[Q] Bad IMEI - General Questions and Answers

So I am looking to buy a new phone. I am looking on ebay and there are TONS of bad imei phones for at&t! I want to buy one since they are cheaper. Only issue is that I want to be sure that they will work on straight talk, since that is my current carrier. I have read lots of people's pinions about if they will work or not because of blacklists, and I don't know if there is any one steady answer. I am hoping to get someone with some real knowledge to shed some light on this because I am stumped on if I should take the risk and buy one.
I did call straight talk today and ask if I can bring a phone with a bad IMEI number over and the response I got was strange... They said that all I have to do is buy a BYOP package and give them my sim card number and it will work. I said I know that it will work because i am on a BYOP already, but I wanted to know if my sim would get kicked off for using a blacklisted phone on the at&t network even though it was through straight talk. She said, that they only need the digits from the straight talk sim and it would work. So I tried one more time and explained everything fully... I again received the same response that they needed the sim card numbers only. So I said, does that mean that the IMEI doesn't matter for your service at all and I can have a blacklisted phone on it? and again the response was, (besically) yes, you just need a straight talk sim.
So all in all I understand that to mean that AT&T has nothing to do with straight talk when it comes to blacklisting phones! That's a wonderful thing since there are so many blacklist phones out there right now, but I was hoping someone else could drop a little knowledge on me if they knew something about it, or if they knew that straight talk was lying, so I don't waste my time/money on this phone.

I haven't looked into this since last year, but the FCC was advising on a shared blacklist to be implemented in the future back then.
Also beware that the phone might be stolen, which could lead to more problems in the future.
I've never used Straight Talk, but if they use AT&T towers maybe call AT&T. Honestly, it might be hard to get a real answer from them because most of the reps (true for all companies) don't have a clue how their own blacklists even work - heck, some don't even seem to know they *exist*.
They might not be "lying", it just might not be part of their training is information base.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

w4rped said:
So I am looking to buy a new phone. I am looking on ebay and there are TONS of bad imei phones for at&t! I want to buy one since they are cheaper. Only issue is that I want to be sure that they will work on straight talk, since that is my current carrier. I have read lots of people's pinions about if they will work or not because of blacklists, and I don't know if there is any one steady answer. I am hoping to get someone with some real knowledge to shed some light on this because I am stumped on if I should take the risk and buy one.
I did call straight talk today and ask if I can bring a phone with a bad IMEI number over and the response I got was strange... They said that all I have to do is buy a BYOP package and give them my sim card number and it will work. I said I know that it will work because i am on a BYOP already, but I wanted to know if my sim would get kicked off for using a blacklisted phone on the at&t network even though it was through straight talk. She said, that they only need the digits from the straight talk sim and it would work. So I tried one more time and explained everything fully... I again received the same response that they needed the sim card numbers only. So I said, does that mean that the IMEI doesn't matter for your service at all and I can have a blacklisted phone on it? and again the response was, (besically) yes, you just need a straight talk sim.
So all in all I understand that to mean that AT&T has nothing to do with straight talk when it comes to blacklisting phones! That's a wonderful thing since there are so many blacklist phones out there right now, but I was hoping someone else could drop a little knowledge on me if they knew something about it, or if they knew that straight talk was lying, so I don't waste my time/money on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
StraightTalk SIM cards can either use AT&T or T-mobile (Tracfone {parent company for StraghtTalk} leases several carrier's networks). If you buy and AT&T phone with a bad ESN and put a StraghtTalk AT&T SIM into it, the likelihood of it working is low. The reason for this is the you would still be using AT&T's network, and the ESN has a high chance of being picked up by AT&T's black-list.
If I were you, I'd get a factory unlocked phone, or a newer Verizon 4G LTE phone that has a bad (or clean) ESN. The reason I say the later is that most Verizon 4G LTE phones are also world phones and work with GSM. Now, you'll have to remove the radio band block, but that's very easy, and I know XDA has several tutorials for this. I removed the block on my RAZR M and it works just fine with an AT&T SIM inserted.

Hikikomori-Otaku said:
StraightTalk SIM cards can either use AT&T or T-mobile (Tracfone {parent company for StraghtTalk} leases several carrier's networks). If you buy and AT&T phone with a bad ESN and put a StraghtTalk AT&T SIM into it, the likelihood of it working is low. The reason for this is the you would still be using AT&T's network, and the ESN has a high chance of being picked up by AT&T's black-list.
If I were you, I'd get a factory unlocked phone, or a newer Verizon 4G LTE phone that has a bad (or clean) ESN. The reason I say the later is that most Verizon 4G LTE phones are also world phones and work with GSM. Now, you'll have to remove the radio band block, but that's very easy, and I know XDA has several tutorials for this. I removed the block on my RAZR M and it works just fine with an AT&T SIM inserted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the reason i might believe them is because they dont even know my imei number for the phone i have right now! And if my number is not tied to my imei number then it would be impossible for them to find it out. Or at least i would think it is. Every other service that is tied to an esn or imei number, you have to tell them the number and let them register it. With straight talk you register the sim and can use that sim in any unlocked phone.
I am currently running a note 2 from verizon on straight talk. It is a world phone but i cant seem to get 4g on it. Is this because i have to unlock the bands? If so, how do i do that? I thought it was just because of the apn i was using. I tried a bunch but only got one to work on h+/h/3g (it flickers).

