I just bought a merge off ebay and its a US Cellular. I can not get my sim card to work in it (Mobile Network is uncheckable)
This phone is a replacement of my old merge which broke, they have the same model numbers on the back and everything.
Any ideas of where to start so i can get my GSM/sim to work in my new phone?
have you tried your sim card in another US cellular phone to isolate the problem, as in to see if its the phone thats messed up or your sim card (assuming they use sim cards, I thought they were CDMA?). If it doesn't work in another US cellular phone, odds are your sim is messed. Anyways I'm not too familiar with US cellular but maybe there is a block on the phone? Was the sim card you were using before a US cellular sim or are you coming from another company?
the merge is a cdma phone for us use. the sim card is for international use. if your trying to use the sim card for a local company it wont work...
You can use it with your sim after you sim unlock it and flash a different radio, you can do so using this guide. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16211361&postcount=117
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is the thunderbolt the same as older SIM card phones? where if a phone is stolen it cannot be deactivated? i understand that in order to activate a SIM card you have to also supply the esn number of the phone it will be paired with. but down the line when there are more LTE phones out, if someone had an activated SIM card, could they place it into a stolen phone to use it? or is there a way to blacklist a phone even if it uses a SIM card?
Are you saying that you have a stolen phone or is this just for knowing?
Take this with a grain of salt but the Verizon reps told me the SIM cards are not swappable with the LTE network. I've exchanged my phone 3 times now and they have to give a new SIM each time. They shred the old SIM.
They lied to you. I have exchanged phones never changing the sim.
Not for me 2 phones same sim, no issues here.
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Perhaps all of the LTE SIM cards are the same, and the only authorization is done through the ESN code like it always has been. That way, if someone loses their SIM card (how?) it wouldn't be a big deal, and if they lose their phone, it could still be given a bad ESN and not let anyone else register it.
edifus said:
Take this with a grain of salt but the Verizon reps told me the SIM cards are not swappable with the LTE network. I've exchanged my phone 3 times now and they have to give a new SIM each time. They shred the old SIM.
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I'm also on my 3rd Thunderbolt and still have the same SIM card I got on launch day.
pianoplayer said:
Are you saying that you have a stolen phone or is this just for knowing?
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i was just wondering how it worked in comparison to the SIM card on other networks i had used in the past. when i was with T-mo i know they couldnt lock down a phone like verizon can since they where on SIM cards. so was just wondering if that was the case for our phones now that we have SIM cards?
necosino said:
Perhaps all of the LTE SIM cards are the same, and the only authorization is done through the ESN code like it always has been. That way, if someone loses their SIM card (how?) it wouldn't be a big deal, and if they lose their phone, it could still be given a bad ESN and not let anyone else register it.
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yes, im wondering if this is the case? really im just curious if i lose my phone or it gets stolen. is it a paper weight once i report it? or is it up for sale to anyone with an activated SIM card?
3 phones same SIM for me...
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Just my two cents here. There is definitely an place in the Phone Identity portion of the settings menu that states the SIM Card ID, IMEI, and MEID. It seems to me that this would make it so you can still swap devices without extra hassle, but VZW should still be able to blacklist phones reported stolen via the MEID. I could be wrong, this just seems to be the case to me.
The sim card activates the phone, upon activating it communicates with verizon database. Pure and simple verizon can and will track the MEID and if the phone is stolen or in non pay table then it won't activate. Try it out, then your tbolt off and turn it back on. The first 10 seconds upon boot you won't have signal or data. Then it comes on. It's like the same as a prl update *228. Anyways I'm getting off track here's the deal. Your phone has a seperate entity from your sim card. Both need to be clear to activate.
Morkai Almandragon said:
They lied to you. I have exchanged phones never changing the sim.
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This is true. If you have the Thunderbolt and the Charge or any other VZW 4G LTE phone you are able to swap the sim back and forth.
you only have to replace the sim card if you cahnge your number or activate the device he sim can only be used with 1 phone number. The serial number of the sim card and the ESN of the phone both must match in the VZW system or it will not connect to the towers. I have to replace them all the time. So no you could not use a lost,stolen, or non payment phone on the network, phone still essentially a paper weight or spare parts.
I was under the impression that the sim was only applicable to LTE-level functions. The phone's main functionality is still mostly CDMA based and those functions can still be shut down if the phone is stolen. To my understanding, simply inserting the sim card into the tbolt does not just activate and associate the phone to your account. There's still an operator you have to call, right? With Tmo and att, inserting a sim card activated the phone without calling someone or going into a store.
The SIM is a RUIM which eliminates the need for an ESN swap the the best of my knowledge. I started with a LG VL600 air card and then got a thunderbolt. I was issued a new card at that time but I can swap between devices and it works without a problem. Once June 15th I fully expect this to stop working.
I just wanted to put this information out for the masses. Today I switched phones on my account to a non 4G phone to do some work on it when switching back to my TB the system gave me an error saying my sim card could not activate and to call Verizon. Calling Verizon did not help I was told that the sim card number was placed in retirement and could not be reactivated. I was told when I purchased the phone that the sim card was attached to a phone number that you would keep the card with each 4G device you have. I now have to get a new card. So if you are thinking about making any changes on your line with your 4G phone you might not want to. I hope this is not going to be an ongoing problem with Verizon as I move phones around a lot on my line.
