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Is There a CDMA On/Off Setting?

With GSM it's easy - you take out your SIM card, and you are off that SIM's network.
Presumably the Nexus 5 will work for voice and 3G without the SIM card. Is there some way to turn off CDMA (yes, I know that if there is no SIM I can just turn off all cellular data. But that's not my question.)

If you mean temporarily, you can always do the old standby of airplane mode. Enable airplane mode, then enable whatever wireless services you want (Wifi, Bluetooth). The airplane mode will keep the cellular modem completely off.

ronwi2 said:
With GSM it's easy - you take out your SIM card, and you are off that SIM's network.
Presumably the Nexus 5 will work for voice and 3G without the SIM card. Is there some way to turn off CDMA (yes, I know that if there is no SIM I can just turn off all cellular data. But that's not my question.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There should be options under networks to select cdma or gsm. Will find out tomorrow

lafester said:
There should be options under networks to select cdma or gsm. Will find out tomorrow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that the phone has been out in the wild for a while does anyone know the answer to this question?

The N5 does not allow voice or 3g without a sim for some reason. Perhaps someone will figure out a way to bypass this check at some point.
You can also pick and choose between gsm only, cdma only, lte only etc no problem.

lafester said:
The N5 does not allow voice or 3g without a sim for some reason. Perhaps someone will figure out a way to bypass this check at some point.
You can also pick and choose between gsm only, cdma only, lte only etc no problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if you take out the SIM, and you are on Sprint, you can't make phone calls or use 3G data?
I know the Sprint LTE Iphones will work if the SIM is removed, just without LTE.
Maybe that's just a way of keeping things clear to the user - your phone has the identity of whatever SIM you have in at any given time.

lafester said:
The N5 does not allow voice or 3g without a sim for some reason. Perhaps someone will figure out a way to bypass this check at some point.
You can also pick and choose between gsm only, cdma only, lte only etc no problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's kinda crappy. What if you want to use another CDMA only provider?

pclov3r said:
That's kinda crappy. What if you want to use another CDMA only provider?
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Click to collapse
I don't think it is compatible with any other CDMA only provider - certainly not with Verizon. Who else is there? Metro is going GSM/LTE.
Or perhaps the SIM is necessary to pick the CDMA provider - most CDMA phones are carreir specific, and they just default to the carrier associated with the phone. In other words, if you turn on an unactivated Sprint or Verizon phone, it automatically goes to the correct carrier. If the Nexus 5 has access to more than one CDMA carrier, perhaps the SIM is the method of selecting the carrier.
I

ronwi2 said:
I don't think it is compatible with any other CDMA only provider - certainly not with Verizon. Who else is there? Metro is going GSM/LTE.
Or perhaps the SIM is necessary to pick the CDMA provider - most CDMA phones are carreir specific, and they just default to the carrier associated with the phone. In other words, if you turn on an unactivated Sprint or Verizon phone, it automatically goes to the correct carrier. If the Nexus 5 has access to more than one CDMA carrier, perhaps the SIM is the method of selecting the carrier.
I
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PagePlus is one who runs on Verizon and allows any phone. No LTE tho with them.
Also, The carrier on most CDMA phone is determined by the PRL file. This tells the phone which towers to communicate with and it can be changed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preferred_Roaming_List

pclov3r said:
PagePlus is one who runs on Verizon and allows any phone. No LTE tho with them.
Also, The carrier on most CDMA phone is determined by the PRL file. This tells the phone which towers to communicate with and it can be changed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preferred_Roaming_List
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Presumably then the PRL is preloaded on the Nexus 5 - hence it knows to look for Sprint.
I believe Page Plus as a Verizon MVNO and will only activate Verizon phones, or their own (Page Plus) phones.

ronwi2 said:
I believe Page Plus as a Verizon MVNO and will only activate Verizon phones, or their own (Page Plus) phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will activate any CDM phone for a except few exceptions such as if the phone is ESN banned on Verizon, PrePaid Verizon phones, Verizon iphones and Verizon blackberry devices. It's a well known unofficial policy.
To add backing of this you can see my signature
Due to hearing that problem I might look at a S4 or something. I generally like the build quality of Samsung much better than LG.

