carrier unlocking AT&T from KitKat - AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note II

Haaa, AT&T! So my AT&T Note II has been off contract since I got the Nexus 6 back in November on launch day (perfect timing, eh?) Anyhow, since it was off contract, I asked the death star for the unlock code through their web page specifically for that, and they gave it to me. In the instructions included with the code, they gave a very terse warning that after five tries it would be permanently locked to AT&T. Why? Pretty crappy if you ask me. Further, what they didn't tell me was that if the phone is on KitKat, the unlock code won't work unless you do some very specific things in some hidden menus. So I burned up my five tries and failed. Then I found the page that listed the specific steps, did them, and voila... unlocked. Tried and tested using the Tmobile sim from my wife's iphone 6. Freaking AT&T.
Rant alert:
I commonly switch my old grandfathered AT&T unlimited iphone data sim back and forth between old phones just for fun. But come to find out, if I put the same sim into my cellular 2014 ipad air, it will not work. But if i put my wife's Tmobile sim into my 2014 ipad air, it works great. AT&T blocking tablet data with a phone sim. Tmobile doesn't. Freaking AT&T. They suck. If I didn't have the grandfathered unlimited data plan from back in 2007, i'd dump them like a bucket of pig slop.

pcrussell50 said:
Haaa, AT&T! So my AT&T Note II has been off contract since I got the Nexus 6 back in November on launch day (perfect timing, eh?) Anyhow, since it was off contract, I asked the death star for the unlock code through their web page specifically for that, and they gave it to me. In the instructions included with the code, they gave a very terse warning that after five tries it would be permanently locked to AT&T. Why? Pretty crappy if you ask me. Further, what they didn't tell me was that if the phone is on KitKat, the unlock code won't work unless you do some very specific things in some hidden menus. So I burned up my five tries and failed. Then I found the page that listed the specific steps, did them, and voila... unlocked. Tried and tested using the Tmobile sim from my wife's iphone 6. Freaking AT&T.
Rant alert:
I commonly switch my old grandfathered AT&T unlimited iphone data sim back and forth between old phones just for fun. But come to find out, if I put the same sim into my cellular 2014 ipad air, it will not work. But if i put my wife's Tmobile sim into my 2014 ipad air, it works great. AT&T blocking tablet data with a phone sim. Tmobile doesn't. Freaking AT&T. They suck. If I didn't have the grandfathered unlimited data plan from back in 2007, i'd dump them like a bucket of pig slop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so what are you trying to do, carrier unlock your note 2 which is currently on kitkat, to use any sim?
unfortunetly, the only way you can do this is to flash, using odin and in download mode, the stock 4.1.1 rom of your carrier (or any which has 4.1.1) from here and then doing the following steps from here.
Only thing is, that it will cause you to trip the counter.... and doesn't seem to want to go back to 0 (due to some hardware thingy)... but since you're already out of warranty, shouldn't really matter.
Anyways, once you have completed that, and tested with a different sim and confirmed it working, you can then go ahead and flash back the kitkat rom (4.4.2) of your carrier (or any other you want) using odin again and that's it. your phone will be back to its official state minus the knox warranty counter still at 1.
edit: Unfortunately.... the speed of the downloads of the images SUCK for the rom images... stupid hosting site.... anyways i had to leave it overnight... which i'd recommend you doing if you cant find any other location with those images...

No mate, my note 2, IS carrier unlocked. Att gave me the unlock code after my contract ended. Their instructions for using it were incomplete if you had ungraded to KitKat which I had, but I figured it out and now I have full carrier unlock.
What I have not solved is being able to put my att phone sim into my att iPad and have it work. If I put my wife's T-Mobile phone sim into my iPad, it works fine. So it is att that doesn't let us swap our sim back and forth between phone and tablet. T-Mobile doesn't do this. Not sure if Sprint and Verizon have the same hostile altitude.
I have grandfathered att unlimited data form the original iPhone. But their douchey attitude about swapping the sim between phone and tablet may be enough to drop them altogether if project fi works out for me.
-Peter

Related

[Q] GoPhone... Will a Glide work?

