Does it only boot up to the HTC screen and bootloop? Basically what I'm asking is, can Verizon Wireless tell if the phone is rooted or not? ;]
Yes.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App
So if I get someone stupid at the store, if they miss it and hand me a new device, I'm in the clear? And if I do it via mail, and I get the replacement before I mail my device in, how do they protect themselves that way?
edit: Take out the pronouns and add "one". I'm more interested for curiosity's sake, not frauding out VZW, I already went back to froyo, ha.
I don't know how they would know, but I believe they can, I think you may get a new/refurb but may see a charge for your bricked phone.
I can see it now... all these people turning in bricked phones for replacements under warranty.
Next thing you know Verizon will be checking every single phone returned to make sure there was no "tampering" that will void the mfg warranties.
Verizon employees are just regular people with regular 10$/hour jobs. The technicians aren't any sort of certified or even necessarily technologically inclined (not that they should be, they're not professionals with careers, they're working for an hourly paycheck). Hiring skilled technicians for these jobs would cost WAY too much dough so I dunno how they could feasibly do it.
miketoasty said:
Yes.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see what you did there.
-sent via 1.21 giggawatts of android.
Yufice said:
Verizon employees are just regular people with regular 10$/hour jobs. The technicians aren't any sort of certified or even necessarily technologically inclined (not that they should be, they're not professionals with careers, they're working for an hourly paycheck). Hiring skilled technicians for these jobs would cost WAY too much dough so I dunno how they could feasibly do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's see, most of the people on here are just "regular" people as well. You don't think that if Verizon wanted to, they could not write up a simple script for any employee to follow to check obvious tampering (i.e booting into hboot and checking for s-off?)
I mean, sure they wouldn't catch all of them, but don't you think they would catch some? Not that they would do it, but I'm sure they keep track of what goes on over here in no-no land (at least for Verizon).
Let's face it, trying to get around the "system" is what causes cell phone companies to keep trying to lock us down. When it starts to affect their bottom line, don't you think they may take some steps to mitigate the problem?
Just my two cents.
Dnakaman said:
Let's see, most of the people on here are just "regular" people as well. You don't think that if Verizon wanted to, they could not write up a simple script for any employee to follow to check obvious tampering (i.e booting into hboot and checking for s-off?)
I mean, sure they wouldn't catch all of them, but don't you think they would catch some? Not that they would do it, but I'm sure they keep track of what goes on over here in no-no land (at least for Verizon).
Let's face it, trying to get around the "system" is what causes cell phone companies to keep trying to lock us down. When it starts to affect their bottom line, don't you think they make take some steps to mitigate the problem?
Just my two cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least one reported bootlooping in hboot also so not sure if it's long enough to see S-OFF. Another said he was able to get into hboot and flash stock firmware and S-ON but it wouldn't boot and stock recovery bootloop'd everytime it was accessed.
The bootloop itself would be a red flag. Employees in stores would not have to do anything but note: bootloop issue.
Since the phone is tied to you, maybe they send phones exhibiting the issue to a special group of (trained) techs, who will go into more indepth diagnostics.
If it is obvious the phone was rooted (not saying they can tell or not), 1 month later you see a charge for 500 bucks for a phone!
Yikes!
Again, just my two cents.
funkybside said:
I see what you did there.
-sent via 1.21 giggawatts of android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least someone did.
Verizon can't tell. Well they probably could if they wanted to but the time it would take to check the amount of phones they receive every day because of warranty replacements would not be worth it.
If I were you I would call and get a replacement the people on the phone just have you battery pull and try again then ship you a new one.
Finally, in the time it would take to tell that 1 phone was rooted they could have probably fixed 50 phones at that point and would void out any money they could charge you.
If it makes you feel better, I sent in a Droid 2 that was rooted and could still boot, got a new one with no charges.
I know this community is just "Regular" people, that's why I used the word regular; you have tons of arrogant posts of people saying "omg the verizon guy didn't even know what a kernel [email protected]!!!" when the verizon guy has no reason to care.
The problem is a lot of people in our community overestimate verizon/other carriers. Working at a verizon store, i've seen many of my less honest co workers do a warranty exchange over the phone/mail just because they didn't like the scratches they had put on the phone. A simple call to warranty saying "my phone reboots into a white screen sometimes" would get a new phone once every few months (up until the end of the one year warranty). Watching that go down really really really makes me doubt that there is some tech booting into HBOOT making sure it says S-ON. Even with a script, it's still a bunch of high school kids playing with a corporate giant's bank account: if they decide not to care and just give you a replacement, it doesn't effect them at all. I'm just curious if anyone working in a tech center can confirm that there is some second level testing going on.
