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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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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 tmobile Z2 i bought online and was not able to unlock it. It is very clearly a tmobile version but when i tried to use the unlock from tmo it say i am not eligible for an unlock i then called and they said the device was not sold by tmobile then called moto and got the same story. as of now i stick in an att sim and it does nothing only works on a tmo sim. any advice on how to carrier unlock this device.
T-Mobile devices require usage on the network before an unlock is allowed. Sometimes they will allow an unlock without use on the network, but since you did not buy the phone from them that most likely will not happen.
What is the error message you are receiving? If it is the device is not eligible, than it is in the server database and you should be able to unlock it after you have used it on the T_Mibile network.
If however you are receiving an unknown error, than the phone is not listed and you'll probably never get it unlocked.
Either way, it might be easiest to return the device to the seller if you're still within the return period.
Well even if I cant unlock it yet I have a friend who would be willing to use it for sometime and let it get time in on his account. The phone was already in use on the original sellers account so I thought that was enough. I will slap this tmo sim in it and give it some time it's the device I plan to do development on. I have a z2 from at&t so that my daily and this one can get bricked for all I care. I want to support the Z2 community
I had the same issue. Look for my post in the older unlocking thread. It's very straightforward and you can use a prepay sim to do it.
A small warning here for those who need to send a previously SIM unlocked H932 in for LG repair:
After breaking its glass back, I had to send my TMO V30+ in for repair at LG’s center in Texas. At the same time I asked them to replace the screen under warranty, since there was a small cluster of dead pixels just above the navigation bar. They did all that. Cost $88 (including free shipping) with 11 days turnaround.
They also managed to lose the SIM unlock which I had previously been granted by T-Mobile using their Device Unlock app. Realizing this could be a problem, I had included a letter to LG Repair where I begged them to preserve the SIM unlock. Needless to say, the phone is paid off and all bills were paid (including the extra month TMO auto-charged my credit card and refused to refund).
After receiving it back, my Red Pocket GSMA SIM (AT&T prepaid MVNO) only does 3G, not LTE. The TMO Device Unlock app says the phone is “network locked” and not eligible for unlock.
T-Mobile Customer Service first requested unlock instructions to be emailed to me. After 2 days I received an email saying I had to use the TMO Device Unlock app. Duh. After much experimenting on my own (including with my now inactive TMO SIM card) I went to the T-Mobile store where I bought the phone. They were keen to help, but unable to solve the problem. We did confirm that with an active TMO SIM, everything was fine.
I then called TMO Customer Service again, this time asking for Tier 2. Here they finally escalated the case and requested an unlock from LG and said to expect a solution within 72 hours.
Different from the issue reported by @michy21 in this thread mine is the SAME phone with the same IMEI; it was just wiped by LG repair in a way that lost the SIM unlock. OR it really is a new phone or motherboard and they transferred the IMEI.
I should add that there has been no pushback or reluctance to help from any T-Mobile staff. It’s just that the company has baked everything so hard into the Device Unlock app now, so no human is able to do anything.
The only lesson here is to never buy carrier devices -- as @ChazzMatt has been stressing all along, and as I had been practicing myself in my Nexus days. But unfortunately carrier devices are where the best deals are -- which is the only thing that made it possibly for me to buy this class of phone in the first place.
I'll update this thread with the final outcome. Fingers crossed. I’ll be traveling overseas soon, really hope to have it fixed before.
TheDannemand said:
A small warning here for those who need to send a previously SIM unlocked H932 in for LG repair:
After breaking its glass back, I had to send my TMO V30+ in for repair at LG’s center in Texas. At the same time I asked them to replace the screen under warranty, since there was a small cluster of dead pixels just above the navigation bar. They did all that. Cost $88 (including free shipping) with 11 days turnaround.
They also managed to lose the SIM unlock which I had previously been granted by T-Mobile using their Device Unlock app. Needles to say, the phone was paid off and all bills were paid (including the extra month TMO auto-charged my credit card and refused to refund). Realizing this could be a problem, I had included a letter to LG Repair where I begged them to preserve the SIM unlock.
After receiving it back, my Red Pocket GSMA SIM (AT&T prepaid MVNO) only does 3G, not LTE. The TMO Device Unlock app says the phone is “network locked” and not eligible for unlock.
T-Mobile Customer Service first requested unlock instructions to be emailed to me. After 2 days I received an email saying I had to use the TMO Device Unlock app. Duh. After much experimenting on my own (including with my now inactive TMO SIM card) I went to the T-Mobile store where I bought the phone. They were keen to help, but unable to solve the problem. We did confirm that with an active TMO SIM, everything was fine.