It seems that the Glide is only an AT&T-branded phone. Has anyone used one with GoPhone? Thought about picking up an unlocked one on eBay but I don't want to encounter the same "Invalid SIM card" issue I encounter when I put my GoPhone SIM card into my unlocked AT&T-sourced Skyrocket. Thanks for any info!
I can't say for certain, but I don't see why not. I use my phone with the T-Mobile monthly 4g plan and everything works fine. I do however, only have an EDGE/2g speed data wise due to the frequencies, but the phone was designed for AT&T so that wouldn't be a problem for you.
narume said:
I can't say for certain, but I don't see why not. I use my phone with the T-Mobile monthly 4g plan and everything works fine. I do however, only have an EDGE/2g speed data wise due to the frequencies, but the phone was designed for AT&T so that wouldn't be a problem for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciate the reply, narume. I think that the issue arises from this:
trinikartel said:
Let me know if you ever get that working.
What i THINK is that any phone that comes out of AT&T's clutches are in their system (both imei and with carrier iq) so once it you pop a sim into it and the information is matched to a device in their system they know what can and can't be allowed for the device. With international devices they don't have those IMEIs (which is why they always want the imei from you so they can match it in their system)
Your note is international...they can't "match or track it" so to their system it's just another random dumb phone
Your skyrocket is a known LTE/HSPA+ device to the system so it says no cheap data for you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So...assuming that this reasoning is correct, if AT&T knows that it's their phone they will have blocked its IMEI from being able to access data through GoPhone. And I would need 3G access in order to use it on my MicroCell. Anybody...?
Any at&t phones will work on go phone, and you can use a microcell as well, your phone still uses the 3/4G signal to connect for calls and texts. Also to get data to work for pictures, and mms you just need to call them and they will send you the apns, my nephew in law has an atrix 2 on a microcell with pic messaging working great. They also have a solstice 2 (dump phone) on the microcell, both go phones.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
If you're getting Invalid SIM, you may have a locked SIM card, something AT&T started doing with their prepaid a while back. New prepaid accounts have the SIM locked to the phone it was purchased with for ~3 months, after that I believe you have to either call or visit a store to have the lock removed.
Other than that, there's no reason it shouldn't work, but do remember that AT&T will see it as a smartphone. This means with their new prepaid plans, if you're using the 10 cents a minute plan you'll be unable to use data at all. If you're using one of the flat amounts per month, like the $25 or $50 plans, you'll need to purchase a data package (even though the $50 is SUPPOSED to include unlimited internet, smartphones aren't eligible).
I previously used a Motorola Flipside on AT&T's prepaid, before this change I was using the 10 cents a minute plan, with 1000 texts a month and buying a 500mb data package, then rolling over unused data each month with the 10mb package, and everything worked the same as if I was on postpaid - text, mms, internet, etc.
Thanks all! I'm 1½ months into my prepaid service. I'll check with AT&T after 3 months have passed and see if they can remove the SIM lock.
You might go ahead and call customer service anyway, who knows, you may get lucky. 3 months was what a rep told my friend a year or so ago, but that may have changed or may not have been the rule at all. Alternatively, you can go into a local store and purchase a new sim (or purchase one on ebay) and have them transfer your account over to it, just make sure they give you a regular sim and not a go-phone sim.
I just tested my captivate glide with the sim I was using in my flipside. It seems to read the sim just fine, though obviously I'm not still a prepaid customer so I can't make any real calls with it. I've also used it on a T-Mobile MyTouch 3G that was unlocked, briefly, when I was working on the flipside. Once you have the sim lock removed I expect you'll have no problems using it in any unlocked or AT&T locked phone.
If you use the 50 dollar plan and use the wap.cingular apn it will use data just set that up before you put in your sim, and do call they should unlock it for you, if not tell them you will be going to straight Talk at&t phones work locked on them since it's a part of at&t just ran by walmart.
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda premium
I have two Glides that I activated in June. NEITHER WAS SIM-LOCKED, ever.
Both are the newer 4G SIM, not the older one that says 3G on it. Got em from eBay for about $2.75 each. Both were activated online, about 3 weeks apart.
The first one, I activated with an IMEI of a Glide that broke and was able to use the SIM on a different Glide and other phones, even the Pantech Burst and got 4G. I activated it as 10c plan, then moved it to the $50 unlimited.
The second one was activated with 0000... generic IMEI with the 10c plan, and just like the first one, I was able to use the SIM on any GSM phone I have in the house (and that's quite a few).
APN: wap.cingular - only the name is needed, no userid, etc.

[Q] I Don't Want To Pay for a DATA PLAN!

