Related
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?
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
After learning that once we flash a rom, we are 100% screwed if we ever need to use our warranty. The only reason I bought the T-Mobile Note 3 was because of the unlocked boot loader, and now I learn that if my device ever breaks, Samsung will not honor it? There has to be a way, or I'm sure others wouldn't be dropping $700 so easily on this device.
What do we do if we develop a genuine issue with this phone after we have flashed roms on it and restored to stock?
Edit: in triangle away my counter reads: 0 and binary: custom
You did read about your options before you bought the phone right? There are other threads where this is/has been discussed. There are options.
krelvinaz said:
You did read about your options before you bought the phone right? There are other threads where this is/has been discussed. There are options.
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Yes, there has been, however, most of those threads are full of useless clutter that doesn't contribute anything. I have searched, and have been a member of these forums for a long time, and know how they work. I don't see any options for those who have already flashed a custom rom and want to maintain their warranties.
MattMJB0188 said:
Yes, there has been, however, most of those threads are full of useless clutter that doesn't contribute anything. I have searched, and have been a member of these forums for a long time, and know how they work. I don't see any options for those who have already flashed a custom rom and want to maintain their warranties.
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If your phone does not power on who can say it has been need with. You have a year with tmobile. Never had an issue with them covering it.
NOTE 3
MattMJB0188 said:
Yes, there has been, however, most of those threads are full of useless clutter that doesn't contribute anything. I have searched, and have been a member of these forums for a long time, and know how they work. I don't see any options for those who have already flashed a custom rom and want to maintain their warranties.
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Then you already know the answer.
If you are looking for Samsung, T-Mobile or any other provider to come out and say, Yes, if you root and flash your phone it will still have Warranty Coverage.... it won't happen! They are never going to say that. All of them have listed policies that say rooting = no warranty.
The Knox flag might bring in a new element to this, it shouldn't but could.
The reality however depends on how you deal with it, like stated above, I have personally never had a warranty issue if there is a hardware problem with my phones regardless to rooting it. For the first year, you should be dealing with T-Mobile for issues. But a lot depends on how you deal with it.
Options:
Have hardware replacement warranty (Provider, SquareTrade etc)
Be smart when you call for support, the word Rooted, Different Rom is not in the conversation.
Rooting, flashing ROMs is not something 99.5% of the users of the devices do. Most have no idea what it is, any any idea that it exists. So for most users of devices, this is a non-issue.
krelvinaz said:
Then you already know the answer.
If you are looking for Samsung, T-Mobile or any other provider to come out and say, Yes, if you root and flash your phone it will still have Warranty Coverage.... it won't happen! They are never going to say that. All of them have listed policies that say rooting = no warranty.
The Knox flag might bring in a new element to this, it shouldn't but could.
The reality however depends on how you deal with it, like stated above, I have personally never had a warranty issue if there is a hardware problem with my phones regardless to rooting it. For the first year, you should be dealing with T-Mobile for issues. But a lot depends on how you deal with it.
Options:
Have hardware replacement warranty (Provider, SquareTrade etc)
Be smart when you call for support, the word Rooted, Different Rom is not in the conversation.
Rooting, flashing ROMs is not something 99.5% of the users of the devices do. Most have no idea what it is, any any idea that it exists. So for most users of devices, this is a non-issue.
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I am not a current T-mobile customer, so I doubt they'd cover it if I'm not one of their customers with an insurance plan. Still, no guarantees if they do that I'd still still be covered since I flashed a rom.
Is SquareTrade really worth the $125 for two years? Even then, would they cover it if I flashed a rom if something happened?
Boy do I miss the days of the Galaxy S2 and S3 where none of this even came into question.
A bit OT, but one reason why I liked staying with Sprint was because they did cover my phone regardless of root. Too bad their network sucks.
See when u said u bought the T-Mobile phone I was under the impression u had T-Mobile service. It a chance you took so just read and ask questions before you flash anything that might brick ur phone. If you bought the phone from the mobile they must issue 1 year warranty regardless. But it will be a battle for you
NOTE 3
BACARDILIMON said:
See when u said u bought the T-Mobile phone I was under the impression u had T-Mobile service. It a chance you took so just read and ask questions before you flash anything that might brick ur phone. If you bought the phone from the mobile they must issue 1 year warranty regardless. But it will be a battle for you
NOTE 3
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I've been flashing roms on Samsung devices for over two years now, so I'm pretty experienced and haven't bricked a phone yet. My concerns are the device malfunctioning on its own or developing a hardware issue. Assuming flashing a custom rom had nothing to do with it, would Samsung still honor the warranty?