I then called TMO Customer Service again, this time asking for Tier 2. Here they finally escalated the case and requested an unlock from LG and said to expect a solution with 72 hours.
Different from the issue reported by @michy21 in this thread mine is the SAME phone with the same IMEI; it was just wiped by LG repair in a way that lost the SIM unlock. OR it really is a new phone or motherboard and they transferred the IMEI.
I should add that there has been no pushback or reluctance to help from any T-Mobile staff. It’s just that the company has baked everything so hard into the Device Unlock app now, so no human is able to do anything.
The only lesson here is to never buy carrier devices -- as @ChazzMatt has been stressing all along, and as I had been practicing myself in my Nexus days. But unfortunately carrier devices are where the best deals are -- which is the only thing that made it possibly for me to buy this class of phone in the first place.
I'll update this thread with the final outcome. Fingers crossed. I’ll be traveling overseas soon, really hope to have it fixed before.
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Click to collapse
Worst comes to worst, sell the phone on eBay while at the same time buying one of the mint LS998 V30+ for $320. Immediately convert to carrier unlocked US998, bootloader unlock and root.
In the eBay listing for this phone stress the T-Mobile band 71, blah, blah, blah -- which you don't need on AT&T MNVO, but would interest T-Mobile users.
Sent via open market LG US998 V30/V30+
ChazzMatt said:
Worst comes to worst, sell the phone on eBay while at the same time buying one of the mint LS998 V30+ for $320. Immediately convert to carrier unlocked US998, bootloader unlock and root.
In the eBay listing for this phone stress the T-Mobile band 71, blah, blah, blah -- which you don't need on AT&T MNVO, but would interest T-Mobile users.
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Click to collapse
Thank you, Chazz!
I had a suspicion you might suggest that :laugh:
But yes, that would have to be the outcome if I cannot solve it. I'll probably file an FCC complaint first, which michy21 reported had solved her problem. But again, there is no pushback from anybody, which is a positive.
The only attachment I have to this particular phone is my 2 year warranty, which gives me peace of mind. A phone bought used wouldn't have that (or any warranty).
Thanks again!
Edit: Actually, it's not quite true that I have no other attachment to this H932: If/when T-Mobile rolls out B71 in this area, I'll probably give them another try, as they generally have far better network speeds. AT&T service here is acceptable (and widespread) but doesn't blow me away. We only switched because TMO couldn't reach through our concrete brick walls. Red Pocket supports all four carriers, so I can switch to TMO network on my current plan to take advantage of B71.
So my hope is I won't have to part with this phone. AND that @runningnak3d will release H932 root later this year
TheDannemand said:
A small warning here for those who need to send a previously SIM unlocked H932 in for LG repair:
After breaking its glass back, I had to send my TMO V30+ in for repair at LG’s center in Texas. At the same time I asked them to replace the screen under warranty, since there was a small cluster of dead pixels just above the navigation bar. They did all that. Cost $88 (including free shipping) with 11 days turnaround.
They also managed to lose the SIM unlock which I had previously been granted by T-Mobile using their Device Unlock app. Realizing this could be a problem, I had included a letter to LG Repair where I begged them to preserve the SIM unlock. Needless to say, the phone is paid off and all bills were paid (including the extra month TMO auto-charged my credit card and refused to refund).
After receiving it back, my Red Pocket GSMA SIM (AT&T prepaid MVNO) only does 3G, not LTE. The TMO Device Unlock app says the phone is “network locked” and not eligible for unlock.
T-Mobile Customer Service first requested unlock instructions to be emailed to me. After 2 days I received an email saying I had to use the TMO Device Unlock app. Duh. After much experimenting on my own (including with my now inactive TMO SIM card) I went to the T-Mobile store where I bought the phone. They were keen to help, but unable to solve the problem. We did confirm that with an active TMO SIM, everything was fine.
I then called TMO Customer Service again, this time asking for Tier 2. Here they finally escalated the case and requested an unlock from LG and said to expect a solution within 72 hours.
Different from the issue reported by @michy21 in this thread mine is the SAME phone with the same IMEI; it was just wiped by LG repair in a way that lost the SIM unlock. OR it really is a new phone or motherboard and they transferred the IMEI.
I should add that there has been no pushback or reluctance to help from any T-Mobile staff. It’s just that the company has baked everything so hard into the Device Unlock app now, so no human is able to do anything.