ronwi2 said:
So if you take out the SIM, and you are on Sprint, you can't make phone calls or use 3G data?
I know the Sprint LTE Iphones will work if the SIM is removed, just without LTE.
Maybe that's just a way of keeping things clear to the user - your phone has the identity of whatever SIM you have in at any given time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just checked again... you CAN make calls however data is unavailable.

lafester said:
Just checked again... you CAN make calls however data is unavailable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, but doesn't really make sense that 3G data is unavailable. If you put a GSM LTE SIM in and select CDMA only, will it make calls on Sprint? (Don't mean to tell you what to do, but I think it would be an interesting thing to find out if you were so inclined.)

pclov3r said:
They will activate any CDM phone for a except few exceptions such as if the phone is ESN banned on Verizon, PrePaid Verizon phones, Verizon iphones and Verizon blackberry devices. It's a well known unofficial policy.
To add backing of this you can see my signature
Due to hearing that problem I might look at a S4 or something. I generally like the build quality of Samsung much better than LG.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that might be an interesting back door into Verizon. I wonder if there is some way that the Nexus 5 can be flashed or otherwise work on Page Plus. I get there would be no LTE, however.

ronwi2 said:
Well, that might be an interesting back door into Verizon. I wonder if there is some way that the Nexus 5 can be flashed or otherwise work on Page Plus. I get there would be no LTE, however.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope so but i'm thinking it's going to require some software modification.

pclov3r said:
I hope so but i'm hearing it's going to require some software modification it appears.
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Click to collapse
I guess I really don't understand how CDMA works. With GSM, if the phone is unlocked, it works on any network. CDMA always seems to involve flashing. Although I believe there is so me sort of lock on CDMA phones as well (after all, MSL = Master Subsidy Lock.) I wonder if the CDMA side of the phone is locked to Sprint (we know from other posts there is an MSL code for these phones.)

ronwi2 said:
I guess I really don't understand how CDMA works. With GSM, if the phone is unlocked, it works on any network. CDMA always seems to involve flashing. Although I believe there is so me sort of lock on CDMA phones as well (after all, MSL = Master Subsidy Lock.) I wonder if the CDMA side of the phone is locked to Sprint (we know from other posts there is an MSL code for these phones.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, And you can obtain and change that.

pclov3r said:
Sure, And you can obtain and change that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a way to check the MSL settings without a Sprint SIM?
The #.#.3282#.#. dialer menu doesn't work with a T-Mobile sim...

satadru said:
Is there a way to check the MSL settings without a Sprint SIM?
The #.#.3282#.#. dialer menu doesn't work with a T-Mobile sim...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my experience, none of the *#*#xxxxx#*#* codes work without the SIM inserted. You might even need to be activated on Sprint at the time.

Just to clarify, CDMA in this thread includes WCDMA(3g) too?
So the phone will either go GSM or LTE only, which 3g or HSDPA/HSPA are not available by options?

[Q] Anyone able to activate an N5 on Sprint AND Tmo/ATT at the same time?

Has anyone been able to do this? Activate on Sprint with just the MEID and no sim card (so you won't have LTE) and also activate on Tmo/Att/MVNO with a sim card. Is there anything in the software that allows the switching between the two - like a typical "world phone" has?

eyeballer said:
Has anyone been able to do this? Activate on Sprint with just the MEID and no sim card (so you won't have LTE) and also activate on Tmo/Att/MVNO with a sim card. Is there anything in the software that allows the switching between the two - like a typical "world phone" has?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Registered here just to say I'm interested in the answer to this. Please post in here again if you find an answer somewhere else. Thanks!

From my activation experience you need to active the sim on sprint. And of there is no sim in the phone I couldn't make a call.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I don't think this is possible out of the box. We'll have to dig in and see what we can find for settings.

eyeballer said:
Has anyone been able to do this? Activate on Sprint with just the MEID and no sim card (so you won't have LTE) and also activate on Tmo/Att/MVNO with a sim card. Is there anything in the software that allows the switching between the two - like a typical "world phone" has?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must have a Sim in order to activate on Sprint. I tried over the phone, chat, and self service and was unable to activate without a SIM.

hammester said:
You must have a Sim in order to activate on Sprint. I tried over the phone, chat, and self service and was unable to activate without a SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you remove the sim after activation? I read somewhere that someone just had 3g on Sprint with no sim, but can't find where.

eyeballer said:
Can you remove the sim after activation? I read somewhere that someone just had 3g on Sprint with no sim, but can't find where.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would think once you activate it you could remove the SIM and just get 3g service but I can't say that with 100% accuracy. You could give it a try using the T-mobile $3 a day plan to make sure it works that way your not out a whole month of service.

