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[Q] "Your Sim card does not allow a connnection to this network"

This seems to be an existing issue as plenty of people online are reporting it but nobody seems to have settled on a reason or a fix.
Basically... I bought my wife a Desire S, unlocked, from a store in Dublin, Ireland. She's been using it on the Meteor network since December 25th, until two nights ago when she lost all service. Now when you try to connect to her network you get the error, "Your Sim card does not allow a connnection to this network". This has happened with any simcard we put into the phone, and all of those simcards including the one she was using when it failed, work in other handsets (my Nexus S, her old HTC Hero). GPRS data is still transferring although the phone gives no indication that this is happening.
I've tried several of the reported "fixes" that i've found online, pulling the battery, disabling the radio, etc and none have had any effect. I just did a factory reset and that has had no effect. When I boot into recovery it says *locked* at the top, but I assume that refers to the bootloader rather than the sim lock.
I assume it's as is from the factory and that no alternative radios were flashed prior to purchase. We haven't done anything in the way of custom roms/radios/recoveries with this phone, my wife isn't technical enough to do so.
I don't want really want to unlock/root if I can help it as i've contacted HTC and want it to fall under warranty if necessary. I haven't gone back to the vendor yet as they don't open until tomorrow. It's not the most upmarket shop in the world and I paid cash, so while I don't forsee any problem with an exchange etc, I don't want to have to rely on it either.
Android version: 2.3.5
Sense version: 3.0 (OTA update)
Software version: 2.10.401.8
Any help would be really appreciated...

Before you try anything else, have you run an IMEI check to make sure that the phone isn't blacklisted by the networks (reported as lost, stolen, suspicious behaviour etc)?
https://prod.eie.net.au/portal/template/MYMIMEIInquiry.vm/action/IMEIInquiryAction
If this one falls over then just Google "IMEI checker free" and have a play.
If is comes back clean then take it back to the shop - they have the first responsibility, especially after such a short period of time.

Thanks for that, I was scouring the internet for something that would check that.
"Your IMEI Number is currently unblocked."
Which is good news I suppose although it doesn't help me much.
My only issue with bringing it back to the vendor is that I bought it from an internet cafe in Dublin which also sells unlocked phones*. I could have gone with a reputable online provider but I was also short of time. I did get a receipt and full warranty with it though. I was hoping I could solve this myself to avoid having to rely on the shop, but we'll see how they are at after sales service tomorrow.
Thanks again.
* I did this for a reason, the networks don't sell unlocked phones and even pre-paid are network locked for up to the 12 months. We're leaving Ireland soon so this was a necessity.

T great Sainsbury's mystery

I bought my Ascend Mate 7 in Bangkok. Whilst I have a Vodafone SIM card, I expected the provider to be noted as a local company whilst there. Surprisingly, the phone said it was Sainsbury's! This was the same throughout my holiday in Indo-China. I returned home to Vodafone-land (England) but still found I was getting a signal through Sainsbury's. I visited France - no change.
I've tried a hard reset - no change. I called Vodafone who assured me my account was working normally but could not help with the Sainsbury's problem.
So, are Sainsbury's building a global mobile phone network or are they just Huawei's favourite supermarket! has anyone any idea as to how to correct this fault?

Jejoma said:
I bought my Ascend Mate 7 in Bangkok. Whilst I have a Vodafone SIM card, I expected the provider to be noted as a local company whilst there. Surprisingly, the phone said it was Sainsbury's! This was the same throughout my holiday in Indo-China. I returned home to Vodafone-land (England) but still found I was getting a signal through Sainsbury's. I visited France - no change.
I've tried a hard reset - no change. I called Vodafone who assured me my account was working normally but could not help with the Sainsbury's problem.
So, are Sainsbury's building a global mobile phone network or are they just Huawei's favourite supermarket! has anyone any idea as to how to correct this fault?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try running a network search and pick your network manually. Does Vodafone show up or is it always listed as Sainsbury's?
Also, Sainsbury's does appear to be a third-party provider themselves: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_by_Sainsbury's So maybe it's a roaming issue?

