Related
http://www.sammobile.com/2016/02/25...-will-carrier-lock-to-the-first-inserted-sim/
I know some t-mobile customers already have devices in hand (or will be getting it within a few days). Has anyone checked if the above article is true? Would be awesome to know for all US who aren't on T-mo or any major carrier (I'm on Cricket, No preorders, and no edge listed so far.)
Would be awesome to preorder the ATT version from a place like target, get those preorder bonuses (target has $100 GC + standard 5% off for target card members, so its probably the cheapest place to get it), and then use it on Cricket.
Note: This is primarily meant for US carriers and devices. not other countries, which has different laws and networks.
Yes I'm also wondering how this will work. When I spoke to sales team at CPW they said it would be completely unlocked but knew nothing about the so called locking feature which may happen to us. Uk
Good question, I'm surprised no one has posted the answer yet considering how many people are getting them.
I'm on cricket as well, and planning to get the tmobile s7 due to the unlocked bootloader (at&t is bootloader locked)... It would be nice not to have to pay some company to remotely Sim unlock it
I would like to know too. Thank you!
I'd also like to know whether the phone will download carrier software specific everytime a different SIM is inserted
Im buying mine from samsung direct so id be annoyed if they have the sim region lock in place. im sure they are selling it unlocked and this sim lock is carrier requested.
sonhy said:
Im buying mine from samsung direct so id be annoyed if they have the sim region lock in place. im sure they are selling it unlocked and this sim lock is carrier requested.
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Are you in canada? If so there is a sim lock when you put in your sim, but you're given an unlock code with the phone if you get it from a samsung store.
no not canada, well thats good to hear about unlock code, as said im pretty sure the sim lock is only for carrier bought gs7 phones.
Work for a carrier: it will lock upon first sim. If you put in a sim after initial Set up it wipes and reboots. Unlock codes are available like any other phone
CPW never lock their android phones. This feature is for carriers to lock if they want and helps Sammy to sell phones to multiple suppliers using the same SKU code rather than different variants. Anyone buying sim free won't have to worry about this and I'm 99℅ sure shops like cpw won't use this. Buying from an operator however is a different story
Sent from my XT1580 using Tapatalk
Seems like this SIM lock applies to carrier phones only and not Global/International aka Unlocked.
My guess is they do this so Samsung can provide everyone with the same standard S7 model to save hassle on carrier specific phones that are locked from the factory so the carrier can pick up any S7 and provide the sim that then locks to that network.
False.. i have 2 phones.. i just got my S7 and i have an iPhone as well ... just switched the sims and works fine...
bradbutter said:
False.. i have 2 phones.. i just got my S7 and i have an iPhone as well ... just switched the sims and works fine...
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Cool thanks for reporting.
bradbutter said:
False.. i have 2 phones.. i just got my S7 and i have an iPhone as well ... just switched the sims and works fine...
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Click to collapse
I dont understand what you are saying...if you stuck a tmobile sim from your iphone and stuck it in your tmobile s7, its still possibly carrier locked to tmobile.
we want to know if you stick a cricket or at&t in your tmobile s7 first, will it lock to those carriers even though your on tmobile or will it require a remote unlock
I'd be curious to know that if id DOES lock, would a ODIN/reflash of stock reset it?
I would love it buying a AT&T version would work on Verizon or T-Mobile.
All this of course with the phone having access to all bands set on initial carrier SIM card boot up.
Is it possible to just flash a different version's os? Example, could i just flash the t-mo fw onto an att phone?
el7145 said:
I dont understand what you are saying...if you stuck a tmobile sim from your iphone and stuck it in your tmobile s7, its still possibly carrier locked to tmobile.
we want to know if you stick a cricket or at&t in your tmobile s7 first, will it lock to those carriers even though your on tmobile or will it require a remote unlock
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Oh well yeah in that case I'm not sure because I know my phone should be locked to T-Mobile from the start unless I pay it off in full. I highly doubt if I would have put a non T-Mobile Sim in it first that it would of even got service. You would have to ask someone with an unlocked device if another sim works because most devices from carriers are locked from the start.
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
bradbutter said:
Oh well yeah in that case I'm not sure because I know my phone should be locked to T-Mobile from the start unless I pay it off in full. I highly doubt if I would have put a non T-Mobile Sim in it first that it would of even got service. You would have to ask someone with an unlocked device if another sim works because most devices from carriers are locked from the start.
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
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Best answer here. I'm not sure what the confusion is here. A phone from T Mobile IS locked to T Mobile unless one removes the carrier lock. Its always been this way (sans int. phones). The carrier unlock app is in the S7 as well and by law all US carriers must provide the unlock if requested by a customer.
So if the OP buys an S7 outright then they can request and will receive the unlock for the phone. Otherwise its business as usual.
