On a CDMA Windows Mobile phone, how does one determine the home carrier (e.g. Sprint, Verizon)? By home carrier I mean the carrier that the phone owner has a contract with, not the carrier that owns the current cell tower. On GSM phones I can use the first 6 digits of the IMSI (MCC+MNC) to determine the home carrier. On CDMA phones this does work, because even though CDMA phones supply a IMSI, the same MNC values are used by Verizon and Sprint. On CDMA Blackberry phones I can use the home SID, but I have not found any function in RIL or TAPI that supplies the SID. I have searched the registry and a number of phones, but have not found a reliable value that determines the home carrier.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hello...
I've been searching for a while now and can't find the answer to a simple question:
Are there differences in the Nexus S sold by AT&T, Sprint and the Unlocked versions you can purchase online? Basically, I'm asking if the Unlocked Nexus S online, which has a GSM card, can be used on the Sprint network.
We have a Google Nexus S here at work for NFC testing. It currently has an AT&T SIM card in it. But, I see it has an IMEI number under the battery.
Can I take this IMEI number and register it on Sprint?!?!
Or, are there special CDMA models sold with no GSM sockets?
Thank you!
No you can't use att or tmobile phones on sprint networks. They are a different technology. Sprint and verizon are cdma networks which don't use SIM cards where as tmobile and at are GSM networks which use sim cards. They operate in different radio frequencies. And even than its unlikely sprint would allow a different networks phone to be used in there network.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
You would think that is the case, yes. CDMA and GSM (which I mentioned in my post as well). I'm very fimiliar with the differences in them.
But, someone at work broke out his Verizon Blackberry (don't know the model number) and shows his IMEI number under the battery. As well as his SIM socket with a Canada SIM card in it. "I use this carrier in Canada as they are cheap roaming."
THat's what left me baffled - a phone that was both on the CDMA network, and the GSM network in other countries.
Also, your post sounds like you are just guessing - since they are known different technologies. Do you know for a fact that the phone does not have both a CDMA radio, as well as the GSM radios (yep, two with them). THere are Japanese and Europe phones that has the combinations in a single phone, running Android.
Yes he is sure.
World phone by blackberry? Lol
Sent From In between Your Moms Boobies
Some phones can do both. Nexus S cannot.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Ok, so I've searched all over and haven't had much luck. I have no experience with cdma phones, as t mobile is all I've ever had.
I was given a new US Cellular HTC Hero s. I opened it up and saw the sim slot and though, sweet I can replace my sensation with it (I smashed the screen pretty bad). Well, that was a no go, as the phone is cdma. Looking online though, I see it can run in gsm (options global mode, cdma mode, gsm / umts mode. I unlocked the bootloader using the htc site (not sure it matters) and popped in my sim card again, and tried both global and gsm mode, though neither got signal or would dial out. (under networks, it had the tmo apn info.)
So, is the GSM mode offered on this phone only for non US bands? Would a custom rom (now or down the road) allow it to work on tmo? I read something about the HTC Merge and someone being able to switch out the modem in the rom that allowed it to work in the US, but that is well beyond me. I can follow instructions, work ADB and flash roms.. but thats about it.
Is it possible, or will it soon be, to have this phone work on GSM or am I just stuck trying to sell it as a us cellular phone (or perhaps another cdma carrier.. like I said, I don't know anything about cdma)
As a Canadian I'm not sure about who owns US cellular or if they are their own company but I'm guessing they work like Verizon world phones. They have sim card slots but will work only outside of the US. If those verizon phones are used within the States, they will only pick up Verizon's frequency, as opposed to T-Mobile or AT&T where you can unlock them and use them with any GSM carrier within the States. But yeah, you can unlock it and it will work with any GSM carrier outside the States but within the States I think it will only work under US Cellular CDMA network...please correct me if I'm wrong.
That's right, u.s. cdma "world phones" have gsm radios but are locked down from connecting to gsm networks in the u.s. This is not just the normal sim lock found on gsm phones but they are hard coded to ignore u.s. gsm networks.
Some have been unlocked to work on any network through various methods including flashing a modem from a non-us varient of the same phone and other hacks. I can't comment specifically on this phone however.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Well, that points me in the right direction, and confirms what I read about swapping modems (on the other phone mentioned).
So basically it's software telling it not use a certain frequency, and not that the phone itself is incapable of picking it up (had my doubts about that)
Pretty shady the way phone companies are allowed to operate (don't get me started on my unlimited internet in my contract [pre data caps in tmo]. "Hey! check it out, this phone uses data 5 times faster than your old one, oh, and you get half as much too) sorry, end of rant.