It is pretty normal. Mines a ee contract and my phone says ASDA there's no way to change it, the device just thinks its on that network as ASDA use ee's network
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-TL10

vonotny said:
Try running a network search and pick your network manually. Does Vodafone show up or is it always listed as Sainsbury's?
Also, Sainsbury's does appear to be a third-party provider themselves: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_by_Sainsbury's So maybe it's a roaming issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that. The provider appears as Vodafone in the list of providers. I also tried borrowing an Orange SIM card. That appeared as LIFE - whoever LIFE might be! On the owner's mobile (Samsung Galaxy III) it appeared as Orange.
In answer to Vimto (How do you do a multi-quote reply?) I've never met up with this before. IF it wasn't for the fact that it appeared as Sainsbury's I would have assumed the mobile was pre-programmed with providers local to Bangkok.
I've just searched LIFE and they appear to be a UK based provider piggy-backing on EE (Isn't that what Orange mutated into in the UK?).

Jejoma said:
I tried that. The provider appears as Vodafone in the list of providers. I also tried borrowing an Orange SIM card. That appeared as LIFE - whoever LIFE might be! On the owner's mobile (Samsung Galaxy III) it appeared as Orange.
In answer to Vimto (How do you do a multi-quote reply?) I've never met up with this before. IF it wasn't for the fact that it appeared as Sainsbury's I would have assumed the mobile was pre-programmed with providers local to Bangkok.
I've just searched LIFE and they appear to be a UK based provider piggy-backing on EE (Isn't that what Orange mutated into in the UK?).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that's right, its something wrong with the phones (software) rather than a hardware fault I think its just rather strange when in the list of providers and in the network settings it says ee ect.. But flags up as asda on the status bar.
Maybe the upcoming lollipop update might fix it.
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-TL10

I think you're right Vimto. It makes no difference to how the phone works, it's just frustrating. Now if it only said Waitrose . . .
The fix I want most is to get rid of the stock music app on the lock screen (I don't want to go the rooting method to get rid of it)! It drives me spare the way it keeps getting in the way of the music player I actually use.

Jejoma said:
I think you're right Vimto. It makes no difference to how the phone works, it's just frustrating. Now if it only said Waitrose . . .
Haha
The fix I want most is to get rid of the stock music app on the lock screen (I don't want to go the rooting method to get rid of it)! It drives me spare the way it keeps getting in the way of the music player I actually use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I listen to music but I've not tried other players always used default on every phone I've had so Ive not come across that problem yet although u would think installing another would take over the default player completely .
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-TL10

My main grouch with Music is that you can't select an artist and then go to a list of their albums (Unless I'm missing something). I've used Player Pro on several phones now. I guess partly because I'm used to how it works. I also find the equilizer useful.

SM-G970U Refuses to Work on Carrier Network

So, I have an S10e (SM-G970U) that was bought from Verizon a while back. The phone was set up on a Verizon post-paid plan, but was later switched to prepaid. The phone worked fine for months, but about a week ago, the phone randomly stopped making and receiving calls, texts, and the ability to use mobile data. It was taken to Verizon, and they tried "all they could" in their words, which included a new SIM card, resetting network settings, and eventually a factory reset from settings. Nothing seemed to work, and they gave up, claiming it "seemed like a bad antenna." They did call their "tech support" who claimed the most recent Android 11 update supposedly caused an issue with mobile network connection with the Verizon S10e devices, which I haven't heard of, but didn't know. He claimed a reset would fix it.
Since none of that fixed it, it was taken to a shop to be inspected. They claim the phone has nothing wrong with it. So, that, in theory, rules hardware issues out. Their only claim was that when an AT&T SIM was inserted, it was able to connect to the network, but never tried to make any calls due to the SIM not being activated. I assume this is due to someone trying to "help" inserting an activated AT&T SIM into the slot when testing, which I assume ended up installing the carrier branded version of the firmware. They gave a couple possible reasons, but neither seemed to make sense.
Since it had the AT&T bloatware and was working with only AT&T SIMs, I decided to flash both the VZW G970U firmware (the earliest version I could to ensure the supposed "issue" from Verizon support wasn't a problem) and the G970U1 firmware. Both firmware flashes have seemed to have done nothing, as the phone is still having the issue. Most times, it will connect to the Verizon network, but the signal seems to rise and fall quickly (like the bars going from 5 to 1 to 3).. Still no calls, texts, or data, though. I have no idea what's going on, at this point, honestly. Any ideas?

