Please explain how Android updates happen on unlocked phones. I don't understand. - General Questions and Answers

Hello. I was hoping you guys could answer my questions.
Let's say I bought an originally made for AT&T LG GSM phone (such as the V20) that was then carrier unlocked, and I took it over to MetroPCS (or T-Mobile) and activated it there.
Now let's say Android security updates were produced, or an update from Marshmallow to Oreo was produced.
Would the phone get the update(s) or not get the update(s)? And who creates the updates and pushes you the updates at that point? AT&T, LG, or T-Mobile? Or does Google push the updates when the phone is on wifi?
Furthermore, does, for example, buying an unlocked T-mobile phone assure you that you'll get updates if they exist if you use that phone on MetroPCS? On the same token, would it behoove you to use an unlocked AT&T phone on Cricket, etc?
And lastly, I see carrier unlocked GSM LG V20 phones on ebay that were original locked to a Puerto Rico carrier. Let's say I tried to use that unlocked phone on T-Mobile in NYC. Would there be some sort of GPS block on that phone that would say "hey this phone's not in Puerto Rico!" and then prevent it from updating somehow?
This is all very confusing. Thank you.

So here's this supposedly great and active forum, and not one single person helps me. Thanks guys. Appreciate it lol. I'll show myself out.

Related

[Q] ATT or TMO on DG2?

I purchased a DG2 in hopes of unlocking for tmo or att in the usa. Does anyone know how to do this? I have allready unlocked it. It shows ATT and Tmo at the top when I view the lock screen. I have allready selected gsm and ATT as the network. Bought it for a friend and I am really frustrated. I personally use a vibrant and I am not new to development. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Should have done some research before buying the phone. As of now, there is no known method to make a D2G work on any US GSM carrier. There is one company that claims to have a hardware unlock method, but they don't offer it to the public yet, and their projected price is $100. They also require you to revert your phone to an older firmware, and the unlock removes all capabilities for updates. Not worth it at all, IMHO. Some people have suggested trying a turbo SIM, but nobody has posted an update about whether or not that actually works.
So, short answer: You can't make your phone work on ATT or TMO.

How can an "unlocked phone" not be "unlocked"?