w4rped said:
I think the reason i might believe them is because they dont even know my imei number for the phone i have right now! And if my number is not tied to my imei number then it would be impossible for them to find it out. Or at least i would think it is. Every other service that is tied to an esn or imei number, you have to tell them the number and let them register it. With straight talk you register the sim and can use that sim in any unlocked phone.
I am currently running a note 2 from verizon on straight talk. It is a world phone but i cant seem to get 4g on it. Is this because i have to unlock the bands? If so, how do i do that? I thought it was just because of the apn i was using. I tried a bunch but only got one to work on h+/h/3g (it flickers).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're half-right. You don't have to give StrraightTalk you ESN (MEID/IMEI). The problem comes when you connect to the network. When you connect, your device will be identified by it's ICCID (SIM #) and it's ESN (so it knows what type of device it is and what service it needs). Because it would be an old AT&T phone, reconnecting to AT&T, there's a high chance it will be matched on the black-list.
As for your Note II, if it's already working, the radio it has may not support the higher GSM 4G/LTE bands. You may be able to unlock them, but I wouldn't know how with a Samsung device. The APN may help, but I'd first check the radio.

Ok I have a question so I have a T-Mobile contract and iPhone 7 Plus for a little over a. Year now but I haven’t paid it off in full and my bill got out of hand so I can’t afford to pay the balance so is there anyway I can use this for any prepaid plans of any company

Related

[Q] Straight Talk Nokia E71 permanently deactivated. Can it be undone?

I was a Straight Talk customer for several months until my Nokia E71 was permanently deactivated for "excessive data usage" on their unlimited plan. What I'm left with now is a $200 Blackberry-like PDA with no actual phone capabilities. It amazes me that they can legally cripple my phone this way.
My understanding of it is that the phone now has what basically amounts to the GSM eqivalent of a bad ESN. Anyone happen to know any way to turn this back into a viable phone again? This particular phone uses a SIM card and apparently runs on the AT&T network so I'm hoping there's some way to unlock it to work with AT&T or T-Mo.
Most, if not AT&T phones will use the ST sim without unlocking it...its like using a Simple Mobile sim on a T-Mobile phone. Usually you can just put it in, change your APN's and you're good to go. With ST though, I believe they tie your SIM card with your e71 since they know people just really want the sim card and plans and not their phones. If you're e71 is blocked, I don't think you can unblock it. Or maybe you can call in and say "hey, I bought this phone of craigslist" and if they mention its on a blocked list just play dumb and that you had no idea...mind you you have to pretend like you're a different customer, maybe put the account in someone elses name?
---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 AM ----------
actually see if your SIM card has been deactivated, if not then you can just put it in an AT&T phone and you should be good...if it has then yeah, I would just say I got this phone from someone on craigslist and I want to activate it. They should unblock it if its for a new customer...hopefully.
I've tried putting the ST SIM in an unlocked T-Mo phone to no avail. After ST deactivated me, I did a ****load of Google-ing and I'm pretty sure people have tried your Craigslist method with no luck. I've read hints that it "might" be possible to de-brand it, but that it'd be a pretty advanced operation. I just figured that if anyone could actually pull it off, XDA would be the most likely place to find them.
I'm pretty sure I used the craigslist method and it worked for me, but I can't remember for sure. I bought a broken e71 off of ebay and just registered that IMEI number, mind you I can't remember if the IMEI was blocked or not so maybe thats why I didn't have any problems. And even if other people tried with no avail you should try regardless, who knows, maybe it will work with you.