Hardware problem

iBowToAndroid said:
Hardware problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LanGar21 said:
Since none of that fixed it, it was taken to a shop to be inspected. They claim the phone has nothing wrong with it. So, that, in theory, rules hardware issues out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the people it was taken to were competent and did their jobs correctly (one of the best around, according to reviews and carrier recommendation), their diagnostic results show no hardware damage to the phone. Then again, their explanation for the problem was that it had been locked to ATT network (a Verizon bought phone that never had any affiliation with another carrier, aside from Verizon and a month-long stint with Straight Talk). Some idiot she knows that used to work for a Verizon retailer popped his ATT SIM in there, and it flashed ATT firmware.. Their POSSIBLE solution was to try and have it network unlocked from ATT. As we know, though, the IMEI obviously did not change, and the process of confirming the identifier is done on the mobile network level. Therefore, flashing a different carrier's firmware won't do much (permanently), aside from changing the boot screen and bloatware apps. We even tried to explain to the guy that the ATT SIM had never been popped in until after the problem began, as there was no reason to beforehand. I also mentioned I had flashed firmware multiple times before I ever came to him, to no avail. I should've pushed harder, but I had been out all day, frustrated and ready to go home.
It's been over a month since that issue began, and I haven't thought much of it lately.. We've since found her a new phone (and stowed the other one in a drawer). Those guys did blurt some moronic statements.. In hindsight, I'm not too sure I should trust their judgement after hearing what I did. Maybe it was an antenna issue or otherwise hardware, but I sort of assumed if anyone can happen to keep a repair shop open, they'd at least be able to complete the simple tasks fairly easy. I don't know. I'm not paying another repair shop to find out, though.

I had a very similar problem where my phone would just randomly lose all connection for about a minute, then it would reconnect I would start doing whatever I was and it would do it again and this one on for months. I took it to AT&t and they told me to replace the SIM which I did and it didn't work. after a couple updates it fixed itself.

AT&T will not support my unlocked device

Pardon my noobness, I will explain this to the best of my abilities
AT&T told me that my current phone Samsung S8+ will not work on their network (international dual sim unlocked version). They said that it is because "the 3G will shut off" but this phone is clearly a 4G phone. To be more specific, my device is a SM-G955FD. They sent me a replacement phone which is less than crappy and said my current sim will be deactivated soon.
I have already rooted (and ROM'ed) my phone - and I know you can change device identity/fingerprint using build props. I want to mask my phone as a SM-G955FU which is the USA unlocked version. At this point, I'd like to know if this could make a difference and make my phone not be deactivated by fooling their system, or if there are other things to try.
List of permitted phones
https://www.att.com/idpassets/images/support/wireless/Service-Capabilities-Unlocked-Devices-ATT-Network.pdf
Help appreciated,

I don't think they query device's brand / model property as stored in Android's build.prop file because these characteristics at any time can get changed by user.
The speed of data access relies on two things: your phone and your service provider. Every phone has a radio module that is responsible for talking to the network. It is this piece of hardware that either can or can not use latest communication technologies: if the phone does not support 4G, you will not get that speed whatever you try.

jwoegerbauer said:
I don't think they query device's brand / model property as stored in Android's build.prop file because these characteristics at any time can get changed by user.
The speed of data access relies on two things: your phone and your service provider. Every phone has a radio module that is responsible for talking to the network. It is this piece of hardware that either can or can not use latest communication technologies: if the phone does not support 4G, you will not get that speed whatever you try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, what is odd is that it should support it on several bands
Will Samsung Galaxy S8+ work in USA?
In this page we are going to show you the compatibility of Samsung Galaxy S8+ with the mobile networks of USA and with the telephony operators that provide service in USA.
www.kimovil.com

The same thing happened to me today, woke up to a sim not registered message and no cell service (voice, sms or data).
I went to the store and they said my unlocked Moto G7 Power (XT1955-2) is not supported/compatible on ATT's network. I re-checked the phone's specs and it supports 4G LTE on bands 12 and 17 on 1900 Mhz which overlaps the data I found for ATT's network. I'm not well versed in this stuff tho. Perhaps it's a local towers thing and I am in an area where their towers are operating on the other ATT frequencies (1700, 700)? The guy at the store did something (I forget the exact details) and I do have voice back, but that is it, no data or SMS. He also mentioned that ATT is like cracking down on what kind of devices can connect. If ATT is blocking my device tho I'm curious, how is it possible? I guess they can lookup my device via the IMEI and then see if it's on their approve list of devices?

