my daughter bought a cheap phone from a well known website here in Australia.
It is dual sim, I think it's a knock-off of a more expensive phone, the model number shows "R11max"
Seeems that no sim card we try will work, they all say "mobile network not availablke" when I try to make a call, text messages won't send, etc.
When I check in About Phone> Status> IMEI information, both SIM slots have the same IMEI.
I'm guessing we got ripped off, with a dodgy phone that somebody has slapped a dodgy IMEI onto, cloned /duplicate IMEIs which have already been banned from the network or something?
Do you think my theory is correct or what else could be causing this problem?
It's not legit for both slots to have the same IMEI is it?
Regarding IMEI - this is normal. some phones with 2 SIMs can have 1 IMEI. If the phone can only have 1 SIM active at a time, then only 1 IMEI is required. Only the true dual-SIM devices, where both SIMs can be active at once, require 2 IMEIs.
You can check the status of an IMEI for lost/stolen etc here: http://www.lost.amta.org.au/IMEI
Some sites give you more info on your device based on IMEI: http://www.imei.info/
Not sure about the network issues, but I came across this random thread while searching. Seems the R11Max is one cheap nasty piece of junk, sorry to say. You'll struggle to install any apps on it, because there's literally not enough storage. Anyway, have a read of that if you get time: https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1426197
Related
Hello all, this is my first post and also please move if in wrong place.
I have had a off the shelf, not locked to a network Samsung Galaxy S2 I9100 for a couple of years now without issue except that it would take sometimes 5 minutes to join the Orange network and get a signal, other times it might be a minute, or then it might be on the network as soon as the phone booted. I just lived with this "little pain in the bum" problem.
I rooted the phone so I could remove un-needed pre-installed apps, to free some space, which worked, but I already had the signal issue before this so I don't believe this made it worse. Last few days I sold it on ebay to be told by the buyer that it would not connect to the network no matter what sim was installed. I now have the phone back with a view to fixing the problem. They basically were not waiting long enough for it to connect to the network, which is fair enough as it should connect quickly.
I have used the following sims, all connecting to the network eventually: Orange, O2 and Vodafone. - This is the same behaviour as before I sold it but just lived with it, but it is clearly a problem.
My findings are that when I first turn on the phone and *#06# the IMEI is null / null. Leave the phone and it will show the REAL IMEI which is printed under the battery and once the IMEI is shown, it will connect to any network. So I don't think it is a fake IMEI problem as it will find the real one. I have also always had a issue with GPS being very poor.
I have tried to backup / restore the EFS folder but it made no difference. I unrooted to the stock ROM before I sold it, re-rooted etc but nothing changes. The IMEI eventually is found and the phone works without any issues.
Hopefully someone will have an idea of where to start to try and fix this issue.
Many thanks in advance.
Woosh
I have also found that the baseband version is also not available to start with. Everything happens together, the IMEI number, the baseband version and connection to phone network all appear to happen at the same time.
I have just re-flashed to stock rom with no change to the delay in getting the IMEI etc. KIES also does not recognise the phone until the missing details are found and then KIES is happy.
Anyone?
I bought an S8+ from Craiglist a bit hasty and I think I was tricked. There were a few photos on the Craiglist and on one of them, there's a phone displaying both IMEI numbers (dual sim) and a box with a sticker and the same IMEI number. We met, I checked the phone quickly, everything works, phone looks as advertised, we're both in a hurry, I give the money, take the phone and we split. I took a photo of his driving licence and a car registration. 2 days later, I found a time to set it up and made a switch from my old Galaxy S5. Before inserting SIM card I type *#06# to check IMEI once again just to find it's completely different! And even worse, online services recognize it as an "invalid IMEI". I then checked serial number on IMEI.info and it sees the phone as Galaxy S5. Then I checked model number and it showes SM-G950, which should be a regular S8, not S8+. It's obvious someone has tampered with the IMEI numbers and system. Now, things complicate for me. I don't live in the USA, I flew back to Europe and I can't easily go to the police in US and try to find a person.
My questions:
Where do these wrong info come from? Is there anything I can do to reset it to the factory values? Is the IMEI number truly changed or just software change?