[Q] Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3-SCH-I535-Unlocking

I am by far no where near the caliber of technology that lie within this web site, however, I am simply trying to get some direction regarding my S3.
I purchased it from Verizon-2 yrs ago, contract expired 7/8/13; did not renew. I went with Consumer Cellular (more fitting for the older generation) but my S3 WON'T WORK ON THEIR NETWORK!
I have spent the last 3 weeks doing research on this phone to see if it can be 'unlocked' to work with a another carrier. The phone is like brand new and I don't want to get rid of it, I'd prefer to use it with the new carrier.
Is there anyone who can give me some direction to this issue? Can the phone infact be "unlocked' to work with Consumer, it has the Verizon SIM card in it, I was able to root it, successfully, now if I can just get it unlocked. Had to purchase another phone so that I would not be without phone service while I work on trying to get this one unlocked.
I've been told it can't because Verizon is a CDMA carrier and Consumer is a GSM..if this in fact true than I've no options but to sell the phone.
I do have "Preferred Network Mode' and it gives me the following options, Global, LTE/CDMA & GSM/UMTS.
Any help, directions or information would be greatly appreciated. With my thanks to all those who have taken the time to read this post.
Southern66 said:
I am by far no where near the caliber of technology that lie within this web site, however, I am simply trying to get some direction regarding my S3.
I purchased it from Verizon-2 yrs ago, contract expired 7/8/13; did not renew. I went with Consumer Cellular (more fitting for the older generation) but my S3 WON'T WORK ON THEIR NETWORK!
I have spent the last 3 weeks doing research on this phone to see if it can be 'unlocked' to work with a another carrier. The phone is like brand new and I don't want to get rid of it, I'd prefer to use it with the new carrier.
Is there anyone who can give me some direction to this issue? Can the phone infact be "unlocked' to work with Consumer, it has the Verizon SIM card in it, I was able to root it, successfully, now if I can just get it unlocked. Had to purchase another phone so that I would not be without phone service while I work on trying to get this one unlocked.
I've been told it can't because Verizon is a CDMA carrier and Consumer is a GSM..if this in fact true than I've no options but to sell the phone.
I do have "Preferred Network Mode' and it gives me the following options, Global, LTE/CDMA & GSM/UMTS.
Any help, directions or information would be greatly appreciated. With my thanks to all those who have taken the time to read this post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get this phone 2 years ago? It barely came out a little more than a year ago.
Next, you can unlock it, but only if you pay for the full retail for the phone and then contact Verizon about what you want to do and then get an unlock code. After that, you're going to need a SIM card from Consumer Cellular.
There shouldn't be a problem with radio frequencies since the Verizon GS3 is a global phone. So the SIM card should work after you get it set up.
If I'm wrong in some aspect, someone feel free to correct me.
sent from my Infected Bonestock GS3
david_hume said:
How did you get this phone 2 years ago? It barely came out a little more than a year ago.
Next, you can unlock it, but only if you pay for the full retail for the phone and then contact Verizon about what you want to do and then get an unlock code. After that, you're going to need a SIM card from Consumer Cellular.
There shouldn't be a problem with radio frequencies since the Verizon GS3 is a global phone. So the SIM card should work after you get it set up.
If I'm wrong in some aspect, someone feel free to correct me.
sent from my Infected Bonestock GS3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In regards to Unlocking the phone, the phone is unlocked out of the box, you just pop in your sim and select GSM mode! you have to set the APN for DATA yourself tho!
Galaxy s3 sCH-I535
david_hume said:
How did you get this phone 2 years ago? It barely came out a little more than a year ago.
Next, you can unlock it, but only if you pay for the full retail for the phone and then contact Verizon about what you want to do and then get an unlock code. After that, you're going to need a SIM card from Consumer Cellular.
There shouldn't be a problem with radio frequencies since the Verizon GS3 is a global phone. So the SIM card should work after you get it set up.
If I'm wrong in some aspect, someone feel free to correct me.
sent from my Infected Bonestock GS3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi:
I do not recall the date of purchase but know that when I purchased it I had to sign for a 2 yr contract with Verizon..that contract was up July 8,2013.
That is not important, what is important is to find out if in fact the phone can be unlocked, VERIZON swears it is unlocked so they are not going to be of any use to me to get their help. It is up to me to find someone who can unlock this phone via a cable. The code places I have contacted can't come up with a code, they have instructed me that it needs to be done with a cable.