I don't understand their problem. Your phone model is listed as supported as long as you update your software to enable WiFi calling (VoLTE). Come 2/2022, you phone must either be 5G or VoLTE calling enabled to be supported. My Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s shows that it can do VoLTE under the sim card details in Settings and supports 13 LTE bands, including AT&T's bands. It should continue to work on their network after 2/2022.
Yet AT&T repeatedly disabled my phone. I had to tell them to re-activate my phone multiple times. I have tried some new phones. Turned out everytime I pulled the sim out to try a new phone and stick it back in my old phone, AT&T would check the phone's IMEI again and would disable the phone. On the 5th call with them, they put in a code/note in their system to mark my IMEI (be ware each sim tray has its own IMEI) not to be disabled until Fed 2022. I have since tried Surface Duo which on this list and decided not to keep it. Stuck the sim card back in my old phone specific sim tray and it continues to work.
Call them to re-activate/keep your phone active until Fed 2022. They have no rights to disable your phone before then.
Most A&T reps understand less than us on the reason to disable our phone. They jsut keep saying 3G phones will be disabled but our phoens are clearly LTE. VoLTE is one real reason of the problem but them our phones support VoLTE anyway. I am tired of arguing with them and am looking at a Note 10 now. But your situation got me concerned. Sounds like they may not honor the supported list which is updated frequently. I downloaded the June version of the list which is largely the same as yours and asked them how long they would support the phones on the list. They couldn't/wouldn't commit. Even on the phones they sell at their website, they would only give a vague promise to support them for "quite a while".
AT&T has always advertized BYOP. We spent big money on nice phones that are compatible with their network. And now the want to shut us out.

Unlocked or not?

I got a Metro by T-Mobile phone unlocked on eBay and while the phone no longer rejects MVNO sims, it won't connect to any network either. It still connects when I put the Metro sim back in but it won't connect with sims from Lyca, Tello or Hello Mobile, all T-Mobile MVNOs. The phone is a TCL 30 XE 5G (T767W) and I bought two of them new and they both have the same problem. I'm new to the T-Mobile network and I don't know if I'm missing something. I've never had this kind of trouble on Verizon or AT&T. Has anyone else run into a problem like this? I appreciate any help anyone can offer.
Thanks!

Look inside here:
How to Check If Android Phone is Unlocked or Locked
Before buying a new Android Phone, it is best to check if Android Phone is Unlocked or Locked. Here are 2 ways to check the Simlock status of your Android phone.
www.unlockboot.com

xXx yYy said:
Look inside here:
How to Check If Android Phone is Unlocked or Locked
Before buying a new Android Phone, it is best to check if Android Phone is Unlocked or Locked. Here are 2 ways to check the Simlock status of your Android phone.
www.unlockboot.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to that site my phone is unlocked but it still won't connect to any network unless the original Metro sim is installed.

WhatsWrongWithThisPhone said:
According to that site my phone is unlocked but it still won't connect to any network unless the original Metro sim is installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you need to enter service menu and change your radio settings or maybe you need to flash a different modem for your specific model number.
I know you said you bought them new but can you confirm that their IMEI is intact?

Droidriven said:
Maybe you need to enter service menu and change your radio settings or maybe you need to flash a different modem for your specific model number.
I know you said you bought them new but can you confirm that their IMEI is intact?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply! Both phones were shipped to me from Metro by T-Mobile. The phones were able to connect with an MVNO sim when I set the radio to 2G only mode but that option disappeared when the phones updated to Android 12 and now they can't connect at all. Even before the update, the phones would frequently disconnect and I had to set them back to 2G only mode to get service back so there was always something wrong. I'm pretty good with computers but I've never flashed a phone before and I've been suspecting that I would have to do that with these phones. I'll be happy to check their IMEI numbers if you could let me know what I'm looking for. I'd also like to learn more about flashing a new modem as you mentioned above that sounds like it might address the problem. And if you wouldn't mind letting me know where I could find the service menu?
Thanks in advance!!

