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[Q] Bought used phone, won't activate with new sim from verizon

Hey M8 crew!
New to the M8, just bought the phone from swappa. Apparently it has root/s-off/some lollipop build installed on it. Clean ESN.
Took it into verizon to activate it on my line, but the sim doesn't appear to activate as they expect. It detects that it was inserted, says to reboot, after reboot still says no service, and never performs any activation. Verizon rep was claiming that the rom was causing the failures, and it does appear to likely be software related if it is never launching the activation. VZW tech support was no help other than saying it may take up to 12 hours to activate the sim (bs meter going off). Spent 2 hours in the store trying to get it to activate, saying everything was fine on their end. Tried a couple sims in store to rule out a bad sim. Have even tried the tape on the sim trick to see if that might have something to do with it.
Has anyone ever seen / heard of this sort of situation before and have any idea of how to fix it?
Would a stock RUU flash help out in anyway?
Is it because it is not a verizon rom that the activation is not happening? Would I somehow be able to use a different verizon phone to activate the sim, then put it in my phone and have service start working?
Any ideas?

nectur said:
Hey M8 crew!
New to the M8, just bought the phone from swappa. Apparently it has root/s-off/some lollipop build installed on it. Clean ESN.
Took it into verizon to activate it on my line, but the sim doesn't appear to activate as they expect. It detects that it was inserted, says to reboot, after reboot still says no service, and never performs any activation. Verizon rep was claiming that the rom was causing the failures, and it does appear to likely be software related if it is never launching the activation. VZW tech support was no help other than saying it may take up to 12 hours to activate the sim (bs meter going off). Spent 2 hours in the store trying to get it to activate, saying everything was fine on their end. Tried a couple sims in store to rule out a bad sim. Have even tried the tape on the sim trick to see if that might have something to do with it.
Has anyone ever seen / heard of this sort of situation before and have any idea of how to fix it?
Would a stock RUU flash help out in anyway?
Is it because it is not a verizon rom that the activation is not happening? Would I somehow be able to use a different verizon phone to activate the sim, then put it in my phone and have service start working?
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the phone was used on another carrier it might be stuck in a non lte/CDMA mode. Flash stock vzw ruu. Do a factory reset. Go into mobile settings and make sure it's set to global. Then see if default network is set to vzw. Then check provisioning.

That did it. Thanks!

nectur said:
That did it. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Np...bought an m8 for my dad a couple months back and same thing happened. I finally realized it was used on a different carrier.

Bootloader unlock on NEW Verizon Pixels

Hey everyone,
I wanted to share a bit of a test that I just did on three Verizon Pixels. Specifically, when I got them from Verizon I did so via direct fulfillment (not a retail store). Doing this method I was able to boot loader unlock all three Verizon Pixels out of the box. The last one was about five minutes ago.
Here's what you'll need:
A new, in box Verizon Pixel - Important: Must be new in box!
A non-Verizon SIM card.
A Laptop
So, here's the rub. With these tests I was able to confirm that the Pixel does in fact use the SIM inserted into the phone at initial boot to determine boot loader lock ability. Long story short, if the Pixel is booted the first time with a Verizon SIM then the phone will be boot loader locked, and the OEM Unlock Toggle grayed out.
To unlock each of them I did the following:
Take the phone out of the box and inserted a co-workers AT&T SIM.
Booted the phone for the first time, and skipped all of the setup steps.
Enabled Developer Options, USB Debugging, and OEM Unlocking.
Accepted the RSA key and issues the command "adb reboot bootloader".
In bootloader mode issued the command "fastboot oem unlocking".
Flashed TWRP, and root.
Profit
The key to success here is ensuring the phone never gets booted initially with a VZW SIM inserted. This isn't so much phone hack as really a life/policy/process hack. Hope this helps!

Update: I've talked to a few knowledgeable folks on the topic who think the phones I got may have been part of a batch that wasn't loaded correctly. Having said that, Im sharing my experiences and would be curious to see what everyone else's experiences are. I'd also be curious to see the following, if anyone wants to try:
Place a non VZW SIM in the phone, factory default it, and see if its enabled again.
Take a brand new out of box VZW phone and ensure it doesn't connect to ANY network, rather it be wifi or Cell. See if OEM unlock is enabled.
Also, another added benefit is that the phones don't auto-download the few Verizon turdware apps.

Interesting...

Can confirm this works, my Google Pixel Verizon arrived yesterday as an RMA and I followed similar steps to unlock my Bootloader, although you can simply boot the phone without a SIM Card and these instructions will work the same.

deadlydecision said:
Can confirm this works, my Google Pixel Verizon arrived yesterday as an RMA and I followed similar steps to unlock my Bootloader, although you can simply boot the phone without a SIM Card and these instructions will work the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have questions, the devil is in the details. Just trying to nail it down.
What version was it on when you got it?
Did you hook it to wifi for a few minutes and try the slider before it updated?

deadlydecision said:
Can confirm this works, my Google Pixel Verizon arrived yesterday as an RMA and I followed similar steps to unlock my Bootloader, although you can simply boot the phone without a SIM Card and these instructions will work the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely did NOT work for my RMA from verizon, so this isn't a certain method.