There is no "activating" on T-mobile and AT&T. The activation lies with the SIM card. I can swap out a T-mobile SIM or an AT&T SIM anytime I want.

[Q] Multiple Networks at Once

Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster. Is anyone working on running the Nexus 5 on multiple networks? Specifically, Sprint and Tmobile?
I don't see why this wouldn't work right off the bat. In my head, the radios are present and sprint uses the imei number instead of a Sim card. So shouldn't it work similar to a dual Sim phone?
My hope is to keep my $30 T-Mobile plan and add FreedomPop as my source for free minutes when in a sprint area.
I'd love to hear from everyone, my searching couldn't find anything but if your googlefu is better than mine please help!
Thanks,
Matt

TerkyTime said:
Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster. Is anyone working on running the Nexus 5 on multiple networks? Specifically, Sprint and Tmobile?
I don't see why this wouldn't work right off the bat. In my head, the radios are present and sprint uses the imei number instead of a Sim card. So shouldn't it work similar to a dual Sim phone?
My hope is to keep my $30 T-Mobile plan and add FreedomPop as my source for free minutes when in a sprint area.
I'd love to hear from everyone, my searching couldn't find anything but if your googlefu is better than mine please help!
Thanks,
Matt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never thought about this before but now that you mention it, it could be pretty cool to have access to two LTE networks if one of them is being slow. Sprint want a ICC security SIM card in the phone though, not sure if you could bypass this or use the phone without it anyway.

You need a sim card for spring LTE and voice/data on T-Mobile, and there is only one sim slot.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the quick replies guys! I'm still very interested in it, perhaps you are right that the security Sim could be bypassed. I'd love this to gain some traction, this would be an incredibly unique feature to boast!

The phone doesn't have dual radios to even accommodate this anyway. So even if you were somehow able to activate it with a TMO SIM and on Sprint (which alone would take a ton of ROM hacking), you still physically couldn't talk to both networks. The radio would need to pick one or the other. It can't just flip flop at will, it has to set up the connection with the tower and maintain it.

I disagree. If you were to activate it on sprint, you could use it without the sprint Sim... You just would not get LTE. So technically you could activate it on Sprint (as you don't activate the phone on T-Mobile just the sim).
It would be cool if we could bypass the sprint Sim necessity.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

This won't work because when connected to LTE on Sprint it uses eCSFB to fall back to 1x to accept the call. This happens over the LTE connection. If you're connected to tmobile LTE, there's no way for it to tell you you have a call incoming from Sprint's network.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

afazel said:
This won't work because when connected to LTE on Sprint it uses eCSFB to fall back to 1x to accept the call. This happens over the LTE connection. If you're connected to tmobile LTE, there's no way for it to tell you you have a call incoming from Sprint's network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So do you think it could feasibly work as a simple menu option choice, or a widget to switch networks? I personally use Google Voice so receiving calls would happen in whichever network happens to be connected

TerkyTime said:
So do you think it could feasibly work as a simple menu option choice, or a widget to switch networks? I personally use Google Voice so receiving calls would happen in whichever network happens to be connected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you actually have to switch the SIM. Once it's registered to Sprint with a SIM, then swapping that SIM for another carrier's SIM completely switches it over. Then, when you want to use Sprint again, you put your Sprint SIM back.

afazel said:
No, you actually have to switch the SIM. Once it's registered to Sprint with a SIM, then swapping that SIM for another carrier's SIM completely switches it over. Then, when you want to use Sprint again, you put your Sprint SIM back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TerkyTime said:
So do you think it could feasibly work as a simple menu option choice, or a widget to switch networks? I personally use Google Voice so receiving calls would happen in whichever network happens to be connected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess what terky meant is he will forward calls to two numbers in Google voice settings ( let's say T-Mobile and freedompop) and then whichever network will be active will receive the call. So you will still be receiving the call.
Sounds logical but it has to be tried.
I see freedompop's website now accepts meid numbers. But my concern is; will activating the nexus 5's meid number on freedompop block using the gsm functionality of the phone??
If not, it would be just terrific!!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

