Anyone know what that means when doing an esn check, the results show the device as LG-H811LB tmobile_sample. Person obtatianed it via some lg partner purchase program.
When checking on tmobile site results come back as unrecognized.
Will this phone work as normal? Since its not recognized by tmobole, can it still be sim unlocked via app?
I believe LG has a provider program where employees can purchase a LG phone for $250. A great deal, especially when said employees can then turn around and sell it for $200+ profit. There was a thread here about it. I believe these are purchased outright and should not be blacklisted for payment plan non-payment.
Apparently those phones are not officially registered in T-Mob's system. Not sure how that will affect SIM unlock, there are also a few threads about people not being able to easily SIM unlock permanently through T-Mobile to begin with. There were some reports that 'sunderwear' unlock does work, albeit for $$$.
Hi Everyone,
I've seen some posts about unlocking this but I'm curious as to whether I can unlock a T-Mobile branded phone purchased outright that has never been activated.
What have you all found to be the easiest way to unlock it? I've already reached out to TM via FB to no avail.
Let me know what you guys think.
Thanks!
Bootloader unlock is done via Motorola. To unlock your device for all carriers you must actively use the phone for 7 days. If you can't unlock it yourself after 7 days using the builtin app, then go in to a store. They can call in and help get it unlocked, but only after you've used the phone for 7 days.
papadelogan said:
Bootloader unlock is done via Motorola. To unlock your device for all carriers you must actively use the phone for 7 days. If you can't unlock it yourself after 7 days using the builtin app, then go in to a store. They can call in and help get it unlocked, but only after you've used the phone for 7 days.
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Ok, that is my question.
The phone is brand new - no sim. I'm trying to get it to a prepaid wireless service and need it unlocked to do so. What you're saying is that I would need to activate it for 7 days for the bootloader to work, correct?
Tmobile themselves offer unlocking but only after 40 days of service which is a no go in my current situation.
Thanks again for any help. No other programs or apps out there that can unlock it more quickly without the amount of work?
You guys are awesome!
ponzpo said:
Ok, that is my question.
The phone is brand new - no sim. I'm trying to get it to a prepaid wireless service and need it unlocked to do so. What you're saying is that I would need to activate it for 7 days for the bootloader to work, correct?
Tmobile themselves offer unlocking but only after 40 days of service which is a no go in my current situation.
Thanks again for any help. No other programs or apps out there that can unlock it more quickly without the amount of work?
You guys are awesome!
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No. You are matching the two things together. Let me be a little bit simpler about this. All use different paragraph so you don't get confused.
BOOTLOADER unlock can be done about 1 minute after you buy the phone. You contact Motorola directly. Search this forum and you'll get tons of information on it
CARRIER Unlocking a T-Mobile phone to be able to use with any carrier can be done after 7 Days of use on a T-Mobile plan. If they recently bumped it up to 40 and that's what customer service told you, then go with that. I've been with them for a few years now and only needed 7 days, but then I was in the store working with one of the sales people and they called in about it. I may have gotten special consideration given the amount of time my wife has had an account with T-Mobile, but I did a carrier unlock after only 7 days.
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
I picked up a New tmo z2 force and started it with prepaid. The prepaid balance has to be at least 100$ and active for 14 days before they will unlock it.
noXcape said:
I picked up a New tmo z2 force and started it with prepaid. The prepaid balance has to be at least 100$ and active for 14 days before they will unlock it.
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Is that T-Mobile specific prepaid?
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
Yes. Tmo prepaid
Also that's what the tmo rep told me. I still have like 10 days to wait...so I'll report back when it's done
Decided to call and try my luck with another rep. They escalated the unlock for me and did it with the hour.
Unlock app says permanently unlocked now!
You don't need to have it 7 days or whatever. Buy the phone full price, insert the tmobile sim, boot up and carrier unlock right away with the unlock app. Bootloader unlock is with motorola. That's it.
First, you need to activate your phone with a T-Mobile SIM card (you don't need to possess the SIM card, you can even borrow one for a few minutes) and a non-T-Mobile SIM to check if the phone is network locked.
You can check by following these steps:
1. Insert the “non-accepted SIM card” on the phone (Please check if your new SIM Card is activated, if not contact your Mobile Operator in order to activate it).
2. Wait for the phone to load
3. Insert the SIM’s PIN code (4 digits), if asked.
4. Read the message your phone displays, if you need the unlock code or to unlock via the Device Unlock App.
Mod Edit
Based on the message you have, you can contact T-Mobile again and ask them to unlock. Or you can use a third party unlocking service.
RossTeagan said:
First, you need to activate your phone with a T-Mobile SIM card (you don't need to possess the SIM card, you can even borrow one for a few minutes) and a non-T-Mobile SIM to check if the phone is network locked.
You can check by following these steps:
1. Insert the “non-accepted SIM card” on the phone (Please check if your new SIM Card is activated, if not contact your Mobile Operator in order to activate it).