TonikJDK said:
I have questions, the devil is in the details. Just trying to nail it down.
What version was it on when you got it?
Did you hook it to wifi for a few minutes and try the slider before it updated?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
7.1. October version. Had to hook it up to Wi-fi to enable the OEM Unlock option, but I didn't allow the phone to update at all.
JAYNO20 said:
Definitely did NOT work for my RMA from verizon, so this isn't a certain method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was an RMA directly through Google, they just provided me with a NEW Verizon edition Pixel.

deadlydecision said:
7.1. October version. Had to hook it up to Wi-fi to enable the OEM Unlock option, but I didn't allow the phone to update at all.
It was an RMA directly through Google, they just provided me with a NEW Verizon edition Pixel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the same thing with an RMA through Google after the Verizon one was a bust and got a BRAND NEW GOOGLE version of the Pixel so it was definitely unlockable. Are you sure your's was a Verizon version? Check your my verizon account and see if it shows it as a "NON-VZW Device." That's what mine shows as because it is actually a Google version.

deadlydecision said:
7.1. October version. Had to hook it up to Wi-fi to enable the OEM Unlock option, but I didn't allow the phone to update at all.
It was an RMA directly through Google, they just provided me with a NEW Verizon edition Pixel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it didnt get entered in the database properly as a locked phone. Or Google is so far behind they are just shipping what they can.This happens rather often and is not part of what the OP is saying.
Congrats, I am happy for you and TYVM for clearing it up.

TonikJDK said:
So it didnt get entered in the database properly as a locked phone. Or Google is so far behind they are just shipping what they can.This happens rather often and is not part of what the OP is saying.
Congrats, I am happy for you and TYVM for clearing it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What if you take a Google version, put in a VZW sim, connect, update. With it be grayed out? I doubt it.
Sent from my Pixel using XDA-Developers Legacy app

JAYNO20 said:
I did the same thing with an RMA through Google after the Verizon one was a bust and got a BRAND NEW GOOGLE version of the Pixel so it was definitely unlockable. Are you sure your's was a Verizon version? Check your my verizon account and see if it shows it as a "NON-VZW Device." That's what mine shows as because it is actually a Google version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely a Verizon version as it came with a pre-installed Verizon sim, which I removed before booting. Phone box also says the model is "g-2pw4100-021-b" which AFAIK is a Verizon one.

TonikJDK said:
I have questions, the devil is in the details. Just trying to nail it down.
What version was it on when you got it?
Did you hook it to wifi for a few minutes and try the slider before it updated?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems like the trick is to catch it BEFORE it ever gets Internet. When it comes online the first time it "phones home" and checks the IMEI blacklist. I think for this to work, most often, it needs to have never been connected to the Internet.

JAYNO20 said:
Definitely did NOT work for my RMA from verizon, so this isn't a certain method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had your phone by chance ever gotten connected to the Internet? As in, did you boot it with the VZW SIM?

TCPDump said:
It seems like the trick is to catch it BEFORE it ever gets Internet. When it comes online the first time it "phones home" and checks the IMEI blacklist. I think for this to work, most often, it needs to have never been connected to the Internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its the other way around. It is grayed out until you connect and it finds out it is authorized to unlock. It isn't a blacklist, its a whitelist of sorts.
Thats why the ones you updates unlocked. It wasn't the update, it was the connection while it pulled the update. I am very sure of this. Seen a ton of VZ phones that can be unlocked the last couple of months. Their system is falling apart.
Early on we went through a ton of scenerios paying attention to when and how it became slidable.
This is the only explanation for what we have seen.

TonikJDK said:
Its the other way around. It is grayed out until you connect and it finds out it is authorized to unlock. It isn't a blacklist, its a whitelist of sorts.
Thats why the ones you updates unlocked. It wasn't the update, it was the connection while it pulled the update. I am very sure of this. Seen a ton of VZ phones that can be unlocked the last couple of months. Their system is falling apart.
Early on we went through a ton of scenerios paying attention to when and how it became slidable.
This is the only explanation for what we have seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually wondered if it was the fact that Google is EOLing them, and trying to eradicate their stockpile of VZW Pixels.

TCPDump said:
I actually wondered if it was the fact that Google is EOLing them, and trying to eradicate their stockpile of VZW Pixels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either way, long story short - Always check your pixel.

TCPDump said:
I actually wondered if it was the fact that Google is EOLing them, and trying to eradicate their stockpile of VZW Pixels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent thought. Maybe they are tired of VZ's too and are faking all these mistakes. That would be cool.
But yea, with the 2 comming this fall maybe they night be getting​ nervous.

TCPDump said:
Had your phone by chance ever gotten connected to the Internet? As in, did you boot it with the VZW SIM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Pulled the Sim before boot.