I asked this question a few days ago & no one answered, so I will try a different way.
Verizon tells me that my phone that is "unlocked & rooted" with CyanogenMod 10.2.1 is not truly unlocked.
So how do you completely "unlock" a phone so that it will work on Verizon's CDMA network?
Is there a different way to unlock for CDMA?
Thanks.
Rebel60 said:
I asked this question a few days ago & no one answered, so I will try a different way.
Verizon tells me that my phone that is "unlocked & rooted" with CyanogenMod 10.2.1 is not truly unlocked.
So how do you completely "unlock" a phone so that it will work on Verizon's CDMA network?
Is there a different way to unlock for CDMA?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your running cyanogen mod your bootloader is unlocked. There's two different kinds of unlocked, one is sim unlocked which means it can run on almost any carrier and bootloader unlocked meaning you can flash custom roms
As far as CDMA not that I'm aware of
From my S3 on Wicked 4.3
ShapesBlue said:
If your running cyanogen mod your bootloader is unlocked. There's two different kinds of unlocked, one is sim unlocked which means it can run on almost any carrier and bootloader unlocked meaning you can flash custom roms
As far as CDMA not that I'm aware of
From my S3 on Wicked 4.3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I couldn't understand how a phone can be unlocked & rooted & still not be unlocked. The salesman at Verizon told me on the phone that whatever company originally sold the phone would have to unlock it. I forgot that this was a T-Mobile phone. I use T-mobile sim via Straight Talk. If this sim is removed then would the phone be able to work on Verizon network? Verzion is telling me this is a GSM phone & not CDMA & won't work unless unlocked by carrier. Which makes no sense if it isn't a cdma to begin with. I assume that all Verizon version of phones are made for them as CDMA only?
If this is so, then Verizon should not be advertising "bring your own device" as it won't work. It should be "bring your own Verizon phone".
Rebel60 said:
Thanks. I couldn't understand how a phone can be unlocked & rooted & still not be unlocked. The salesman at Verizon told me on the phone that whatever company originally sold the phone would have to unlock it. I forgot that this was a T-Mobile phone. I use T-mobile sim via Straight Talk. If this sim is removed then would the phone be able to work on Verizon network? Verzion is telling me this is a GSM phone & not CDMA & won't work unless unlocked by carrier. Which makes no sense if it isn't a cdma to begin with. I assume that all Verizon version of phones are made for them as CDMA only?
If this is so, then Verizon should not be advertising "bring your own device" as it won't work. It should be "bring your own Verizon phone".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizons idea of bring your own device really isn't what it should be. It should work on the vzw network but all phones should be sim unlocked by the carrier as a law was passed to do so, however verizon won't a lot of times sim unlock it like it should be until the contract is fulfilled.
And yes there bring your own device is irrelevant because most gsm phones won't work like they should on this crappy network because they are the only CDMA only network left.
From my S3 on Wicked 4.3
ShapesBlue said:
Verizons idea of bring your own device really isn't what it should be. It should work on the vzw network but all phones should be sim unlocked by the carrier as a law was passed to do so, however verizon won't a lot of times sim unlock it like it should be until the contract is fulfilled.
And yes there bring your own device is irrelevant because most gsm phones won't work like they should on this crappy network because they are the only CDMA only network left.
From my S3 on Wicked 4.3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks ShapesBlue. I assumed it was not really bring any device to play as they state. My phone came from T-Mobile from the original buyer, so I don't know if T-Mobile would till unlock it or not since it isn't stock any longer. I have a friends that use Verizon & they get good service in our area. Mine is limited on T-Mobile, lot of dead spots especially where I work & slow data. I had a non digital CDMA phone that I used through Straight Talk & it used Verizon network & I got good phone service in places way off the beaten trail, so that is why I wanted to try Verizon again.
Where can I find a copy of the "unlock law". I searched for it but didn't find anything. I would like to print it out & take with me for proof.
Thanks.
Rebel60 said:
Thanks ShapesBlue. I assumed it was not really bring any device to play as they state. My phone came from T-Mobile from the original buyer, so I don't know if T-Mobile would till unlock it or not since it isn't stock any longer. I have a friends that use Verizon & they get good service in our area. Mine is limited on T-Mobile, lot of dead spots especially where I work & slow data. I had a non digital CDMA phone that I used through Straight Talk & it used Verizon network & I got good phone service in places way off the beaten trail, so that is why I wanted to try Verizon again.
Where can I find a copy of the "unlock law". I searched for it but didn't find anything. I would like to print it out & take with me for proof.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if it has passed just yet but here is some info on it
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-signs-bill-unlocking-cellphones/
From my S3 on Wicked 4.3
I Just found the law, it was signed into law by president on Aug. 1st. 2014. S.517, Public law 113-114
Thanks.

Running H81010b, how and SHOULD I upgrade?

I'm running the ATT G4 H810 variant and I see everyone with versions of the firmware up to o. I'm on H81010b. When I tell the device to upgrade it tells me that my device is up to date. However, I've read people saying that devices like this, for example the G3, can only upgrade on the carrier they were intended for use on. I'm using mine on Cricket, and it is NOT unlocked, as Cricket is owned by ATT. So I'm wondering if I need to put in one of my kids ATT SIM's into it to get the update? Does that sound correct? Yes? Well then WHY, when I got a G3 ATT variant (D810) did the phone automatically upgrade itself to Lollipop from Kitkat even though I was only using it on Cricket? AFAIK both of these phones are carrier locked...
Also is there any reason I should want to update from H81010b? What are the advantages of each one? I see a lot of people saying that they DO NOT want to update so I"m at a loss for understanding the pros and cons of possibly updating my G4.
from what i've gathered the updates are mostly stagefright fixes.
Also if you haven't taken an OTA and you're interested in an unlocked bootloader then you're one of the lucky few who may be able to use the Unofficial Bootloader Unlock that's said to be coming.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/g4/general/unlock-unofficial-bootloader-unlock-t3222737