h20wakebum said:
I disagree. If you were to activate it on sprint, you could use it without the sprint Sim... You just would not get LTE. So technically you could activate it on Sprint (as you don't activate the phone on T-Mobile just the sim).
It would be cool if we could bypass the sprint Sim necessity.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
afazel said:
This won't work because when connected to LTE on Sprint it uses eCSFB to fall back to 1x to accept the call. This happens over the LTE connection. If you're connected to tmobile LTE, there's no way for it to tell you you have a call incoming from Sprint's network.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vincent Law said:
The phone doesn't have dual radios to even accommodate this anyway. So even if you were somehow able to activate it with a TMO SIM and on Sprint (which alone would take a ton of ROM hacking), you still physically couldn't talk to both networks. The radio would need to pick one or the other. It can't just flip flop at will, it has to set up the connection with the tower and maintain it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TerkyTime said:
So do you think it could feasibly work as a simple menu option choice, or a widget to switch networks? I personally use Google Voice so receiving calls would happen in whichever network happens to be connected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So with the new Android 5.1 update, which now supports dual sim, (I know guys N5 only has one sim card slot) do you think it would be easier to do this?
My idea is to get a freedompop service with the imei number, just registering the phone online and you dont physically need a sim card from them. And lets say we use another sim card ( Att, tmob, etc) to use. So basically we would have two service providers.
And from my point of view; i wouldnt need both of their services at the same time. Lets say i want to use freedompop first, and whenever it expires, I can switch to my other carrier manually.
Any thoughts on this?
Brainstorming?!?!?!

LS996 Working With Non Sprint Carriers For Free

I got the sprint version to work with other carriers, even Verizon! I haven't figured out how to make MMS work on Verizon, but I do get LTE most places. I didn't have to activate on Sprint and didn't have to go to the store.
Here are my steps:
1. Activate device on free plan on Ringplus.net
2. Call Sprint at 1-888-211-4727. Go thgrough the prompts until you reach someone. Tell them that you have a Sprint phone that is not active on Sprint and you would like to sim unlock the phone, aka domestic SIM unlock.
3. Restart your phone and give it a few minutes to unlock. It will most likely reset itself.
4. Pop in a new SIM card and see if it works.

Quick question are you rooted?

Not rooted

simon21 said:
Not rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you get at&t working

I am not sure if you have to activate it to Ringplus to get it unlocked from Sprint.

It should be GSM unlocked by Sprint directly, no need to activate it with RingPlus if you don't want to use it with Sprint network.

All carriers will SIM unlock devices that are not activated and paid for or out of contact.
Hardware may limit some 4G functionality with different carriers since each carrier uses different frequency ranges.
Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

The sprint unlock is through a signal they send to the phone. It will not work if it's not on an active line, unless you take it in to the store. That was my experience at least, and I've seem other posts saying the same.
I didn't have an AT&T sim to check

SM-N920R US Cellular (International) work on Verizon

I am trying to buy the international SM-N920R version of a Note 5 so I can root it.
Will it work on Verizon? I found out that it will work on all of Verizon's bands from this site willmyphonework.net but just want to double tap to ensure I am not wasting my money because just because it should work on Verizon's network I need to know if it is Verizon approved. I don't have the Meid or the ESN to check this so does anyone know for sure? I should be able to pop my Sim from my Turbo and it should work on the international version right?

RoachHero said:
I am trying to buy the international SM-N920R version of a Note 5 so I can root it.
Will it work on Verizon? I found out that it will work on all of Verizon's bands from this site willmyphonework.net but just want to double tap to ensure I am not wasting my money because just because it should work on Verizon's network I need to know if it is Verizon approved. I don't have the Meid or the ESN to check this so does anyone know for sure? I should be able to pop my Sim from my Turbo and it should work on the international version right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I highly doubt it, but I'd love to know the answer too. I'd switch phones in a heartbeat.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Why do you doubt it would work? Just curious. The phone operates on all the same bands Verizon does. I could just ask Verizon permission to operate on their network, I'd rathered not. I don't see why it wouldn't work after I throw my SIM in it, but if it doesn't I can ask permission. The only carrier that Verizon says outright no to is Sprint.

I kinda doubt it'll work, but I'm very interested as well, if it works, I'd switch right away.