This really makes me want to return the device mwhy did they have to do this?
MattMJB0188 said:
I've been flashing roms on Samsung devices for over two years now, so I'm pretty experienced and haven't bricked a phone yet. My concerns are the device malfunctioning on its own or developing a hardware issue. Assuming flashing a custom rom had nothing to do with it, would Samsung still honor the warranty?
This really makes me want to return the device mwhy did they have to do this?
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Samsung will not honor it if it powers up and shows a mod has been done. But if phone does not turn on then as long as no physical harm has been done they have to warranty it
NOTE 3
Just a friendly reminder that there aren't many of us smart enough to figure out how to root this beast. If we throw a bunch of cash at them that might motivate them to work even harder. Plus, it's totally worth it! What's $50? Too much? Fine, give $5. Whatever you can afford! I bet if we got that pot up to 100k it would get solved pretty darned quick. Let's do it! Don't be a cheapskate!
Thanks for reading. I promise not to tell you what to do other than this one time. Ha!
I agree man
Just sucks so sad that ATT screwing us like this, while T-Mobile gets all the root Recovery love they want, and even Sprint is better, and dare I say Verizon not as bad as ATT is lately
I remember just two years ago, the ATT Note 2 had root and Recovery immediately after release, and the ATT XDA Note 2 forums were jammed packed with ROM's and kernels. Why did ATT make such a drastic change to lock it down so hard now ? Where as T-Mobile allows it to be unlocked with ease ?
ATT allows HTC to still be unlocked, you can buy the ATT One M8 and root it and install custom Recovery out of the box with ease. But no way is that possible with the ATT S5 or Note 4, but why ATT ?
tfpHumorBlog said:
Just a friendly reminder that there aren't many of us smart enough to figure out how to root this beast. If we throw a bunch of cash at them that might motivate them to work even harder. Plus, it's totally worth it! What's $50? Too much? Fine, give $5. Whatever you can afford! I bet if we got that pot up to 100k it would get solved pretty darned quick. Let's do it! Don't be a cheapskate!
Thanks for reading. I promise not to tell you what to do other than this one time. Ha!
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Just thinking out loud...but at this time shouldn't you all wait for Lollipop to be released on this beast? Word is that it has more security and will be even tougher to root. So say someone roots KitKat..claims the Bounty, then Lollipop comes along and kills root again and those buying new phones with Lollipop preinstalled would be SOL. JM2C...but I also know it takes time to build up pledges.
Umm.. iiif we gain root I'm sure people would be smart enough not to upgrade to Lollipop but wait for a dev to make a Lollipop ROM.
Android300ZX said:
Umm.. iiif we gain root I'm sure people would be smart enough not to upgrade to Lollipop but wait for a dev to make a Lollipop ROM.
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That won't help people buying phones after the update with Lollipop preinstalled though. They will be stuck without root and have to start another bounty...just thinking out loud. And you would be surprised how many just hit that "update" button while rooted and get stuck in a boot loop.
Assuming root is achieved and someone bought a new note4 it came w 5.0.. couldnt one of those just take the official NIE firmware and flash it via odin.. then they could root and install a 5.0 custom rom?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
xlr8shun said:
Assuming root is achieved and someone bought a new note4 it came w 5.0.. couldnt one of those just take the official NIE firmware and flash it via odin.. then they could root and install a 5.0 custom rom?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
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In theory..however Samsung has been matching bootloaders, basebands and OS release. So as seen on other models not having the 5.0 bootloader and baseband will cause the 5.0 ROM to be stuck in a boot loop. So it may be some time before developers crack that. Even an unlocked rootable phone like the Sprint S3 required you to Odin 4.4 before running any stock 4.4 ROMs...the wrong baseband there caused a hard brick. So it is not as simple as it sounds.
Zorachus said:
I agree man
Just sucks so sad that ATT screwing us like this, while T-Mobile gets all the root Recovery love they want, and even Sprint is better, and dare I say Verizon not as bad as ATT is lately
I remember just two years ago, the ATT Note 2 had root and Recovery immediately after release, and the ATT XDA Note 2 forums were jammed packed with ROM's and kernels. Why did ATT make such a drastic change to lock it down so hard now ? Where as T-Mobile allows it to be unlocked with ease ?
ATT allows HTC to still be unlocked, you can buy the ATT One M8 and root it and install custom Recovery out of the box with ease. But no way is that possible with the ATT S5 or Note 4, but why ATT ?
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Probably has everything to do with Gov't contracts... Samsung has been singing the praises of it's KNOX system to businesses and the Gov't, to to truly make KNOX effective, it needs to be locked so that you can't disable or remove it. This way if one of their phones gets lost or stolen (and they are using the enterprise security packages) it is even more difficult to get to the data.