So check this out.... I am an AT&T user and back when the HTC HD2 came out for T-Mobile I bought it from a friend when they signed up for a new contract. Got an unlock code from Ebay and have been using it for the past 2 years without having to have a data plan, never got added automatically to my plan like i have heard happen to others? And I'm wondering why? Is it possibly cuz its a T-Mobile phone? Or is it cuz I still have an old "Cingular" SIM card? I am curious about this because right now, Wally World has a special sale on the phone at $249, plus a $100 gift card, which will bring the phone down to $150 basically, so a pretty damn good deal for a phone just out on the market. And I'm plan on getting it this week, I was wondering if any of you would be able to tell me if at some point if i was able to get a T-Mobile version of the Samsung Note 2 if i could slip my SIM card into it and then be able to cancel my DATA plan, if i told them i went back to a Motorola Razr or something, which worked when i got my HD2? Or will AT&T be able to see that i have a smartphone? Is it the newer smaller SIM card, that will tell AT&T that I have a smartphone, or will the phone it self be what sends info to the servers or whatever that tells AT&T I have a smartphone? Or do you think this method of getting a T-Mobile phone and using an AT&T SIM card will work and I won't get stuck with a DATA plan? Everywhere I go has Wi-Fi so I have no need for the Data plan it will be going to waste.
The newer phones, including this one, use a micro-SIM.
I think it is because you have a phone that is not sold by AT&T that they can't tell what it is, so you would probably be forced to get a data plan if you get the AT&T Note II. I would think that regardless of the sim card you have it would still report your phone model to the network, but I really don't know anything about that, so hopefully others can chime in.
I have been using an unlocked Xperia Pro on AT&T and they don't seem to have a clue what it is or even that it is a smartphone, so I could probably do whatever I want with the data plan.
If you got the international version of the Note perhaps you would not have to have a data plan.
acey_zero said:
I think it is because you have a phone that is not sold by AT&T that they can't tell what it is, so you would probably be forced to get a data plan if you get the AT&T Note II. I would think that regardless of the sim card you have it would still report your phone model to the network, but I really don't know anything about that, so hopefully others can chime in.
I have been using an unlocked Xperia Pro on AT&T and they don't seem to have a clue what it is or even that it is a smartphone, so I could probably do whatever I want with the data plan.
If you got the international version of the Note perhaps you would not have to have a data plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm wondering if it has something to do with the IMEI? If it isn't listed in there network or something? Maybe I will be alright? I don't know... But back when I got the Tmobile HD2 I went from a Motorola Razr to the HD2 just fine and wasn't automatically enrolled into a data plan, like some others people on at&t were that got the same phone. I don't know how I wasn't, but I'm happy I wasn't and was hoping to find out how to avoid it again. Everywhere I go has Wi-Fi, I don't need to throw away, $15 to $30 extra a month when I'm not even going to use the Data network very often. I have been going just fine with my HD2 with no data plan, just using Wi-Fi.
P1 Wookie said:
The newer phones, including this one, use a micro-SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, I know I'll have to get a new SIM card and that is what kinda worries me, I don't know anything about the SIM cards. I was just curious if my older "Cingular" SIM card is what was helping keep me stay under the radar of them not knowing I have a smartphone, or if its because, the HD2 phone I have is from Tmobile and not in their system, so it can't recognize it? I went from a Razr to the HD2 and it still shows as a Razr in my account. An when I get the Note 2 phone, hopefully from Tmobile sometime, I was hoping I can still get away with not having to add a Data plan if i can find out how to avoid it...
Its all in the IMIE ... I was using a Galaxy Nexus overseas on a dumb phone plan because they didnt have the IMIE in system they couldnt tell it was a smartphone but they have cracked down on it now. Only phone that seem to be making it through the loop hole is overseas ones that are not very popular. If you switch to the AT&T version you will 100% be put on data plan if you choose a note 2 from say Rogers there is a slight chance you could sneak under the radar and not need it but for how long no one really knows.
I've seen people come in with T-Mobile phones or international phones and they don't register as a smartphone with the IMEI. So no data is required with unlocked phones.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
hiii_imkris said:
I've seen people come in with T-Mobile phones or international phones and they don't register as a smartphone with the IMEI. So no data is required with unlocked phones.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you work at an AT&T store or something? Just curious, cuz it kinda sounds like it from the way you worded that reply. I've read on other threads that AT&T does checks or sweeps every now and then, that might detect a smartphone? Have you heard about that before, not sure what they meant by that?

[Q] Where do I even begin...