2. Wait for the phone to load
3. Insert the SIM’s PIN code (4 digits), if asked.
4. Read the message your phone displays, if you need the unlock code or to unlock via the Device Unlock App.
Mod Edit
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This doesnt work.. It says unlock failed.. tried permanent and temporary. Tmobile says theres an unpaid balance but the phones imei is not lost or stolen. The way to request an unlock is the previous owner and the imei # has to make a request. ugh and theres some dude who says he can do it for a fee (clean the imei) im trying to use this on metro and cannot because of the whole tmobile unpaid balance bullcrap
Correct me if I'm wrong. No T-Mobile phone is eligible for unlock unless it's paid off in full and remained on the network for 45 days after. I've unlocked plenty of them after they were paid off and this was almost always the case.
I unlocked my bootloader right after getting my phone. It's not paid off, as I upgraded via JUMP.
sabrdawg said:
I unlocked my bootloader right after getting my phone. It's not paid off, as I upgraded via JUMP.
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Thinking the OP is talking about carrier unlock.
Check what your IMEI's status is in the T-Mobile network with their service here: https://www.t-mobile.com/verifyIMEI.aspx
Note that if the result doesn't with "Congratulations..." you might not be able to unlock your phone.
20degrees said:
Thinking the OP is talking about carrier unlock.
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Ah, got it. It's tricky when "unlock" has multiple meanings, lol! In that case, no, you can't carrier unlock until your phone is paid off
I posted a similar question before I realised there was a thread already on this topic. Can anybody confirm that if you buy a tmo version from Motorola, then what are the conditions for having it unlocked? Is it $100 credit balance (for me that would add $100 to the cost) or immediately on insertion of a TMO SIM or some other conditions? Does anybody have any experiences they can report? Thanks
I can tell you I just tried getting a tmobile variant unlocked (375 outright, I have AT&T) and had a buddy with a tmobile account make the purchase and put his active sim in it and they would not unlock it. Stated it had to be on tmobile network for 40 days. He called multiple times and argued it's already paid off but they wouldn't budge. So I returned it. Had to eat a 50 fee for returning it. I chalk it to a lesson learned.
I was going to buy the phone from the Motorola website for $500 so $375 is a good deal. The problem is while I have a tmobile SIM card on a prepaid account I don't live in the US and while I'm travelling there soon I won't be on the network for 40 days. so I guess it won't be unlockable while I'm there and certainly not once I'm gone.
I wonder what the unlocking Services online are like? Has anybody had any experiences to relate
lchiu7 said:
I was going to buy the phone from the Motorola website for $500 so $375 is a good deal. The problem is while I have a tmobile SIM card on a prepaid account I don't live in the US and while I'm travelling there soon I won't be on the network for 40 days. so I guess it won't be unlockable while I'm there and certainly not once I'm gone.
I wonder what the unlocking Services online are like? Has anybody had any experiences to relate
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There is also a temp unlock through the unlock app. Still fully sim unlocked but for only a short time. Then if you do come back to the US for 40+ days you can try for the permanent unlock.
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using XDA Labs
OK _ just got off both a phone call and chat session with TMO support. Basically the phone has to be on their network for 2 billing cycles and then you can call them to unlock it. That applies even apparently to the $3/month plan. I do have somebody who could do that but they would have to send the phone to me and I am not sure you can do that with its LiOn battery inside.
I have a supposed 'unlocked' pixel from ebay, sealed in the box. A warranty replacement that was never used. While trying to turn on OEM Unlocking, it is greyed out and says "Unavailable on carrier-locked devices." I've tried everything I can think of or find online but it remains greyed out. It's updated to android 11. Unless someone has some advice here I'm going to have to sell this device as it is useless to me.
I only wanted it if I could unlock the bootloader which it seems I cannot.
What disclosures should I make to anyone wanting to purchase this device? Is it SIM locked or just OEM locked? Can this be used with any carrier as far as normal phone usage? I have put the IMEI into Ting and US Mobiles device checkers and they come back reporting the phone is ready to be used but I don't know how accurate that is. Could the previous owner still have the device listed in their account somewhere (Verizon or Google) which renders the phone unusable?
Does this only work on the Pixel 3? I couldn't find any similar option for the Pixel 3a XL posted.
Code:
From https://joshspicer.com/root-pixel-1
Open terminal in adb directory and type adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.phone
Thanks for any advice you can offer me.
As far as I know there is no way to unlock a Verizon 3axl. If it was Google then it would not have the option greyed out. The person who sold it to you may have meant carrier unlocked.
It was actually Sprint. The seller contacted Sprint and said they would unlock it. Somehow they are going to do it without me having to send it to them. So, that seems like just a SIM unlock to me? I've never had to have one unlocked before. I will report back afterwards. I had to download a virtual SIM to first activate it on Sprint's network. Anyone else go through this with Sprint?
From now on, if I want to purchase a phone off eBay I'm going to have to get the seller to show me the unlock option. That's not going to be easy as most sellers won't know how.
