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Lost reception doesn't come back without restart

I've been having a problem lately with my Captivate. At my work there's a complete dead zone where I lose reception completely (the 4 bars are replaced by a circle with a cross through it). However, when I leave work and go back home the reception never comes back - I've waited and waited and waited, but it still stays Xed out.
The phone requires a restart, and after that it picks up reception normally.
has anyone experienced this?

Did you try enabling flight mode, then turning it back off? Same effect as restarting the phone for your signal problem.
But in answer to your question, I've never had that problem. I have had a problem getting my signal back, but I just hold the phone in the open for a bit, and then stick it in my pocket again once I obtain service.

miztaken1312 said:
Did you try enabling flight mode, then turning it back off? Same effect as restarting the phone for your signal problem.
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I have, and it doesn't work. I have to turn the phone off and back on again.

I have the exact same issue.

I was having the same problem. They changed out the SIM card and have not had the problem sense. If your SIM has been through a few phones my not hurt to get a new one.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

thedoodle said:
I was having the same problem. They changed out the SIM card and have not had the problem sense. If your SIM has been through a few phones my not hurt to get a new one.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Thanks, I just ordered a new SIM card online. My existing one is 4 years old and scratched up like crazy, that may be it.
On a different note, once I receive my new SIM card does anyone know how to associate it with my plan? The ebay listing for the SIM card said to do it through the following website but I'm not sure which option is correct ("upgrade phone" perhaps?)
https://www.wireless.att.com/activations/

Paladuck said:
Thanks, I just ordered a new SIM card online. My existing one is 4 years old and scratched up like crazy, that may be it.
On a different note, once I receive my new SIM card does anyone know how to associate it with my plan? The ebay listing for the SIM card said to do it through the following website but I'm not sure which option is correct ("upgrade phone" perhaps?)
https://www.wireless.att.com/activations/
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For simplicities sake and for your own safety, take it into at&t and have them do it. At least you know it will be done correctly.
Sent from my Captivate

att gives u free sim card if goto their main stores

If you get a new sim just call at&t and tell them you need to change the sim number.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

ViniD said:
att gives u free sim card if goto their main stores
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I've been through many AT&T stores and they always charge me $25 for a new SIM. How'd you get free ones?

miztaken1312 said:
I've been through many AT&T stores and they always charge me $25 for a new SIM. How'd you get free ones?
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You must be going to private franchises because AT&T charges them for SIMs. If you call 611, they would make a notation to your account that you get a free one and the franchise would get reimbursed by AT&T.
I had to get a new SIM with my phone and it experiences this same issue. Has anybody had any luck with getting rid of the problem?

dennistaylor said:
You must be going to private franchises because AT&T charges them for SIMs. If you call 611, they would make a notation to your account that you get a free one and the franchise would get reimbursed by AT&T.
I had to get a new SIM with my phone and it experiences this same issue. Has anybody had any luck with getting rid of the problem?
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I don't believe they were private. They are regular at&t stores. But next time I'm definitely calling 611 for my similar problems
Sent from my Captivate

i have the same issue. i got a new sim when i got the phone and i rarely touch the sim. I bought the phone on launch day and have only just started seeing the issue. it seems to me that it started after the OTA patch but it is still happening after i flashed Cognition v2.1.7

Is it possible on Verizon to own 2 phones on one line?

With AT&T you can simply throw a sim card in and away you go with any phone you want. What do you do on AT&T namely if you have an iPhone and TBolt?

You wont be able to do it without going through Verizon to have your TB Sim card reset everytime you want to use your TB after using your iPhone.

Normally you just have to do a simple ESN swap (can do online). Unfortunately with the Thunderbolt and it's LTE SIM, things might be more complicated. I'd check with a Verizon rep to see what would be involved.

