[Q] How easy is it to unbrand then unlock mobiles? - General Questions and Answers

I think unbrand means use factory firmware rather than carrier adapted firmware. And unlock means well, any carriers sim card will work in it.
So anyway, apart from that, assume I am a n00b, and you're all l33t.
Basically I want to get the Samsung Galaxy S2 next week and I don't know if I should buy it on contract or buy it sim free. Obviously contract will work out cheaper. So I just want to know in general, how easy is it once you have a phone on contract that you can flash the firmware yourself and get rid of carrier branding so you get faster and better updatees, then unlock the phone so I can use other sim cards when I travel overseas.
Thank you.

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Verizon

So are all verizon Rhodium phones CDMA with GSM only when out of country?
Which meaning at the moment have no HARD-spl and are able to flash?
I've added some custom apps to my phone which is from verizon and is not flashed. So i was just curious.
Thanks,
Alfredo
SlashX1896 said:
So are all verizon Rhodium phones CDMA with GSM only when out of country?
Which meaning at the moment have no HARD-spl and are able to flash?
I've added some custom apps to my phone which is from verizon and is not flashed. So i was just curious.
Thanks,
Alfredo
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If you call Verizon (and have their service for awhile, in good standing) they will guide you to unlocking the SIM slot 'for use outside of the country'. Once unlocked, it will work with TMobile, AT&T and any other GSM provider in the US that doesn't do IMEI checking, or that allow the TP2 on their network, in which IMEI checking wouldn't be a problem.
Anyways, get the unlock code for your device (specific to your device) from Verizon, scroll to SETTINGS on the homescreen, click ALL SETTINGS, click PERSONAL, click SECURITY and enter the unlock code they gave you and your phone will SIM unlock itself.
As for Hard-SPL, I haven't seen anything about it yet.. but I haven't been searching, since the phone already does what I'd like it to with simple cab installs.
I hope this helps!
-mak
Yeah ive had verizon for a good amount of years now. So i might give that a try. and yeah. I agree about hard SPL.
Are there any other advantages to unlocking the sim card other then being able to change services?
I am still new with all this, and unaware the advantages of unlocking the SIM card.
Curious for In Country and Out of country.
Like what are benefits of it while still in the states?
and what are the benefits if i go to canada? does this mean i don't have to pay extra for the plan while in canada to make phonecalls/texts/data?
.mak said:
Anyways, get the unlock code for your device (specific to your device) from Verizon, scroll to SETTINGS on the homescreen, click ALL SETTINGS, click PERSONAL, click SECURITY and enter the unlock code they gave you and your phone will SIM unlock itself.
-mak
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I believe you may be incorrect on that, check this out, I have yet to verify this my self but from what I have read here and other places the GSM will be unlocked for use overseas. This way you can use another country's SIM card instead of Verizon's SIM (expensive rates) while overseas for an extended period of time.
There are now several threads in several forums about this.
What people often leave out when they talk about what their phone can do is what carrier they have it on.
With Verizon, when you SIM Unlock the phone you can toss in any SIM and it'll work. I personally have a UK SIM and works fine in the US on my Verizon TP2 unlocked. Others have reported using TMobile (US) or AT&T (US) SIM's just fine in their Verizon TP2's after unlocking.
Sprint TP2's come unlocked but will NOT register at all on US carriers (even with a foreign SIM).
--Chris
Oh so i have to somehow get a hold of another sim card?
nowwww i get it.
so unless i plan on actually going out of country there really is no point in unlocking my phone.
SlashX1896 said:
Oh so i have to somehow get a hold of another sim card?
nowwww i get it.
so unless i plan on actually going out of country there really is no point in unlocking my phone.
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I unlocked mine, just in case I ever decide to leave Verizon to go to Tmobile or AT&T (yeah, right lol).. or for when I upgrade, it makes it more universal when it comes time to sell it.
It costs you nothing if you're a Verizon customer in good standing, I'd unlock it just in case
-mak
Yeah good point. I was more curious on flashing purposes, but TBH i have no use to flash it. Though once the markeplace comes out, im assuming its going to be like the iphones appstore? and hoping in time we find ways to "jailbreak" or something to get them free, thats always fun lol.
Now i do travel to canada a lot. But unlocking it has no use unless i actually pay for the plan and a sim card? I know verizon offers a plan for it, but i dont got that much to where il pay extra for the plan was just curious.
SlashX1896 said:
Now i do travel to canada a lot. But unlocking it has no use unless i actually pay for the plan and a sim card? I know verizon offers a plan for it, but i dont got that much to where il pay extra for the plan was just curious.
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some folks over at PPCGeeks pointed out that in some situations, it might be cheaper to just buy a prepaid sim card when traveling abroad, as the prepaid cards could prove to be a cheaper alternative to verizon's international roaming rates through verizon's sim card, included with the Rhodium.
Alright, thanks i'll look into that.
the problem with going to canada is the sim card has nothing to do with their network. it is still CDMA in canada and while you may have an unlocked phone and different sim card, verizons network will still pick up your phone and charge you accordingly.
gt3dan said:
the problem with going to canada is the sim card has nothing to do with their network. it is still CDMA in canada and while you may have an unlocked phone and different sim card, verizons network will still pick up your phone and charge you accordingly.
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If you have an unlocked phone and a different SIM card in, if you set it to GSM mode Verizon won't/can't charge you for using it in Canada.
Hope thatyour right iamrobk, elsewise im confused.