DoubleFnJ said:
It was actually Sprint. The seller contacted Sprint and said they would unlock it. Somehow they are going to do it without me having to send it to them. So, that seems like just a SIM unlock to me? I've never had to have one unlocked before. I will report back afterwards. I had to download a virtual SIM to first activate it on Sprint's network. Anyone else go through this with Sprint?
From now on, if I want to purchase a phone off eBay I'm going to have to get the seller to show me the unlock option. That's not going to be easy as most sellers won't know how.
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Once you get it sim unlocked you should be able to toggle oem unlocking. I had to get my TMO sim unlocked before I could oem unlock as the option was greyed out like yours.
You have to have the SIM card unlocked before the phone will let you OEM Bootloader unlock it.
This is to protect the wireless providers because if you could OEM bootloader unlock it even if it was SIM card unlocked, you would have an avenue to then unlock the SIM card lock.
Once the SIM Card is unlocked, then the OEM Bootloader option should be available (Verizon being the lone exception to the rule, but I believe there are work arounds to unlock the Verizon models after they are SIM Card unlocked).
To follow up, the SIM card unlock came through in just a couple of days. This was fortunate that the seller was willing to put the phone back on their plan in order to unlock it, others may not be able to do so; depending on how they purchased their used phone. Just be careful. You may have to sign up for the carrier and have the phone unlocked yourself. The OEM unlock toggle worked like magic. The phone is now sporting graphenOS and rocking and rolling forever free.
Thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge.
Sharing my story. Bought a used one listed refurbished on ebay for Sprint. Activated fine on my sprint account and I chatted in and asked to unlock it and they told me I had to wait 50 days. I waited 50 days chatted back they sent the unlock code and worked instantly. Running lineage now.
trying to decide which to purchase.
Carrier locked T-Mobile P6P has rules when it comes to SIM unlocking, spending at least 40 days on their network and Bootloader Unlocking. Google Store P6P is unrestricted
If you're buying the T-Mobile variant, there's no difference if you get it through the Google Store versus through T-Mobile. If you're talking about an unlocked P6P through the Google Store, the difference is that it's factory SIM unlocked so that you can use it with other carriers as you wish without jumping through hoops, and you can unlock the bootloader if you wish.
The T-Mobile variant has been reported to be very easily unlocked however. Just search this section for T-Mobile in the title and you'll find the information you need. Just needs contacting their helpful customer service.
Don't think there is a difference. Bought mine at T-Mobile. Only difference is it's initially SIM locked, in turn can't bootloader unlock until you pay it off and 40 days on network. OR ask them nicely to SIM unlock and you might get lucky.
Should only be the SIM unlock as mentioned....
Just plug in the sim wait 24hrs, for it register the device on TMobile end. Contact them via chat on the T-Mobile app. Ask them to unlock the device. They will offer you temp unlock. Tell them it keeps failing & they will perm unlock on their end. Reboot device and oem unlock.
djhotsauce said:
Just plug in the sim wait 24hrs, for it register the device on TMobile end. Contact them via chat on the T-Mobile app. Ask them to unlock the device. They will offer you temp unlock. Tell them it keeps failing & they will perm unlock on their end. Reboot device and oem unlock.
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Sounds too good to be true.
I got a Verizon P6 in March. Travelled out of the country within a month, used the phone with a local sim in the UAE. Now, suddenly, my phone is carrier locked. Tried contacting them but no use.
Question is, what can a person do who is out of the USA, out of the TMobile network and doesn't have the TMobile login active anymore?
So, the local sim doesn;t work. If I disable any and all packages that have 'vzw' or 'verizon' in the name, the sim works fine and connects to the network and I can make calls. But as soon as I turn on 4G or connect to a wifi network, BAM, the sim network gets disabled (shows an exclamation mark in the bar) and I have to factory reset the phone and go though all the adb commands again.
As a last resort, I've installed NetGuard and blocked everything and want to unblock packages one by one and see which one triggers the sim-lock... but hasn;t worked yet...
Any ideas?
Well since I have found zero threads about AT&T bootloader unlock. Does anyone have any solution? Whenever I put in any other sim, it just says that unable to use any other sim apart from AT&T. So I just factory resetted my phone and blocked the device setup app from accessing the internet via the Netguard app. That's allowed me to use any SIM card apart from AT&T however it's not a permanent solution but I'd like to know my options. Any chance of me working around a carrier unlock or possibly bootloader unlock? I bought this phone outside the US, and to my stupidity I never factored in that this was also a possibility that it's carrier locked, that too with a bad standing. I tried unlocking online but it just says that there's payments overdue and that I should log into my AT&T account. Tried calling their customer service, however they're useless and unhelpful. Learned the hard way, depressed that I've kinda wasted my money. Can there possibly be a way to carrier unlock my device and bootloader unlock?
Can you return the phone? The seller should have disclosed that information and the phone will technically only be used on AT&T until it's paid off, and currently on AT&T (for 60 or 90 days before they will sim unlock)
I tried going back to the shop, they just said that there's no way that they offer returns and that I should just contact AT&T for this issue. I'm running out of options and patience. I'm basically stuck with this phone. There's really no check and balance here when it comes to these matters