RoachHero said:
I am trying to buy the international SM-N920R version of a Note 5 so I can root it.
Will it work on Verizon? I found out that it will work on all of Verizon's bands from this site willmyphonework.net but just want to double tap to ensure I am not wasting my money because just because it should work on Verizon's network I need to know if it is Verizon approved. I don't have the Meid or the ESN to check this so does anyone know for sure? I should be able to pop my Sim from my Turbo and it should work on the international version right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't have band 13 which I think is Verizon's main LTE band

I wonder if the OP has tried it and gotten it to work.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

RoachHero said:
I am trying to buy the international SM-N920R version of a Note 5 so I can root it.
Will it work on Verizon? I found out that it will work on all of Verizon's bands from this site willmyphonework.net but just want to double tap to ensure I am not wasting my money because just because it should work on Verizon's network I need to know if it is Verizon approved. I don't have the Meid or the ESN to check this so does anyone know for sure? I should be able to pop my Sim from my Turbo and it should work on the international version right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If its an unlocked international version and it for sure is CDMA compatible it will work on Verizon's network, and I doubt there will be any hassle connecting it other than the usual service fees. However, I highly doubt that taking your SIM card from your Turbo will actually work, as SIM cards on Verizon's CDMA network are not like the SIM cards of GSM networks where you can take and switch from phone to phone and they work. I have tried this with my phones , a Note 5 and a Note 2 and also a Google Nexus and had anywhere from limited service to no service, I think because Verizon has their SIM cards tied to the actual IMEI of the phone, at least that's my thought. But hey If it works be sure to let us know as I know I would do the same to get root.

it does work. you need to have a verizon sim card that is already active. you have to activate the sim in a verizon phone before starting. you can use any us cellular device that is unlocked on verizon. the s6 edge, edge plus , note 5 all ship unlocked. theyre gsm capable also. the only issue with gsm is that you cant edit the apn. which is what brought me here. looking for a custom rom that would allow me to do so. you get 3g only using a uscc device on verizon and no mms.
---------- Post added at 11:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 AM ----------
LvnInOC said:
If its an unlocked international version and it for sure is CDMA compatible it will work on Verizon's network, and I doubt there will be any hassle connecting it other than the usual service fees. However, I highly doubt that taking your SIM card from your Turbo will actually work, as SIM cards on Verizon's CDMA network are not like the SIM cards of GSM networks where you can take and switch from phone to phone and they work. I have tried this with my phones , a Note 5 and a Note 2 and also a Google Nexus and had anywhere from limited service to no service, I think because Verizon has their SIM cards tied to the actual IMEI of the phone, at least that's my thought. But hey If it works be sure to let us know as I know I would do the same to get root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
verizon sim cards are just like gsm cards. all you have to do is put the card in your new device to switch the service. obvisouly the device would have to have a cdma radio to connect to anything other than lte service but you dont need to provide verizon with meid of your phone when switching.

bradsinram said:
it does work. you need to have a verizon sim card that is already active. you have to activate the sim in a verizon phone before starting. you can use any us cellular device that is unlocked on verizon. the s6 edge, edge plus , note 5 all ship unlocked. theyre gsm capable also. the only issue with gsm is that you cant edit the apn. which is what brought me here. looking for a custom rom that would allow me to do so. you get 3g only using a uscc device on verizon and no mms.
---------- Post added at 11:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 AM ----------
verizon sim cards are just like gsm cards. all you have to do is put the card in your new device to switch the service. obvisouly the device would have to have a cdma radio to connect to anything other than lte service but you dont need to provide verizon with meid of your phone when switching.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if my experience applies here, but I did once switch a user's iPad Air 2 to verizon by just switching the SIM card to a Verizon card. This was done in conjuction with Verizon's corporate customer service who even sent me the SIM card I needed free of charge (probably because it was part of our corporate contract - assume they would probaly not do that for an individual).

I am currently on a Us Cellular r4 variant, and Using a Note 7 ported rom I messed with to work on it.
I often see the carrier on my notification tab say "Verizon"
I know that our phones are locked open, which means in the advanced system menu, ALL channels are locked open, and at least on my phone, I am able to recieve and process signal from most carriers. Our service is LTE/CDMA
I havent tried using a verizon sim to see if it works, but the r4 variant is supposedly "International"... The rom I ported was done by a Vietnamese guy...IDK. All i know is that it works after twrp restoring modem and efs