IMEI: 353456789104561 / 01 and 353456789104562 / 02
SN shown when typing *#06#: R28H33QX82H
SN shown settings>Routine management>status: 0123456789ABCDEF
Model number SM-G950
Thanks
Unfortunately, the phone is a copy of Samsung S8+, I realized it once I faced it to the original one. I bought it in Dallas, I have his driving licence and a car plates. Does it make any sense to contact the local police? Will they do anything about that?
Thanks
Rukovodilac said:
Unfortunately, the phone is a copy of Samsung S8+, I realized it once I faced it to the original one. I bought it in Dallas, I have his driving licence and a car plates. Does it make any sense to contact the local police? Will they do anything about that?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No there is nothing they can do as it is not a criminal matter. You would have to sue him personally. Which would never be worth it really.
I bought a mediatek tablet with serial number 0123456789ABCDEF and the IMEI number is unknown...please is the serial number correct and how can I get an IMEI number because the tablet doesn't display network
9 months ago I switched providers from NTT docomo (where I still used a SIM lock free iPhone) to SoftBank (where I got a new Pixel 3, and first time in many years that I got a phone + SIM).
But like how the whole nature of planned obsolence works, gradually going from best phone ever to falling apart to boiling my blood.
First the USB-C port of my phone stopped working (so I am now forced to use wireless charging and SFTP on a local network), then the FeliCa chip started becoming instable (which is fine, I can still switch back to a dedicated SUICA card where the FeliCa chip works for a decade), then I was forced to set up a finger print to use Google services (later on turned out to be just a policy issue in Google Apps, I already fixed that) which only makes my phone more insecure (random unlocking if accidentally unlocking the phone within 5 seconds or when the scanner touches the skin of my lag through my pants), but after I turned off finger print authentication my phone started to randomly unlock itself whenever I get extreme weather warnings (and since it's summer, I'm getting multiple times every day).
So I was looking for switching to another phone, and I bought a SoftBank branded Digno flip phone from Amazon, and my SIM card didn't work.
I went to SoftBank have them take a look, the guy was searching using my IMEI for 30 minutes only to tell me that the Digno problem is a very rare case and that Aquos flip phone doesn't have this problem because Digno is too old (released before 2015).
So I bought the Aquos flip phone that he recommended me, but again my SIM card didn't work.
I started to question it, and put my SIM card into my SIM free iPhone: didn't work.
Then I put it in an Aquos smartphone which I bought specifically as a SIM free phone: didn't work.
I went to SoftBank again (this time to a different store because I didn't have much time) and explained the situation.
The guy then told me that I must have my phone registered at SoftBank for the SIM to work.
Then I asked how I can do that, he said that I must purchase a phone via SoftBank instead of Amazon, or otherwise let a totally different SIM card get issued.
By this I'm not complaining or asking to hack the system, I only want to ask if anyone knows about such a tactic? Did anyone experience it too (in Japan or overseas)? And is it normal for a phone provider to lock your SIM card to a specific phone?
And while we're at it: if I flash my phone with a custom ROM, will this render my phone to be unusable with this SIM card as well?
Looks like you are down with a string of strange events and bad luck.
Softbank seems to be a d*ck and I would change a provider if I am you. It is illegal in my country, malaysia, to lock devices to network. But you can easily just register your phone imei to Softbank if you really like the coverage they provide.
As for phones I can't comment on that as I never used pixel, aquos or any of the phones you mentioned but the fingerprint able to unlock by touching your legs through your pants sounds like a hardware failure and I would bring the phone in for repair.
Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
In my experience Docomo works really well within the Yamanote area of Tokyo, but I cannot afford living there and my work is just outside of that area.
And I already had home internet from SoftBank, which were the 2 reasons why I went with SoftBank, plus its coverage works really well (even when I go to a mountain village north from Sapporo, which I did yesterday, I still have really good coverage).
Their SIM only plans were also really good, I really feel like an idiot that I took a SIM + phone set this time…
My friends (I have them despite my username) also recommended me to go with au, but I didn't like what they covered (can't remember what exactly, but I remember it was somewhere among those lines).
But would be nice if our politicians would make this illegal too, once big companies obtain too much power, it's never going to be enough for them.