Dnakaman said:
The bootloop itself would be a red flag. Employees in stores would not have to do anything but note: bootloop issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is just wrong. When someone comes up with a phone with a problem, the procedure is pretty short:
pull battery.
Check settings.
Factory Reset.
RSD Lite is no where near our dell computers. There are no fancy screwdrivers with fancy technicians. I check settings and see if there is anything out of the ordinary.
If the phone is bootlooping/white screen/otherwise inoperable there are two choices:
1) Pull the battery. If there is no water damage, try to turn it on. If it doesn't work, tell them to call 1-800-922-0204 and talk to Verizon Customer Service
2) Pull the battery. If there is water damage or obviously physical damage, call Asurian and give them 99 bucks for a new phone. That's it.
What I was asking was am I the last link in the chain? Or is someone double checking my "work"?
PJnc284 said:
At least one reported bootlooping in hboot also so not sure if it's long enough to see S-OFF. Another said he was able to get into hboot and flash stock firmware and S-ON but it wouldn't boot and stock recovery bootloop'd everytime it was accessed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was me...as a last resort I used the first two files in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1009423 and when I flashed the second file I did not receive the secitury warning so I'm taking it as the first one flashed.
When done flashing the frist two files in that thread my hboot version was S-ON
Yufice said:
I know this community is just "Regular" people, that's why I used the word regular; you have tons of arrogant posts of people saying "omg the verizon guy didn't even know what a kernel [email protected]!!!" when the verizon guy has no reason to care.
The problem is a lot of people in our community overestimate verizon/other carriers. Working at a verizon store, i've seen many of my less honest co workers do a warranty exchange over the phone/mail just because they didn't like the scratches they had put on the phone. A simple call to warranty saying "my phone reboots into a white screen sometimes" would get a new phone once every few months (up until the end of the one year warranty). Watching that go down really really really makes me doubt that there is some tech booting into HBOOT making sure it says S-ON. Even with a script, it's still a bunch of high school kids playing with a corporate giant's bank account: if they decide not to care and just give you a replacement, it doesn't effect them at all. I'm just curious if anyone working in a tech center can confirm that there is some second level testing going on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya, I see what you are saying.
This is my take on this. I've had an Android device since day 1 when I got my G1. All of the phones I had got rooted at some point.
In the "early" days, you had more, shall we say for a lack of a better term... technically advanced people rooting devices.
Fast forward a bit...many "regular" people are wanting to root, seeing all the benefits that the "chosen" few have been enjoying since rooting was possible.
As a community, we accommodated these "regular" people by creating a Staples "that was easy button", in the meantime, the Android user base is growing by leaps and bounds.
Fast forward to now...technology has changed, the OS has become more sophisticated. Companies see the huge profitability in Android, so they want to hold on tightly to their treasure (locked bootloaders, etc). So now the "easy" button, is not as easy to push anymore, yet us "regular" people still want the "easy" button..."Why can't I just do a one click method???!!!!"
As Android continues to grow and get a larger base of users, there is becoming more and more exposure to the "dark side" of rooting devices for customization. Now although it sounds like things may be changing here in the future as far as how easy it may become to build customizations, at this time, it is still kind of a no no, in the eyes of corporate America. That being said, sure right now Corp America is not too concerned, but as the user base grows, it is possible that the economy of scales may tip the other direction.
Ok, stepping off my soap box now, LOL
All I know is that MANY people here (XDA) are talking about committing fraud.... Then the SAME PEOPLE complain about encrypted bootloaders.
for the 2nd time in less then 2months, my nexus 5 was friggin stolen today. The first time, while i was pretty upset, I turned it into a positive, cause I wanted the White one in the first place, and I ended up being able ot get a brand new white one as a replacement. but this time, I am sooooo damn pissed. My replacement (another 100$ later) will be here in 3-5days, and this time, I am like chaining that thing to me.
My damn GF left it sitting at the table in McDonalds. She was supposed to grab our stuff, while I put our garbage in the bin and went and started the car, about 5min after leaving, i asked for my phone....no phone, turn around go back, NO PHONE !