I had the exact same luck.
I had to sadly RMA my perfect rooted Pixel due to charger no longer functioning fully expecting a locked bootloader and 7.1.2. Verizon sent me one overnight. It had 7.1.2 but in developer options it had the same Allow OEM Unlocking slider NOT greyed out. I was then able to adb restart bootloader and adb bootloader unlocking and the phone prompted me and that was that. Adb booted to TWRP, installed RR Rom, vendor image, magick, TWRP, root. Can not believe the incredible luck.
Also wanted to say that I used my Verizon SIM card to do this and connected to WiFi on initial setup and I STILL managed to unlock it in time before anything locked itself.

deadlydecision said:
Definitely a Verizon version as it came with a pre-installed Verizon sim, which I removed before booting. Phone box also says the model is "g-2pw4100-021-b" which AFAIK is a Verizon one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does it say on your my Verizon account?

OEM Unlocking Grayed out on non-VZW Pixel 2.

Hi!
I originally bought an unlocked phone from Google and I had zero issues unlocking the bootloader, rooting, etc. I was issued a warranty replacement for an unrelated issue.
I inserted my VZW sim and booted up this new phone. I was able to check the OEM unlocking slider and enter my pin. When I rebooted to fastboot and tried to unlock, I was unsuccessful. Booting back into android showed the OEM unlocking option grayed out.
What gives? What can I try?
Thanks!
*Edit: Also worth noting - If I do a factory reset, the OEM unlocking option will be enabled already. If you try to unlock it in fastboot, it will fail. Rebooting again results in it being grayed out again.

What build number are you on?

DuckRuckus said:
What build number are you on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on OPM2.171019.029

mtpease said:
I'm on OPM2.171019.029
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, it came with the latest build then, or did you update via OTA?
Something to try: factory reset, turn it off, remove the SIM card, and give it another shot without connecting to wifi and skipping all the setup stuff. It's a long shot, but worth a try.

DuckRuckus said:
So, it came with the latest build then, or did you update via OTA?
Something to try: factory reset, turn it off, remove the SIM card, and give it another shot without connecting to wifi and skipping all the setup stuff. It's a long shot, but worth a try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It came with something older, but it wasn't working with that either.
I tried the factory reset thing with no sim, but still on WiFi. The settings app kept crashung.
It seems like the VZW sim somehow permenantly locked my phone. I've done like 5 resets, and sometimes the OEM unlock slider is already off, sometimes it lets me toggle it back and forth. No matter what happens, after running the fastboot command (and failing), it will be grayed out. Rinse and repeat.

Have you called google with your IMEI number to confirm that it isn't a Verizon phone?
I just returned an Amazon refurbished Pixel 2 for this reason. They claimed it was factory unlocked, but I contacted Google who informed me that it was actually a Verizon phone that had probably had been unlocked for different carriers during the refurbishing process. I am exchanging it for another. They are not able to check the phone before it is delivered to me, so I am just going to hope I get a non-Verizon one this time or try the exploit mentioned on the forums immediately before connecting to WiFi or Cellular data.

mtpease said:
It came with something older, but it wasn't working with that either.
I tried the factory reset thing with no sim, but still on WiFi. The settings app kept crashung.
It seems like the VZW sim somehow permenantly locked my phone. I've done like 5 resets, and sometimes the OEM unlock slider is already off, sometimes it lets me toggle it back and forth. No matter what happens, after running the fastboot command (and failing), it will be grayed out. Rinse and repeat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only other thing I can suggest is to sideload that same build's OTA without the SIM in. That might get rid of any changes that the Verizon SIM may have made, as it will format everything before it installs. If that works, do everything you want to (root, recovery, kernel) before putting the SIM back in. That's all I can think of doing.
---------- Post added at 10:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:19 PM ----------
joelphilippage said:
Have you called google with your IMEI number to confirm that it isn't a Verizon phone?
I just returned an Amazon refurbished Pixel 2 for this reason. They claimed it was factory unlocked, but I contacted Google who informed me that it was actually a Verizon phone that had probably had been unlocked for different carriers during the refurbishing process. I am exchanging it for another. They are not able to check the phone before it is delivered to me, so I am just going to hope I get a non-Verizon one this time or try the exploit mentioned on the forums immediately before connecting to WiFi or Cellular data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of Verizon's phones are carrier unlocked from the factory, and have been for quite some time. But, as far as being bl unlockable, that's a whole nother animal. Definitely good advice to check the IMEI with Google. Verizon can also do that for you, and it might be faster. I thought of that too, but it was my understanding that warranty claims we're filled with brand new units, but repairs potentially got you a refurbished one, so I ruled that out. I've been wrong before :silly:

DuckRuckus said:
The only other thing I can suggest is to sideload that same build's OTA without the SIM in. That might get rid of any changes that the Verizon SIM may have made, as it will format everything before it installs. If that works, do everything you want to (root, recovery, kernel) before putting the SIM back in. That's all I can think of doing.
---------- Post added at 10:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:19 PM ----------
All of Verizon's phones are carrier unlocked from the factory, and have been for quite some time. But, as far as being bl unlockable, that's a whole nother animal. Definitely good advice to check the IMEI with Google. Verizon can also do that for you, and it might be faster. I thought of that too, but it was my understanding that warranty claims we're filled with brand new units, but repairs potentially got you a refurbished one, so I ruled that out. I've been wrong before :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I opened a chat window with Google, and they confirmed that it is in fact an unlocked device. He also had me "screen share" so he could see the problem. So far, no resolution. I sideloaded the current OTA twice, to make sure it was in the a and b slots. Then I tried setting up the phone without a sim or wifi, which didn't work. I also tried wifi with no sim, that didn't work either.
If I try the fastboot flashing unlock command, when I boot up, the OEM unlocking option will be grayed out. Any time I boot up from a factory reset, the OEM unlocking option is already selected on.