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

Does VZW allow N975F international variants on their network? [Update: YES!* (YMMV)]

I'm looking to get a Note 10+ phone that can be bootloader unlocked & rooted, but I'm tied to Verizon.
Anyone using either the N976F or N975F on VZW? Any issues or tricks in order to get them to accept something other than the "V" variant that is locked down and may never have root?
Trying to figure out which of these 3 Note 10+ phone variants to go with:
N975F
N976F
N9750/DS
TIA.
UPDATE: Not officially, but it seems possible. Keep reading below for my experience...
I'm on the n9750 on Verizon and it seems to be working well. I just got it so I haven't got to fully test quite yet.
Just for reference, I wanted to post this for others since I wasn't able to find true compatibility details other than VZW's ironfisted "certified" devices (ie the locked SM-N975U):
I recently purchased a Samsung Note 10+ (SM-N975F/DS) international variant online, and was able to get successfully attached to my VZW account. I have a grandfathered unlimited data plan, and was replacing an existing phone on my account.
Here's how it went down:
Initially when I tried to activate and attach the N10+ to my account via VZW website, it told me the phone couldn't be registered on their network.
Took my phone to a local VZW store.
Told the rep I bought a new phone and needed it attached to my account.
He validated my account details (he never asked for the IMEI of my new phone) & grabbed a new sim card, did his thing on the VZW tablet terminal and then popped the sim into my new phone.
At this point, the LTE data worked almost immediately, however the voice calling didn't work. Test calls just failed and quickly exited the phone app saying call failed/ended.
He said wait a couple minutes, sometimes it takes a bit, so we did. I think we also rebooted too. He was checking various things on my phone and the account.
He noticed that the VZW system said my phone couldn't be used on their network, but said there was something he could try...
He took the sim out of my phone and popped it into his already activated VZW phone. After a maybe 30 seconds, he made a test voice call, and it worked (my sim, his phone)
Then we swapped my newly activated sim back into my new phone and after about 30 seconds, I had both LTE data (as before) and now also had voice calling. A quick test call from my phone confirmed and I was good to go!
Obviously, YMMV, but it can be done, you just might need to find a VZW rep that is helpful and willing to go the extra mile to get the international version (SM-N975F/DS) activated onto the Verizon network.

No service after unlocking bootloader and new firmware

So I just want to say Ive been on straight talk for probably 12-15 yrs. I thought I knew all the tricks for getting phones to work on certain networks.
I prefer verizon in my location, it has the best coverage but also verizon sims have always been tricky to use on phones I didnt buy from straight talk. In the past Ive been told by straight talk that my phone wasnt compatible with verizon network but then I would just buy a junk $40 verizon/cdma phone, activate the sim in the cheap phone, and then transfer it over to my owned,unlocked,nicer phone and that would be enough to get calls and text. then set a couple APN settings and you have data and mms.
So.... Ive had a verizon sim in my LG G7ulm for 3 or 4 years now...or since it came out in 2018.
I have an unlocked version I bought outright. I cant remember if straight talk let me register it directly on verizon sim or if I had to do the sim swap trick mentioned above but anyway....3 years at least of zero problems.
My phone been stuck on android 8 and running slow so decided to wipe it and flash android 10 firmware. After doing so I can boot the phone and for 20-30 sec it shows its connected to 4g lte but then drops and i have no service at all. Ive tried all network operators/modes, Ive set APN...reboot, Ive tried 6 or 7 various different firmware revisions and this is the same result....no service.
I even went back to stock oreo 8.0.0 firmware but the problem still persists.
I contacted straight talk via chat which always is a laugh because they cant trouble shoot a rock that wont roll downhill and just tells you the device is not compatible. My daughter has this same phone and it worked fine for years as well but she took her sim out to test a different phone and lost it and when she ordered a new one it wouldnt work and they told her the phone was incompatible even though me and her both had these phones working fine for years and know they work.
So is straigt talk just blacklisting my phone? Did reflashing a new firmware cause the tower to re-verify the device and blacklist it or something? I can still pop this sim in my old phone and it connects perfectly fine and has service.
I just dont get it. My daughter when she ordered a new verizon ST sim and activated it her phone did the same thing and they said it wasnt compatible with verizon which is bullsh## because if you activate the sim on a different device then swap it over it works great.
Why do they care what device it is solong as your paying for service?
I dont know whether I should try a new ST verizon sim, ST t-mobil sim, or ST att sim now.... Att always works on these unlocked phones but service is crap in this area with at&t.
Anyone have similar experience or knowledge about this issue?

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