WhatsWrongWithThisPhone said:
Thank you for your reply! Both phones were shipped to me from Metro by T-Mobile. The phones were able to connect with an MVNO sim when I set the radio to 2G only mode but that option disappeared when the phones updated to Android 12 and now they can't connect at all. Even before the update, the phones would frequently disconnect and I had to set them back to 2G only mode to get service back so there was always something wrong. I'm pretty good with computers but I've never flashed a phone before and I've been suspecting that I would have to do that with these phones. I'll be happy to check their IMEI numbers if you could let me know what I'm looking for. I'd also like to learn more about flashing a new modem as you mentioned above that sounds like it might address the problem. And if you wouldn't mind letting me know where I could find the service menu?
Thanks in advance!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After they updated, have you tried booting into recovery and wiping the cache partition(not factory reset)? Sometimes, after updates, wiping cache is necessary to remove conflicts between previously existing data and the new update.
If you are getting a connection of any kind then your IMEI is fine.
Flashing a modem is sometimes necessary but it can have risks if you flash the wrong thing.
I'm not familiar with TCL devices or how they are flashed. Typically, to flash a different modem requires downloading a firmware that has the modem that you want/need then extracting the modem from the firmware then flash the extracted modem onto the device.
Methods to access service/radio menu different from device to device, I don't know how it is done on TCL devices. Most of the time it is done by using your dialer and dialing a specific code, if there is a dialer code for your device, you should be able to find it with a Google search for:
"TCL 30 XE 5G dialer menu code"
Or
"TCL 30 XE 5G service menu"

Droidriven said:
After they updated, have you tried booting into recovery and wiping the cache partition(not factory reset)? Sometimes, after updates, wiping cache is necessary to remove conflicts between previously existing data and the new update.
If you are getting a connection of any kind then your IMEI is fine.
Flashing a modem is sometimes necessary but it can have risks if you flash the wrong thing.
I'm not familiar with TCL devices or how they are flashed. Typically, to flash a different modem requires downloading a firmware that has the modem that you want/need then extracting the modem from the firmware then flash the extracted modem onto the device.
Methods to access service/radio menu different from device to device, I don't know how it is done on TCL devices. Most of the time it is done by using your dialer and dialing a specific code, if there is a dialer code for your device, you should be able to find it with a Google search for:
"TCL 30 XE 5G dialer menu code"
Or
"TCL 30 XE 5G service menu"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to find my phone's service mode or engineering mode (hope they're the same thing) and get service back by setting the phone to 2G only mode again but that doesn't solve the problem of it losing service when LTE or 5G are turned on. Are there any other settings I could try changing?

WhatsWrongWithThisPhone said:
I was able to find my phone's service mode or engineering mode (hope they're the same thing) and get service back by setting the phone to 2G only mode again but that doesn't solve the problem of it losing service when LTE or 5G are turned on. Are there any other settings I could try changing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you use the service menu to find out which bands/frequencies and network type the current modem/radio is using?
Can you find out which bands/frequencies and network type that your carrier network is using?
Compare them to see if they are compatible.
Or, try calling customer support for your carrier, there may be something they need to do in their system from their end to get your device to connect.

Droidriven said:
Can you use the service menu to find out which bands/frequencies and network type the current modem/radio is using?
Can you find out which bands/frequencies and network type that your carrier network is using?
Compare them to see if they are compatible.
Or, try calling customer support for your carrier, there may be something they need to do in their system from their end to get your device to connect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by network type?
There are a lot of options to choose from, several of them list bands. Is there a specific menu I should look for?
The carrier I have the phone on is Tello which is a T-Mobile MVNO. I've also tried Lyca and Hello Mobile both are also Tmo MVNOs and all three had the same problem. The phones are from Metro by T-Mobile so everything should be compatible. Tello customer service has tried to help but they can't figure it out.

WhatsWrongWithThisPhone said:
What do you mean by network type?
There are a lot of options to choose from, several of them list bands. Is there a specific menu I should look for?
The carrier I have the phone on is Tello which is a T-Mobile MVNO. I've also tried Lyca and Hello Mobile both are also Tmo MVNOs and all three had the same problem. The phones are from Metro by T-Mobile so everything should be compatible. Tello customer service has tried to help but they can't figure it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, are the bands that are presently available on the device within the range of bands that your carrier uses? Do the network and the device use the same bands? If so, you shouldn't need to flash a different modem, if not, you may need a different modem.
Did you boot into recovery and wipe the cache partition to remove any potential conflicts caused by updating to android 12?
Are you certain that the SIM(s) you are trying to use is/are valid and active? If they have been previously deactivated, they won't work
Don't skip through my posts and only answer part of my questions. Let's cover the bases without skipping an answer to a question. Otherwise, it could lead to a wild goose chase that could have been avoided by answering everything I ask.