And at least last time I had my LG G2 as a backup phone so I had something nice to use while I waited for a replacement. But I since have sold the G2, and all I ahve is a Verizon Galaxy S3, which doesn't help me at all cause my Verizon account was closed back when the Nexus 5 came out cause I wanted that phone so bad, that I switched to T-Mobile. So now I got nothing but hte home phone, which today was the first time I've used a home phone in years, it was kinda weird lol.
Anyways, obviously this isn't a question or anything, and I apologize to the Mods for that, but this is the only site in which I can talk about what happened and have people know my pain, and I needed to vent, cause twice in less then 60 days is friggin BS to the 10th power. I've never lost a phone or had one stolen or even had to file a claim for phone insurance, in all the years of owning phones, which I am going on 10years (first phone when i was 17, and am 27 now)....I swear ! if someone takes my next Nexus 5, I am going postal up in whatever place it was that I had it taken from. lol
Sorry to hear about this, very unfortunate. Any luck tracking the device using the find my phone feature? Clutch your new phones tightly folks.
Damn man.. I feel for you. That sucks big time I would be so pissed if my gf left my phone at McDonalds lol. Hopefully you have better luck on the next one mate!
By the way, prepare for some random douche coming in to be an ass to you for posting this story
Dang. That sucks dude. I got mugged for my HTC one a couple weeks ago. Couldn't afford to buy another so went with the nexus 5. No brained really. This phone is awesome. Not missing the one too much. I gotta tell you tho. At least you lost it and didn't get a knife or worse pulled out. For future reference kit Kat has location always on. Even with the low accuracy setting, you should be able to find it with lookout if installed but I highly recommend android device manager. You'll find it in the play store.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
whozilla said:
Dang. That sucks dude. I got mugged for my HTC one a couple weeks ago. Couldn't afford to buy another so went with the nexus 5. No brained really. This phone is awesome. Not missing the one too much. I gotta tell you tho. At least you lost it and didn't get a knife or worse pulled out. For future reference kit Kat has location always on. Even with the low accuracy setting, you should be able to find it with lookout if installed but I highly recommend android device manager. You'll find it in the play store.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
damn. I am assuming you weren't able to use a FIND MY PHONE type app either ? My T-Mobile protection plan comes with a premium account for Lookout mobile, which when it works is great, but if they take out the simcard and reset it, before you can locate it, its useless. Last time, i wasn't able to do it either, but that was cause like 2 hours before it got jacked I had just factory reset/wiped system, to install a test build of a ROM I've been working on (first ROM I've done that wasn't based of CM or AOSPA, building this one straight from stock AOSP source, just like the Nexus stock firmware is. And adding my own features instead of using others. Tho I did add Halo, cause i love that feature lol as well as app bar, which works in tandem if you set it up right. But enough OT lol) So yea, since I had just flashed that, and was test driving it, didn't have Device Manager or Lookout installed. This time, it just didn't work.
I am really sorry to hear that happened to you bro. I remember back when FIND MY PHONE apps were first becoming relevant, this dude here in Seattle was mugged and they took his iPhone 3G (think it was the 3GS actually) and he had the official iPhone one (which is through iCloud now, I have it for my iPad AIR, which OT again, is my first iOS device since my 4th Gen iPod touch, and I will never be an iPhone guy, but I am loving the iPad. I want that damn 12.1 Note Pro tho lol) and he was able to get the GPS data (which was all that it did back then, as well as Wipe, the Scream feature, and Lock, didn't have signal flare or Lock Cam, etc etc, like we do now) and he gave it to the SPD, and they were able to track it back to both suspects, retrieve the phone, all the money minus 12.59$ and the rest of the wallet contents as well as his jewelry. that was the incident that made the popularity of those apps take off, while also showing the need for such apps, and the need for better refinement of their functionality etc etc.
They need to find a way around people being able to shut it off. There has to be some type of feature that makes it so there is absolutely no way for them to take wipe the phone without A.) the password, which already exists as a feature B.) a special docking device or Computer USB cable that enables the Wipe feature (albeit, this could be bypassed via custom recovery I guess) and finally C.) bringing it to the phones carrier and proving ownership, etc etc. The simcard being removed should have nothing to do with it. But apparently removing that, and wiping the device negates the whole purpose of that feature. So what can you really do.
