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[GUIDE][root+s-off]$10/month phone with GV, native dialer and sms support

Hey everyone, this is my first tutorial, and I'm going to show you how I get free calling and texting through Google Voice as well as a data plan for only $10 a month. Yup, that's correct, my phone bill is only $10 a month now. However, to do this, I ended up dropping Verizon and buying a T-Mobile tablet sim, which is data only. They said it wouldn't work, but I am going to show you that it does.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Disclaimer
Limitations
Prerequisites
SIM Card and Phone Setup
Calling Setup
SMS/MMS Setup for Native Messaging
Sources and Thanks
​
i. Introduction
This all started out since I traveled to Spain for over a month and had to get a prepaid data plan. While I was there, I wanted a data only plan so that I could still get calls and texts from Spain numbers as well as wanted to call and text with my U.S. Google Voice number. After much research, I finally figured out how I can do it. This took a ton of research, but my phone is proof that it works. I hope to be able to help you all achieve what I have from the method below. Thanks for reading!
ii. Disclaimer
Like any other tutorial, by following these directions, you claim sole responsibility for whatever happens to your device. If for whatever reason your device doesn't work, I will not be held responsible for your, or anyone else's actions. This tutorial is my gift to the community and may not be subject to work in all cases.
iii. Limitations
By using this method, there are some limitations.
The first limitation is when switching from network to wifi and vice versa. If you are in a call while using the mobile network and your wifi connects, your phone call will be lost.
Since you will be using multiple services to make it all work, there will be some lag with the voice
Adding to above, since you will be using VoIP, calls may appear to "stutter" based on how good of signal you have in the area. (It doesn't stuter the majority of the time)
With google voice changing throughout this year, this method may not work in the coming months
iv. Prerequisites
root and s-off for custom roms
Any custom rom, my preference is ViperOneM8 1.8.0 (2.1.0 didn't work correctly with it). Main thread here. Download 1.7.1 full and 1.8.0 OTA since there isn't a 1.8.0 full
The 0.89.20.0321 radios. The reason for this is the network wouldn't switch cell towers correctly. Radios available here. Support thread here.
xposed XVoicePlus 2.4.2 available here. This handles sms+mms (provided GV supports the MMS). Main thread here.
You are also going to need a tablet data plan. Below are some options I have researched:
T-Mobile prepaid data. You can buy a sim card online, or in store. $10/1gb*, $20/3gb** Allows roaming to Canada and I think domestic roaming. At least, I was able to use Rogers HSPA+ in Canada
Redpocket (Tmobile 4g, AT&T 3g, Sprint 4g, Verizon 3g) $10/1gb, ***$30/3gb available online. I don't believe they allow roaming.
StraightTalk (Tmobile, AT&T, and possibly Verizon) $15/1gb, $25/2gb. I put this last in the list since there are lots of complaints of customer service and the network not working properly.
*This promotion goes until 2015. Once the promotion is over, it's $20/1gb and $30/3gb
**$20 plan is unlimited in the sense that you get bumped down to 2g speeds after you hit your limit. The 1gb plan doesn't offer "unlimited"
***Only this plan allows "unlimited" where you get throttled after your limit.
v. SIM Card and Phone Setup
The first step is to flash the .0321 firmware which is the one that will properly hand-off between 2g/3g/4g connections. Otherwise it will get stuck on 4g and when you switch towers it won't reconnect unless you toggle airplane mode.
Insert your SIM Card
Install ViperOne and in the aroma settings, select your preferences, then choose Tmobile as your carrier (If you chose an mvno on a different networt, select the option accordingly).
Update ViperOne immediately to 1.8.0. It will automatically restart the installer, so hold power+VolUp for 15 seconds, then power+VolDown to boot into bootloader, then recovery.
If you are on wifi or have data, sign into your google account, otherwise skip it.
Go to settings, and click mobile data. You may have to wait until the sim card is detected until you see that setting. If it show up, go to the alternative settings below, then when done go to the next step.
Click network operators and select search automatically, or search for your own if it doesn't register.
Click access point names and select T-Mobile US LTE. If that isn't there, click options, and reset to default. If it still doesn't work, keep resetting to default until it appears. Otherwise, create your own with APN="fast.t-mobile.com" and APN type="default,supl,admin,hipri" and name it whatever you want and save.
For network mode, choose "GSM/WCDMA/LTE auto"
Restart your phone again and you should be connected to the 4g network provided you are in an area that receives it.
Alternative Settings (If above doesn't work)
Go to settings, click venom tweaks, go to misc, click phone info.
For preferred network type, choose "GSM/WCDMA/LTE auto"
Open the menu, select radio band, USA Band (If this option isn't listed or says unsuccessful, let me know.)
Restart your phone and go back up to the directions and finish the rest.
vi. Calling Setup
Login to google voice, click the settings icon in the top right corner, and check google chat for you forwarded calls.
Download SIPdroid from the market (free). We will not be using this application as your dialer, you can use any dialer you want after the tutorial is over.
In SIPdroid click New PBX linked to my Google Voice which should be at the bottom when you install it. If it isn't, then clear the data in app settings and try it again.
Verify the username and email is correct (they should be the same as the google voice account you are using) and make your password the same as your google voice account. The password needs to be the same so that the service can login to your gv account for calls. Now you can uninstall SIPdroid
On your phone, or computer, go to http://pbxes.org and login with your username and password (which is the same as your gv account).
This next part is very important. Click personal and fill in personal data. I was told you are required to enter this information, otherwise your account will be deleted after 30 days. For server, select the timezone with the www3(Nernburg) server. Originally when I used this method, I was having problems connecting, this seems to be the only server that works for this method. Don't forget to save
After saving, click extensions on the left. After it loads, you'll notice under extensions it says sipdroid <200>. Click on that and it will bring up a list of settings. You'll notice that your username is your gv account + "-200" (ex. gvaccount-200).
Get back on your phone and open the dialer (I'm using the htc dialer that came with the one for this tutorial), and open settings.
Under internet call settings, click accounts, then add account
Code:
Username: gvAccountName-200 (don't put @gmail.com or anything after)
Password: gvAccountPassword
Server: pbxes.org
check "Set as primary account"
Click Optional settings and change transport type to TCP, then options > save. Don't click the back button because it may not save it
​You'll notice that now your SIP Accounts will show "[email protected]" and it should register and say receiving calls.
Click back and under internet call settings, click use internet calling for all calls.
Congratulations, incoming and outgoing calls now work provided you have a data connection.
vii. SMS/MMS Setup for Native Messaging
Install Xposed framework and XVoicePlus 2.4.2, activate XVoicePlus, then reboot
Install google voice from the market and sign in.
In the gv app, click sync and notifications, uncheck text notifications, and receive text messages from gv app (So you don't get duplicate notifications)
Open XVoicePlus and enable it. Select your GV account, and keep polling frequency to whatever you want. I keep mine on never since they are push notifications from the GV app.
Congratulations now you can send and receive SMS from any messaging app as well as MMS provided GV supports it, which currently, doesn't handle it well. Hide google voice from your app drawer and you are set.
To disable gv sending/receiving whenever needed, uncheck the option in the XVoicePlus app.
viii. Souces and Thanks
VoIP with Google Voice credit Kyle Hasegawa
ViperOne Team
http://pbxes.org
XVoice+ - runnirr