I'll keep searching, and post if I find something..
On a side note, can cdma phones be flashed to another cdma carrier like verizon or sprint, or is it the same deal, coded to only use a certain frequency range?
only thing I've heard of is flashing sprint and verizon phones to cricket, metro pcs and boost.
Hi Guys,
I'm working on a school project to research on the possibilities of sim card-less mobile technology. I am looking at replacing the sim card with a mobile application that would be able to verify the user via a mobile application.
Understand that CDMA technology doesn't require a sim card, but it is not available in my country (Singapore). Thus would like to have a discussion here on whether sim card-less is possible for GSM handset?
As the world is going LTE/4G now, would the removal of sim card obstruct us from going forward towards the LTE/4G technology?
Appreciate your replies! Thanks a million!
woshiahhao said:
Thus would like to have a discussion here on whether sim card-less is possible for GSM handset?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An app could be malicious/malfunctioning and even not contain the true credentials to identify you as the true user of the contract with your service provider. Why do you think SIM cards are encrypted?
Not sure what you're trying to accomplish. To create an app to use your phone without a SIM? What's the purpose? Are you sure you're doing this for "school research"?
SecUpwN said:
An app could be malicious/malfunctioning and even not contain the true credentials to identify you as the true user of the contract with your service provider. Why do you think SIM cards are encrypted?
Not sure what you're trying to accomplish. To create an app to use your phone without a SIM? What's the purpose? Are you sure you're doing this for "school research"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeap, it's for a school project.
I've read that Verizon and Sprint phone uses CDMA and doesn't require SIM card. Is that true? How is the true user verified in that case?
woshiahhao said:
Yeap, it's for a school project.
I've read that Verizon and Sprint phone uses CDMA and doesn't require SIM card. Is that true? How is the true user verified in that case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon and Sprint non-LTE devices do not use SIM cards.
Traditionally, CDMA devices in the US do not use SIM cards (Verizon and Sprint are CDMA, AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM).
Each phone has a built in identifier (called an ESN [Electronic Subscriber Number] or MEID [Mobile Equipment Identifier]) on top of the IMEI number that every phone in the world has. The phone is programmed on the computer to connect to a certain network (the APN and such are already filled in and usually not user-accessible on the phone itself, unlike with GSM devices).
Instead of swapping a SIM card, a user will go onto the website of the provider into their account and put in the device's ESN number. The device then provisions itself (known as activation) and is on the user's account.
However, all networks in the US, both CDMA and GSM, use LTE now. LTE is a GSM technology and therefore requires a SIM card to authenticate the device on the network. So even CDMA networks require SIM cards because their devices are LTE capable. Because of this, and because newer CDMA devices also support GSM (for traveling, since few countries use CDMA outside of the US), you can put a GSM SIM card in a CDMA/LTE device and it will work on GSM networks. Some networks, such as Sprint, try to counter this by artificially blocking out US SIM cards from other providers (so you can put in a Canadian SIM card for example and use a Sprint CDMA/LTE device on a GSM network, but the phone will not accept for example an AT&T SIM card).
The way everything is headed though is that everything (calls, text, mobile data) will be carried over LTE. Voice over LTE is called VoLTE.
I agree with @product F
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA app.
After several long calls with Verizon and help from Motorola insiders, I have been given to understand that:
1. Droid Maxx if not activated on Verizon, before leaving US, cannot be used on other carriers (say in Europe or Asia).
The reason is the SIM unlock cannot be done by the customer support since they won't see the device in their network if it is not activated first.
2. The activation cannot happen outside US, since Verizon does not have a network.
So bottom line is get the device activated before you import it from US.
Now, my Droid Maxx is locked to Verizon. I know the boot loader can be unlocked. Will this help me in flashing something that can get rid of the SIM lock that Verizon has in place.
My device is an employee edition so perhaps there was some extra protection added there by Verizon.
Please help.
I do not have a Maxx, but I'm replying because you PM'd me asking to take a look at this thread..
It has been my experience that Verizon's 4GLte phones are sim unlocked (on the GSM side) out of the box. I thought that was a condition of VZW's 700Mhz spectrum auction win? One potential issue is does the phone support the needed bands out of the box (think Bionic where a hack was needed to enable bands needed for T-mobile).
That being said, if your Maxx is truly SIM LOCKED, then unlocking the bootloader wont help you SIM unlock, nor will flashing a 3rd party Rom after unlocking the bootloader.
where are you located, and who is your carrier? Do they use CDMA for voice, or GSM? What happens when you put a non-VZW sim in the phone?
KidJoe said:
I do not have a Maxx, but I'm replying because you PM'd me asking to take a look at this thread..