Sadly its a complete pain in the butt. One of the guys I work with had to deactivate it and reactivate it a couple of days later. The guy in the store couldn't figure out how to do it, and it took him about 3 hours on the phone with various techs to finally get it working. They ended up having to swap out the SIM card in the store.
Not sure if its the process that is tough, or if they just don't know what they are doing. Either way, I wouldn't recommend it if you can avoid it. If you really need to do it, it is possible, but its not as simple as just swapping out a SIM card like on AT&T.

Once there are more phones utilizing LTE wouldn't you just be able to swap out your sim card and put it in any LTE phone?

dirtyfingers said:
Once there are more phones utilizing LTE wouldn't you just be able to swap out your sim card and put it in any LTE phone?
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Yes, this is correct. I can go buy the Droid Charge, and put in the SIM from my Thunderbolt, and I'll be good to go.

Thats pretty sweet, I wish I had the cash to drop on some more LTE phones when they come out.

WilliamStern said:
Yes, this is correct. I can go buy the Droid Charge, and put in the SIM from my Thunderbolt, and I'll be good to go.
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Are you sure about that? I thought we were still using CDMA for calls and there is no voice over 4G/LTE on VZW just yet.

WilliamStern said:
Yes, this is correct. I can go buy the Droid Charge, and put in the SIM from my Thunderbolt, and I'll be good to go.
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Pretty sure this is wrong.
When setting up my phone the rep had to set up the sim card and phone separately.
Razorz is right, we still utilize cdma for voice, so it may be possible to get data on a new phone but no voice?

A rep told me you could, never tried I don't have another Verizon phone to swap it out with. Also ATT charges activation when you swap sims "if the sim is in a different phone for a lengthy time". Also ATT will add a data plan to your account if the phone you put it in requires one.

the id number for the sim card and the ESN for the phone both must be in the verizon system associated with your phone number or the device will not work.

stuckhere4ever said:
Sadly its a complete pain in the butt. One of the guys I work with had to deactivate it and reactivate it a couple of days later. The guy in the store couldn't figure out how to do it, and it took him about 3 hours on the phone with various techs to finally get it working. They ended up having to swap out the SIM card in the store.
Not sure if its the process that is tough, or if they just don't know what they are doing. Either way, I wouldn't recommend it if you can avoid it. If you really need to do it, it is possible, but its not as simple as just swapping out a SIM card like on AT&T.
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they didn't know what they were doing.
When I had data problems with my TB, I switched to my INC via the activate phone link on the "my account" web page. An hour later when I tried to return to the TB, I got a prompt for the phone's IMEI, then prompted for the SIM card's number.. It error-ed. After calling CS, the rep couldn't help, got TS on the line, they manually entered the SIM number to make it work...
So it appears switching away from the TB deactivated the SIM, to switch back, VZW's TS had to re-add or re-activate the SIM.
And as thetwiztidfreak said, they did need BOTH the IMEI and SIM numbers to re-activate the TB.

thetwiztidfreak said:
the id number for the sim card and the ESN for the phone both must be in the verizon system associated with your phone number or the device will not work.
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Correct but when you put the registered SIM in another LTE device it registers that handsets IMEI with your account. You can infact do a SIM swap with LTE, since your phone number is tied to the SIM putting the sim in another device effectively activates the phone on your account.
I should know, it's my job ;-)
It works the same way as GSM, but going from an LTE phone to a CDMA phone is a bit different, the SIM gets decactivated and becomes useless and if you want to switch back you need to go the a Verizon store for them to sell you out a new SIM for $0(some times old SIMs can be reactivated however there may b e issues with this). It's a PITA so I don't reccomend switching back and forth between CDMA and LTE devices unless you absolutely HAVE to.

chaoscentral said:
Correct but when you put the registered SIM in another LTE device it registers that handsets IMEI with your account. You can infact do a SIM swap with LTE, since your phone number is tied to the SIM putting the sim in another device effectively activates the phone on your account.
I should know, it's my job ;-)
It works the same way as GSM, but going from an LTE phone to a CDMA phone is a bit different, the SIM gets decactivated and becomes useless and if you want to switch back you need to go the a Verizon store for them to sell you out a new SIM for $0(some times old SIMs can be reactivated however there may b e issues with this). It's a PITA so I don't reccomend switching back and forth between CDMA and LTE devices unless you absolutely HAVE to.
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I can confirm that it is a royal pain in the ass to go to the vzw store to get a new sim...