Was the article that the S7 will lock to the first Sim inserted true?

http://www.sammobile.com/2016/02/25...-will-carrier-lock-to-the-first-inserted-sim/
I know some t-mobile customers already have devices in hand (or will be getting it within a few days). Has anyone checked if the above article is true? Would be awesome to know for all US who aren't on T-mo or any major carrier (I'm on Cricket, No preorders, and no edge listed so far.)
Would be awesome to preorder the ATT version from a place like target, get those preorder bonuses (target has $100 GC + standard 5% off for target card members, so its probably the cheapest place to get it), and then use it on Cricket.
Note: This is primarily meant for US carriers and devices. not other countries, which has different laws and networks.
Yes I'm also wondering how this will work. When I spoke to sales team at CPW they said it would be completely unlocked but knew nothing about the so called locking feature which may happen to us. Uk
Good question, I'm surprised no one has posted the answer yet considering how many people are getting them.
I'm on cricket as well, and planning to get the tmobile s7 due to the unlocked bootloader (at&t is bootloader locked)... It would be nice not to have to pay some company to remotely Sim unlock it
I would like to know too. Thank you!
I'd also like to know whether the phone will download carrier software specific everytime a different SIM is inserted
Im buying mine from samsung direct so id be annoyed if they have the sim region lock in place. im sure they are selling it unlocked and this sim lock is carrier requested.
sonhy said:
Im buying mine from samsung direct so id be annoyed if they have the sim region lock in place. im sure they are selling it unlocked and this sim lock is carrier requested.
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Are you in canada? If so there is a sim lock when you put in your sim, but you're given an unlock code with the phone if you get it from a samsung store.
no not canada, well thats good to hear about unlock code, as said im pretty sure the sim lock is only for carrier bought gs7 phones.
Work for a carrier: it will lock upon first sim. If you put in a sim after initial Set up it wipes and reboots. Unlock codes are available like any other phone
CPW never lock their android phones. This feature is for carriers to lock if they want and helps Sammy to sell phones to multiple suppliers using the same SKU code rather than different variants. Anyone buying sim free won't have to worry about this and I'm 99℅ sure shops like cpw won't use this. Buying from an operator however is a different story
Sent from my XT1580 using Tapatalk
Seems like this SIM lock applies to carrier phones only and not Global/International aka Unlocked.
My guess is they do this so Samsung can provide everyone with the same standard S7 model to save hassle on carrier specific phones that are locked from the factory so the carrier can pick up any S7 and provide the sim that then locks to that network.
False.. i have 2 phones.. i just got my S7 and i have an iPhone as well ... just switched the sims and works fine...
bradbutter said:
False.. i have 2 phones.. i just got my S7 and i have an iPhone as well ... just switched the sims and works fine...
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Cool thanks for reporting.
bradbutter said:
False.. i have 2 phones.. i just got my S7 and i have an iPhone as well ... just switched the sims and works fine...
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I dont understand what you are saying...if you stuck a tmobile sim from your iphone and stuck it in your tmobile s7, its still possibly carrier locked to tmobile.
we want to know if you stick a cricket or at&t in your tmobile s7 first, will it lock to those carriers even though your on tmobile or will it require a remote unlock
I'd be curious to know that if id DOES lock, would a ODIN/reflash of stock reset it?
I would love it buying a AT&T version would work on Verizon or T-Mobile.
All this of course with the phone having access to all bands set on initial carrier SIM card boot up.
Is it possible to just flash a different version's os? Example, could i just flash the t-mo fw onto an att phone?
el7145 said:
I dont understand what you are saying...if you stuck a tmobile sim from your iphone and stuck it in your tmobile s7, its still possibly carrier locked to tmobile.
we want to know if you stick a cricket or at&t in your tmobile s7 first, will it lock to those carriers even though your on tmobile or will it require a remote unlock
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Oh well yeah in that case I'm not sure because I know my phone should be locked to T-Mobile from the start unless I pay it off in full. I highly doubt if I would have put a non T-Mobile Sim in it first that it would of even got service. You would have to ask someone with an unlocked device if another sim works because most devices from carriers are locked from the start.
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
bradbutter said:
Oh well yeah in that case I'm not sure because I know my phone should be locked to T-Mobile from the start unless I pay it off in full. I highly doubt if I would have put a non T-Mobile Sim in it first that it would of even got service. You would have to ask someone with an unlocked device if another sim works because most devices from carriers are locked from the start.
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
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Best answer here. I'm not sure what the confusion is here. A phone from T Mobile IS locked to T Mobile unless one removes the carrier lock. Its always been this way (sans int. phones). The carrier unlock app is in the S7 as well and by law all US carriers must provide the unlock if requested by a customer.
So if the OP buys an S7 outright then they can request and will receive the unlock for the phone. Otherwise its business as usual.

