I got a free Samsung Focus today, thanks to the Microsoft giveaway for TechEd, where the first 50 from TechEd who publish get a free phone. I was told that the phone was carrier unlocked... But since I'm on Verizon, I can't use it anyway. I am probably going to sell it on ebay (although I'm considering loaning it to a couple iPhone friends for a bit, so they can get the full WP7 experience), but I want to make sure it is unlocked before I advertise it as unlocked. How do I know for sure?
Also, if I do loan it out to friends, can an ATT (or T-Mobile since it is supposedly unlocked) customer just pull out their SIM and put it in here, and go with it? Or is there something their carrier needs to do?
Thanks!
hopmedic said:
Also, if I do loan it out to friends, can an ATT (or T-Mobile since it is supposedly unlocked) customer just pull out their SIM and put it in here, and go with it? Or is there something their carrier needs to do?
Thanks!
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Correct, you just put in a SIM card and use it. No carrier attention needed. To test if it is unlocked, you need to find a T-Mobile SIM card, or any other non-AT&T SIM card, and put it in. If it is locked, the phone will let you know immediately and you won't be able to use the phone or cell data.
Thanks. I'll have to have one of my iPhone friends try it for me. I don't know if anyone around here is on T-Mobile.
you can usually just go to tmobile and ask for one, sometimes they'll give one to you. and it doesn't have to be activated.
Related
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.
So I've done a large amount of searching, not only on XDA but elsewhere to find a real 'answer' to my question, but I haven't found anything concrete, hence this thread.
I have aquired a Droid 2 Global from VZW for free, and I want to use it with my US ATT SIM, on the US ATT GSM Network.
Things i have done:
- Flashed the phone to the stock OS in order to....
- Flash the radio so it accepts ATT GSM signal
- Aquired the sim unlock code from ATT for my current phone/sim (I'm unclear on exactly what this whole sim unlock process is about, perhaps why I'm asking)
The phone boots, but when I have my SIM inserted, it asks for the unlock code.... What exactly IS it asking for?
The SIM unlock that I recieved from ATT doesn't work.. (I assume this is the unlock for my sim, in my current phone?)
What is the next step, if this is possible? I've looked at getting the phone unlock code via ebay, or one of the piggyback devices like TurboSIM, but I'm unsure what will work, if anything will work?
Help??
Thanks in advance for any info provided
It asks for the unlock code you can get from VZW's Global Support if you are a VZW customer.
Gasai Yuno said:
It asks for the unlock code you can get from VZW's Global Support if you are a VZW customer.
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Well, since I'm at ATT customer, how would I go about getting this code? I do have a friend that works for VZW, which is how i got the phone, and he is willing to assist me. Can he provide it?
The phone must be on an active line of service, and the billing history must be clean for the past 6 months.
If your friend works for Global Support, then maybe. If not, I doubt it.
Hmph..
I guess I overestimated the difficulty of getting this to work. It was just another case of having to get the unlock code from the phone itself via IMEI number,and yahtzee, working as I had hoped.
For some reason I had the notion that it was significantly more difficult after reading all of the posts about trying to get other SIMs to work.. but its actually very very straight forward and easy.. it just seemed that nobody had ever really made it clear that a US ATT sim could work on a VZW D2G handset with US ATT service.
Thanks for your input!
If I unlock a verizon htc touch pro 2 (Rhodium) will I be able to use prepaid sim card based unlimited plans on it? The kind you can get from walmart and stuff? I don't want to buy a new phone because I still love my touch pro 2 but having a verizon account isn't possible anymore so I would like to get some sort of prepaid plan for it. Thanks.
em0rox said:
If I unlock a verizon htc touch pro 2 (Rhodium) will I be able to use prepaid sim card based unlimited plans on it? The kind you can get from walmart and stuff? I don't want to buy a new phone because I still love my touch pro 2 but having a verizon account isn't possible anymore so I would like to get some sort of prepaid plan for it. Thanks.
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Yes, if you do the SIM unlock and get a prepaid provider that uses (regular) SIM cards.
Note this is different from the hSPL process.
I already unlocked the spl a long time ago, using mighty rom on it. Would all providers work? I'm wanting to get one of those unlimited text things from like t-mobile or even verizon. Is there any free way to unlock the phone? If not do you know the best way to go about doing it?
What do you mean by "regular" sim cards? I've never used anything but Verizon cdma on someone else's actual account so I'm not sure about sim cards. I've had lots of phones but they have all been on verizon and cdma.
em0rox said:
I already unlocked the spl a long time ago, using mighty rom on it. Would all providers work? I'm wanting to get one of those unlimited text things from like t-mobile or even verizon. Is there any free way to unlock the phone? If not do you know the best way to go about doing it?