I just got a replacement for my tbolt. I had 5 days to return the "defective" one. I bounced the SIM card back and forth between the two phones a dozen times trying to see which one got better 3G/4G reception. The rep told me to decide which one works better and send the other phone back. It didn't matter.

DROID charge activation

What's the deal I was going to swap my DROID x for a DROID charge and so my pal calls Verizon and they said we had to go to the store cause they couldn't do it over the phone because of the DROID charges sin card.so the stores were close on a Sunday afternoon so im stuck with my DROID x which is pretty darn fast after I did a factory reset. Anyone know if Verizon was wrong? Or does the sim really require is to gi to a Verizon store?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

juanzr1 said:
What's the deal I was going to swap my DROID x for a DROID charge and so my pal calls Verizon and they said we had to go to the store cause they couldn't do it over the phone because of the DROID charges sin card.so the stores were close on a Sunday afternoon so im stuck with my DROID x which is pretty darn fast after I did a factory reset. Anyone know if Verizon was wrong? Or does the sim really require is to gi to a Verizon store?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
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Its not that you need to go to the store just because of the sim card, its because you need a new sim card in order to activate the phone on a different account...you coulda just went to best buy or even walmart and told them your card was fried and you need a new one, then you can just call verizon, give them the new sim card # for the new account, and they could activate it over the phone. I had this issue with my thunderbolt. The second the sim card is deactivated, even to switch to a different account, verizon deactivates the sim card, which makes it unable to be reactivated. Hope this helps ya understand it a little more...the only advantage I have seen out of this is if you have two 4g phones, like a thunderbolt and a charge, and you want to bounce between them on the same account, all you gotta do is pull the sim out and drop it in the other phone..

dhemke17 said:
Its not that you need to go to the store just because of the sim card, its because you need a new sim card in order to activate the phone on a different account...you coulda just went to best buy or even walmart and told them your card was fried and you need a new one, then you can just call verizon, give them the new sim card # for the new account, and they could activate it over the phone. I had this issue with my thunderbolt. The second the sim card is deactivated, even to switch to a different account, verizon deactivates the sim card, which makes it unable to be reactivated. Hope this helps ya understand it a little more...the only advantage I have seen out of this is if you have two 4g phones, like a thunderbolt and a charge, and you want to bounce between them on the same account, all you gotta do is pull the sim out and drop it in the other phone..
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You are a smart man indeed lol but would have bestbuy gave us the sim card just like that even if he didn't purchase the phone from there?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

juanzr1 said:
You are a smart man indeed lol but would have bestbuy gave us the sim card just like that even if he didn't purchase the phone from there?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
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Sure would. I went in there even though I bought my phone at the verizon store...they didn't give me any hassle...they had to "sell" me one, even though it was free, but other than that, no problem.

I got my Charge from Amazon and while it took a about 45 minutes on the phone it did finally get activated without me driving into the store. Mine came with the sim card put it and call, activating on-line doesn't seem to work on 4G phones (so I was told)

Any new info on switching back and forth between LTE phones and Standard 3G phones?

Given the TBolt has the sim card, it seems it would be a little crazy to switch back and forth (if not impossible). This issue was touched a while ago, but is there an easier way yet? I guess anytime you wanted to switch back to the tBolt you needed to get a new SIM card. Is this still the case? Or can you use the website to switch back and forth between phones.
Reason I am asking is that I would like to use the iPhone during my work day since all of our machines are Apple based... and tBolt any other time. It just doesn't seem possible unless something changed?