It has been my experience that Verizon's 4GLte phones are sim unlocked (on the GSM side) out of the box. I thought that was a condition of VZW's 700Mhz spectrum auction win? One potential issue is does the phone support the needed bands out of the box (think Bionic where a hack was needed to enable bands needed for T-mobile).
That being said, if your Maxx is truly SIM LOCKED, then unlocking the bootloader wont help you SIM unlock, nor will flashing a 3rd party Rom after unlocking the bootloader.
where are you located, and who is your carrier? Do they use CDMA for voice, or GSM? What happens when you put a non-VZW sim in the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Mark.
The phone Droid Maxx does support these bands since there are others who are using the same phone on GSM networks in the country.
The networks in India are:
2G capabilities GSM 900, GSM 1800
3G capabilities UMTS 2100
4G capabilities LTE 2300 (this one won't work with the phone, plus my carrier does not have it either)
The CDMA is CDMA 2000 - but I have not been able to try with a CDMA SIM, but that one has a higher probability of working.
When I put a non-VZ SIM, and set to Global mode, it does not detect any signal and the search network does pretty much nothing. The automatic mode tries to connect but then throws an error saying "can't connect to this network at this time"
I am using a brand new nano SIM card (which now is back in my Moto Defy with an adapter.)
Earlier I had a normal SIM converted to a nano SIM and that one did not work, but after I put in APN manually, I was able to access data.
I tried another user's cut-nano SIM and that one worked for data out of the box (another GSM provider).
Ditto for me, but I am using DroidMini... I also have DroidMAXX which is working great (even unlocked its BL and rooted it)...
I am also from India... Using it in GSM networks... I may get one Nano CDMA SIM to test later and will report here for sure...
Thanks...
kanagadeepan said:
Ditto for me, but I am using DroidMini... I also have DroidMAXX which is working great (even unlocked its BL and rooted it)...
I am also from India... Using it in GSM networks... I may get one Nano CDMA SIM to test later and will report here for sure...
Thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, we have interacted on Rimweb recently.
The radio on the Droid series is the same. The difference between the mini and the maxx in your case is that the mini has never been activated on VZ network and hence it is SIM locked. Whereas, the Maxx would have been purchased as a used item (perhaps just activated and then sold off?). So that takes care of the SIM unlock part.
Yesterday I spend around 60 minutes with global support, VZ.
I escalated the issue to the supervisor.
He checked and said that the IMEI is clean and not in any sort of negative list. So there is nothing else that they can do.
He also said, the phones are unlocked by default for global use.
Obviously they don't want to dig deeper into why three phones are not working on GSM in India.
I am now running out of avenues. Does anyone have some debugging tool which can log what is happening when the phone tries to log on to the network?
s_u_n said:
Thanks Mark.
The phone Droid Maxx does support these bands since there are others who are using the same phone on GSM networks in the country.
The networks in India are:
2G capabilities GSM 900, GSM 1800
3G capabilities UMTS 2100
4G capabilities LTE 2300 (this one won't work with the phone, plus my carrier does not have it either)
The CDMA is CDMA 2000 - but I have not been able to try with a CDMA SIM, but that one has a higher probability of working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The current Droid Maxx that Verizon sells supports the following..
LTE Band 13/4 700/1700
EDGE/GSM: 850/900/1800/1900,
HSPA/UMTS: 850/900/1900/2100 (download speeds to 42.2 Mbps, upload speeds to 5.76 Mbps
From what you listed, the Maxx should get GSM/Edge/HSPA/UMTS coverage there. And of course, no LTE.
The CDMA side of the Verizon phones is still "locked" so I also would not expect CDMA to work. In other words, if your carrier NEEDS CDMA, stop trying.
s_u_n said:
When I put a non-VZ SIM, and set to Global mode, it does not detect any signal and the search network does pretty much nothing. The automatic mode tries to connect but then throws an error saying "can't connect to this network at this time"
I am using a brand new nano SIM card (which now is back in my Moto Defy with an adapter.)
Earlier I had a normal SIM converted to a nano SIM and that one did not work, but after I put in APN manually, I was able to access data.
I tried another user's cut-nano SIM and that one worked for data out of the box (another GSM provider).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been through this with some trying the Moto X in India, and I've been through it while trying my T-Mobile and ATT sim's in my Verizon Moto X.
From what you are describing, it sounds like your APN settings for your carrier on the phone are not set right.
