I just bought a brand new, never opened AT&T branded Galaxy Fold. Seals on the box were still intact. The device was originally purchased directly from Samsung and was not tied to any AT&T account, although there was a new AT&T SIM in the box that is still attached to the card and never used.
IMEI is supposedly clean and ready for activation with no outstanding financing or blacklist according to Swappa and Ting.
I tried to get a SIM unlock code from the AT&T unlock portal, but it rejects the request because “AT&T didn’t sell or activate the device.” I suppose this message is technically true since the phone was sold by Samsung and never activated, but I’m not sure how to proceed with SIM unlocking it to use on Verizon.
Anyone have any ideas?
concept0 said:
I just bought a brand new, never opened AT&T branded Galaxy Fold. Seals on the box were still intact. The device was originally purchased directly from Samsung and was not tied to any AT&T account, although there was a new AT&T SIM in the box that is still attached to the card and never used.
IMEI is supposedly clean and ready for activation with no outstanding financing or blacklist according to Swappa and Ting.
I tried to get a SIM unlock code from the AT&T unlock portal, but it rejects the request because “AT&T didn’t sell or activate the device.” I suppose this message is technically true since the phone was sold by Samsung and never activated, but I’m not sure how to proceed with SIM unlocking it to use on Verizon.
Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just guessing as I never had a locked device.
Maybe you can try to use an AT&T SIM card in that device for about 11 days. Some users reported that the network/region lock set by Samsung will get deactivated after that period of time. Then you might be able to change to a Verizon sim card.
Worth a try?!
concept0 said:
I just bought a brand new, never opened AT&T branded Galaxy Fold. Seals on the box were still intact. The device was originally purchased directly from Samsung and was not tied to any AT&T account, although there was a new AT&T SIM in the box that is still attached to the card and never used.
IMEI is supposedly clean and ready for activation with no outstanding financing or blacklist according to Swappa and Ting.
I tried to get a SIM unlock code from the AT&T unlock portal, but it rejects the request because “AT&T didn’t sell or activate the device.” I suppose this message is technically true since the phone was sold by Samsung and never activated, but I’m not sure how to proceed with SIM unlocking it to use on Verizon.
Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If its anything like Tmobile, then you'll get the run around, Samsung will tell you its ATT and ATT will tell you its Samsung that you have to contact. On Tmobile one has to contact TForce via Twitter, then have them reach out to Samsung internally so that they can load the IMEI on to the T-Mobile system, once that part is done then Tmobile the actually carrier can go forth and process the unlock request. I am thinking it will be something similar with ATT locked devices purchased from Samsung directly.
Related
Hello XDA-Developers,
I am at my wits end. I can not for the life of me find a Sim Unlock code for my Samsung Note 3 N900W8.
I will start from the beginning... I purchased this phone from a woman who is the manager of a telecommunications in London ON. She listed the phone on Kijiji as "Brand new in box, unlocked!". I met her at a kiosk for my carrier to test the phone on one of their sim cards. It turned out the phone was sim locked. She seemed nice enough and genuinely surprised when it came up sim locked. She said she had received the phone as a promotional gift from her company, but didn't like the size of it and wanted to use her existing phone. She asked me if I would prefer to have her get it unlocked or she would take 50$ off of our originally agreed price to put towards the unlocking cost. I opted to get it unlocked myself, my mistake lol.
First I had to find out which carrier it was locked to so through a process of elimination I figured out it was locked to Bell. I contacted Bell and asked to get a sim unlock code from them. They said that they have no record of my phone in any of their data bases and that I should contact Samsung and confirm that my phone is locked to Bell. I contacted Samsung who confirmed that my phone is locked to Bell. I contacted Bell again and they put me through to tech support. He was a nice guy, but didn't give me the answer I wanted lol. He said that because my IMEI is not in any of their data bases that there's no way for him to give me a code. He suggested flashing a different kernel and it would remove the sim lock? I'm sorry I am not that knowledgeable when it comes to this stuff. Anyways, I have taken the phone to 3 reputable phone repare shops in my area and tried cellun******.net. All have said that they can't find an unlock code?
