. Are you ok with paying a higher price for service? If you have your phone turned off, just because you missed a payment by mistake. Are you willing to accept a $20 charge per line, to turn your service back on? Sprints service has gotten a lot better in just 18 months I was away, and I will never go to Verizon again or AT&T. Verizon told me they have no more overage charge, I believe that is BS. They claim they just throttle you down a bit, and that all companies do that.. BS again, as Sprint has never throttled me back for using way to much data, and I use a lot.
doubledragon5 said:
Sim set up is a bit different.. I was told you can't.. Personally I hate Verizon. I was with them for 18 months, and came back to Sprint.. I love unlimited data, something Verizon does not offer anymore.. What ever issues you have with Sprint ask your self these questions. Are you willing to have to watch your data? $20 per each gig you are over. Are you ok with paying a higher price for service? If you have your phone turned off, just because you missed a payment by mistake. Are you willing to accept a $20 charge per line, to turn your service back on? Sprints service has gotten a lot better in just 18 months I was away, and I will never go to Verizon again or AT&T. Verizon told me they have no more overage charge, I believe that is BS. They claim they just throttle you down a bit, and that all companies do that.. BS again, as Sprint has never throttled me back for using way to much data, and I use a lot.
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It has nothing to do with preference. Verizon annoys me, frankly, but I get a phone through work and have to use that carrier. I could change my phone though.
It's not looking like I'll be able to switch because of the SIM differences, but I'm going to keep looking. I wish someone had actually done this.
WrlsFanatic said:
I have searched and I found many sites saying I can't bring a Sprint Note 4 to Verizon. What I'm asking here is, if I'm willing to risk bricking the device, is there any way to reimage this thing to take over to Verizon? In theory, could flashing a Verizon ROM to this phone make it work just like a Verizon Note 4? I don't want to brick it if I can avoid it, but I also am willing to risk it if there's a chance it will work.
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Did you ever get a rom to work? I'm in the same position right now and if you did get this working id love to know how you made it work. Thanks for any assistance
undeadking said:
Did you ever get a rom to work? I'm in the same position right now and if you did get this working id love to know how you made it work. Thanks for any assistance
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No, and my daily driver phone broke yesterday, so I REALLY wish I could get it to work.
So rooting the Sprint version and flashing the Verizon modems wont work? And/or downloading source for Sprint version and compile Verizon modems into said ROM?
WrlsFanatic said:
I have searched and I found many sites saying I can't bring a Sprint Note 4 to Verizon. What I'm asking here is, if I'm willing to risk bricking the device, is there any way to reimage this thing to take over to Verizon? In theory, could flashing a Verizon ROM to this phone make it work just like a Verizon Note 4? I don't want to brick it if I can avoid it, but I also am willing to risk it if there's a chance it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lazy_dingo said:
So rooting the Sprint version and flashing the Verizon modems wont work? And/or downloading source for Sprint version and compile Verizon modems into said ROM?
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Click to collapse
Here are the issues you will face with trying to activate a Sprint branded Samsung on Verizon. #1 Verizon won't activate a Sprint branded phone on their network. #2 Sprint N4 has different LTE bands and doesn't have the critical Verizon band 13 and a few others. Verizon and Sprint operate on different frequencies also. For this reason, it can't be used on Verizon and this is most likely the biggest reason Verizon will not activate it on their "BYOD" (bring your own device) policy. If this was possible I would have kept my Sprint N4 when moving back over to Verizon. So put this dream to rest. Not possible. Sorry.