Droidriven said:
But, are the bands that are presently available on the device within the range of bands that your carrier uses? Do the network and the device use the same bands? If so, you shouldn't need to flash a different modem, if not, you may need a different modem.
Did you boot into recovery and wipe the cache partition to remove any potential conflicts caused by updating to android 12?
Are you certain that the SIM(s) you are trying to use is/are valid and active? If they have been previously deactivated, they won't work
Don't skip through my posts and only answer part of my questions. Let's cover the bases without skipping an answer to a question. Otherwise, it could lead to a wild goose chase that could have been avoided by answering everything I ask.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about the confusion. I did wipe the cache and in the past I've done a full factory reset from recovery mode it didn't help. And this problem already existed before the update to Android 12. It started the moment I changed sims. The phones only ever worked right with the original Metro sim and still do. That's why I wasn't sure if they were unlocked right but they don't reject other sims either.
The sims are active and have never been deactivated and now that I can force the phones back into 2G mode again, I can make and receive calls and use 2G data.
As for the bands I'm finding in the service menu, this is where it gets weird. They're all selected, there must be over a hundred bands turned on including bands I know this phone doesn't support.
I have confirmed the phone supports all the same bands that Tello uses. Tello uses the same bands as T-Mobile.

WhatsWrongWithThisPhone said:
Sorry about the confusion. I did wipe the cache and in the past I've done a full factory reset from recovery mode it didn't help. And this problem already existed before the update to Android 12. It started the moment I changed sims. The phones only ever worked right with the original Metro sim and still do. That's why I wasn't sure if they were unlocked right but they don't reject other sims either.
The sims are active and have never been deactivated and now that I can force the phones back into 2G mode again, I can make and receive calls and use 2G data.
As for the bands I'm finding in the service menu, this is where it gets weird. They're all selected, there must be over a hundred bands turned on including bands I know this phone doesn't support.
I have confirmed the phone supports all the same bands that Tello uses. Tello uses the same bands as T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, thanks for confirming.
It is weird, everything seems to be in place. Have you made sure your APNs(Access Point Names) are set correctly for the network?
I can't be certain that you have all of your network and radio settings set correctly because I have no idea what settings you have, what the options are or if there are any tucked away somewhere that isn't obvious.
If everything is right on your end, it may be something on their end that they need to get right.

Droidriven said:
Ok, thanks for confirming.
It is weird, everything seems to be in place. Have you made sure your APNs(Access Point Names) are set correctly for the network?
I can't be certain that you have all of your network and radio settings set correctly because I have no idea what settings you have, what the options are or if there are any tucked away somewhere that isn't obvious.
If everything is right on your end, it may be something on their end that they need to get right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the APN was the first thing I checked and Tello confirmed it too.
I can send you screenshots of the service menus if that would help.
Tello is now saying the phone might not be "fully unlocked" I don't know what that means. Is there more than one way to lock a phone? Did T-Mobile come up with another way of locking their phones? A screen in the settings menu does warn the phone is still locked and it isn't yet eligible to be unlocked but it accepts the sim and connects to 2G at least. Could Tello be on to something here?

WhatsWrongWithThisPhone said:
Yeah, the APN was the first thing I checked and Tello confirmed it too.
I can send you screenshots of the service menus if that would help.
Tello is now saying the phone might not be "fully unlocked" I don't know what that means. Is there more than one way to lock a phone? Did T-Mobile come up with another way of locking their phones? A screen in the settings menu does warn the phone is still locked and it isn't yet eligible to be unlocked but it accepts the sim and connects to 2G at least. Could Tello be on to something here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are couple of different kinds of "unlocked"
There is SIM/carrier unlock and there is bootloader unlock. They two completely different things and have nothing to do with each other.
Have you tried going through the carrier unlock process yourself to confirm it has been done correctly?

Droidriven said:
Have you tried going through the carrier unlock process yourself to confirm it has been done correctly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know how to do that.