Update a Verizon Note edge with a tmobile sim

So im using a tmobile sim on the SM-N915V and I want to update to 5.1.1 from 5.0.1. I cant do it through the phone since it tries to connect to verizon servers (i guess?). So can someone point me to the right direction? Do I have to download the image and flash through odin? Any help is appreciated, thanks!
If your bootloader isn't locked, you'll need to flash T-Mobile's firmware. If you're still on 5.0.1 then you should be able to flash. AT&T and Verizon started locking bootloaders with 5.1.1.
DO NOT FLASH VERIZON'S 5.1.1 UPDATE!!!! IT WILL IRREPARABLY DAMAGE YOUR PHONE!
I went through the exact same thing when I switched to T-Mobile from AT&T. AT&T and Verizon both locked their bootloaders with 5.1.1 so updating the firmware is physically impossible for anyone who switches carriers. AT&T told me that since I switched to T-Mobile, OTA updates will no longer work on their permanently branded devices and I need to go to Best Buy to update the firmware....for the life of the phone! To add insult to injury, Best Buy can only update AT&T's firmware. Any branded device with a locked bootloader can NEVER switch to a new carriers firmware.
You should never buy a phone from AT&T or Verizon. Your extremely expensive device will have no resale value and the potential buyer would need to be with that carrier...which also limits who you can sell it to. Only buy phones from Sprint, T-Mobile, or unbranded.

Question about unlocking SIM on a BNIB t-mobile s7 for use on Verizon

So like the title says I have a brand new never started/updated t-mobile s7 and I'm looking to use the phone on the Verizon network where I currently have a plan.
I've never unlocked SIMs before so I figured I'd check here first, I don't want to brick the phone obviously..
So my question is how do I go about doing this? I see t-mobile has an app that unblocks the SIM for customers, however I'm not a customer and do not plan on using t-mobile network.
I found some dodgy websites that claim to be able to do it but I'm not sure how I feel about handling over my information to them especially without at least some third party confirmation that the service actually works and is not a scam.
Does anyone have some input on what to do?
Flash the 930U firmware to it. This should allow it to be SIM unlocked.
Try calling tm you just never know they may just give you the unlock codes. I had a phone lock to att once, gave them a ring and they gave me the codes, just be nice.
I used the tmobile unlock app on device. The app checks if you qualify same as a rep would.
Sent from my SM-G930T using XDA-Developers mobile app
So I got the phone unlocked but only to find out the T-Mobile s7 is GSM, Verizon runs on CDMA which is not compatible.
Now that I have it unlocked, would it be possible to flash the Verizon s7 software and have it connect?
I assume I'll need to root the phone in order to do that but will the hardware interact properly with the Verizon software?
2003WRB said:
So I got the phone unlocked but only to find out the T-Mobile s7 is GSM, Verizon runs on CDMA which is not compatible.
Now that I have it unlocked, would it be possible to flash the Verizon s7 software and have it connect?
I assume I'll need to root the phone in order to do that but will the hardware interact properly with the Verizon software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CDMA and GSM are two different frequency bands, and use separate hardware. Meaning, they are physically not compatible.
2003WRB said:
So I got the phone unlocked but only to find out the T-Mobile s7 is GSM, Verizon runs on CDMA which is not compatible.
Now that I have it unlocked, would it be possible to flash the Verizon s7 software and have it connect?
I assume I'll need to root the phone in order to do that but will the hardware interact properly with the Verizon software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The good news for you is that the S7 sold in the United States all contain the same hardware, the same actual components, so they all physically are capable of handling both GSM and CDMA networks. Also good for you is that now that the phone is unlocked, you can either flash the Verizon firmware or flash the "U" firmware on your device. Normally speaking, this would be really bad advice for any other device, but for the S7 it is possible.
I have the T-Mo S7 flat, and I am running the latest U firmware on AT&T, though I have flashed many and sold them for Verizon.
Don't fret, be happy, and Merry Christmas!
will this allow lte+,in order words can I make a call and still browse the internet on verizon?

Categories

Resources