I asked Verizon and they deleted my question. If I payed off my Verizon Pixel the device belongs to me so under some law they should legally be held to unlock my bootloader. Do they if the device is paid off?
There is no such law and they will not unlock your bootloader.
Kinda funny
That's funny because I found the law on the Verizon website community.verizonwireless.com/thread/778109
Reverseslayer said:
That's funny because I found the law on the Verizon website community.verizonwireless.com/thread/778109
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No you didn't. You found a law about SIM locking, not bootloader locking. The phone is already SIM unlocked.
Reverseslayer said:
I asked Verizon and they deleted my question. If I payed off my Verizon Pixel the device belongs to me so under some law they should legally be held to unlock my bootloader. Do they if the device is paid off?
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And don't forget that this is YOUR problem for buying a phone thru verizon
Before the google pixel went on sale it was publically known and confirmed that verizons version of the pixel would be bootloader locked and was posted, blogged, ridiculed at just about every tech site on the web, you have no one to blame but yourself
I love reading posts like this, I almost have to change my shorts from the entertainment.
Sent from my Pixel using XDA-Developers Legacy app
So I chatted with Google about this rumors of people trading thier Verizon phone for refurbished Google store versions. This not true do not waste your time. Google refused to send me a different device, stated " if you want to send us your Verizon model for replacement it will be replaced with a Verizon model." Google said if I have Verizon deactivate the phone on the network ie: turn an old phone back on during this process as to keep your Verizon account. Once deactivated phone will be carrier unlocked (phone must be paid off) then when you insert a sim card from another carrier it will make available OEM unlock in developer settings!! Then you can install twrp and reinsert Verizon sim and poof you have unlock bootloader, custom recovery/root. Can anyone please confirm this works. I cannot as my phone is not paid off and Verizon will not deactivate it from there network.
raybonz420 said:
So I chatted with Google ..Once deactivated phone will be carrier unlocked (phone must be paid off) then when you insert a sim card from another carrier it will make available OEM unlock in developer settings!!
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Nonsense. The only way to get your Verizon device to oem unlock is to sell it and buy a Google phone. I don't know how many different ways to say this.
When I purchased my Nexus 6P several years ago, I just swapped my Verizon SIM out of my Note 4 and went on my merry way. My Dad asked for a phone recommendation and I recommended the Pixel 2, thinking it would work the same way. Now I discover there's a carrier-unlocked version and a Verizon version. I don't want the Verizon bloatware on his phone and would rather not have to begin by deleting a bunch of apps (if Verizon will actually allow me to uninstall any apps [they love to install bloatware as system apps])as I'm the first step in his tech support hierarchy. I doubt I'll root his phone but I definitely don't want to have a locked bootloader which seems to be the Verizon standard.
If I get him the carrier-unlocked version and put his Verizon SIM card in, will it work on Evil Red's, I mean Big Red's network? I couldn't find any radio differentiation on Google's tech specs page.
Thank you for any information you can provide me.
Narsil007 said:
When I purchased my Nexus 6P several years ago, I just swapped my Verizon SIM out of my Note 4 and went on my merry way. My Dad asked for a phone recommendation and I recommended the Pixel 2, thinking it would work the same way. Now I discover there's a carrier-unlocked version and a Verizon version. I don't want the Verizon bloatware on his phone and would rather not have to begin by deleting a bunch of apps (if Verizon will actually allow me to uninstall any apps [they love to install bloatware as system apps])as I'm the first step in his tech support hierarchy. I doubt I'll root his phone but I definitely don't want to have a locked bootloader which seems to be the Verizon standard.
If I get him the carrier-unlocked version and put his Verizon SIM card in, will it work on Evil Red's, I mean Big Red's network? I couldn't find any radio differentiation on Google's tech specs page.
Thank you for any information you can provide me.
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It'll work they are all the same. Just don't put the sim in until after the setup process. From my understanding if you get the one from Verizon it will not install Verizon apps if you setup the phone without a sim in it. However you couldn't unlock the bootloader(there's a hack for it I believe).
Verizon installs the MyVerizon and go90 apps from the play store after setup if you have a vzw sim in it which can both be uninstalled. (Google store version does this too)
Only difference in versions is the verizon branded model comes with a sim in it and oem unlock is greyed out
Thank you! I've ordered the Carrier-Unlocked model from the Play Store for him and will set it up for him when it arrives.
I like the blue version, but it seems that Verizon model has it and not the carrier unlocked version. So the question is, if I will pick Verizon from google store, will the unit come carrier unlocked or it will be locked to Verizon?
Charkatak said:
I like the blue version, but it seems that Verizon model has it and not the carrier unlocked version. So the question is, if I will pick Verizon from google store, will the unit come carrier unlocked or it will be locked to Verizon?