As I stated, I am simply trying to get the phone unlocked to use on Consumer Celluar, of which I am already a memeber and have the SIM card activated on another SAMSUNG phone of which I had to buy.
I do not have to buy the phone outright, as the phone is paid for, thus the 2 yr contract. the phone is mine, but as long as it is in the state it is now, I can only use it on VERIZON.
The I535 has a sim card in it from Verizon, when I take out the Verizon SIM card and put in the Consumer SIM card I get the message, "this is a non verizon SIM card.
I am researching this everyday to find out if IT CAN BE UNLOCKED, AND #2 WHO CAN I GET TO UNLOCK IT? Verizon went so far as to tell me that all the person needs is a USB cable and PC...how true this is, I don't know.
Thank You
Southern66 said:
Hi:
I do not recall the date of purchase but know that when I purchased it I had to sign for a 2 yr contract with Verizon..that contract was up July 8,2013.
That is not important, what is important is to find out if in fact the phone can be unlocked, VERIZON swears it is unlocked so they are not going to be of any use to me to get their help. It is up to me to find someone who can unlock this phone via a cable. The code places I have contacted can't come up with a code, they have instructed me that it needs to be done with a cable.
As I stated, I am simply trying to get the phone unlocked to use on Consumer Celluar, of which I am already a memeber and have the SIM card activated on another SAMSUNG phone of which I had to buy.
I do not have to buy the phone outright, as the phone is paid for, thus the 2 yr contract. the phone is mine, but as long as it is in the state it is now, I can only use it on VERIZON.
The I535 has a sim card in it from Verizon, when I take out the Verizon SIM card and put in the Consumer SIM card I get the message, "this is a non verizon SIM card.
I am researching this everyday to find out if IT CAN BE UNLOCKED, AND #2 WHO CAN I GET TO UNLOCK IT? Verizon went so far as to tell me that all the person needs is a USB cable and PC...how true this is, I don't know.
Thank You
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon is right by saying its unlocked, and thats the most anyone can help you, if you are going to try unlocking the phone by cable, you might as well throw money down the drain! and 2 you need to update to the MF1 software! as MB1 and MD3 would tell you its non verizon sim card, but even on that update if you put the phone in GSM mode in Network settings the phone should work fine for calling and texting!
having the same issue, if you find out anything will you please let me know how to do this too. i would greatly appriciate it
SIM
Did you get the free Consumer Cellular SIM yet? Your post said you have rooted and have the Verizon SIM, and you can't get on CC network without their SIM card.
The phone is already "unlocked" for global/GSM use with the JB update, so you should be able to just pop in a SIM card from CC and change settings (they should provide you with this info).
A lot of ppl are saying the Verizon GS3 is already unlocked, but when i pop in my metro pcs sim card and switch network to cdma, nothing happens. What would I have to do to make it work with this metro carrier?
No Data, No Voice, No SMS
Hi. Im also having the same issue. I have a Verizon GS3 that was originally running 4.0.4, VRALHE. I rooted, updated the baseband to MF1, and installed RLS16 of Hyperdrive, so I now am on 4.1.2. I have the option to go GSM or Global, but when I put in my MetroPCS sim, I get nothing. It prompts me for Global, but I cant make calls or send sms. I also put in the APN and no data as well. Anyone know whatbI should do next? I have an IMEI, it doesnt appear to be lost, and I have tried the phone info app, as well as trying to go through the secret menu, the network lock menu is blank.
Hey, I got the same problem, and considering how it's been a while since the last post I wonder if there is any new news on this front. Thanx!
P.s: It came preinstalled with 4.3 stock, not rooted yet. I have the option to instal 4.4.2 via Kies {PDA:NE1 / PHONE:NE1 / CSC:NE1 (VZW)}.
Update here:
I digged into some settings and found that switching it into either Global or GSM seems to make the phone capable of voice calls.
Idk about 3G, I did manually type in the APN settings, but I never use anything other than wifi because internet here is expensive unless you go with one of their plans.
So if you haven't tried it, on 4.3 go to settings, under wireless and networks select 'More Settings', Mobile Networks, Network Mode.
Worked for me, although I still get "Non-Verizon SIM" in the notifications bar and it looks like my signal is a bit weaker than before. But still works.
guys you are wrong
guys there is no way metropcs, Boost mobile or sprint networks Work cause these are CDMA carriers and verizon and the other CDMA Carriers has a different activation way on Verizon smartphones the GSM module(gsm networks as well) come unlocked for foreigner carriers even the GSM US carriers(AT&T or TMOBILE) sometimes doesnt work hope that info help