AT&T Gear S2 on other carriers possible?

I got an att gear s2 but I don't have att service so I wanted to know if I can use it to connect to let's say T-Mobile since its an esim.
Unfortunately this is why American carriers, at least that's what my knowledge covers, f&#king suck! Out comes this new technology that for the first time will allow people to have the potential to use any carrier with the same hardware, and then carriers like AT&T refuse to unlock them.
Yes, I called AT&T and T-Mobile and AT&T doesn't unlock watches. I hope someone finds a way to somehow port the T-Mobile software over to the AT&T hardware.
The esim should be universal right? Like it should work for any carriers. If so wouldn't it work if we pay for an unlock code? Even tho we wouldn't be inserting another sim, the imei would be released to be used by other carriers. Does it make sense at all? Lol
My n6 was like that. It couldn't be used by other carrier until I unlocked it and its imei was released from att to be used by others.
brainburnerco said:
The esim should be universal right? Like it should work for any carriers. If so wouldn't it work if we pay for an unlock code? Even tho we wouldn't be inserting another sim, the imei would be released to be used by other carriers. Does it make sense at all? Lol
My n6 was like that. It couldn't be used by other carrier until I unlocked it and its imei was released from att to be used by others.
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The problem I noticed is the fact that there are custom settings for AT&T and so even if you unlocked it, I think you would need to still flash the appropriate software. I'm just guessing though.
It's really frustrating that I've got the first big consumer device using an eSIM and I can't take advantage of it's most basic and essential feature.
Any updates on this? The AT&T watch is like half the price as T-mo and I'm interested in using AT&T watch on T-mobile if possible
Any updates? I just switched mobile carriers from ATT to TMobile and would like to use my watch on their network
I have the S2 Classic SM-R735AZKAATT (for AT&T obviously) but I'd like to have it set up with T-Mobile.
Can I take this into T-Mobile and set up service? If so, anyone know how much?

Sprint SIM unlock...haven't bought phone yet

Looking at picking up a 8T, and I have Sprint. I don't want to roll over to Tmo because I'm on grandfathered BYOD plans that I don't want to give up.
I also want dual SIM, so I'll need to SIM unlock and BL unlock. I've read over a few threads where people are finding that Sprint won't SIM unlock these phones, but it also sounds like they're all on installment billing deals, and trying to get them unlocked early?
Is Sprint just flat not unlocking these phones period, or just not doing it on financed phones? Would I be OK if I just paid for it full retail and get it unlocked immediately, or would I still be subject to the 40-something day waiting period?
i sure like the idea of getting the phone free with trade in, but not if it means I can't get it unlocked and modified for dual SIM...the _only_ reason I bought my current Pixel was for the dual SIM feature...
I could not get it done because of the installment plan. But I think they would be more flexible over the waiting period. But then again, it's Sprint.
"it's Sprint"...yeah, that's one of my concerns, lol. It's been pretty difficult to find anyone that's hasn't done one of these phones on installment..., but then given that few people likely have $800 to drop on a phone, and the "free with trade in" deals that Tmo/Sprint are doing on the phones, I'm not really surprised either.
I'm not really even all that opposed to just waiting a couple months to get the unlock if that's what it comes down to, but at the same time, I don't want to drop $800 only to find I'm still boned 2 months later too...
From what I understand, you can take your device into tmobile and have them put a Tmo SIM in it for free, which effective unlocks your Sprint SIM, but I don't know enough about how any of that works to know whether it means it's fully unlocked from that point, or simply locked to Tmobile.
Edit: I plan on doing this Monday, so I'll try the bootloader unlock and let you know if it's successful.
DaddyIronwood said:
From what I understand, you can take your device into tmobile and have them put a Tmo SIM in it for free, which effective unlocks your Sprint SIM, but I don't know enough about how any of that works to know whether it means it's fully unlocked from that point, or simply locked to Tmobile.
Edit: I plan on doing this Monday, so I'll try the bootloader unlock and let you know if it's successful.
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Since tmobile and sprint are one company now thats why it works. It doesn't sim unlock the phone or make oem unlocking available so no bootloader unlock and no root

US T-mobile - Samsung - carrier unlock issue. Is it possible to use esim on one provider with sim card for different provider

I have a hard time to get T-mobille and Samsung to carrier unlock my N986U phone. Phone is paid ,but I bought it from Samsung not from t-mobile. One is pushing it to other and so on. I like the phone and would like to unlock/root it to resolve the issue. Question is, if I root/unlock it, will it be possible to continue use my eSim with T-mobile and use my physical sim card with different provider?
You'll have to ask to speak to a t-mobile supervisor if the frontline employees can't help you. As long as the phone is paid off and it's been on 45 days of continuous service with them then you should be good to go. If you're on twitter send them a message on their official @t-force handle since most people seem to have success that way as well. Once unlocked you can use both sims anyway you want.
With regards to root, I'm not sure U/ U1 devices from the U.S can be rooted if they're on bootloader version 2 so you might be out of luck there.

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