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4g sim card problem
I too had a similar issue. I had a number on a 3G phone that I wanted to move to a 4G phone. They had to do it in two steps as once they added a number to a sim card the only way to change it was to swap it to another sim card and retire the old one.
I was told it's a software bug in the Verizon system, and they are working on fixing it. Since Verizon doesn't charge for sim cards right now you should be able to transfer to a new sim card at no cost.
this is how all SIM cards are for all carriers. Once deactivated, they cannot be reactivated
Carl G35c said:
this is how all SIM cards are for all carriers. Once deactivated, they cannot be reactivated
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What he said.
Plus: its a new network tech. The only lte network in existence. I'm sure the process will become more streamlined.
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I am about to get the phone once it is processed. I am using an old galaxy s 4g with a regular sim card. I also have a 2 year old unused micro sim card. I wanted to know if it's best cutting the regular card to a micro sim card or activate the old unused micro sim card. Or do I have to get a newer micro sim card from t-mobile. If I do either the first two methods, will I still have lte even though they are not the newer sim cards? I have read that even if you activated the newer sim cards at a tmobile store that people didn't still get 4g(Lte) but instead got the H/H+. Others are saying that the phone or the account needs to be provisioned. I am under as an added line under my mothers account which is only a few months old if that matters. Thanks in advance.
T-Mobile doesn't need any provision. If I was you, I would personally just get a new Micro SIM, you ensure that you have the newest and latest SIM card which will ensure that you'll have the best possible experience in LTE data and cellular signal.
Call them up and they'll give you a free SIM replacement in the mail, or you can go to the store. Very easy to do.
If you did cut your sim card into a micro sim, you wouldn't get LTE with that old of a SIM card. Enjoy your phone.
To get LTE you will need an LTE enable/capable SIM card, so get a new one from Tmobile
I have a polish sim card which works fine with my other Iphone, when i insert the same sim card to my nexus 5 it can't register to any carrier !
Why is that, is there any solution for this bizarre problem ?
Thanks
You tried the sim with an iphone (works) and Nexus 5 (doesn't work). Did you try the sim in a third phone?
The Nexus 5 cannot be carrier unlocked because it was never carrier locked.
I don't have a third phone. Do you think that I should flash another radio ver. on the phone?
The Nexus 5 detects the sim card? If it does detect the sim card, I think your iphone's imei is somehow tied to the sim card.
What does it mean?
And how can I resolve it?
I would really appreciate any help ?
P.s.
Apparently a different sim (vodaphone) doesn't work in this phone either.
???
Has the vodaphone sim been activated?
If both sim cards do not work in the phone and the phone can see but not connect to networks, it may be possible that the phone is blacklisted? Is the imei correct?
audit13 said:
Has the vodaphone sim been activated?
If both sim cards do not work in the phone and the phone can see but not connect to networks, it may be possible that the phone is blacklisted? Is the imei correct?
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That's friend phone....so....
He said that the sim (which doesn't work right now) worked before. I don't know about the Vodafone sim.
How can i find out that this phone is in the blacklisted?
Thanks again,
You can check the imei here: https://swappa.com/esn
Since the vodaphone sim is not active, it is not a good test of the Nexus 5. It would be best to try an active/working sim in the N5.
1. How can I know if my phone tied to the sim card ? (you mentioned it before)
2. Do you know this website http://www.imei.info/
Thanks
I don't know that site but the swappa site will tell you if the phone is blacklisted.
The only way to tell if the sim card is tied to the iPhone;'s imei is to try the sim in another phone to see if you can connect to the carrier network. In the USA, AT&T tie their prepaid sim cards to a phone imei.
As I mentioned before the sim card worked fine with my iPhone.
But the "fishy" story here is that the Vodafone's sim card doesn't work as well.
So it might be a blacklisted issue.
Your thoughts?
Did you check the imei on the swappa site?
Note yet
I would check the imei to make sure the imei is not blacklisted and does belong to a nexus 5.
I updated my friend to do so.
Thanks
I requested a unlock code from ATT for my Lumia 640, surprisingly it was approved in less than an hour, I have the code but I don't have any kind of sim card that fits the phone is there anyway to enter the unlock code without a sim-card, I read any sim card should work. anyone know?
Unlocking can only be done in the AT&T network coverage region. Without a SIM card in the phone, it is not possible to connect the phone to the mast.
ze7zez said:
Unlocking can only be done in the AT&T network coverage region. Without a SIM card in the phone, it is not possible to connect the phone to the mast.
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Ok but what I read is not to use the AT&T sim card only a non network sim card would trigger the entry for unlock code, but that doesn't add up if the phone needs to be connected to a ATT&T tower, which I assume there is one where I am. Actually a non network sim card is showing as valid but I get because the phone isn't unlocked yet it won't work. So it looks like I need a ATT&T sim card than, does that mean I would have to sign up for service with them? Or do I just buy a ATT&T sim card on ebay and unlock it to use on the network of my choice? Thanks
For specific questions, it is better to contact the mobile phone operator directly. Especially since you have an easy contact.