What do you mean by "regular" sim cards? I've never used anything but Verizon cdma on someone else's actual account so I'm not sure about sim cards. I've had lots of phones but they have all been on verizon and cdma.
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Not all sim cards are the same size/shape. There are some adapters out there for sale, but I don't suggest going that route. If it is a major carrier, and the sim card fits your phone, and your phone is sim unlocked it should work.
em0rox said:
I already unlocked the spl a long time ago, using mighty rom on it. Would all providers work? I'm wanting to get one of those unlimited text things from like t-mobile or even verizon. Is there any free way to unlock the phone? If not do you know the best way to go about doing it?
What do you mean by "regular" sim cards? I've never used anything but Verizon cdma on someone else's actual account so I'm not sure about sim cards. I've had lots of phones but they have all been on verizon and cdma.
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Verizon = CDMA.
You need a GSM provider that uses standard size SIM cards. Some providers use different sized cards (as noted previously), but most use standard size cards.
I know verizon is cdma but the touch pro 2 has a sim slot as well because it was sold as a "world phone". So as long as I unlock it and the sim card I get fits it should work? I've only seen one type of sim card before but from a bunch of different phones and they were all the same size as the touch pro 2 takes.
As for the second part of my question I'm still a bit confused about. Is there any free way to unlock the phone? If not do you know the best way to go about doing it? Should I take it to a provider with a local store, use a site that does it, etc?
em0rox said:
I know verizon is cdma but the touch pro 2 has a sim slot as well because it was sold as a "world phone". So as long as I unlock it and the sim card I get fits it should work? I've only seen one type of sim card before but from a bunch of different phones and they were all the same size as the touch pro 2 takes.
As for the second part of my question I'm still a bit confused about. Is there any free way to unlock the phone? If not do you know the best way to go about doing it? Should I take it to a provider with a local store, use a site that does it, etc?
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First question has been answered several times. Yes.
There is not a free way to unlock the phone.
However, if you had looked at the stickies... In this very section... You might've noticed this thread. I hope...
No reason to be rude man... I just didn't want to spend $20 on unlocking it then another $40 on the card just to find out it won't work. Not all of us are "well off", can't just throw away money like that... I could eat for weeks off that money lol...
Also I didn't look for anything on how to unlock it because, like I said, I wanted to know if the prepaid things would work on it in the first place. Thanks for all the answers though guys it has helped a lot. My phone was on my ex wife's mother's plan and the 2 year contract just ran out so she closed the account. I can't afford a new phone to go with a prepaid plan. Just trying to find a way to have a phone again so I can talk to my children and want to make sure I don't spend money I don't have on something that won't work.
em0rox said:
No reason to be rude man... I just didn't want to spend $20 on unlocking it then another $40 on the card just to find out it won't work. Not all of us are "well off", can't just throw away money like that... I could eat for weeks off that money lol...
Also I didn't look for anything on how to unlock it because, like I said, I wanted to know if the prepaid things would work on it in the first place. Thanks for all the answers though guys it has helped a lot. My phone was on my ex wife's mother's plan and the 2 year contract just ran out so she closed the account. I can't afford a new phone to go with a prepaid plan. Just trying to find a way to have a phone again so I can talk to my children and want to make sure I don't spend money I don't have on something that won't work.
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Just take your time and read as much as you can.
Wish there was a 'free way' to unlock the phone, but Olinex is still allowed to charge for that privilege... Sorry.
Mind explaining the whole unlock thing? It seems to me there are "official" sites, random people, companies, local stores, pretty much anyone can do it... Do they have to have a license to register the code on some global database or what? I've softmodded and hardmodded just about everything I've ever owned since my sms (yea that's kinda funny talking about phones but I meant sega master system...) flashcart but I don't really get this... From what I've read you get a code from someone (which can be anyone who can do it I guess) and that unlocks your device. So does that unlock your device 100% or only on networks that person/company has license to unlock on?
em0rox said:
Mind explaining the whole unlock thing? It seems to me there are "official" sites, random people, companies, local stores, pretty much anyone can do it... Do they have to have a license to register the code on some global database or what? I've softmodded and hardmodded just about everything I've ever owned since my sms (yea that's kinda funny talking about phones but I meant sega master system...) flashcart but I don't really get this... From what I've read you get a code from someone (which can be anyone who can do it I guess) and that unlocks your device. So does that unlock your device 100% or only on networks that person/company has license to unlock on?
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I don't really understand how the SIM unlocking process works unfortunately... I know Oli's works for our devices, so if you're going to pay for one that's the one to go with.