Reserved

Any review of the voice quality?
Any idea what the data rate is?

Voice quality is better than phone. 10Kb/s up and down. The quality will be better or worse based on the connection
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

How do I get my MSL without calling Sprint?

I finally purchased a used Sprint S5 recently. My plan is to put the phone on the Boost Mobile Network. Boost Mobile stores are able to unlock my phone to Boost network, HOWEVER the MSL is needed. Well I'm sure you already know, Sprint is giving me a difficult time. A Sprint CS says the phone's ESN is clear to activate on Sprint, however due to "the way it was purchased" they could not unlock the phone (or give me the MSL) for other carriers. What do I do?

stevenp1200 said:
I finally purchased a used Sprint S5 recently. My plan is to put the phone on the Boost Mobile Network. Boost Mobile stores are able to unlock my phone to Boost network, HOWEVER the MSL is needed. Well I'm sure you already know, Sprint is giving me a difficult time. A Sprint CS says the phone's ESN is clear to activate on Sprint, however due to "the way it was purchased" they could not unlock the phone (or give me the MSL) for other carriers. What do I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On way is to activate it on someone elses account for just 5 minutes or so. Will give you chance to make sure it works. Then reactive their own phone and you're done. Now have your friend check his email and they will have an email from sprint thanking them for activating the new phone. Look at the email.. It will show some of the device specifics like model number, phone number and also an activation code. The activation code is actually your msl. It's a standard email from Sprint whenever you activate or reactivate a phone from your PC.
So find a friend with a Sprint phone and make sure the account is in his (or her) name. Have them log into their Sprint account on a PC and once they're logged in, scroll down to the "About My Devices" section. In this section you will see is a dropdown box that says "manage my devices". Click the down arrow in the box and choose, "activate new phone". It will take to you to a very straight forward wizard to guide you thru it. Choose no to all the options that they offer and when you get to the part of the activation about resetting the phone prior to activation, don't worry about it. Just click thru the steps of demo window that pops up then close that window after the demo is done. Once you finish the demo and close the pop up window you can continue. Follow the prompts until you click the activate button and turn off the phones as per the message that pops up. When you turn on your phone it will be activated with a voice and data signal. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes. Now check your friends email for your msl and you're done. Then do the same thing again but choose your friends phone to activate (as the new phone). Also note you will need the id numbers under the battery or have them ahead of time.
Ez

Thank you for the response I appreciate it. I will definitely consider. Is there any other method besides one mentioned above? I was thinking more along the lines of an apk like "Get MSL" to acquire the lock code. I've been utilizing the search function on both XDA and Google, but it seems that any method using an APK or program is defunct due to the new Software upgrade. Does anyone know of any other way?