You guys are my last resort, any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Thank You!
I've contacted T-Mobile directly, and they said that they do not have the ability to do so because I did not purchase the device directly from them, even though it is a T-Mobile branded device. The representative also contacted Samsung with me on the phone, Samsung specifically stated that the device can be unlock, and the carrier does it. Doesn't make any sense to me that they can't unlock it when they have my phone's IMEI in their database, and they can recognize it. To top that off, the device is paid in full, not financed. Anyway, got this escalated to the manual unlock team, but was told there's no guarantees. Will see how that goes.
Have anyone gotten their T-Mobile branded device bought directly from Samsung unlocked? Or anyone got their carrier branded device bought from Samsung unlocked?
I been trying to find a sim I can try to see if mine is unlocked but seems like everyone I know is on TMobile hahaha I bought mine thru Samsung as well paid in full I will try going to a att see if they have a sim I can try
If everything is the same, then the device should be locked. Just tried an ATT sim on my T-Mobile device, and that doesn't work.
Exact situation I went through with AT&T. They also first told me they couldn't unlock it cuz I didn't buy directly from them, however, after a few escalations to support I finally got someone that understood and I had the unlock code before the phone call ended. Just keep trying.
The escalation of my case to the unlock team resulted in receiving an automated email telling me to use the unlock app when I explicitly mentioned that method does not work..... Sigh... The incompetence of these people. Contacting them on twitter now, we'll see the results of that.
In the meantime, what's everyone's experience so far trying to get their carrier branded device unlocked?
Same issues with my s8... Samsung says T-Mobile will should be able to unlock it...and T-Mobile says it is not an eligible phone since not purchased through T-Mobile. Any other suggestions how i can unlock my phone?
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
MNX1024 said:
The escalation of my case to the unlock team resulted in receiving an automated email telling me to use the unlock app when I explicitly mentioned that method does not work..... Sigh... The incompetence of these people. Contacting them on twitter now, we'll see the results of that.
In the meantime, what's everyone's experience so far trying to get their carrier branded device unlocked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you been able to get your phone unlocked? I'm in the same situation right now
How in the hell can they not unlock a device that is BRANDED by T-Mobile and PAID OFF with T-Mobile? I would of returned the device (if within the return period) and Bought an Exynos Variant. I have an Exynos S8+ on AT&T here in the US and I haven't had any issues with carrier compatibility.
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.
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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
Hello,
I owned a Verizon Galaxy Note 20 Ultra that I bought shortly after release. I got bored with it, as often happens, so I paid it off in full and sold it, to someone who uses T-Mobile. They cannot activate the phone, when they put their T-Mobile SIM in it, it gives the message "SIM card is not from Verizon Wireless". The facts:
I owned and used the phone for well over the 60 day automatic unlock period.
It was active on my Verizon account for the entire time until a week before I sold it.
It was paid off IN FULL, and my account said the line was paid in full and ready for an upgrade.
My Verizon account is never behind or not paid on time (Auto-Pay)
Is there something I needed to do to the phone besides factory reset it? Is there anything that can be done? Should I call Verizon customer service? To further complicate matters, the person I sold it to lives in another state. I may need to have them send me the phone back and refund them their money if I can't figure this out.
Thank you so much for any help that can be provided.
Are you sure you used the device for 60 days?
Rtiberius said:
Hello,
I owned a Verizon Galaxy Note 20 Ultra that I bought shortly after release. I got bored with it, as often happens, so I paid it off in full and sold it, to someone who uses T-Mobile. They cannot activate the phone, when they put their T-Mobile SIM in it, it gives the message "SIM card is not from Verizon Wireless". The facts:
I owned and used the phone for well over the 60 day automatic unlock period.
It was active on my Verizon account for the entire time until a week before I sold it.