Edit:
I only want to add that the only time I had a bad coverage with SoftBank was when watching fireworks at the Edo river, but I'm not sure whether it's because I was near a big river or because the part of the river has a 3 point prefectural border (between Tokyo, Chiba, and Saitama).
yujin-nashi said:
9 months ago I switched providers from NTT docomo (where I still used a SIM lock free iPhone) to SoftBank (where I got a new Pixel 3, and first time in many years that I got a phone + SIM).
But like how the whole nature of planned obsolence works, gradually going from best phone ever to falling apart to boiling my blood.
First the USB-C port of my phone stopped working (so I am now forced to use wireless charging and SFTP on a local network), then the FeliCa chip started becoming instable (which is fine, I can still switch back to a dedicated SUICA card where the FeliCa chip works for a decade), then I was forced to set up a finger print to use Google services (later on turned out to be just a policy issue in Google Apps, I already fixed that) which only makes my phone more insecure (random unlocking if accidentally unlocking the phone within 5 seconds or when the scanner touches the skin of my lag through my pants), but after I turned off finger print authentication my phone started to randomly unlock itself whenever I get extreme weather warnings (and since it's summer, I'm getting multiple times every day).
So I was looking for switching to another phone, and I bought a SoftBank branded Digno flip phone from Amazon, and my SIM card didn't work.
I went to SoftBank have them take a look, the guy was searching using my IMEI for 30 minutes only to tell me that the Digno problem is a very rare case and that Aquos flip phone doesn't have this problem because Digno is too old (released before 2015).
So I bought the Aquos flip phone that he recommended me, but again my SIM card didn't work.
I started to question it, and put my SIM card into my SIM free iPhone: didn't work.
Then I put it in an Aquos smartphone which I bought specifically as a SIM free phone: didn't work.
I went to SoftBank again (this time to a different store because I didn't have much time) and explained the situation.
The guy then told me that I must have my phone registered at SoftBank for the SIM to work.
Then I asked how I can do that, he said that I must purchase a phone via SoftBank instead of Amazon, or otherwise let a totally different SIM card get issued.
By this I'm not complaining or asking to hack the system, I only want to ask if anyone knows about such a tactic? Did anyone experience it too (in Japan or overseas)? And is it normal for a phone provider to lock your SIM card to a specific phone?
And while we're at it: if I flash my phone with a custom ROM, will this render my phone to be unusable with this SIM card as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It isn't a matter of "locking the device to the SIM", it is a matter of the device being registered on the service providers network using the device's IMEI number and the SIM card number being registered as being used with that device, both of these numbers must be registered together in your service account, that is how the network recognizes your device and how it knows to send service via that SIM to your device. When you switch to another device, the new device must be registered on the network and the SIM must be registered as being used with that device.
It's similar to registering your car and registering a license plate on that car. The car is registered to identify it as your car and the license plate is registered to identify that the license plate is for your car and not someone else's.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Droidriven said:
It isn't a matter of "locking the device to the SIM", it is a matter of the device being registered on the service providers network using the device's IMEI number and the SIM card number being registered as being used with that device, both of these numbers must be registered together in your service account, that is how the network recognizes your device and how it knows to send service via that SIM to your device. When you switch to another device, the new device must be registered on the network and the SIM must be registered as being used with that device.
It's similar to registering your car and registering a license plate on that car. The car is registered to identify it as your car and the license plate is registered to identify that the license plate is for your car and not someone else's.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's true, then I'll try it out.
Somehow confusing if employees of the same ISP working at different branch stores tell me totally different things. (´；ω；｀)
Alright, so a little back story on the problem i'm having:
I've got a Mofi4500 SIM4 wireless modem with service from an MVNO using T-Mobile's network.
The service worked great for the last several months despite a video throttling issue. Long story short, i determined the Phone number associated with the SIM was being throttled either the MVNO or T-Mobile, so they're shipping me out a new SIM card.
Here's the issue: They disabled the current SIM (which is providing us service) when they programmed the new SIM before they shipped it out. In the MOFI's control panel, there is no phone number detected on the sim (did they delete the phone number remotely?)