Why not allow the folks who want them locked and secure buy special ones so the rest of us can have free and open devices you ask? Because it costs more (time as well as money) to divide up your inventory that way. you'd have to forecast how many of the secured phones you will need and order them that way. But what if that big gov't contract falls through? you are now sitting on potentially thousands of phones that your general users won't want given that they can choose to get the unlocked version. OEM won't simply take them back, unless you pay some sort of restock fee. You could re-flash them yourself with the unlocked ROM, but now you are talking about manually unboxing, flashing and then re-sealing thousands of phones. (Not optimal,)
In the end, you're better off buying an unlocked device up front as opposed to hoping that someone can crack the bootloader later on after the release. It's obviously getting harder and harder for even the truly talented DEVs to crack these bootloaders. I honestly doubt that root will be achieved on this thing prior to Lollipop beginning it rollout. There is a build for it being tested right now with very few issues remaining.
Clock is ticking.... Me? I personally could care less for root at this point. I get un-Godly battery life and performance as it is based upon my usage. Not a popular view with many in this forum, I know. I used to long for root and flash ROMs like crazy myself. It was almost like an addiction.
So, this is a friend's phone...
I know, whenever I hear someone say that I think to myself "sure buddy". But seriously, it's true, this is not my phone but I have taken on the task of repairing it. My personal phone is actually a Pixel 2 XL, which I chose so I would never have to deal with a phone that had a locked bootloader or a strict root policy; forcing me to scour through forums for solutions to problems that are created by the cell phone manufacturers and carriers.
Moving along, my friend's phone is a Tmobile Galaxy S9 (g960usqs6csgb) (SM-G960U)
I believe it has the Snapdragon CPU (qualcomm and qual was littered all over the bootloader logs) but I don't know what Android version it's on. Because I can't get past the initial setup screens... because, you guessed it, the device was factory reset and now it's locked because he doesn't have the previous owner's google account credentials and it won't allow further progress. A message is displayed at the wifi setup screen stating as much, and at this point the unit is entirely useless.
When I first saw him with the phone in hand, wrestling to get it to work, I proclaimed "I can fix it!! Not to worry!! After all, I used to root and ROM and ADB with the best of 'em !! Going back to the early days of android, cracking open the incredible, galaxy nexus, HTC 9, nexus 5, note 5, etc etc. My Pixel 2 XL was the first phone I didn't root, simply because it already had all the features I wanted, right out of the box! But this phone wasn't cooperating like the old devices. Apparently the carriers and manufacturers have incorporated new ways to deter nefarious activities and squeeze out every bit of money from us hapless technology addicts.
I digress. Is there any way to get past this? I've already downloaded Odin 3 and I believe I'm hot on the trail of this model's firmware:
https://www.sammobile.com/samsung/galaxy-s9/firmware/SM-G960U/TMB/download/G960USQS6CSGB/283293/
But is this even possible? Will rooting and flashing a new ROM remove the unauthorized factory reset lockdown? Will the device even let me get that far? I don't know anything about rooting the S9 but it's all here in the forums, I just wanted to know if there's anything I should be aware of in advance. I'm not too concerned with bootlooping/bricking or losing google pay or something similar because it's basically a paperweight already. But if there's a way to do this properly, I certainly don't want to mess it up irreparably by charging headlong into the fire when I might patiently tiptoe and emerge unscathed instead. I appreciate any help you might offer.
Thanks!!
Yikes, not a single reply.
No one's gonna touch this one, a?
At least I got a like. Thank you to the brave individual willing to sit back and watch the trainwreck go its course.
TLDR: Can I get past the Google lockout on a TMobile s9? Is it possible to unlock, root, and flash a ROM on an otherwise locked s9?
If your stuck on FRP lock then maybe this thread may help.
[CLOSED]S21+ (GM-996B) FRP Bypass
Hello everybody, I hope it fits in here. I forgot the pattern on my S21 + after resetting the phone, my phone still wanted the pattern or a Google account. He doesn't take my Google account and after a long back and forth with the Samsung...
forum.xda-developers.com
spawnlives said:
If your stuck on FRP lock then maybe this thread may help.
[CLOSED]S21+ (GM-996B) FRP Bypass
Hello everybody, I hope it fits in here. I forgot the pattern on my S21 + after resetting the phone, my phone still wanted the pattern or a Google account. He doesn't take my Google account and after a long back and forth with the Samsung...
forum.xda-developers.com
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Thank you very much. Didn't even know what to call it so search wasn't very helpful.