I was also wondering how this would work. I have several phones and, until recently when I got my Tbolt, would switch between them quite often. Now with my first 4G phone, I wasn't sure that would work. From your post, it sounds like I could go online and switch from my Bolt to one of my 3g devices as I always have, but going back to the 4g Bolt might be a problem? I don't have 4g in my area, but I really am liking my bolt and don't feel the itch to switch devices yet, but I would like to be able to have the option.

Why not just call VZW and ask ?
That would be the easy way to answer your question.
Sent by my HTC Incredible

jbh00jh said:
Why not just call VZW and ask ?
That would be the easy way to answer your question.
Sent by my HTC Incredible
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They give different answers each time you call! Depends who you talk to.

if it helps, sim cards are sim cards and the one in the tb (though it works in a slightly different way than what would be normal for a sim) is the same as any other sim card. However, if you switch to activating a 3g phone without a sim card, they will deactivate your tb sim card for sure. They may even if you don't, just because they're verizon and are slightly clueless on how sim cards work still.

psufan5 said:
Given the TBolt has the sim card, it seems it would be a little crazy to switch back and forth (if not impossible). This issue was touched a while ago, but is there an easier way yet? I guess anytime you wanted to switch back to the tBolt you needed to get a new SIM card. Is this still the case? Or can you use the website to switch back and forth between phones.
Reason I am asking is that I would like to use the iPhone during my work day since all of our machines are Apple based... and tBolt any other time. It just doesn't seem possible unless something changed?
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Can you ever switch phones online without calling Verizon. I have never been able to do it other than when setting up maybe a new phone but never switching back to an old one. Good luck though it would be nice to be able to freely switch. I have a DInc and OG Droid just sitting here
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

Switching from 4g to 3g phones you have to call in each time
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App

I have tried switching from 3g phone to 4g phone and it is a pain. You need to call or go into the store and get a new sim card each time. The minute you place a 3g device on your 4g account the sim card is deactivated.
I switch back and forth now because i talked the store manager into giving me a few sim cards. You can also call every other day and have the customer service send you a new one. They are free but some stores will try to charge you.
Once you have the sim card all you need to do is turn off the 3g phone, place the new sim card in and it should activate itself.

Wow thats pretty sad that its this difficult.

I had tried this once and it brought up a question that I did not have the guts to answer myself. If you went back to 3g for a short while then afterwards reactivated on 4g would you loose the grandfathered unlimited data?
Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using XDA Premium App

theryanguy said:
I had tried this once and it brought up a question that I did not have the guts to answer myself. If you went back to 3g for a short while then afterwards reactivated on 4g would you loose the grandfathered unlimited data?
Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using XDA Premium App
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No since you aren't changing your plan
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App

Just talked to a VZW rep on the phone, who I'm assuming went to talk to a supervisor or a tech, and she said as long as I keep the sim card in a place where the gold contacts don't get harmed (like in the phone), then I can keep the same sim card between activations, I just have to either call in to switch back to the TB or activate it online.. She talked to someone about this after I asked if I could have a few sent to me, so I'm assuming whomever told her this at least had some knowledge on the situation, but I guess we'll find out when it's time to switch back

joshnichols189 said:
No since you aren't changing your plan
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
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Awesome, thanks.
Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using XDA Premium App

the verizon rep that told you you can keep the sim card between activations is wrong. The sim card for verizon doesnt store any data its just basically a key to there 4g service. They can only be used for one activation and once they are deactivated they are dead. The only way to switch back and forth would be to have a surplus of sim cards. You would still have to call in and have them activate the new sim card before using it.
Ii have done this a few times on my thunderbolt so I know from experience.

Not sure on that having multiple SIM cards is right. I have switched between my DX and Tbolt numerous times and never gotten a new sim card. I do have to call every time when reactivating the bolt though.
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk

I can't see how this would work since LTE and gsm cards aren't compatible. If you could do that, you could drop it in most of the decent BlackBerrys and run... But ya can't. Anyone telling you that you can isn't at all familiar with the specs.