The only lesson here is to never buy carrier devices -- as @ChazzMatt has been stressing all along, and as I had been practicing myself in my Nexus days. But unfortunately carrier devices are where the best deals are -- which is the only thing that made it possibly for me to buy this class of phone in the first place.
I'll update this thread with the final outcome. Fingers crossed. I’ll be traveling overseas soon, really hope to have it fixed before.
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Click to collapse
That does not make sense at all. Has the device IMEI have changed at all? Was the actual logic board replaced? The answer is likely no. So why would the device be relocked by LG? You are giving them way too much credit.
More proof that the device should have remained unlocked is that you can access the device with your MNVO (ATT), if it was truly locked you would not able to get a signal or make a call under your MNVO at all. Sounds more like user error or a miss configuration of your carrier, or both.
Also you should not be trying to run a T-Mobile Specific device unlock app under a different carrier sim,
and it might just be reporting wrong information. Had this happen to me several times in the past, when the device was actually unlocked. You said yourself, you were able to use the device on (ATT)!
jblparisi said:
That does not make sense at all. Has the device IMEI have changed at all? Was the actual logic board replaced? The answer is likely no. So why would the device be relocked by LG? You are giving them way too much credit.
More proof that the device should have remained unlocked is that you can access the device with your MNVO (ATT), if it was truly locked you would not able to get a signal or make a call under your MNVO at all. Sounds more like user error or a miss configuration of your carrier, or both.
Also you should not be trying to run a T-Mobile Specific device unlock app under a different carrier sim,
and it might just be reporting wrong information. Had this happen to me several times in the past, when the device was actually unlocked. You said yourself, you were able to use the device on (ATT)!
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Thank you. I understand where you come from. And no offense taken
The problem IS a SIM lock (or "network lock" as they call it). But not in the same way you're thinking where nothing works with an alien SIM. Both T-Mobile and LG have confirmed that.
Some details I didn't mention in my opening post (I meant to warn people here, not argue the matter):
1) LG warned me before they began repair that the phone would come back SIM locked, even though I'd included a letter asking if they could avoid it. I also talked to T-Mobile before sending it in, who said to just request an unlock code if needed (obviously that person was clueless).
2) I've seen other XDA users report how SIM locked V30s could connect on different networks, but NOT get LTE. That's what I am seeing too. One of my goals with visiting the T-Mobile store was to verify that there wasn't a problem with the phone itself preventing LTE. But once an active TMO SIM was inserted, everything works flawlessly.
3) I thought the same thing about not running the TMO Device Unlock app with the alien SIM inserted, but TMO's wording in the instructions they sent me are: "Before completing the steps below to unlock your device you must be connected to the internet via a cellular network in order to complete the steps", not mentioning it must be on TMO. And I DO have 3G internet with my Red Pocket SIM. Nevertheless, my second goal with visiting the T-Mobile store was so we could try the Device Unlock app with an active TMO SIM. And regardless of which SIM is inserted, the app reports that the phone is currently network locked and not eligible for unlock. When running this app on an unlocked phone, it shows the date of unlock -- even after a factory reset. They are obviously storing the lock/unlock state on the vendor, modem or carrier partitions or some such place. And on my phone it is in a locked state.
4) There is not much room for user configuration error here: The phone has been factory reset 5-6 times while testing this, with the only configuration being a Red Pocket APN. That same SIM and same APN work flawlessly in my Nexus 5 as well as my wife's V30 (also H932). Even if I mis-typed the APN, I wouldn't have done so 5-6 times -- and I would have caught it during one of the many times I verified the APN.
So I have no doubt that there is some form of network lock in place that is causing this. And again, T-Mobile and LG agree and have promised to solve it.
You are right that LG had no reason to replace the mainboard. But they did replace both the screen and the glass cover. I think it is possible that they sent me a refurbished phone with my IMEI transferred -- which would explain both their warning that the phone would come back locked, and why the Device Unlock app gets confused when seeing a blank (still locked) phone, but T-Mobile's IMEI database claims that the device is already unlocked (as I saw on the screen in the store).
So, we'll see if they manage to solve it or I have to sell this phone as suggested by Chazz.
Would paying a 3rd party carrier unlocking do the trick? Or does even that seem out of the question now? Before Frankensteining was a thing I did that so I could use an H931 on T-mo. It was $10 well spent as far as I was concerned.
jaysus145 said:
Would paying a 3rd party carrier unlocking do the trick? Or does even that seem out of the question now? Before Frankensteining was a thing I did that so I could use an H931 on T-mo. It was $10 well spent as far as I was concerned.