[Q] Getting LTE on AT&T w/ Nexus 5

Hello,
I'm coming from a Nexus 4, and have never had an LTE phone on my AT&T account before. I've read that since AT&T doesn't have Nexus 5 in their system, that it will be a hassle for them to activate LTE through the phone. I can't really find any concrete answers or info, so I figured I'd stop by here and see if anyone has any ideas?
Does AT&T have to activate LTE on their end for it to work? Or can I just adjust my APN once I get the phone?
Has anyone had any issues with this at all? How did you get around it?
Thanks in advance!
I would like to know too... Im thinking about switching over my corporate account from VZW to ATT and I ordered a Nexus 5 to try out ATT coverage in my area first. I was going to head into the ATT store tomorrow, now Im worried I won't be able to get it setup (Im not familiar with how ATT works). Do I need to get a IMEI from a phone in the store and give to them? I don't get my N5 until tomorrow night and I was planning on going the store tomorrow morning and getting either Gophone or shared plan SIM setup so I can pop it in when the phone arrives. Will they need an IMEI to even get me an account activated?
If they need an IMEI at activation, would it matter if I didn't have the device in front of me, like if I tell them I ordered a S4 and gave them a IMEI from one? Do I need to find someone on ATT to give me their IMEI and tell them at the store I have it ordered? Sorry if these request are way off based on how it actually works, but I want to be able to test out my N5 tomorrow night! Thanks for any help you can give me..
EDIT: In the ATT world, would It be considered shady for me to tell them all this info? For instance if I told the salesmen this problem and asked if they could use an IMEI off one of their phones?
maniamania said:
Hello,
I'm coming from a Nexus 4, and have never had an LTE phone on my AT&T account before. I've read that since AT&T doesn't have Nexus 5 in their system, that it will be a hassle for them to activate LTE through the phone. I can't really find any concrete answers or info, so I figured I'd stop by here and see if anyone has any ideas?
Does AT&T have to activate LTE on their end for it to work? Or can I just adjust my APN once I get the phone?
Has anyone had any issues with this at all? How did you get around it?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm assuming that this will work similar to how it worked for the N4 and enabling HSPA+ on AT&T.
You will need an LTE plan added to your account. It won't cost more, but the account needs to enable the LTE service. In order to do this, I believe AT&T will need an IMEI. Since the IMEI will not be recognized, then you need to get another AT&T LTE device's IMEI code. Maybe a friend? I know some people would copy it off a demo device in the store.
Good luck.
FWIW: I put my LTE sim in the phone and everything was autoenabled correctly. This was better than with the N4 where it autoenabled wrong, and I had to change the settings.
I'll clarify this, AT&T has different data plans. They have all their data plans for 3g phone (3g data unlimited), and all their 4g data plans. You can not get 4g unless your data plan has been switched to the 4g version. You can keep your unlimited plans with this. Just call and ask them to switch your data plan to the lte version.
Sorry double post
A.VOID said:
I'm assuming that this will work similar to how it worked for the N4 and enabling HSPA+ on AT&T.
You will need an LTE plan added to your account. It won't cost more, but the account needs to enable the LTE service. In order to do this, I believe AT&T will need an IMEI. Since the IMEI will not be recognized, then you need to get another AT&T LTE device's IMEI code. Maybe a friend? I know some people would copy it off a demo device in the store.
Good luck.
FWIW: I put my LTE sim in the phone and everything was autoenabled correctly. This was better than with the N4 where it autoenabled wrong, and I had to change the settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, to clarify, did you just activate LTE with an N5 coming from an N4 and it went smoothly?
maniamania said:
Hello,
I'm coming from a Nexus 4, and have never had an LTE phone on my AT&T account before. I've read that since AT&T doesn't have Nexus 5 in their system, that it will be a hassle for them to activate LTE through the phone. I can't really find any concrete answers or info, so I figured I'd stop by here and see if anyone has any ideas?
Does AT&T have to activate LTE on their end for it to work? Or can I just adjust my APN once I get the phone?
Has anyone had any issues with this at all? How did you get around it?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm in the same boat, i'll know for sure when i get the n5 tomorrow but from what i've seen AT&T does have to provision your SIM for LTE. My plan is to goto an AT&T store and ask them if they can get my sim sorted; if they screw around or say they "can't" help me then i'll either grab an imei from one of the demo phones or from a buddy and call them and give them that.
youareme7 said:
i'm in the same boat, i'll know for sure when i get the n5 tomorrow but from what i've seen AT&T does have to provision your SIM for LTE. My plan is to goto an AT&T store and ask them if they can get my sim sorted; if they screw around or say they "can't" help me then i'll either grab an imei from one of the demo phones or from a buddy and call them and give them that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This looks to be the thing to do. I just had someone inform me that they brought the phone into AT&T, and the guy punched in the numbers off the sticker on the back, gave him a sim and he was good to go. I'll make sure to come back here and report my own findings first hand since this question seems to be floating around a bit.
maniamania said:
This looks to be the thing to do. I just had someone inform me that they brought the phone into AT&T, and the guy punched in the numbers off the sticker on the back, gave him a sim and he was good to go. I'll make sure to come back here and report my own findings first hand since this question seems to be floating around a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do identical IMEI numbers conflict if its already on the network? Can I use the same identical IMEI from a friends ATT phone or do I need to change some numbers?
GHII said:
Do identical IMEI numbers conflict if its already on the network? Can I use the same identical IMEI from a friends ATT phone or do I need to change some numbers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read imei's are never checked
I already had an LTE Sim. I just used the LTE Sim in my n4.
check out the thread I made for a very simple solution! It'll get LTE working on the N5 through AT&T guaranteed
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2512566
College Station, November 4, 2013 Verified - LTE addon
I can verify coming from a "Nexus S" BYOD.
I went to an AT&T Store in College Station, TX to get a new microSIM because the Nexus 5 only takes microSIM form factor.
I then got an LTE signal, but no IP address.
Chatted online and they told me to wait 1 hour then reboot the phone. Did so.. same response, gets on the LTE network fast, but nevers gets an IP address.
So I then called 611 on the Nexus 5 and talked to Tech Support, told them:
1. I have never had an LTE phone before and thought I needed LTE service added to my Account Profile.
2. I wanted "No changed to my legacy Unlimited plan"
They told me
1. My "legacy Unlimited plan had just been removed by 'mistake' and would have to be restored by the (backoffice)"
2. They were updating my account to enable LTE service
I then had to reboot the phone, did so and the Internet service came right up.
Now I have to wait up to 72 hours for AT&T backoffice to confirm they have restored my Unlimited plan.
I put a pass-code on my Account, and strenuously stress every time.. DO NOT TOUCH MY UNLIMITED PLAN !!!! -- And they do it any way.
.. exasperated ...
They also do not know what a "Nexus 5" phone is yet.. so I think only the call in Tech Support can interpolate what to do. I think the kee was to keep calling it an "LTE enabled Nexus 4" and then things just "worked".
spitefulcheerio said:
check out the thread I made for a very simple solution! It'll get LTE working on the N5 through AT&T guaranteed
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2512566
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This thread's a great resource. Thanks!