What a pain in the butt.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk

just my experience...
Using the My Account web site, I can...
Change between multiple 3G phones, no problems.
Change from 4G/LTE phone to 3G phone, no problems other than... the Web site warns the LTE SIM will be disabled after 90 days of non-use, implying that you could re-use it for up to 90 days, BUT the SIM gets deactivated immediately.
If I try to change from 3G phone to 4G/LTE phone, no problems IF I have a NEW SIM card. If I try to re-use my SIM it fails and I need to call in. When I call in, its hit or miss if they can enter that same SIM back into the System (customer service can't, but tech support has done it) or make me get a new SIM.
I haven't tried switching in about 3 weeks. So I don't know if anything has changed since.
Also, I find it best to complete the equipment change before 11pm eastern, otherwise the device change could get hung up in VZW's switch/system and not complete/clear until the morning.

SIM card/switching from 4G to 3G
psufan5 said:
Given the TBolt has the sim card, it seems it would be a little crazy to switch back and forth (if not impossible). This issue was touched a while ago, but is there an easier way yet? I guess anytime you wanted to switch back to the tBolt you needed to get a new SIM card. Is this still the case? Or can you use the website to switch back and forth between phones.
Reason I am asking is that I would like to use the iPhone during my work day since all of our machines are Apple based... and tBolt any other time. It just doesn't seem possible unless something changed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At this time, it is still necessry to relace the SIM card if changing from a 4G device to a 3G device. So, if you were to change devices each day, you would need a new SIM card each time. Please check out our forums for updates at our website. Go to the website for Verizon Wireless, click Contact Us, then Customer Forums. You can also sign up for email updates from this site.
Thank you and have a good day!
Christina B
VZW Support
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

VZWSupport said:
At this time, it is still necessry to relace the SIM card if changing from a 4G device to a 3G device. So, if you were to change devices each day, you would need a new SIM card each time. Please check out our forums for updates at our website. Go to the website for Verizon Wireless, click Contact Us, then Customer Forums. You can also sign up for email updates from this site.
Thank you and have a good day!
Christina B
VZW Support
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
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verizon actually semi pays attention to xda

NO SERvICE?

wondering if i can get any help around here. One day my sidekick suddenly stopped working. Meaning no signal or service of any. I can log onto wifi and still use the internet but i cant make text messages, calls, ect. I rooted it and flashed Glorious Overdose, but the problem is still there. I'm with tmobile and idk why this doesnt work. It reads the SIM card. because when i take it out it has that sign at the top of the screen saying "insert SIM". anyone know what i can do? i know its not my SIM card because it works with other phones. its something with this phone.
ok.. so the problem is.... i bought the phone off someone on craigslist. and the phone worked for 5 months. then it finallly locked up. ^^^^ so i called tmobile and they said that the person that i bought the phone off of did not pay for their first month's service so they blocked the phone from tmobile use. so i'm wondering is there anything i can do to make it work for tmobile.... if not. just unlock it and use it for tmobile?

xaznxb0ix said:
wondering if i can get any help around here. One day my sidekick suddenly stopped working. Meaning no signal or service of any. I can log onto wifi and still use the internet but i cant make text messages, calls, ect. I rooted it and flashed Glorious Overdose, but the problem is still there. I'm with tmobile and idk why this doesnt work. It reads the SIM card. because when i take it out it has that sign at the top of the screen saying "insert SIM". anyone know what i can do? i know its not my SIM card because it works with other phones. its something with this phone.
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Your sim may be outdated. What other devices do you have? Is it a 4G Sim card?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

AndroidBotx said:
Your sim may be outdated. What other devices do you have? Is it a 4G Sim card?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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the other phone i was switching over to was a 3g vibrant. And it was working with this SIM a few weeks ago. thats strange