People are dumb, Steal a phone and within seconds you can wipe and remove simcard, and then the only thing the owner can do is report it and blacklist it, which even then can be gone around if you know how to use the proper JTAG device or if you plan on selling it, or using it, overseas. cause their blacklists obviously don't coincide with our's here in the US. I personally had a friend who legitimately bought an S4 for T-Mobile, and then the dude (this was through craigslist, another reason why swappa is better, so there is accountability at least and proof of purchase and authorized sale of said device) reported the device lost or stolen within minutes of the sale. So he gets the money, and a replacement phone and my buddy is screwed. But he found someone with a JTAG device that rewrote the IMEI (WHICH I do not condone, and is actually ILLEGAL, only mentioning it as part of this topic) and he is still using it on T-Mobile today.
How did you get a replacement? Was it from Google?
Sent from my NeXus 5
Just checked my email, and found two things that made me even more upset about this. First one was a notification of a PM here on XDA from the Dev's of Nameless ROM, responding to my request to be a Mainter for the Nexus 5 version of their ROM. which I've been wanting to do for awhile now, to help learn more about Development while also giving back to the community in whatever way I can until I finish my own ROM and App.
Second, was an Email from someone who must of seen my request on Google+, about getting an Invite to the new Aviate Launcher beta, which I've been intrigued by for quite sometime, and finally got my invite code. No phone to use it on. I have an S3 from my Verizon days, that I keep for backup, but pointless sine I dont have verizon now, and for the life of me can't find the battery for haha. Hopefully my friend can find the T-Mobile version of the S3 he has, and said I could use til my replacement got back .I always liked the S3, and my S4,. and especially my Note 3 (want that damn 12.1 Note Pro...already said thta tho haha) the only thing I liked better was the Nexus 5. The G2 would be my 2nd fave if it wasn't for that damn UI of theirs which is a obvious kang of TouchWiz, but dont wrong, and bloated up even more so. Which TouchWiz is already pretty damn heavy and resource hungry, well from time with the G2 as secondary device before giving it to one of my bandmates, I can tell you, it is bogged down soooooo much. That UI is holding that device back from being an top 5 android phone. But that camera is one of the best. Which reminds me of how much I want the 1020 or 1520 to come out on T-Mobile, cause I want that camera and I also want to try out a WP, but all the ones on T-Mobile are crap. Anyways......Stupid theives, ruinned my day. I wanna try AVIATE so bad.
Guess I can give invites now, so if anyone wants one , post here and let me know and your wish shall be granted......if you post a video of you doing a double backflip and saying my username 3 times fast.....haha, that would make this day better for me too
Silicon Knight said:
Just checked my email, and found two things that made me even more upset about this. First one was a notification of a PM here on XDA from the Dev's of Nameless ROM, responding to my request to be a Mainter for the Nexus 5 version of their ROM. which I've been wanting to do for awhile now, to help learn more about Development while also giving back to the community in whatever way I can until I finish my own ROM and App.
Second, was an Email from someone who must of seen my request on Google+, about getting an Invite to the new Aviate Launcher beta, which I've been intrigued by for quite sometime, and finally got my invite code. No phone to use it on. I have an S3 from my Verizon days, that I keep for backup, but pointless sine I dont have verizon now, and for the life of me can't find the battery for haha. Hopefully my friend can find the T-Mobile version of the S3 he has, and said I could use til my replacement got back .I always liked the S3, and my S4,. and especially my Note 3 (want that damn 12.1 Note Pro...already said thta tho haha) the only thing I liked better was the Nexus 5. The G2 would be my 2nd fave if it wasn't for that damn UI of theirs which is a obvious kang of TouchWiz, but dont wrong, and bloated up even more so. Which TouchWiz is already pretty damn heavy and resource hungry, well from time with the G2 as secondary device before giving it to one of my bandmates, I can tell you, it is bogged down soooooo much. That UI is holding that device back from being an top 5 android phone. But that camera is one of the best. Which reminds me of how much I want the 1020 or 1520 to come out on T-Mobile, cause I want that camera and I also want to try out a WP, but all the ones on T-Mobile are crap. Anyways......Stupid theives, ruinned my day. I wanna try AVIATE so bad.