WhatsWrongWithThisPhone said:
I don't know how to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Generally, there is a website that you go to to get an unlock code.
Google search:
"TCL 30 XE 5G (T767W) SIM unlock"

Droidriven said:
Generally, there is a website that you go to to get an unlock code.
Google search:
"TCL 30 XE 5G (T767W) SIM unlock"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My understanding is that Metro phones can't be unlocked with a code. Instead, they're unlocked by a preinstalled carrier app when the phone becomes eligible for an unlock, which my phone isn't. In my case, I bought an unlocking service from eBay which had me hook up my phone to my PC via USB for the unlock. Is there another way to check?

WhatsWrongWithThisPhone said:
My understanding is that Metro phones can't be unlocked with a code. Instead, they're unlocked by a preinstalled carrier app when the phone becomes eligible for an unlock, which my phone isn't. In my case, I bought an unlocking service from eBay which had me hook up my phone to my PC via USB for the unlock. Is there another way to check?
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You got scammed, whether they did it on purpose or not is another question. They probably didn't rob you on purpose, it is just a matter of there never being any kind of guarantee that a 3rd party unlocking service works on every device. You took that chance when you chose to go that route.
If there is an app that is supposed to be used, why is your device not eligible to unlock via the app? You will have to use the official unlock method if/when it is eligible, hopefully the 3rd party unlock service hasn't done anything that conflicts with the official method.
I suggest that, in the future, don't make gambles or look for shortcuts when buying devices without being 100% certain that you are buying from a reputable source that guarantees their products and services. It is best to buy directly from the carrier/manufacturer or from Swappa. I wouldn't buy from eBay unless I could confirm that there was a legitimately proven unlock method for the specific model number that I'm considering purchasing before I actually purchase the device.
If you can return the device and get your money back, I suggest you do it or report it to eBay to see if they will protect your purchase since what you got is not what you agreed to purchase.

Droidriven said:
You got scammed, whether they did it on purpose or not is another question. They probably didn't rob you on purpose, it is just a matter of there never being any kind of guarantee that a 3rd party unlocking service works on every device. You took that chance when you chose to go that route.
If there is an app that is supposed to be used, why is your device not eligible to unlock via the app? You will have to use the official unlock method if/when it is eligible, hopefully the 3rd party unlock service hasn't done anything that conflicts with the official method.
I suggest that, in the future, don't make gambles or look for shortcuts when buying devices without being 100% certain that you are buying from a reputable source that guarantees their products and services. It is best to buy directly from the carrier/manufacturer or from Swappa. I wouldn't buy from eBay unless I could confirm that there was a legitimately proven unlock method for the specific model number that I'm considering purchasing before I actually purchase the device.
If you can return the device and get your money back, I suggest you do it or report it to eBay to see if they will protect your purchase since what you got is not what you agreed to purchase.
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I got the phones new from Metro not eBay. The only thing I got from eBay was the unlocking service which cost me $8. And I didn't pay anything for the phones either as they were free with the purchase of one month of Metro service. So there's really no point in returning the phones and I'm not gonna bother opening a case with eBay over $8.
Metro won't unlock the phones until I've paid for six months of their service.
A quick search on eBay comes up with multiple sellers offering unlocks for my specific phone model locked to Metro. I've been thinking about just trying to get the phones unlocked again by another seller but everything and everyone seems to be telling me the phones are already unlocked so I don't know what I should try next. Is there a way to check if the phones are really unlocked?

WhatsWrongWithThisPhone said:
I got the phones new from Metro not eBay. The only thing I got from eBay was the unlocking service which cost me $8. And I didn't pay anything for the phones either as they were free with the purchase of one month of Metro service. So there's really no point in returning the phones and I'm not gonna bother opening a case with eBay over $8.
Metro won't unlock the phones until I've paid for six months of their service.
A quick search on eBay comes up with multiple sellers offering unlocks for my specific phone model locked to Metro. I've been thinking about just trying to get the phones unlocked again by another seller but everything and everyone seems to be telling me the phones are already unlocked so I don't know what I should try next. Is there a way to check if the phones are really unlocked?
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You've already used methods to check if it is unlocked. Obviously, the service you paid for didn't work, you can't get your money back for that, those services don't come with any guarantee. As I said, you can take another chance and try another 3rd party service that also is not guaranteed or you can wait and do it the official way. I'm betting the unlock service is a waste of time and money and you'll have to wait and do it the right way. That is the cost of blindly taking a shortcut.