Maybe. Somene esle is using another of ur sim cards becuase tmobile deactivaes the old ones
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA

xtrem88 said:
Maybe. Somene esle is using another of ur sim cards becuase tmobile deactivaes the old ones
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA
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i was using this phone the whole time with a 3g SIM. And i never had a problem until now. it happened randomly

SIMs also tend to burn out/stop working, visit your local tmo store and ask them to take a look at your SIM, they should be able to tell, and if it's burnt out they'll give you a new one. Have you tried this SIM in another phone since it stopped working in this phone?

sduvick said:
SIMs also tend to burn out/stop working, visit your local tmo store and ask them to take a look at your SIM, they should be able to tell, and if it's burnt out they'll give you a new one. Have you tried this SIM in another phone since it stopped working in this phone?
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Click to collapse
yeah. ive used my sim on another phone and it works fine. I tried using my sisters sim card and her husband's and the sidekick still says no service. but on their phone it works fine as well. so its the phone. If i show them the phone wll they say anything though since its rooted.

Go or call tmob they will send a sim free
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

bump/ was not a SIM issue.

hmm, when T-mobile told you that they blocked the phone from use because of the person's non-paid bill, did they say there was anything you could do to reinstate the phone on their network?

yogi2010 said:
hmm, when T-mobile told you that they blocked the phone from use because of the person's non-paid bill, did they say there was anything you could do to reinstate the phone on their network?
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they said it was blocked from tmobile use until that first month bill is paid.
so that pretty much means wont be able to use ever huh?
i guess when the sk4 was a free phone they got it and resold it, but ended up not paying that bill.

xaznxb0ix said:
they said it was blocked from tmobile use until that first month bill is paid.
so that pretty much means wont be able to use ever huh?
i guess when the sk4 was a free phone they got it and resold it, but ended up not paying that bill.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah,that sucks, the person might have agreed to a contract just to get the phone for free, then turn around and sell it. whatever happened, it sounds like maybe the only way to use it on Tmobile is to pay the person's outstanding bill
do you have a contract with Tmo? the only other thing i can think of at the moment is unlocking the phone to work with another carrier, like Simple Mobile, or whatever carriers would activate it.
i am definitely not an expert on how these things work, just trying to throw out ideas. i had never really thought about this, i just knew that when a phone is reported stolen, the carrier can block the phone so it can't be used on their network. i bought a Sprint phone off CL once, and i made sure to call Sprint and check the esn # to make the sure the phone was valid or whatever.

yogi2010 said:
yeah,that sucks, the person might have agreed to a contract just to get the phone for free, then turn around and sell it. whatever happened, it sounds like maybe the only way to use it on Tmobile is to pay the person's outstanding bill
do you have a contract with Tmo? the only other thing i can think of at the moment is unlocking the phone to work with another carrier, like Simple Mobile, or whatever carriers would activate it.
i am definitely not an expert on how these things work, just trying to throw out ideas. i had never really thought about this, i just knew that when a phone is reported stolen, the carrier can block the phone so it can't be used on their network. i bought a Sprint phone off CL once, and i made sure to call Sprint and check the esn # to make the sure the phone was valid or whatever.
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yeah but seeing that the phone is a SIM use, and the phone was working for 5 months till now, i didnt see it as an issue buying off craigslist at the point. I didnt know tmobile was able to block a phone. I mean i can see a reason to them blocking the sim card. But i guess i pretty much have a paper weight since i have a 2 year contract wiht tmobile.

xaznxb0ix said:
yeah but seeing that the phone is a SIM use, and the phone was working for 5 months till now, i didnt see it as an issue buying off craigslist at the point. I didnt know tmobile was able to block a phone. I mean i can see a reason to them blocking the sim card. But i guess i pretty much have a paper weight since i have a 2 year contract wiht tmobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was thinking the same thing, that the block should be against the SIM, not the phone. i guess i would call Tmobile and try to reason with them, and see if they can let you use the damn thing!
hope you figure something out!