mtpease said:
I opened a chat window with Google, and they confirmed that it is in fact an unlocked device. He also had me "screen share" so he could see the problem. So far, no resolution. I sideloaded the current OTA twice, to make sure it was in the a and b slots. Then I tried setting up the phone without a sim or wifi, which didn't work. I also tried wifi with no sim, that didn't work either.
If I try the fastboot flashing unlock command, when I boot up, the OEM unlocking option will be grayed out. Any time I boot up from a factory reset, the OEM unlocking option is already selected on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, could Google confirm whether your device was new, or refurbished? The second thing I would ask of Verizon is, whether the IMEI of your device has been registered to their network before you received it. I know it's a Google phone, but the previous owner, if refurbished, might have applied a VZW update from Google, rather than a global stock image or OTA, thinking that it would be a good thing. Then, realizing that they screwed up, relocked it and tried their best to return it to stock and send it back for replacement under whatever guise they chose. That's my best guess as of now.
My P2 came from VZW with the Dec patch, and the bl unlock wasn't greyed out. Didn't really matter because I could use the exploit out of the box without toggling it. But, once I unlocked it, the toggle went grey, and the phone still remains unlocked, even after the April factory image update (skipped Feb and Mar).
In summary, if your device is truly stock Google, you shouldn't be having these issues, which is a valid reason for a replacement. If it isn't, you have a valid reason for yet another replacement, refurbished or not, that IS stock Google. Press the issue...you paid a lot of money for it!

DuckRuckus said:
First of all, could Google confirm whether your device was new, or refurbished? The second thing I would ask of Verizon is, whether the IMEI of your device has been registered to their network before you received it. I know it's a Google phone, but the previous owner, if refurbished, might have applied a VZW update from Google, rather than a global stock image or OTA, thinking that it would be a good thing. Then, realizing that they screwed up, relocked it and tried their best to return it to stock and send it back for replacement under whatever guise they chose. That's my best guess as of now.
My P2 came from VZW with the Dec patch, and the bl unlock wasn't greyed out. Didn't really matter because I could use the exploit out of the box without toggling it. But, once I unlocked it, the toggle went grey, and the phone still remains unlocked, even after the April factory image update (skipped Feb and Mar).
In summary, if your device is truly stock Google, you shouldn't be having these issues, which is a valid reason for a replacement. If it isn't, you have a valid reason for yet another replacement, refurbished or not, that IS stock Google. Press the issue...you paid a lot of money for it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I spoke with Verizon. The only time this phone has been used on their network is when it was activated on my account a few days ago. Google says it's unlocked. I'm still waiting for their response. My current theory is that it some how got locked when it recognized the verizon sim, but I really can be sure.

mtpease said:
I spoke with Verizon. The only time this phone has been used on their network is when it was activated on my account a few days ago. Google says it's unlocked. I'm still waiting for their response. My current theory is that it some how got locked when it recognized the verizon sim, but I really can be sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like I heard in the past that even play store pixel devices had to be bootloader unlocked prior to jumping on Verizon's network as it was making devices non bootloader unlockable.
So in other words, if your phone was on the vzw network prior unlocking the bootloader regardless if it is a play store pixel, you might be hosed... rma

Having the same issue, I bought this phone and it works on ATT's network but i cannot unlock the bootloader. Kind of strange. oem unlock is greyed out. Ive reset it 10 times. trying after every update connecting to the internet and not from sept 2017 all the way to latest update. nothing changed the adb unlock command just says unable to unlock

owner232 said:
Having the same issue, I bought this phone and it works on ATT's network but i cannot unlock the bootloader. Kind of strange. oem unlock is greyed out. Ive reset it 10 times. trying after every update connecting to the internet and not from sept 2017 all the way to latest update. nothing changed the adb unlock command just says unable to unlock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you are on Sep 2017 update, dont worry about OEM unlock.
Side load the jan update, and unlock the bootloader.
details here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2/how-to/unlock-bootloader-verizon-pixel-2-t3730076
read carefully.

munchy_cool said:
if you are on Sep 2017 update, dont worry about OEM unlock.
Side load the jan update, and unlock the bootloader.
details here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2/how-to/unlock-bootloader-verizon-pixel-2-t3730076
read carefully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I already updated to the latest Version, I contacted the seller i got the phone from they said its a refurbished Verizon phone unlocked for any carrier and it has nothing verizon on the os.
Crap.... Can i at least get root on this thing?

giant22000 said:
Seems like I heard in the past that even play store pixel devices had to be bootloader unlocked prior to jumping on Verizon's network as it was making devices non bootloader unlockable.
So in other words, if your phone was on the vzw network prior unlocking the bootloader regardless if it is a play store pixel, you might be hosed... rma
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not true.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

owner232 said:
Unfortunately I already updated to the latest Version, I contacted the seller i got the phone from they said its a refurbished Verizon phone unlocked for any carrier and it has nothing verizon on the os.
Crap.... Can i at least get root on this thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nopes...nothing.

