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[Q] Samsung Galaxy S2 I9100 - Very slow to get IMEI

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 Am very frustrated with this phone....

I bought this phone off Ebay about 3 weeks ago. It was labeled as a d820 The listing said for parts does not read sim card but everything else worked. Being Semi decent in the tinkering world I thought I would spend the 40 $ on the phone to see if I could make it work. When I got the phone it was on the setup screen because it was just factory reset. When I put my sim in (T-mobile) it showed that it had a signal. As soon as finished setup it lost the signal and could not connect again. So obviously it is some kind of software issue. So the first thing I did was try to update it from lollipop to marshmallow. Once again it showed it was connected to my network until completing setup. This time when I was in the bootloader I noticed that it said it was a d821. I figured well I paid 40 dollars I was probably going to get ripped off somewhere. So then I started reading about how to use the d821 in America thinnking that was the issue. I tried the qpst thing where you add the additional bands- nothing. Then I messed around a bunch in the cdma tool after reading a thread about adding cdma to the device. I also tried flashing various modems and roms with no luck. Last night I thought maybe theres something I missed hardware wise in the phone so I opened it up. I checked all of the connections and everything was fine. I started reading the numbers and got really confused. On the back of the phone it says d821 under the lg logo. but on the inside of the back cover and the plastic shroud on the motherboard it says d820. This might be irrelevant but it would be super great if someone had an idea of how I can get this to work on T-mobile in the USA because with a decent rom this phone is wayyy smoother and faster than my 5.5" alcatel idol 3 network unlocked from cricket (So lte sucks). All i want is a phone that has a stable lte connection XD
ANY ideas how to fix my D821?

The model # in the bootloader is the correct model #. Is it possible the imei has been blacklisted?

On the motherboard, near battery connector there is info about 32/16gb and d820/d821.

[Q] Cheap new phone won't connect to mobile network - dodgy IMEI?

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

New provider tactic? Not SIM locked to provider, but SIM locked to device!?

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；｀)

Question Root related cell reception issues?

I purchased a used US version Rog Phone 5 recently through an online seller. When receiving the phone, I gave it a good once over and powered it on and tested wifi and such and everything seemed to be in good working order. I then rooted the phone and set most of stuff up. After inserting my sim card, I noticed the cell reception was not that great. I suffered through for a couple of days but was missing calls and texts like crazy. I was constantly dropping reception entirely in areas where I have very good signal with other phones. The phone is essentially useless now. I tried several factory resets, flashed back to the non-rooted boot image, and then flashed to an older firmware with no improvements to signal. I can't imagine the reception issue is in any way related to the rooting process, but I'm throwing this out there just in case anyone has seen anything similar in the past.
A few things to note:
I am on AT&T
The APN is definitively configured correctly
I could have returned the phone to the online seller for a refund prior to unlocking the bootloader, but did not insert a sim before rooting, so I have no idea whether the issue was present from purchase or not. Lesson learned, I suppose... do a more thoroughly inspection before doing anything that will void a warranty or refund agreement.
I have tried the same sim in two other phones with no issues.
Everything else about the phone seems to work perfectly, only poor reception.
I had the phone up to approximately 30 miles from my house with no change, so it isn't limited to a specific tower.
Does anyone have any ideas? If I don't come up with anything I will be posting it on ebay as "not working - for parts only" so I will try about anything at this point.

Sim recognition issue
Owned the phone for about a month now. Phone was working perfectly fine for the majority of this time. I use 2 different sims and they were both working smoothly until recently. A few days ago, I woke up and the phone wouldn't recognize the Sim...
forum.xda-developers.com
sim card problem
just all of sudden it became invalid sim try multiple time reset or clear data cache sim toolkit original sim to other phone is working other sim to original phone is working other sim to other phone is working anyone face the same problem...
forum.xda-developers.com
Sounds like they pawned the issue off on you, but it should still be under warranty to have it repaired. When you contact Asus, don't mention unlocking the bootloader. Stick to the hardware concerns.

I have looked over both of those threads, but it seems to be a different issue. My sim is recognized fine, its just the signal strength that appears to be extremely low. Even when the phone has no service at all, it still recognizes the AT&T sim is present.

cpenticuff said:
I have looked over both of those threads, but it seems to be a different issue. My sim is recognized fine, its just the signal strength that appears to be extremely low. Even when the phone has no service at all, it still recognizes the AT&T sim is present.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is not the same issue, but it appears to be a similar issue. The important detail being that both required a motherboard replacement.