[Q] VZW m8 to stright-talk

Hey everyone let me start off by saying if this has been reposed I did a search but could not get a "how-to" on the process
So i recently got a new phone and i have my old HTC one m8, my best friend is stuck in the stone age with a very old smart phone so i said "lets make his day". Before i do though i have some questions he uses straight talk as a carrier and since the VZW htc one m8's are primary CDMA but also have a SIM card and can run off of GSM towers (yes they can only use 3g). Is it possible to run this phone off of straight talks network if so where would i start?
I guess my main questions are:
Do i need to flash a AT&T rom?
even though its a vzw phone do i need to flash new radios?
do i need to alter my CID?
The phone is S-offed and rooted!
My bad if this is a poorly constructed thread, just needed to ask!
It is possible to run through straight-talk (i did a lot of dev work on st earliest androids) you need to have unlocked devices and get the byop SIM card for att. Not sure what size SIM these phones take.
Also... St has no network they just lease tower usage.
Not sure about the Rom though... Never done a Verizon to att switch.
Last edit... Your data cap is far from unlimited and they're not cool with tethering. They claim unlimited but at 2gb I believe they start throttling bad and are known to cut data and service for habitual offenders *I've read but not seen*(iirc)
I've been off st/net10 for a long time so their practices could have changed. I would advise you not to go st but that's just my opinion.
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TheGameDNA said:
Hey everyone let me start off by saying if this has been reposed I did a search but could not get a "how-to" on the process
So i recently got a new phone and i have my old HTC one m8, my best friend is stuck in the stone age with a very old smart phone so i said "lets make his day". Before i do though i have some questions he uses straight talk as a carrier and since the VZW htc one m8's are primary CDMA but also have a SIM card and can run off of GSM towers (yes they can only use 3g). Is it possible to run this phone off of straight talks network if so where would i start?
I guess my main questions are:
Do i need to flash a AT&T rom?
even though its a vzw phone do i need to flash new radios?
do i need to alter my CID?
The phone is S-offed and rooted!
My bad if this is a poorly constructed thread, just needed to ask!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can get the straight talk verizon sim kit and pop it in your verizon m8 and your up and running, it will use verizon towers everything the same just you will have a 5mb cap on your data speed but you will get verizon LTE data and with st verizon you will get 3 full gb's of LTE data for $45 a month unl talk & text.
If you try to use at&t you will not get LTE data only hspa which hspa can go from I believe 4mb's to 12 mb's download speed. Your better off getting the st verizon sim kit and run verizon through st.
M9guy said:
You can get the straight talk verizon sim kit and pop it in your verizon m8 and your up and running, it will use verizon towers everything the same just you will have a 5mb cap on your data speed but you will get verizon LTE data and with st verizon you will get 3 full gb's of LTE data for $45 a month unl talk & text.
If you try to use at&t you will not get LTE data only hspa which hspa can go from I believe 4mb's to 12 mb's download speed. Your better off getting the st verizon sim kit and run verizon through st.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He wants to run on at&t. He was talking about the boosted att service at his work.
Edit: or maybe I've lost my mind
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Thanks
Thanks for everyone who answered, i bought the sim card pack. i put in the verizon sim card i did get signal but no data and couldnt make a call. anyone know why that might be?
jcole20 said:
He wants to run on at&t. He was talking about the boosted att service at his work.
Edit: or maybe I've lost my mind
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He mentioned that yes but I also mentioned that he would not get at&t LTE data on his verizon m8 that he would most likely only get hspa data speeds using at&t. People have worked hard getting a verizon m8 to get LTE data on tmobile some with success but most say they have to keep toggling air plane mode to keep the tmobile LTE data working, and there are very little far fewer success stories of people even getting that far with at&t LTE data on a verizon m8.
Basically the best thing is either run the straight talk verizon LTE sim card in the verizon m8 or sell off the verizon m8 and get an at&t one or a tmobile one and even then you can convert it to a dev edition and get updates faster directly from htc.
No one has figured out a way to convert a verizon m8 to a dev edition even though the verizon m8 is a world phone with cdma and gsm both, for some reason you cant because of the cdma side.
---------- Post added at 12:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:49 AM ----------
TheGameDNA said:
Thanks for everyone who answered, i bought the sim card pack. i put in the verizon sim card i did get signal but no data and couldnt make a call. anyone know why that might be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I"am running my verizon m8 on straight talk verizon service and mine works great. Does your verizon m8's imei show clean for activation with verizon ? Because if your imei is blacklisted with verizon it wont work or may for a while until their system picks it up and locks out your sim card because of it.
Its really just as simple as popping the st verizon sim in and run with it, unless your not fully activated with straight talk ? If you ported your number in it can take a day or so even and if the port has issues it may not finish until you call straight talk about it.
Any questions just ask as I have experience with straight talk and my m8 works great on it.
The whole 1-7 days on a port is a claim by them they generally stick to. Though 95% of carriers do it in 24-48hrs tops.. twice with net10 I had to finally just get a new number to get service (which included buying another unlimited card). I'm not against st/net10/AmericanMovil I just have had too many experiences like the above trying to work with their customer service.
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well the full story is i got a nexus 6 still had my htc one m8 thought i would give it to my friend, i popped the verizon sim card in and tried to register it but on straight talks website it informs me that it is not a compatible device, so before my friend proceeds in adding minutes to this new sim card he wants to make sure it will work.
jcole20 said:
The whole 1-7 days on a port is a claim by them they generally stick to. Though 95% of carriers do it in 24-48hrs tops.. twice with net10 I had to finally just get a new number to get service (which included buying another unlimited card). I'm not against st/net10/AmericanMovil I just have had too many experiences like the above trying to work with their customer service.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh they tried that crap with me and I didnt take no for an answer I got through to a supervisor and I explained either they restore my 30 days of unlimited service or I file a charge back with my credit card company and they changed their tune and credited my account.