mtpease said:
I spoke with Verizon. The only time this phone has been used on their network is when it was activated on my account a few days ago. Google says it's unlocked. I'm still waiting for their response. My current theory is that it some how got locked when it recognized the verizon sim, but I really can be sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's a truly a Google phone, you can put any SIM in it you want to and the unlock slider will be available. Putting a Verizon SIM in it won't lock it down. I've unlocked mine and a couple others for other people. All of them had a Verizon SIM in them at the time and the unlock slider was still available. If it's a Google phone (or supposed to be) and you've already tried factory resetting it, your best bet is to RMA it. Something isn't right with it.

I have the same problem - phone unlocked but needed warranty replacement, can't unlock the warranty replacement due to exactly the same behavior where the option is greyed out, and even if I flash an image and turn the option on, I still can't do a fastboot flashing unlock and trying to do so greys out the option again.
However, I am not even on Verizon. I've tried with a T-Mobile SIM and with no SIM. So the Verizon SIM is probably not even the issue.
Google couldn't figure it out and sent me a second warranty replacement phone... which has the same issue.

Hello there. Experiencing the same issue. It's clearly a software problem. I have a Google Store, non Verizon, and I have RMA'ed it twice and both units CAN't be OEM unlocked. It's clearly a software problem because:
On factory reset OEM unlock options shows up and can be toggled
But when you go to fastboot, issuing 'fastboot flashing unlock' will return an error saying it's not allowed to be unlocked
On the next reboot OEM unlock toggle is now disabled. Only way to get it back is through factory reset with wifi connection, but that brings us back to 1 and the cycle repeats.
I guess it's pointless to RMA the device again. Reading here other people are experiencing the same problem. None of the devices have ever been on Verizon and are straight out from Google Store.

Despite it clearly being a software problem, Google is sending me a 4th phone now. It's obvious they don't know what's going on.

I just bootloader unlocked a Verizon branded Pixel 3 - how is this possible??

I mean, I'm not complaining. But I was incredibly surprised! I bought the phone BRAND NEW AND SEALED, from the current sale on woot ($170), and yet was still intending on returning it after I realized I had bought a Verizon variant, albeit carrier unlocked. Yeah, it's only the 64gb version, but I literally just bought this for testing, and as a backup. Actually bought a P3 from a friend that was in decent condition. A really close, trusted friend too, but unfortunately it just happened that about a month later the battery started exhibiting the dreaded behavior indicating it was starting to fail, so I decided to pull the trigger on the sale, not realizing it was a Verizon model. I went into much more detail about it in my post on Slickdeals: https://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=146850461&postcount=127
It's also pink, but I'm putting on the Mint colored Spigen Neo Hybrid case on it anyway
So anyway, from all my collective knowledge about Pixels, and plenty of knowledge about (and hate towards) certain US carriers locking down devices, I wasn't expecting to be able to bootloader unlock this phone. Luckily I decided to open the box anyway and see if the OEM unlocking toggle was greyed out (which is what I fully expected!)... And it wasn't!? I still expected something, anything, to go wrong, but no, it actually successfully unlocked the bootloader (proceeded to factory reset as usual, etc)!! Unfortunately, it seems that the eSIM is still locked up and disabled, but like I said, for my usages as a simple dev'ing, testing, and/or backup phone, the eSIM isn't really important to me.
Don't think it matters, but I did this immediately upon opening the brand new phone, and it was on firmware PQ3A.190505.002 (May 2019, Pie). I mentioned it in my SD post, but the IMEI does start with 35, and checking it through Verizon's prepaid check system also indicated it as Verizon branded. I know that historically (on older Pixels, not even the 3, iirc), there was a [anecdotal] workaround where some owners would pop out the VZW SIM card before ever turning on the phone and they could then unlock the bootloader. Crazier for me is that I didn't even bother pulling out the VZW SIM card the phone came with before turning it on.
The only thing I can think, is that (and my memory here is foggy about the anecdotal posts) maybe when people were buying the phones from Verizon, those phones were actually turned on with then-active SIM cards, thus allowing them to "phone home" and permanently lock up the bootloader, at some point before ultimately shipping to the buyers. However, as these brand new Pixel 3's being sold are just leftover old, albeit brand new and factory sealed, stock, they were never turned on, whether at all or with active VZW SIM cards, at any point. When I initially turned on this new phone earlier today, since I left in the VZW SIM card included with the phone, I got a message pop up saying something along the lines of "we couldn't activate the device" or whatever.
So anyway, I wanted to say all of this because I'm always fascinated by flukes like this, where someone (me in this case!) is able to bootloader unlock a phone that should otherwise be completely unable to do so... Also attaching screenshots to show that it is indeed a Verizon branded Pixel 3 with the bootloader now unlocked. Note that it now shows current April 2021 firmware installed, but like I mentioned before it shipped with May 2019 installed from the factory, and I updated the firmware after unlocking the bootloader immediately after opening. Is there any explanation to this? Did I just get incredibly lucky? Does my theory in the previous paragraph possibly make sense? Or is there already a known explanation somehow and I just was completely unaware (and if so please let me know)?
final note: pics look like phone's screen is fuzzy because I haven't even removed the factory plastic wrap yet, lol. amazon glass screen protectors come tomorrow!
EDIT: LMAO! The listing on Woot now says in big bold letters, "The bootloader is LOCKED on these phones". Pretty sure it didn't say that when I bought it, so must be a lot of people complaining about it and trying to return! Not sure how I was able to do it though still... even if I couldn't, I would have just cited the lack of eSIM as my reason for return. Fully Unlocked != eSIM Neutered, lol.