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It's carrier unlocked they all are. The only thing you can't unlock is the bootloader.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Tidbits said:
It's carrier unlocked they all are. The only thing you can't unlock is the bootloader.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
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Oh, that isn't an issue for me. All I need the phone to be sim unlocked. I have heard that original pixel phone which was purchased form Verizon had also bootloader locked. What some users did, was that when they bought the phone new, removed Verizon sim, then turned of phone without the sim card and went through the set up. After that they were able to toggle OEM unlock. I don't know if it is the same for Pixel 2 phones.
Charkatak said:
Oh, that isn't an issue for me. All I need the phone to be sim unlocked. I have heard that original pixel phone which was purchased form Verizon had also bootloader locked. What some users did, was that when they bought the phone new, removed Verizon sim, then turned of phone without the sim card and went through the set up. After that they were able to toggle OEM unlock. I don't know if it is the same for Pixel 2 phones.
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Click to collapse
From this point around it Sims that was fixed. You won't get the apps but the bootloader stays unlockable.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Do NOT activate the phone directly after getting it from Best Buy/ Essential, as it'll lock your device to Sprint. They won't be able to unlock it in Sprint, or by using Sprint tech support either. I went to a Sprint store, and was told they cannot unlock in-store. I was then told to contact their support number, and was transferred 8 times to the highest level of tech support, which ended in them telling me there was absolutely no way to unlock it. So, I was forced to take it back to Best Buy, and have to wait till Wednesday for it to arrive. Apparently Sprint sims will lock to your phone if it's taken to them directly and activated, so I'd suggest putting in a VZW sim and then activating the phone on Sprint. Don't make the same mistake I made.
TheF|ipSide said:
Do NOT activate the phone directly after getting it from Best Buy/ Essential, as it'll lock your device to Sprint. They won't be able to unlock it in Sprint, or by using Sprint tech support either. I went to a Sprint store, and was told they cannot unlock in-store. I was then told to contact their support number, and was transferred 8 times to the highest level of tech support, which ended in them telling me there was absolutely no way to unlock it. So, I was forced to take it back to Best Buy, and have to wait till Wednesday for it to arrive. Apparently Sprint sims will lock to your phone if it's taken to them directly and activated, so I'd suggest putting in a VZW sim and then activating the phone on Sprint. Don't make the same mistake I made.
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Not true. It works when I put my FreedomPop Sim in
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Jonathanlc2005 said:
Not true. It works when I put my FreedomPop Sim in
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FreedomPop uses Sprint network. So, before saying not true, it'd be better for someone who tried other network other than Sprint network including MVNO to confirm.
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PowerPC said:
FreedomPop uses Sprint network. So, before saying not true, it'd be better for someone who tried other network other than Sprint network including MVNO to confirm.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
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Once again... Not true. It also uses TMobile and I connected to hspa+ fine
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Jonathanlc2005 said:
Once again... Not true. It also uses TMobile and I connected to hspa+ fine
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Click to collapse
Lol you want screenshots of Sprint causing my phone to become locked? I can throw up pictures of my receipts of buying a UNLOCKED Essential phone, and then it becoming magically locked when my Sprint sim was inserted in it. It also rejected AT&T AND T-Mobile sims. Why would I fabricate a story of my phone becoming locked? The Sprint store reps told me this is something that happens a lot, along with Best buy employees telling me they had this happen before. Only reason I posted this was to make sure this happened to no one else. The only way this just happened to just me is if Essential accidentally shipped a locked Sprint phone out that was packaged like an unlocked phone, and I was just unfortunate enough to receive it. Or maybe I just imagined spending an hour and a half speaking to Sprint reps trying to unlock my phone and the about phone section and activation status on my phone are just bogus.....
Some more details that might be useful for buyers:
1. In store pickup seems to make the phone lock to Sprint, even if the first time you turn it on its with a different SIM inside.
2. People have reported Essential phone being unlocked if you choose delivery instead and use another SIM on first turn on of the device.
What kind of analogy is this.. putting VZW sim then activate to Sprint.
Picked-up mine and its unlock. No mumbo jumbo
To be clear, OP is saying (I think) if you first turn on phone with sprint sim and activate it, it will lock to Sprints SIM.
If you first activate it with a different sim, you will have no problems with any sim, including sprint.
Has anyone bought an unlocked phone and first activated it with a Sprint Sim?
My question is.. Why would you buy the Sprint variant outright? Why not buy the unlocked modem from best buy, amazon or essential? Its cheaper too.. Then put your sprint sim.
tlxxxsracer said:
My question is.. Why would you buy the Sprint variant outright? Why not buy the unlocked modem from best buy, amazon or essential? Its cheaper too.. Then put your sprint sim.