They get away with doing that too many times you can also tell them you will file a complaint with the better business bureau, or even talk about turning them in for internet fraud because it is a pure case of fraud when they wont give you the service that you paid for pure and simple.
I have ported numbers to straight talk 4 or 5 times over the years and it usually took mine less than a day to go through. Many times the problem can be the wrong account number as most people think their phone number is their account number when porting to another carrier and 98% of the time its not your account number you always have to call your cell provider and ask for your account number they like it that way because when you ask for your account number they know why your asking for it and they can try to talk you out of switching to another carrier.
---------- Post added at 01:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:46 AM ----------
TheGameDNA said:
well the full story is i got a nexus 6 still had my htc one m8 thought i would give it to my friend, i popped the verizon sim card in and tried to register it but on straight talks website it informs me that it is not a compatible device, so before my friend proceeds in adding minutes to this new sim card he wants to make sure it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you put the imei number in on the straight talk web site ? Because their web site will tell you if its ready for activation or if its elgible for activation. You can also check your imei on one of the free imei checker web sites and it will show the status of your imei number as far as being ready for activation.
M9guy said:
Oh they tried that crap with me and I didnt take no for an answer I got through to a supervisor and I explained either they restore my 30 days of unlimited service or I file a charge back with my credit card company and they changed their tune and credited my account.
They get away with doing that too many times you can also tell them you will file a complaint with the better business bureau, or even talk about turning them in for internet fraud because it is a pure case of fraud when they wont give you the service that you paid for pure and simple.
I have ported numbers to straight talk 4 or 5 times over the years and it usually took mine less than a day to go through. Many times the problem can be the wrong account number as most people think their phone number is their account number when porting to another carrier and 98% of the time its not your account number you always have to call your cell provider and ask for your account number they like it that way because when you ask for your account number they know why your asking for it and they can try to talk you out of switching to another carrier.
---------- Post added at 01:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:46 AM ----------
Did you put the imei number in on the straight talk web site ? Because their web site will tell you if its ready for activation or if its elgible for activation. You can also check your imei on one of the free imei checker web sites and it will show the status of your imei number as far as being ready for activation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... I spent 9 days and probably 30 phone calls talking to everyone I could get to including supervisors before I finally gave up out of frustration and just bought a new card (2 different occasions 9 days total). What I've found is their biggest issue is with Sprint numbers. At&t and tmobile seem to port easier. I've never worked with Verizon through st/net10.
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Did you put the imei number in on the straight talk web site ? Because their web site will tell you if its ready for activation or if its elgible for activation. You can also check your imei on one of the free imei checker web sites and it will show the status of your imei number as far as being ready for activation.[/QUOTE]
I did and my IMEI is clean and not blacklsited, when i go to straight talks website it says "Unfortunately, your phone is not eligible for the Bring Your Own Phone program. The good news is that Straight Talk has a large selection of phones from leading manufacturers. Find a phone in-store or online that best fits your needs." the steps i went though is. 1: clicked check your phones compatibility 2: picked the red other carrier option 3: when a pop up says " is your phone a unlocked GSM phone" i picked no, and thus got this message.
Thanks everyone for helping me out again =D
jcole20 said:
Yeah... I spent 9 days and probably 30 phone calls talking to everyone I could get to including supervisors before I finally gave up out of frustration and just bought a new card (2 different occasions 9 days total). What I've found is their biggest issue is with Sprint numbers. At&t and tmobile seem to port easier. I've never worked with Verizon through st/net10.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also activate your sim in another verizon phone then put it in the m8 or just use another clean verizon imei to order the service with. Actually straight talk is easy to port to, now porting out of them now that is a real pain and takes longer. Straight talk is not a lot of fun to deal with but if you get it set up your free and clear and shouldnt have any further issues.
---------- Post added at 04:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:06 AM ----------
TheGameDNA said:
Did you put the imei number in on the straight talk web site ? Because their web site will tell you if its ready for activation or if its elgible for activation. You can also check your imei on one of the free imei checker web sites and it will show the status of your imei number as far as being ready for activation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did and my IMEI is clean and not blacklsited, when i go to straight talks website it says "Unfortunately, your phone is not eligible for the Bring Your Own Phone program. The good news is that Straight Talk has a large selection of phones from leading manufacturers. Find a phone in-store or online that best fits your needs." the steps i went though is. 1: clicked check your phones compatibility 2: picked the red other carrier option 3: when a pop up says " is your phone a unlocked GSM phone" i picked no, and thus got this message.
Thanks everyone for helping me out again =D[/QUOTE]
Do you have a friend that has a verizon phone that takes a nano sim ? If so just use their imei number to order the sim kit from straight talk it wont matter because that is just a verification to make sure your phone will work but I assure you the verizon m8 will work with the straight talk verizon sim cards.
Another thing you could do is just buy the st verizon sim card kit off ebay or amazon then just open the account on the st web site and activate your sim card number adding it to your new st account.
I appreciate the response but I wasnt the one having issues I was simply explaining my experience and putting the SIM in a different device won't help port a number. St May have gotten better but ime over two years of their android service it's best to just change your number. Outside of porting I've never had issues with them.
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S7, APN Settings, and Prepaid