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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Click to collapse
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
Hello,
I owned a Verizon Galaxy Note 20 Ultra that I bought shortly after release. I got bored with it, as often happens, so I paid it off in full and sold it, to someone who uses T-Mobile. They cannot activate the phone, when they put their T-Mobile SIM in it, it gives the message "SIM card is not from Verizon Wireless". The facts:
I owned and used the phone for well over the 60 day automatic unlock period.
It was active on my Verizon account for the entire time until a week before I sold it.
It was paid off IN FULL, and my account said the line was paid in full and ready for an upgrade.
My Verizon account is never behind or not paid on time (Auto-Pay)
Is there something I needed to do to the phone besides factory reset it? Is there anything that can be done? Should I call Verizon customer service? To further complicate matters, the person I sold it to lives in another state. I may need to have them send me the phone back and refund them their money if I can't figure this out.
Thank you so much for any help that can be provided.
Are you sure you used the device for 60 days?
Rtiberius said:
Hello,
I owned a Verizon Galaxy Note 20 Ultra that I bought shortly after release. I got bored with it, as often happens, so I paid it off in full and sold it, to someone who uses T-Mobile. They cannot activate the phone, when they put their T-Mobile SIM in it, it gives the message "SIM card is not from Verizon Wireless". The facts:
I owned and used the phone for well over the 60 day automatic unlock period.
It was active on my Verizon account for the entire time until a week before I sold it.
It was paid off IN FULL, and my account said the line was paid in full and ready for an upgrade.
My Verizon account is never behind or not paid on time (Auto-Pay)
Is there something I needed to do to the phone besides factory reset it? Is there anything that can be done? Should I call Verizon customer service? To further complicate matters, the person I sold it to lives in another state. I may need to have them send me the phone back and refund them their money if I can't figure this out.
Thank you so much for any help that can be provided.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you used the device for 60 days? Did you check with another carrier sim before you sold the device?
SIM card is not from Verizon Wireless is a common message for all Verizon branded phones. May be buyer is confused with this message.
dadmi said:
Are you sure you used the device for 60 days?
Are you sure you used the device for 60 days? Did you check with another carrier sim before you sold the device?
SIM card is not from Verizon Wireless is a common message for all Verizon branded phones. May be buyer is confused with this message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, it was activated in late August 2020 and was active up until the end of December 2020. No, I didn't realize I should try a different carrier's SIM first.
I asked them if they are able to call or text despite the SIM card message and they said no.
You need(ed) to request VZW to carrier (SIM) unlock the device prior to selling it.
cam30era said:
You need(ed) to request VZW to carrier (SIM) unlock the device prior to selling it.
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Click to collapse
I'm so confused, Verizon says devices are automatically unlocked in their policies listed here: https://www.verizon.com/support/device-unlocking-policy/
I'm going to call Verizon, and see if there's anything they can do.
Update: Called Verizon tech support, and the agent confirmed that the device IS unlocked. He said I should have the buyer contact T-Mobile customer service and add the device to their database. Hopefully that works.
Rtiberius said:
Update: Called Verizon tech support, and the agent confirmed that the device IS unlocked. He said I should have the buyer contact T-Mobile customer service and add the device to their database. Hopefully that works.
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Click to collapse
Adding to database is a Verizon thing, Tmobile is gsm. There is no way to sim unlock it if you don't do it on your phone line and request the unlock as if you're using the phone yourself.
Verizon will not unlock it unless it's currently on the line and met the other criteria you already have. For some reason verizon can't read if its really unlocked unless it's on their network, I went through it with an iphone earlier this year. They're a mess.
damn, i thought me getting a new phone annually is bad. you get a new phone every quarter? lol, actually i was thinking about trading mine for a fold 2 but no s-pen, no exp storage and a step down camera array, i decided to keep my note and see if they fix the fold 2's shortcomings.
what's in your pocket now?
It is quite possible that the buyer was not using an existing active sim. He was probably trying to activate a new sim which failed. I had the same issue with AT&T when activating a new sim. AT&T was not recognizing Unlocked model imei and I had to use a very old phone imei for activating sim after which I was able to use the same sim with with AT&T.
It also possible the buyer is lying to you. Either way it looks like the deal is going tits up for you. Perhaps next time check with a T-Mobile SIM before selling it or sell it as verizon locked. Feel for you.
Hello, i know this is a old thread but did you find the solution? i bought a verizon note 20 ultra and it doesnt work on any carrier, just work for a minute and it stops.
You guys found a way to unlock this? I just got the same phone and its a very expensive paperweight atm