Guess I can give invites now, so if anyone wants one , post here and let me know and your wish shall be granted......if you post a video of you doing a double backflip and saying my username 3 times fast.....haha, that would make this day better for me too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would love an invite. Sorry bout your phone.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium HD app
My damn GF left it sitting at the table in McDonalds.
does this count as stolen? well i know what i would do (hand it back) but this was just a unlucky situation.... and i hope you learned your lesson here bro...
GL
Silicon Knight said:
damn. I am assuming you weren't able to use a FIND MY PHONE type app either ? My T-Mobile protection plan comes with a premium account for Lookout mobile, which when it works is great, but if they take out the simcard and reset it, before you can locate it, its useless. Last time, i wasn't able to do it either, but that was cause like 2 hours before it got jacked I had just factory reset/wiped system, to install a test build of a ROM I've been working on (first ROM I've done that wasn't based of CM or AOSPA, building this one straight from stock AOSP source, just like the Nexus stock firmware is. And adding my own features instead of using others. Tho I did add Halo, cause i love that feature lol as well as app bar, which works in tandem if you set it up right. But enough OT lol) So yea, since I had just flashed that, and was test driving it, didn't have Device Manager or Lookout installed. This time, it just didn't work.
I am really sorry to hear that happened to you bro. I remember back when FIND MY PHONE apps were first becoming relevant, this dude here in Seattle was mugged and they took his iPhone 3G (think it was the 3GS actually) and he had the official iPhone one (which is through iCloud now, I have it for my iPad AIR, which OT again, is my first iOS device since my 4th Gen iPod touch, and I will never be an iPhone guy, but I am loving the iPad. I want that damn 12.1 Note Pro tho lol) and he was able to get the GPS data (which was all that it did back then, as well as Wipe, the Scream feature, and Lock, didn't have signal flare or Lock Cam, etc etc, like we do now) and he gave it to the SPD, and they were able to track it back to both suspects, retrieve the phone, all the money minus 12.59$ and the rest of the wallet contents as well as his jewelry. that was the incident that made the popularity of those apps take off, while also showing the need for such apps, and the need for better refinement of their functionality etc etc.
They need to find a way around people being able to shut it off. There has to be some type of feature that makes it so there is absolutely no way for them to take wipe the phone without A.) the password, which already exists as a feature B.) a special docking device or Computer USB cable that enables the Wipe feature (albeit, this could be bypassed via custom recovery I guess) and finally C.) bringing it to the phones carrier and proving ownership, etc etc. The simcard being removed should have nothing to do with it. But apparently removing that, and wiping the device negates the whole purpose of that feature. So what can you really do.
People are dumb, Steal a phone and within seconds you can wipe and remove simcard, and then the only thing the owner can do is report it and blacklist it, which even then can be gone around if you know how to use the proper JTAG device or if you plan on selling it, or using it, overseas. cause their blacklists obviously don't coincide with our's here in the US. I personally had a friend who legitimately bought an S4 for T-Mobile, and then the dude (this was through craigslist, another reason why swappa is better, so there is accountability at least and proof of purchase and authorized sale of said device) reported the device lost or stolen within minutes of the sale. So he gets the money, and a replacement phone and my buddy is screwed. But he found someone with a JTAG device that rewrote the IMEI (WHICH I do not condone, and is actually ILLEGAL, only mentioning it as part of this topic) and he is still using it on T-Mobile today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I got mugged I wasn't using any of the find my phone apps. I feel like I use them now out of paranoia but I don't feel 100% secure. Is it the best best? I think so. The device manager is good when couples with kit Kat. The best iv seen so far. As you can imagine, when I picked up my n5 I simulated the device being stollen. I had my girlfriend take the phone for a walk. She powered it off. Then on. It gave me her location for both moments and I had the option to wipe. Will I find my phone? Probably not but its better than being paranoid. I wish there was a way to activate tracking regardless of phone on or off or reset. It should be a system setting that locks the feature in once you report it lost or stolen. If the NSA can do it. Why can't we?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
helstonrampersad said:
How did you get a replacement? Was it from Google?
Sent from my NeXus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I go through T-mobile for service, but my friend had an upgrade he wasn't going to use, cause he has the HTC One Max that he bought outright and doesn't wanna change anytime soon (plus he owed me money) so he let me use it, and I got the White Nexus 5 for 49.99$ so technically I still have a claim (still good for a lil over 30 days, they give you 60days to pay teh deductible once the claim is approved) that I can use to get one. That deductible is 90$ (when I lost my Note 3, OMG they wanted like 175$) so I can get two Nexus 5's. So this time, I believe I will pay both deductibles when i get paid next week, then sell both, buy a 32GB white one from Google, and then use the rest too pay that months bill on T-mobile !