It was paid off IN FULL, and my account said the line was paid in full and ready for an upgrade.
My Verizon account is never behind or not paid on time (Auto-Pay)
Is there something I needed to do to the phone besides factory reset it? Is there anything that can be done? Should I call Verizon customer service? To further complicate matters, the person I sold it to lives in another state. I may need to have them send me the phone back and refund them their money if I can't figure this out.
Thank you so much for any help that can be provided.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you used the device for 60 days? Did you check with another carrier sim before you sold the device?
SIM card is not from Verizon Wireless is a common message for all Verizon branded phones. May be buyer is confused with this message.
dadmi said:
Are you sure you used the device for 60 days?
Are you sure you used the device for 60 days? Did you check with another carrier sim before you sold the device?
SIM card is not from Verizon Wireless is a common message for all Verizon branded phones. May be buyer is confused with this message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, it was activated in late August 2020 and was active up until the end of December 2020. No, I didn't realize I should try a different carrier's SIM first.
I asked them if they are able to call or text despite the SIM card message and they said no.
You need(ed) to request VZW to carrier (SIM) unlock the device prior to selling it.
cam30era said:
You need(ed) to request VZW to carrier (SIM) unlock the device prior to selling it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm so confused, Verizon says devices are automatically unlocked in their policies listed here: https://www.verizon.com/support/device-unlocking-policy/
I'm going to call Verizon, and see if there's anything they can do.
Update: Called Verizon tech support, and the agent confirmed that the device IS unlocked. He said I should have the buyer contact T-Mobile customer service and add the device to their database. Hopefully that works.
Rtiberius said:
Update: Called Verizon tech support, and the agent confirmed that the device IS unlocked. He said I should have the buyer contact T-Mobile customer service and add the device to their database. Hopefully that works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adding to database is a Verizon thing, Tmobile is gsm. There is no way to sim unlock it if you don't do it on your phone line and request the unlock as if you're using the phone yourself.
Verizon will not unlock it unless it's currently on the line and met the other criteria you already have. For some reason verizon can't read if its really unlocked unless it's on their network, I went through it with an iphone earlier this year. They're a mess.
damn, i thought me getting a new phone annually is bad. you get a new phone every quarter? lol, actually i was thinking about trading mine for a fold 2 but no s-pen, no exp storage and a step down camera array, i decided to keep my note and see if they fix the fold 2's shortcomings.
what's in your pocket now?
It is quite possible that the buyer was not using an existing active sim. He was probably trying to activate a new sim which failed. I had the same issue with AT&T when activating a new sim. AT&T was not recognizing Unlocked model imei and I had to use a very old phone imei for activating sim after which I was able to use the same sim with with AT&T.
It also possible the buyer is lying to you. Either way it looks like the deal is going tits up for you. Perhaps next time check with a T-Mobile SIM before selling it or sell it as verizon locked. Feel for you.
Hello, i know this is a old thread but did you find the solution? i bought a verizon note 20 ultra and it doesnt work on any carrier, just work for a minute and it stops.
You guys found a way to unlock this? I just got the same phone and its a very expensive paperweight atm
How unlock used Samsung Galaxy Book 2 (Verizon) so I can use T-Mobile SIM??
My friend bought a used Galaxy Book 2, put in his t-Mobile Sim and message came up that stated something to the effect that his device needs a Verizon Sim. Even with this message (as someone said it still worked) it did not get a signal.
He cannot return this as he bought it from some 3rd party he will never see again.
He has T-Mobile as a carrier for quite a few phones and has some sort of lifetime extra device -T-Mobile sim plan he can use so he does not want to move just this device to Verizon.
The question is can this be unlocked by Verizon store? And even if it is and APN settings are changed would it work with a T-Mobile Sim?
I know nothing about these LTE laptops and not sure at least for Samsung if the radio in it is somewhat universal or compatible with most US carriers.
Thank you for any advice.
I appreciate it.
Sincerely
Peter