Example... When I put my T-Mobile SIM into my Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4, I get "unknown sim" and bars, but no network connectivity. Nothing works. By going into the mobile network settings on the phone and adding an APN with the T-Mobile settings, features like calling, SMS, data, etc. start working. I have had occasions where I thought I had the APN right, as calls and data worked, but MMS only partially worked (would send but not receive). When I do have the settings right, everything works. Similar thing happens on my Moto X with T-Mobile SIM.
---------- Post added at 07:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:06 AM ----------
s_u_n said:
Yesterday I spend around 60 minutes with global support, VZ.
I escalated the issue to the supervisor.
He checked and said that the IMEI is clean and not in any sort of negative list. So there is nothing else that they can do.
He also said, the phones are unlocked by default for global use.
Obviously they don't want to dig deeper into why three phones are not working on GSM in India.
I am now running out of avenues. Does anyone have some debugging tool which can log what is happening when the phone tries to log on to the network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless you have an active account with Verizon, and are trying to use their service when traveling, Verizon wont help you. In other words, unless you are trying to get your Verizon phone, working on Verizon's Global Roaming service, on your currently active Verizon account, they wont help you.
Even if you are a Verizon customer who is just traveling and popped out your VZW SIM in favor of using a local prepay sim to save data/voice costs, once you pop that VZW SIM out, they wont assist.
But you have received confirmation of what I said.. the GSM side is unlocked.
The SIM you are trying to use is from a GSM India carrier? As long as they only use GSM (no CDMA required), your only hope will be working with them. Telling them your phone is SIM Unlocked and going from there. Or finding a local message board for the carrier, and hope people are discussing use of "3rd party" phones, and you might get some help there.
I really think it will come down to the APN settings for the GSM carrier not being correct on the Maxx.
I can't offer any more than that. Sorry.
KidJoe said:
The current Droid Maxx that Verizon sells supports the following..
LTE Band 13/4 700/1700
EDGE/GSM: 850/900/1800/1900,
HSPA/UMTS: 850/900/1900/2100 (download speeds to 42.2 Mbps, upload speeds to 5.76 Mbps
From what you listed, the Maxx should get GSM/Edge/HSPA/UMTS coverage there. And of course, no LTE.
The CDMA side of the Verizon phones is still "locked" so I also would not expect CDMA to work. In other words, if your carrier NEEDS CDMA, stop trying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have now put in a CDMA SIM card, but run into another problem with that. I will activate that SIM on another phone and then pop it in the Maxx again and check. But CDMA should work fine as reported by other users.
But the problem is the GSM part, because that is what we need to get working.
Unless you have an active account with Verizon, and are trying to use their service when traveling, Verizon wont help you. In other words, unless you are trying to get your Verizon phone, working on Verizon's Global Roaming service, on your currently active Verizon account, they wont help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is bad on the part of Verizon. I have purchased a Verizon device off-contract and that device is a global one. So I am entitled to some support from them even if I am without a service plan.
The SIM you are trying to use is from a GSM India carrier? As long as they only use GSM (no CDMA required), your only hope will be working with them. Telling them your phone is SIM Unlocked and going from there. Or finding a local message board for the carrier, and hope people are discussing use of "3rd party" phones, and you might get some help there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Local carrier. And for now, there are three such XDA members who have been facing the same issue. In one case, a member was able to make calls and receive calls and also use data. Then after a few minutes, the SIM invalid message popped up.
I really think it will come down to the APN settings for the GSM carrier not being correct on the Maxx.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
APN settings are pretty easy. I did that with my earlier SIM and I got data working. There was no voice, so I gave that SIM back to the carrier and got a brand new nano SIM. Now, nothing works. The old and new SIM are for the same number and same service provider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
s_u_n said:
APN settings are pretty easy. I did that with my earlier SIM and I got data working. There was no voice, so I gave that SIM back to the carrier and got a brand new nano SIM. Now, nothing works. The old and new SIM are for the same number and same service provider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, you got just DATA working with the APN settings, but the correct APN settings are also needed for SMS, MMS, Phone calls, etc.
I've had an issue where I had voice but no data, and it was related to APN. I've had an issue where I had voice, SMS, data but no MMS, again, it was related to APN settings for the carrier you are using.
So good luck!
the problem we sorted out to get gsm working in india first the phone must be activated on usa to get it work on india so can anyone help us > @s_u_n
So, after using the phone for a week on GSM with all application updates installed, I can safely state that
1. Verizon activation is not needed for non-VZ networks to work (at least outside US).
2. A full FXZ was installed and it probably solved the modem configuration mess that the phone might have been. Perhaps it unlocked something?
3. Four corner activation bypass method was used (as described in earlier Motorola phones).
Either 2 or 3 solved the problem
There was nothing to do with APN. Data works even without any APN settings out here, just like on my Motorola Defy.