Then if it happens again, I am gonna be pissed, cause I don't think I will be able to file another claim. Don't even know if sprint or T-mobile or AT&T etc etc, offer insurance if you buy the phone from Google instead of them. Which is a good question, if anyone happens to know the answer to it, please let me know. Or else I will google it, and I don't wanna google it, cause I am in the midst of a 40day 40day, vow of no-googlesearch. Not joking. I've always been pretty good at comprehension, reading and vocabulary skills (music being my main skill, since it was a skill my parents and family nurtured from a young age. Played my first guitar solo back when the guitar was still taller then me lol) And my parents always made me look things up when i asked what a word meant extra, but now google has made us, especially me, lazy. So i wanna prove that I can still function intelligently without using Google to answer unknown questions, by instead researching by talking to people experience in whatever subject etc etc. This may sound so dumb to many of you, but I think it's a good idea to do at least once after being the first generation raised on the Internet (I am 27 and I've had an email since I was 10yrs old lol)
OT - (not that this whole thing has not become OT, I am just so damn bored without my phone right now, homealone for the night, GF at work, and no band pratice, this is normally phone mod and/or dev time, but I need my phone for that, tho i could do some work on my App without it, but that makes me sad right now, cause i want my phone haha)......ANYWAYS - I've yet to meet a single other musician, let alone, a Guitarist, on this Site and I've been a member since 2011. If anyone who see's this is a Musician, especially a Guitarist and Producer/Engineer (just graduated Music School, Music Production/Audio Engineering & Music Theory/General Music) say wats up in here, and let me know I am not the only Musician who's a closet tech/android/computer geek lol
Silicon Knight said:
.ANYWAYS - I've yet to meet a single other musician, let alone, a Guitarist, on this Site and I've been a member since 2011. If anyone who see's this is a Musician, especially a Guitarist and Producer/Engineer (just graduated Music School, Music Production/Audio Engineering & Music Theory/General Music) say wats up in here, and let me know I am not the only Musician who's a closet tech/android/computer geek lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also a musician/guitarist/vocalist/percussionist/pianist that dabbles in sound engineering. I'm not going to school for that sort of thing, but it's still a huge chunk of my life, and I also spend a lot of time messing around with Android.
You know what I just realized? Girlfriends and nexus devices don't mix. My girlfriend stepped on my N7 and shattered the digitizer. LCD is still good tho. This was about a month ago. I'll replace it myself. Just too busy with my N5
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Device Manager comes enabled by default. You should be able to log into your google account and find the location or lock or wipe the phone from your pc. Just google Device Manager
Look into the app called Cerberus.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus
Flash the hidden version from the following link via a custom recovery:
https://www.cerberusapp.com/download.php
It'll survive a factory reset, email you the info from any unauthorized SIM card someone puts into it (including the phone number, service provider, & subscriber ID), and as long as the phone has service you can still control it (lock it with a pin, ...) through text messages (no internet connection required).
Also, the paid license is valid for up to 4 (maybe 5) devices. I have it installed on my girlfriend's, brother's, mother's, and my phone. As far as those apps go, it's the best I've found.
Better luck in the future
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Don't mean to sound rude, and it's harsh it went missing, but why did you 1. Leave your phone on the table in a public space, and 2. rely on your girlfriend to pick it up? My phone is in my pocket unless it's in my hand or on my work desk. I would never leave it in the open for anyone to take. Maybe I'm just less trusting of those around me but at least you're insurance covered things to an extent. Lesson learnt (I hope)
Same thought here, why would you ever leave your device on the table ? I´m not paranoid, I use a antitheft app just in case I somehow manage to lose my device.
What also seems to help against muggers or similar bad dudes is a rather "ugly" or very plain and simple looking case. A Spigen Slim Armor "smooth black" is a nice case but it also makes your phone look from far away as being a cheap, generic smartphone
EddyOS said:
Don't mean to sound rude, and it's harsh it went missing, but why did you 1. Leave your phone on the table in a public space, and 2. rely on your girlfriend to pick it up? My phone is in my pocket unless it's in my hand or on my work desk. I would never leave it in the open for anyone to take. Maybe I'm just less trusting of those around me but at least you're insurance covered things to an extent. Lesson learnt (I hope)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[RECENTLY OVERHEARD CONVERSATION IN TIMES SQUARE]
A: Can I borrow your phone?