Should I buy one to try to get an OEM unlock version?

Hey, i5lee8bit
I was poking around and saw this. I ordered one of these from the woot sale. SHould be arriving in the next day or so. Mine is the 128 GB version.
I'm down to try your process and see if I am able to have success too.
What method did you use to unlock the bootloader?

aNewHoax said:
Hey, i5lee8bit
I was poking around and saw this. I ordered one of these from the woot sale. SHould be arriving in the next day or so. Mine is the 128 GB version.
I'm down to try your process and see if I am able to have success too.
What method did you use to unlock the bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, I would remove the SIM card before you ever turn it on, just in case. I didn't bother and it still worked, but just in case that somehow allows it to "phone home" and lock itself up.
I just did "fastboot flashing unlock" from bootloader.
Just skip through setup, connect to wifi, enable developer options, and check (hopefully) OEM unlocking toggle is not greyed out. Enable the OEM unlock toggle, reboot to bootloader. While phone is booted to bootloader, connect to PC (or another Magisk rooted Android device with adb / fastboot module installed), and use command "fastboot flashing unlock" without quotes. Should hopefully prompt you to confirm unlock bootloader / wipe data.
To reboot to bootloader, either shut off and then power on while holding volume down, or enable adb debugging and send command "adb reboot bootloader" without quotes from command line / terminal.
I saw that deal you mentioned, haha. Are you a SD user / browser? I think the deal popped up this morning or something. If it's indeed brand new and sealed, hopefully it works! Best of luck, I hope you manage to get the bl unlocked!

Thanks for the direction. Haven't done a root on a phone in a long time.
Indeed, I am a Slicker ha. Over there I am @Skullk. The name was taken here so I used an alternate. Been a long time lurker on these forums.
This was the Slickdeal https://slickdeals.net/f/14972183-google-pixel-3-128gb-not-pink-199-99-with-free-shipping-on-woot
I received the phone yesterday. Made sure no SIM installed. Battery was completely dead, that makes sense though as these are some older stock.
Hope to have some time this weekend to give it a try. I'll report back with my findings.
Cheers!

Dude! It totally worked!!
I feel like we got something here. Maybe since the phones batteries were completely dead for a while in stock? Or just starting with a fresh phone on whatever exact version these are out of stock.

Are you sure theyre not Google phones
that were jus set up with Verizon in their former lives?