Google GTv3.1.5.apk and GTUpdate2_v3.1.8.apk by idone.apps . The "GT" stands for Galaxy Tools; It will internationally unlock you sim as well as give you your MSL, enable hotspot etc... I beleive it was taken off google play, just google the 2 apk files and you'll find them.

finally!!! free hotspot on my galaxy s7 edge sprint version no root needed

hello everyone
The first thing you need is your MSL code from Sprint. You can do this by simply calling the Sprint customer service and ask to provide you the MSL code after saying an alibi like slow connection. You can also use any MSL Utility app that is working on your device. Some users have reported that the MSL Utility app did not work for them.
Now open the dialer and enter ##DATA# (##3282#)
Click on the Edit button in the popup and enter your MSL code and click OK.
Now navigate to APN settings from the Mobile Networks menu
the add button is gray, now stay on this page and remove your sim card and wait until you can click on add
after that add a new apn same like APN2 LTE internet setting
after you fill all field insert your sim card and save it after that choose the apn that you save
i can make a video to explain how it work

thanks good to know, doesnt seem to work i have my msl went to the data programming screen went to apns, pulled sim card and waited add stayed greyed out. how long did you wait?

Sprint customer service no longer is willing to hand out the MSL codes for phones that are on lease or are on a payment plan. I guess some folks figured out a way to unlock the phone once they had the MSL, and ruined this for the rest of us (I am on a 1/2 price installment to buy plan on an S9 I got through Costco, and it can't be paid off early because the 1/2 off is given as a partial credit each month for 24 months.).
Oh, and the MSL app doesn't work on the S9.

phreich said:
Sprint customer service no longer is willing to hand out the MSL codes for phones that are on lease or are on a payment plan. I guess some folks figured out a way to unlock the phone once they had the MSL, and ruined this for the rest of us (I am on a 1/2 price installment to buy plan on an S9 I got through Costco, and it can't be paid off early because the 1/2 off is given as a partial credit each month for 24 months.).
Oh, and the MSL app doesn't work on the S9.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have an old sprint phone?
online at sprint.com,
Swap/Activate an old sprint phone on the Phone# you want MSL for.
After activating online,
the complete activation page has
'Activation code'
That is the MSL for that phone.
Wait a few hours and
reswap/reactivate to GS7,
Activation code is MSL.

KaptainRandom said:
Have an old sprint phone?
online at sprint.com,
Swap/Activate an old sprint phone on the Phone# you want MSL for.
After activating online,
the complete activation page has
'Activation code'
That is the MSL for that phone.
Wait a few hours and
reswap/reactivate to GS7,
Activation code is MSL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't even need to swap phone activation, it'll tell you the activation code if you visit the legacy Sprint site.
Go to Sprint.com/activate (be logged in first) and then exit out of the activation box that pops up. Scroll down and find your device and in the drop down menu on the right, one of the options should give you the activation code.

eSim transfer available for AT&T on Pixel 3/3XL already?

I called an AT&T store near me (Orange, CA) and I was told they had the new blue sim card pack with the QR code and I could come in today to transfer my number to the esim from the physical...will go tomw morning to see if they know what they're talking about but in the meantime has anyone else tried it on the pixels? If so, how do I open Google's eSim manager app? It says in the play store that I have it installed but I don't see it on the phone..

In "Settings > Network & Internet > Mobile Network > Carrier" there is an "Add Carrier" option which lets you scan the QR code. I think that's what you're looking for.

I visited our local ATT store yesterday afternoon. Needed a new sim so I could get wifi calling to activate (previous sim was at least 2yrs old). I asked about using an eSim and the rep told me they had the "cards" in the back but had received instructions from ATT that they weren't supposed to be using them until further notice..... Not sure if he was just blowing smoke or not. I suppose it's also possible that eSim isn't fully operational up here in Alaska, although I wouldn't know if or why that would be. He said everything was ready, they were just waiting for word from the office to start using them.
On a plus note, wifi calling was working out of the box, once I had a more recent sim.

Question GW4 Verizon Help

My watch is showing Verizon network is setup.
MY OP9 is rooted with Evo X.
Everything shows good but no signal and emergency calls only is what I get.
Anyone had this issue or have an ideas - thanks

Got it to work with Tier 2 Support
They told me factory reset and turn Watch on and off 3 times.
Disconnected my phone from Wifi
Right after phone is paired to watch:
I was not getting the option for QR Code so I had to do this:>
*QR Code Fix: If you don't get the option to scan a QR code
Open the Galaxy Wearables app
Hit the top left menu button and click "About Galaxy Wearable"
Tap the text at the top that says "Galaxy Wearable" about 5 times quickly to open the developer options
Tap "Test ESIM Feature"
Tap "Current TestMode & Current QR TestMode :is off" to turn it on.
You should now get the option to Scan a code in the Mobile Plan activation

Glad you got it sorted and good posting the steps

Yes for sure I just wanted to help if anyone else gets an GW4 unlocked and has issues.
I have wanted a nice watch for a while and I really like it so far.