B: Where's yours?
A: I left it on the table in Starbucks for one second, turned around, and it was gone.
B: Hahahahahahahahahahaha!
A: I only took two steps away!
B: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
A: Shut up!
B: HAHAHA! You freakin' idiot! HAHAHA!
@Silicon Knight - just out of curiosity, did you contact the McD management to see if their cameras picked up anything? If they are unwilling to discuss, file a police report (if you haven't already done so), and get them to review their recordings
I feel like the average person stealing a phone would not know about android device manager and you could track it.
Ps: This isn't Q&A, Help, and troubleshooting problem.
wrong placeHi,
I am new to all this so please forgive what's probably a repeat. I have had a browse but can't find an answer to my specific problem.
I got a nearly new note 3 on e-bay and only saw the 'doesn't work in UK' warning after I bid (I know, stupid or what, but I swear it wasn't there before I bis as I was looking out for it). Anyway, I decided to take it on the chin and do what I needed to do to make it work.
I read around, this site is great, and decided that I would need to root and was quite prepared to do so but, then the phone arrived and the confusion set in.
The phone doesn't ask for an unlock Sim password or have the screen shown in the 'How to... you youtube videos' I don't have to dismiss anything to get into the phone and play with it. It's connected to my home network fine and and I can play with it to my hearts desire. It does everything in fact except make phone calls (my Dad thinks this is hilariously funny, a phone you can't use as a phone hahaha).
When I do try to make calls it says it is not registered to the network but when I have gone into settings to check it says it is!!!
I don't want to go to trouble of rooting if it doesn't need it but, what do I need to do!?!
Also there is the new kitkat thing that's thrown more confusion into my little life, if I root will I get that and if I don't, do I or should I care?
What good is a phone that doesn't make calls?
Any advice, hints or tips with this would be great x
So implying from what you've written on nearly new note 3? So it's secondhand? Why not try to factory reset it? If it that didn't help might as well flash a new firmware on it before you go rooting.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I say root that sucker! Then try the app Region Unlocker from Chainfire so that you can make phone calls.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
nellix said:
wrong placeHi,
I am new to all this so please forgive what's probably a repeat. I have had a browse but can't find an answer to my specific problem.
I got a nearly new note 3 on e-bay and only saw the 'doesn't work in UK' warning after I bid (I know, stupid or what, but I swear it wasn't there before I bis as I was looking out for it). Anyway, I decided to take it on the chin and do what I needed to do to make it work.
I read around, this site is great, and decided that I would need to root and was quite prepared to do so but, then the phone arrived and the confusion set in.
The phone doesn't ask for an unlock Sim password or have the screen shown in the 'How to... you youtube videos' I don't have to dismiss anything to get into the phone and play with it. It's connected to my home network fine and and I can play with it to my hearts desire. It does everything in fact except make phone calls (my Dad thinks this is hilariously funny, a phone you can't use as a phone hahaha).
When I do try to make calls it says it is not registered to the network but when I have gone into settings to check it says it is!!!
I don't want to go to trouble of rooting if it doesn't need it but, what do I need to do!?!
Also there is the new kitkat thing that's thrown more confusion into my little life, if I root will I get that and if I don't, do I or should I care?
What good is a phone that doesn't make calls?
Any advice, hints or tips with this would be great x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when phones are tagged like that in the UK (especially on eBAY) it generally means they are IMEI Blacklisted, therefore they won't work on any UK network ever.
If you are lucky, it's not reported stolen, cause if it is then there can be issues, I have seen people buy stolen phones and have their GPS on only for the Police to show up about it.
My advice, is go through eBAY and claim for goods not as advertised and stolen merchandise, the seller probably won't reply to the dispute and you'll get your money back.
Lol. Root it, otherwise what's the point of having a phone you can't use as a phone
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
root it
To maximizes capability of your Note 3... Root it...
I swore-off androids (ADHD makes smartphones a very bad distraction for some, especially me) but my friend got a "buy one, get one" deal on the S8+ and, after putting a small edge-crack in the first one, just put it aside - she ended up giving it to me.