aNewHoax said:
Dude! It totally worked!!
I feel like we got something here. Maybe since the phones batteries were completely dead for a while in stock? Or just starting with a fresh phone on whatever exact version these are out of stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woohoo! Back a while ago, when I was still on AT&T, I was researching Pixel 4 series and saw that bootloader was indeed unlockable once SIM is unlocked (like Apple, SIM unlock is controlled on Google's side servers, but once whitelisted, not only unlocks the SIM but also "flags" the OEM unlock toggle to be allowed as well - unfortunately not the case for Verizon Pixels). Unfortunately I had problems with AT&T and eventually bought a factory (Google store) Pixel 4 XL and switched to Xfinity Mobile. Anyway, during all that research, I also saw that some Verizon Pixel 4 / 4 XL phones (iirc) were able to be bootloader unlocked as well. There were a few theories, one of which (again, iirc) applied to older gen Pixels - this particular one being that as long as the phones were never turned on with a Verizon SIM inserted, they could be bootloader unlocked (some theories suggesting doing factory reset gymnastics and stuff). But this didn't work for everyone (actually, it didn't work for the overwhelming majority of people - a lot of people suspecting lies / hoax / misunderstanding). But now I'm starting to think this theory may hold some water, though. Perhaps when you buy phones from Verizon, they're doing something on their end that essentially processes your account info to the IMEI of the phone you bought, somewhere in the backends of their systems. That, or maybe they're doing something with the SIM cards to set up for your account and turning on the phone once before shipping to you (I have no idea, I've never been a VZW customer). Either way, the phone's IMEI gets to "phone home" to Verizon thus locking the bootloader.
But since we're buying these old stock, never touched, never processed / activated into their system, completely factory sealed Pixel 3 / 3 XL phones that are total virgins to Verizon's systems (other than being preinstalled with a VZW SIM card), maybe that's why we can unlock the bootloaders. I don't think it has anything to do with the exact firmware versions they shipped with. I believe I remember seeing people on SD having bootloader unlocked on various firmware levels. Hard to say which thread(s), because the deal popped up so many times in the last few months, but I definitely remember seeing scattered preloaded firmware versions being bootloader unlocked.
Another theory had to do with a mistake on Google's end. Some people got lucky, some people got EXTREMELY unlucky. Some phones were manufactured and branded for the wrong carrier. For example, a phone manufactured for Tracfone ended up being locked to Verizon (not sure of the specific carriers and whether vice versa but you get the idea). But some people would get a phone that should have been bootloader locked down (OEM unlock toggle disabled) but still be able to do so. Not sure if the latter is related at all to how we're able to unlock these, but I doubt it. These were very small batches that got mixed up in manufacturing. Right now, we're seeing definitely Verizon locked phones, old stock, that all seem to be able to be bootloader unlocked. I really do suspect that there is a "phone home" process when initially setting up the phone that seals the deal with ending up with a permanently unlockable bootloader.
Now, an interesting experiment (that I wouldn't wish for anyone to try to be honest, lol) would be to have someone buy one of these old stock, brand new Pixel 3 Verizon phones, and initially turn it on WITH AN ACTIVE VZW SIM CARD INSTALLED. See if that permanently locks the bootloader. If not, maybe Verizon's side only perma-locks these phones up to a certain date (like their activation server sends some sort of command to permanently lock the bootloader, but that behavior of their activation server is only active during a certain lifespan of the device)? Either way, it would be interesting if smarter people could somehow use this information to come up with an exploit to bypass the initial bootloader locking mechanism, whatever it may be, and allow bootloader locking on future Verizon Pixel variants (though you'd likely be screwed once it's perma-locked).
On an alternate note, I absolutely hate that these carriers are screwing us, the end consumers and ultimate OWNERS of the device, for no damn legit reason. Ok, I can somewhat understand that they want to prevent modifications to the device to use their network (and by understand, I mean BARELY understand). But once the phone reaches end of life, ALLOW US TO UNLOCK THE DAMN BOOTLOADERS!! Otherwise, they should automatically chop off the sale price in half to whatever is the best current price from another vendor. F|_|CK Verizon and AT&T!
rocketrazr1999 said:
Are you sure theyre not Google phones
that were jus set up with Verizon in their former lives?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
100% definitely Verizon branded. They're factory sealed, and come with a preinstalled Verizon SIM card. Also the IMEI starts with 35, and (unfortunately) the eSIM is locked and unusable. Like I posted in the OP, the box shows it's a Verizon locked variant.

Worked for me!

Hi, I too bought pixel 3 64gb from woot last week, I started the setup as well without taking the included sim card out. After completing setup, I can verify that OEM unlocking is not grayed out.
I am very noob to custom roms, but definitely interested in trying out the custom rom when the official support ends, Is there anything else I should do before popping in my Visible sim card in it, so that the bootloader stays unlock.

Thanks, long story short this worked for me too.
I ordered my pixel 3 from woot on june 7th when it clearly said "The bootloader is LOCKED on these phones." and got it today. I removed the sim card before turning it on, skipped most of the setup including WIFI, enabled developer options, and the "OEM unlocking" option was greyed out . Then I found a post about it needing to have internet access to enable that option - sure enough I connected to wifi and the option was live! I guess I should have mimicked your procedure exactly.
I then followed the instructions from here: https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/unlock-bootloader-your-pixel-3-3-xl-beginners-guide-0189128/
and the rest of the process completed successfully.

So, you did not do any special thing but just enabled Developer Options and the bootloader unlock was not grey? But mine was grey when I enabled Developer Options.

aNewHoax said:
Dude! It totally worked!!
I feel like we got something here. Maybe since the phones batteries were completely dead for a while in stock? Or just starting with a fresh phone on whatever exact version these are out of stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You also did nothing special, but just enabled Developer Options and found that the bootloader unlock was not greyed out?

yourrealking said:
So, you did not do any special thing but just enabled Developer Options and the bootloader unlock was not grey? But mine was grey when I enabled Developer Options.
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Click to collapse
I didn't do anything else. It was greyed out right after I enabled developer options but after I connected to WIFI for the first time and went back into that menu it was active.

yourrealking said:
You also did nothing special, but just enabled Developer Options and found that the bootloader unlock was not greyed out?
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Click to collapse
It's a little confusing, your question. Did you read the posts from the beginning? I mean the OP **specifies** exactly what he did... so when you say 'you did nothing special'... He says exactly what he did, would u call it 'special'?
it's impossible to answer your question, he did exactly what he said he did, what more do you want to know?