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Thank you for the suggestion. I'd have no objection to that at all, but various reports on here had given me the impression that 3rd parties aren't able to unlock the H932 because TMO locked it down so hard (as is the case with Sprint, but for different technical reasons). I could be wrong about that, so definitely something to try.
Thanks again!
Update: It's been four days since I talked to T-Mobile and they promised to escalate my problem and request that LG provide a solution. They said to expect a response within 72 hours, but I haven't heard back from them.
But yesterday, when I tried popping in my Red Pocket SIM (it's in my Nexus 5 until this is solved) everything suddenly worked: Instant LTE, which stayed all day, even as I drove an hour away across town and worked there for a few hours (using hotspot), went on several errands, and back home all last night. LTE Discovery Log showed how it had switched seamlessly between towers, without ever losing LTE. I was certain they had fixed it, and was much relieved.
Then this morning, it had locked itself again. Phone had been on all night, clearly T-Mobile must have pushed another lock. Or rather: One of the TMO services/apps locked it after pulling TMOs servers. No amount of Network Resets, reboot or toggling Mobile Network settings have worked to get it back. I promised T-Mobile not to make any more attempts with the Device Unlock app as it messes things up for them, but I am sure it it would still say "Ineligible for unlock" even though the IMEI is clear in TMO's database (and listed as already unlocked).
As always, the same SIM gives perfect LTE service in my Nexus 5 and on my wife's V30, with the same APN.
I called T-Mobile Customer Care and was unable to persuade them to transfer me to Tier 2. But they did says to expect a call within a day.
It is almost certain I'll have to go the FCC complaint route. It's sad because T-Mobile is otherwise not a bad company. Probably just a small handful of idiots who got this "bright idea" how to protect TMO phones -- which ends up causing so much trouble for legitimate customers.
@jaysus145: Which Unlock service did you use? The ones I looked at which support T-mobile unlock cost $75-150 -- and they don't seem to guarantee success.
TheDannemand said:
@jaysus145: Which Unlock service did you use? The ones I looked at which support T-mobile unlock cost $75-150 -- and they don't seem to guarantee success.
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Click to collapse
I used celllunlocker.net, it cost me $10 to unlock my AT&T version, and took less then a day to complete.
jaysus145 said:
I used celllunlocker.net, it cost me $10 to unlock my AT&T version, and took less then a day to complete.
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Click to collapse
Thank you!
T-Mobile called me back yesterday and assured me they were still working on it and they would get this phone unlocked and please sit tight another day. They confirmed there was nothing on the phone's IMEI or my old account that should prevent it.
I'll check out unlocking services if it comes down to it.
Thanks again!
Final update on this (and solution):
T-Mobile solved the server side problem with a manager override, so that the Device Unlock app now says "Permanent Unlock approved". But it continued reporting "Unlock Failed" nevertheless. Some say because the phone is already unlocked, personally I think because the servers report the phone as previously unlocked. The app also says "Phone is currently network locked" when first running.
Notably, the connection problem persisted, and T-Mobile (after discussing with LG) said it had to be a bad SIM card or a problem with that SIM ICCID and my phone's ESN. As previously described, I get perfect connection and service using the same SIM in my Nexus 5 and in my wife's V30. T-Mobile said that was all they could do.
I then decided it was time to take the matter in my one hands. After much searching and countless Factory Resets and Network Settings Resets, I managed to get the phone working right with the following steps:
1) Remove Google account to disable Device Reset Protection.
2) Factory Reset from the Service Menu: *#546368#*932# (replace 932 with your model number, though this is likely a T-Mobile only problem). From there SVC Menu - Factory Reset (R&D Only). This takes quite a bit longer than normal Factory Reset.
3) Initial setup with WiFi, no Google account. No APN. Phone shows usual connection slowness.
4) Airplane mode, then WiFi on.
5) T-Mobile Device Unlock app, Permanent Unlock. Got the same "Unlock Failed, but Approved" message.
6) Enter APN.
7) Network Settings Reset (Android Settings - Reset menu). Wait for reset to complete. It may go straight to LTE already here.
8) Power off/on.
After this, everything is back to normal. Instant signal and LTE connection, even after subsequent Factory Reset. It's such a relief :laugh:
Edit: I should add that it is quite possible that not all of these steps are required. Probably the Service Menu Factory Reset was the key to undo what LG had done during the repair. I am merely listing all the steps which I used, and which brought my phone back to life.
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?