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Click to collapse
I didn't. I bought an unlocked one from Best buy and took it directly to Sprint to get it activated. When they did, it carrier locked my device, and I was only receiving Sprint updates... Either Essential shipped me a locked Sprint phone, or Sprint locked it when I activated my phone that I owned, which is illegal.
It's easy to see what variant in Fastboot. It will show Variant - Sprint if it is flashed with Sprint software. Are you sure Best Buy didn't just accidentally grab a Sprint model by accident?
When you get your new one power up by holding down Volume Down to get to Fastboot and check the Variant tag.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
Isn't the bootloader unlocked so you can just flash a new rom? Did the Sprint SIM lock the bootloader?
bobloadmire said:
Isn't the bootloader unlocked so you can just flash a new rom? Did the Sprint SIM lock the bootloader?
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Click to collapse
same question
I can flash LOS but I still remain carrier locked. In fastboot it shows I am using the Open-US variant, but my device is locked to Sprint. So frustrated right now.
What if the variant just says Sprint?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
jesus359 said:
What if the variant just says Sprint?
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Minesays that and I'm locked. No issue. I'll have them unlock it after 50 days... I'm on free year plan.
You bought the Sprint one not the unlocked one. They sell SPRINT at best buy
---------- Post added at 05:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:37 AM ----------
TheF|ipSide said:
I didn't. I bought an unlocked one from Best buy and took it directly to Sprint to get it activated. When they did, it carrier locked my device, and I was only receiving Sprint updates... Either Essential shipped me a locked Sprint phone, or Sprint locked it when I activated my phone that I owned, which is illegal.
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Click to collapse
You're wrong. I work for Sprint and activating it doesn't lock it to Sprint. I have Sprint also and bought the unlocked version online and I can use my vzw sim just fine
seshaz said:
You bought the Sprint one not the unlocked one. They sell SPRINT at best buy
---------- Post added at 05:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:37 AM ----------
You're wrong. I work for Sprint and activating it doesn't lock it to Sprint. I have Sprint also and bought the unlocked version online and I can use my vzw sim just fine
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I bought unlocked at Best Buy. Variant is Open US in bootloader. I don't use on sprint, so I wouldn't know if it locks. Best buy does sell unlocked.
in Fastboot mode check the variant and it should say "OPENUS"
seshaz said:
You bought the Sprint one not the unlocked one. They sell SPRINT at best buy
---------- Post added at 05:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:37 AM ----------
You're wrong. I work for Sprint and activating it doesn't lock it to Sprint. I have Sprint also and bought the unlocked version online and I can use my vzw sim just fine
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Click to collapse
Then why does it say I have the OPENUS version in the bootloader, and why does my receipt say I paid for an unlocked essential phone? Before making allegations, inform yourself.
I have a Sprint S7 (SM-G930P) that's never been activated and would like to unlock it and change the firmware so that I can use it on Verizon. Is this possible?
Specifically, would it be an issue since the phone has never been activated? It has a clean IMEI and after calling Sprint, they have no records of the phone in their database.
I would think if its not on their system then the lock isn't yet active, isn't the IMEI how carriers control device network access? What happens if you put in the Verizon SIM, even on Sprint firmware if the device isn't locked it'll run without your carriers firmware.
That's what I thought. I'll put a Verizon SIM in it later and see what happens. In theory, I should be able to flash Verizon's firmware to the phone as is without any problem, right?
Beanvee7 said:
I would think if its not on their system then the lock isn't yet active, isn't the IMEI how carriers control device network access? What happens if you put in the Verizon SIM, even on Sprint firmware if the device isn't locked it'll run without your carriers firmware.
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Click to collapse
Okay. When I put a Verizon SIM in it, it says Invalid Card. What is the fastest way to unlock a phone? Is there a free way for me to do it myself or am I stuck shelling out $50 for a site to send me a code?
Tuck831 said:
Okay. When I put a Verizon SIM in it, it says Invalid Card. What is the fastest way to unlock a phone? Is there a free way for me to do it myself or am I stuck shelling out $50 for a site to send me a code?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the phone is paid for (the contract completed or bought out) then all you have to do is call the original carrier and they can unlock it. If it's not paid for than you have to probably pay
The phone is paid for. I bought it outright last Christmas. I was going to give it to my son, but ended up going a different route and it was never activated. I called Sprint yesterday and they told me they had no record of my IMEI number.
GbizzleMcGrizzle said:
If the phone is paid for (the contract completed or bought out) then all you have to do is call the original carrier and they can unlock it. If it's not paid for than you have to probably pay
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Click to collapse
Tuck831 said:
The phone is paid for. I bought it outright last Christmas. I was going to give it to my son, but ended up going a different route and it was never activated. I called Sprint yesterday and they told me they had no record of my IMEI number.
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Click to collapse
If you bought it from a sprint store and it's sprint branded than I would ask to speak with a manager and make sure you have the IMEI or ESN right