AsItLies said:
It's a little confusing, your question. Did you read the posts from the beginning? I mean the OP **specifies** exactly what he did... so when you say 'you did nothing special'... He says exactly what he did, would u call it 'special'?
it's impossible to answer your question, he did exactly what he said he did, what more do you want to know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
His posts are long, so I am not sure I got it correctly or not, but it seems that all he did was just enabling developer mode and ran "fastboot flashing unlock" in the bootloader mode. But that is a regular method that Google should have disallowed to work on a bootloader-locked device, so I wondered if there were some other "special" hacking-ish thing he did.
I thought I had tried that, but it was a long time ago, so just to be sure, I did that again now, and all I got was
"FAILED (remote: 'flashing unlock is not allowed')
fastboot: error: Command failed

Thanks to the OP, think I got the last one from woot. Did exactly as this post described and sure enough, oem unlock not grayed out.
It seems, as others have said, that when vzw disables oem unlock is when they 'set the phone up' for you at the store, or maybe simply when it connects to the vzw network with their sim.
I've unlocked and fb flashed to latest A11 non - verizon firmware, relocked bootloader, and am still able to unlock if I want.
Google sure does make it a lot easier to flash new firmware using fastboot. Especially compared to LG and lgup (only on windows), and patched dll's so u can crossflash, and one dll version for this, and another for that... meh.
Google even gives you an shell script that works with Linux Awesome!

i5lee8bit said:
I mean, I'm not complaining. But I was incredibly surprised! I bought the phone BRAND NEW AND SEALED...
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Click to collapse
Registered just to thank you for this. Bought a Pixel 3 from a B+H sale for my wife (who was really looking forward to her new phone) - we're in Canada, so thought I was screwed. Took awhile to get the USB drivers set up properly, but she's now got her new phone.

Thank you! It worked for me too for two Pixel 3 phones, one from B&H (software version PD1A.180720.031) and one from Woot (software version PQ1A.181105.017.A1). Here are the steps I followed (with android platform tools including adb and fastboot already installed):
1. Removed verizon sim card (just in case) before powering on
2. Powered on and skipped through Google setup
3. Connected to my T-Mobile tethered wifi instead of Verizon Fios home wifi (just in case)
4. Enable developer options, wait for "OEM Unlocking" to become not-greyed-out (requires wifi)
5. Enable USB debugging in developer options
6. Issue `adb reboot bootloader` from PC (or shutdown and use hardware keys)
7. Issue `fastboot flashing unlock` from PC
8. execute `flash-all.sh` from the official stock pixel 3 factory image zip from here: <https://developers.google.com/android/images#blueline>
a. This gets rid of Verizon's firmware completely
9. Wait for it to complete, reboot into bootloader
10. Issue `fastboot flashing lock` (erases user data) to re-lock bootloader
11. Booted normally and setup. OEM Unlocking is still available in developer options if I want it in the future.

johannish said:
Thank you! It worked for me too for two Pixel 3 phones, one from B&H (software version PD1A.180720.031) and one from Woot (software version PQ1A.181105.017.A1). Here are the steps I followed (with android platform tools including adb and fastboot already installed):
1. Removed verizon sim card (just in case) before powering on
2. Powered on and skipped through Google setup
3. Connected to my T-Mobile tethered wifi instead of Verizon Fios home wifi (just in case)
4. Enable developer options, wait for "OEM Unlocking" to become not-greyed-out (requires wifi)
5. Enable USB debugging in developer options
6. Issue `adb reboot bootloader` from PC (or shutdown and use hardware keys)
7. Issue `fastboot flashing unlock` from PC
8. execute `flash-all.sh` from the official stock pixel 3 factory image zip from here: <https://developers.google.com/android/images#blueline>
a. This gets rid of Verizon's firmware completely
9. Wait for it to complete, reboot into bootloader
10. Issue `fastboot flashing lock` (erases user data) to re-lock bootloader
11. Booted normally and setup. OEM Unlocking is still available in developer options if I want it in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So we don't need to download the blueline images that say Verizon and can just use the latest 11.0.0 (RQ3A.210705.001, Jul 2021) image instead?
I haven't done this forever, is there still a need for TWRP if we are sticking with the stock rom, unlocking the bootloader and installing Magisk?

General ATT version

So I unlocked the sim via the T-Mobile pixel 6 unlock method. Able to use dual sim functionality with Google Fi e-sim.
Now the phone updates to the unlocked version firmware. OEM carrier lock is still grayed out ( toggle not available) but everything works. Just giving an update for everyone

Are carriers selling these at a massive discount? I guess I don't understand buying one from a carrier vs straight from Google.

2 dollars per month. I know I have to keep ATT. But I travel to the Bahamas every month and it is the only carrier that works on the island I frequent. So I said why not just do it that way

Ahhh, forgot about the financing/rental/lease options carriers offer. I havent been on a "premium" carrier in like a decade.

Downloading the 13beta to see if I can fix the greyed out OEM unlock. If not I will revert and try Verizon rom I think. Unless you have any other suggestions

jcircello said:
Downloading the 13beta to see if I can fix the greyed out OEM unlock. If not I will revert and try Verizon rom I think. Unless you have any other suggestions
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I assume at some point along the way you factory reset? Have you flashed the B1 build yet?

Reverted back to Android 12. Currently on build
SD2A.220601.003.B1 still greyed out OEM unlock.

jcircello said:
Reverted back to Android 12. Currently on build
SD2A.220601.003.B1 still greyed out OEM unlock.
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Click to collapse
Factory reset ever/recently?

I did and tried the steps outlined in the other post. Setup without network or sim. Then. Connect and put in sim, enable developer options and toggle OEM unlock while it says preparing ... Stayed greyed out the whole time. I thought maybe since it changed to unlocked version firmware that I had a chance to root. Maybe someday

Maybe try reaching out to AT&T