With her pins I removed the samsung/google accounts and did a hard-reset, then updated the system- my understanding was that, after doing this, that the phone would be 'open' for switching providers, so expect this is a different level of 'lock' (after hard-resetting, there was an App called 'device unlock', I had to connect to my wifi to get an answer and it said 'no', to contact customer service)
Am unsure if she can get them to unlock it, but even that is a major PITA (we don't see each other often nor do we live nearby), and I half-expect they're going to say 'no' to her anyways if she's trying to get them to let a 3rd party use it on a different carrier. So, I want/may-have-to crack it to get around this and while I'm guessing that a custom ROM will bypass this, I've read enough about there being something on the chip that'll be irrevocably 'tripped' when rooting the phone before flashing ROM's, and that once tripped it can't be undone and causes issues....so am wary!
There's also the idea of just flashing the regular G955U1 firmware but even w/ that I'm unsure if it'll 'trip' whatever the chip's protection from rooting is, I'd really like to get my service (Tracfone) onto it before doing more aggressive 'minimalization' of the system as I'd like to mess-around w/ a new android OS for a bit just to check it out (last time I used android, towelroot was the premiere go-to...that should give an idea how long it's been!)
Any/all ideas or tips or just keywords to get me pointed in the right direction would be incredibly appreciated, have spent many hours this week trying to get this thing working w/ my service, am awaiting my 2nd SIM card (my old phone, via Tracfone, was using verizon towers- so if I want to keep my #, I have to use the Verizon SIM they've mailed me that should be here any day) and, after that re-set, I'm expecting that even the new SIM will not be enough to get it working properly :/
(Something I think is important to point out, though it could be a fluke- during one of my tech-support sessions w/ the people at my carrier(Tracfone), the first one actually, we ended the call *thinking* it was fixed - the tech had finished on his end, asked me to make a call w/ the S8+, I called my landline and sure enough my phone# was calling my landline (via the S8+), however the tech said there were still issues and that he'd work on them, to call back in 24hrs. After hanging-up, I started testing and the first thing I did was to *call* my cell# from the landline and, sure enough, the old phone started ringing (the old phone is CDMA so it wasn't like I'd pulled its SIM), am unsure if I should take this to mean that it just let me dial-out as a fluke (I hadn't hard-reset the handset yet) or if it went wrong another way, but I *was* able to make a single outgoing call from the S8+ with my # so am getting the impression the lock isn't *that* unbeatable!)
Do a google search for UnlockUnit(.)com and check if your S8 qualifies to be unlocked.
Thank you!!
RossTeagan said:
Do a google search for UnlockUnit(.)com and check if your S8 qualifies to be unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TBH that seems sketchy to me but it's a fail-safe/last-ditch effort I'll do if/when the time comes....
I just got a 30d temp-unlock from t-mobile (after a conference call w/ them & my friend the prior owner & myself), so right now am thinking *maybe* I can do things as far as cracking that lock that i couldn't have before....I don't care if I hobble the phone, I only care if the cracked unit can do talk/text, if it loses data I'm fine with that (honestly I'd be looking for the most minimalist ROM if/when I get my non-t-mobile service onto this thing, am a linux person and hoping they've got linux-esque rom's at this point!)((yes, I know android is based off linux I just mean putting a super-minimalist 'basic mode' *nix setup, that'd be my ideal!!))
I know there's a 'trip' on the logic-board on the CPU but my understanding is that tripping it only ruins the ability to get samsung updates and things of that nature, but that it *does not* ruin the ability of the handset to call/text, or use wifi....am still just thinking there *has* to be a way to crack this thing if I'm willing to lose-out on every feature besides talk/text, honestly I've been considering going to this t-mobile location that I suspect is a franchise in a 'ghetto' area near me and trying to just slip their tech $50 or something to unlock it! Though I'd much rather just crack it at-home so I can have higher assurance it's not merely this 'temporary unlock' feature and that I actually get it truly carrier-unlocked....hate that they went so far to lock it out but am having trouble thinking it's unbeatable!
(regarding the pay-for-unlock-code types of operations like you linked, do you know of others' experiences like how reliable a service it is, something more like 50/50 or 95% reliable? Have read an anecdote of someone unlocking one that way, only for the handset to be locked again a month later.....presumably they paid for a temp-unlock, thinking it was a permanent one- but permanent is all that these services seem to imply they do!)