Hello, I just bought a verizon Samsung Galaxy s7. I am a net10 customer, so to use the phone i purchased the byop kit and inserted the verizon compatible chip and then i go to register the phone with net10, and it says it cant do it, to contact customer service. So I called them and they said that for some reason the imei wont register manually, and that i have to call verizon and see if it was locked. So i called verizon and they said according to the imei i gave them it isnt locked, and that verizon doesnt even lock 4g lte devices. but no matter what i do i cannot get the phone to register with imei. I have even tried strait talk. Another thing to note is that on the verizon website, the s7 isnt listed as compatible device for a byop plan.
So theres no one i can call to have anything unlocked, i cant get my money back from net10, after i called net10 customer service back and told them that verizon said it wasnt locked, net10 CS then stated that the phone wasnt compatible on their network.
A verizon tech said he sometimes has problems registering phone imei's. He said sometimes it goes through, and sometimes you have to keep trying. I really have no clue of what type of process is happening here...
So, i took out the verizon compatible sim, and put in the att/unlocked gsm device sim and then registered that through net10. it actually went through, I now have a phone number and i have basic data, but i cannot send or receive mms. I used the APN settings i found somewhere on the internet for ATT network as they are the only ones that work so far..
The other problem i have is that my phone says the sim isnt from verizon, which im assuming i can just flash the "u" version of the rom to take care of? But am i hoping there is a way to make my phone work in their network so that i can use the intended sim card.
So with all that said I have a couple questions.
1. Why wont my phones imei register on the carrier networks?
2. If i cant get it to register on their networks, is there any way to at least get my mms working?
I find it very strange that no one else has had this problem. I cant find any information as to why the s7's arent part of the byop yet.
Thanks in Advance!

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