So we're currently dead in the water with no internet access, and my wife isn't too happy since she works from home. I called their tech support to get the SIM reactivated, and they said no problem, should be done within an hour.
2 hours pass, still not working! I jump back in the MOFI's control panel to see whats going on, and it seems that its still not detecting a phone number on the SIM. The Sim card, SIM ID, and T-Mobiles APN are all detected and correct, but the Phone number is not. even now (the next morning) after several reboots of the modem and factory resets there is no phone number detected.
We USED to run the MOFI on AT&T's network and still have that sim card, so i popped that in the MOFI to see if it could detect a phone number on that sim, and sure enough all that information along with AT&T's APN is there. so the Mofi's sim card reader isn't broken, it does have the ability to read a sim card correctly.
My question here, how did the MVNO supposedly "reactivate" the sim card remotely when the sim card has the Phone number deleted and the router has no access to the web? is it even possible to change a SIM's phone number remotely? Is it possible to reactivate a SIM remotely when the SIM has no access to the internet?
If it is indeed possible, any idea on why the sim not able to update?
Hello,
A few months ago, I've bought a second hand Galaxy S7 from the UK (via eBay). I'm in Belgium, the phone was unlocked. I ran a few tests, the phone worked fine and I*installed LineageOS 16 (this one:*<https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/development/rom-lineageos-16-microg-t3921094>).
I've just notice a few weeks ago that the network was not as good as another SM-G930F (with the same ROM). In well-covered areas, it seems fine, but when moving (on a train…) or when in remote location with medium or bad reception, my phone lose all network.
I've tested it with two SIM cards (two different operators) and it's the same result.
I've also noticed that the IMEI and SN on the back cover of the phone are different from those in the system settings (and via *#06#). I asked the seller and he told me “We are sorry to hear that, it may was broken and we have change it with another origins back from another phone, the main number is the one in the settings.”
What could I do to try to improve the network connection?
Should I be worried about the IMEI/SN change?
Thanks!
Ptrph said:
Hello,
A few months ago, I've bought a second hand Galaxy S7 from the UK (via eBay). I'm in Belgium, the phone was unlocked. I ran a few tests, the phone worked fine and I*installed LineageOS 16 (this one:*<https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/development/rom-lineageos-16-microg-t3921094>).
I've just notice a few weeks ago that the network was not as good as another SM-G930F (with the same ROM). In well-covered areas, it seems fine, but when moving (on a train…) or when in remote location with medium or bad reception, my phone lose all network.
I've tested it with two SIM cards (two different operators) and it's the same result.
I've also noticed that the IMEI and SN on the back cover of the phone are different from those in the system settings (and via *#06#). I asked the seller and he told me “We are sorry to hear that, it may was broken and we have change it with another origins back from another phone, the main number is the one in the settings.”
What could I do to try to improve the network connection?
Should I be worried about the IMEI/SN change?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone has obviously been re-built from different parts of S7's, the antenna may not be seated correctly or even damaged. The S7 is not designed to be taken apart by re-sellers.
IMEI, Yes it is illegal to change an IMEI number of any phone. You've been sold a dud phone.
cooltt said:
The phone has obviously been re-built from different parts of S7's, the antenna may not be seated correctly or even damaged. The S7 is not designed to be taken apart by re-sellers.
IMEI, Yes it is illegal to change an IMEI number of any phone. You've been sold a dud phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply. I guess I'll try to check the antenna. This issue aside, it kinda works well…
Is there a way to check IMEI numbers before buying a second hand phone? I've just searched online, but there's too many sites, most of them not free, and I don't know where to begin. Is it country restricted?
Ptrph said:
Thank you for your reply. I guess I'll try to check the antenna. This issue aside, it kinda works well…
Is there a way to check IMEI numbers before buying a second hand phone? I've just searched online, but there's too many sites, most of them not free, and I don't know where to begin. Is it country restricted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a way to check IMEI numbers before buying a second hand phone? Yes there is a free network provider website in most countries to check it's valid and you can check on Samsung website. Don't pay any money to anyone! If an IMEI is blacklisted or reported stolen the phone will not register on any network.
Yours is working so is fine.