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Old sim card.. New Vibrant?

Hello all. Long time reader/lurker here. I'm coming from a Moto q, to a Touch Pro 2 and now a Vibrant. So all of this android stuff is new to me. Long story short, I have a Vibrant. I love it, but I get really terrible reception. No, I'm not stuck on the whole bars thing. The actual quality of my calls are weak. I get a lot of voice fading and my sister and a few others say I sound like I'm in a hole. I was wondering: is my old sim card the reason why I'm getting dropped calls and a lot of 'failed' text message errors? I also get a lot of 'network error messagess' when I'm on the browser or in youtube. I ask because yes, it's not a old sim card, but maybe a new one out the box could help me hold a signal or should I swap out? Sorry if it's a noob question.

i went into the t-mobile store the other day and they said i should have been givin a new sim card with my vibrant, and that if your current sim is older than a year old you should get a new one, they gave me one for free. Everything seems about the same on the phone for me but it might fix your problem

watermonkey said:
i went into the t-mobile store the other day and they said i should have been givin a new sim card with my vibrant, and that if your current sim is older than a year old you should get a new one, they gave me one for free. Everything seems about the same on the phone for me but it might fix your problem
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Click to collapse
Thanks for replying water monkey. Did you experience any problems as far as call quality or anything? I have dropped 4 calls since picking up the Vibrant and have had several failed text messages. It's kind of frustrating when the phone is so beautiful and expensive. Really hope the new sim will fix all my network/reception issues!

no i didnt have any problems with dropped or fading calls but my card was only 2 years old, if yours is older then you might have problems

Mines is barely a year old. (Original sim from Touch Pro 2). Maybe it's an outage or something in my area? I'm in Chicago. Maybe that could be the reason.

My SIM card is over five years old. The problems I'm having appear to be the fault of the phone. The SIM works perfectly in every other phone I pop it into.

My SIM card is from 2002 from when I first signed up with T-Mobile, it came with the original PocketPC Phone Edition. My network speeds are fine as you can see.

Reading that makes it even more frustrating... Guess I'll just take it back and start over with a new one/new sim card.

My sim is also from 2002. I too have no issues.

You guys think doing a full swap will set things right? (new phone/new sim)?

It may just be the design of the phone, my man. Lots of us are having problems.
It could also just be bad coverage in your area? You'll have to check T-Mo's maps and see where you're sitting with coverage (voice and data have their own maps).
I have great coverage in my city, but my reception is extremely disappointing. It appears to be the only T-Mo device I've used that has these issues. My first Vibrant (that came stock with a broken headphone jack) had problems, and my second does as well.
You could try swapping the SIM and try a new Vibrant. I'll bet you'll have the same issues, unfortunately.
One test to try would be to compare your results with a friend's 3G phone (provided you have a friend on T-Mo). Use the phones in the same conditions, and see if both devices have issues. If it's only you, then you know it's your phone.

thanks guys. I think I'll just return it and maybe pick up a droid x. (I'm an official android convert)

Jon C you should do the same thing. See how easy that was? Problem solved... Credit, exchange, sell or wait.
Catchin' the VIBE on the XDApp

Oh, the old internet mob mentality...

Jon C said:
Oh, the old internet mob mentality...
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Click to collapse
sorry, but thats my own opinion. I just dont understand why you still own the phone. Why put yourself through all this just to run out of time to claim buyers remorse? This phone is obviously not living up to your standard, do something about it.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=738327
I just called tmobile and they confirmed it does help the 3G signal. The latest sim card are numbered 50.01.

Alltel to ATT Transition: Root and Flash before Line is Active?

I am part of the group being merged from Alltel to AT&T; I selected the Liberty/Aria for my next phone (coming from a rooted/flashed HTC Touch for many years).
AT&T will be sending the phone out this month, and then will activate the line next month as part of the merger.
Looking to root and flash CyanogenMod7 on the Aria, but curious if this is something I can do upon receiving the phone, or if I should/would need to wait until the phone is activated for service.
AT&T states they will send a text on our Alltel phones that will state "start using your new AT&T phone now," so not sure if it's really activation; maybe just a phone home?
I don't want to root/flash and then have the phone not become active in April.
I'm fine waiting... just looking for anyone else that may have been in this situation and has some insight.

How interesting I was in this situation a couple months back when Unicel merged with AT&T. There isn't really anything you can do that will really be that beneficial to starting the rooting and flashing process before you get the phone. Maybe install the drivers? And as far as the activation I received my Aria fairly promptly so I had it for like 3 weeks until activation. I'm pretty sure I got a text message the day before activation informing me to carry both phones on me. I had an unlocked T-Mobile SidekickLX and I was carrying both it and my Aria on me. Unfortunately it seems the Unicel service was cut before the AT&T service started for me. It took me about two hours without having access to a phone and when the Aria did activate after setup I received all the missed calls and text message notifications from that time where I had no service. Either way it both the wait for the phone and the wait for it to be activated were all worth it.
I LOVE MY ARIA!
Hope I helped.

vicmora5:
Thanks for your informative post; I hope it all goes smoothly.
Truth be told I just want to play when that Aria arrives; but I can wait if it's a no-no.
Looking for a "yes, I've been there and done that! Rooted and flashed my device before the line was active; go for it!"
If I don't get that kind of response; I better wait

Ohhhh!!!
Sorry I completely forgot about that aspect of it. I didn't even open the Aria until I was about to have it activated. I'm actually not sure about what happens if you root and flash pre-activation /=
Sorry I guess im not much help, but I hope you find an answer and get everything working fine

Hi there,
I received my Aria aboout two weeks ago and it is not set to be activated intil early-mid April.
I have loaded it up with apps via Wifi...it does everything I need it to do short of being able to make/receive a call. I did remove the SIM first.
I am wondering if I can root this device and upgrade the OS before it's active, and what will happen if I do these things then reinstall the SIM that came in it.

I rooted and flashed my aria already, i don't see why it would matter at all. I wanted to play some games on it (like nfs:shift and angry birds) and surf the web via my portable hotspot (clear wireless). I've had 0 issues, but i'm not set to be active with att until april. I assume if something screws up, I'll just have to flash back to stock, set it up, then reflash back later. worse comes to worse I'll flash to stock and return it, lol

Once you put sim card in aria from at&t you want have any problems ..
Sent from my Liberty using Tapatalk

terces said:
vicmora5:
Thanks for your informative post; I hope it all goes smoothly.
Truth be told I just want to play when that Aria arrives; but I can wait if it's a no-no.
Looking for a "yes, I've been there and done that! Rooted and flashed my device before the line was active; go for it!"
If I don't get that kind of response; I better wait
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can root and install a custom rom prior to activation. Plus its the sim card, not the phone that needs the actual activation.
Sent from my cm7 Aria using XDA App

CallMeAria said:
Yes you can root and install a custom rom or games or whatever prior to activation. Plus its the sim card, not the phone that needs the actual activation.
Sent from my cm7 Aria using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my cm7 Aria using XDA App

Thanks for all the replies, they sure were helpful.
I'll plan on rooting/flashing pre-activation then; that way I can have the phone all ready to go when it goes live.
Coming from the non-SIM world, I sometimes forget that everything is tied to that SIM card and not in the phone itself.

Getting ready

So I bit the bullet and leaped onboard after it seems the AT&T Threat Data letters have ceased. I am going from my iphone 4 to the Note (Cant wait!). It will be here tomorrow.
Should I look for anything except my microsim to sim adaptor plug and play?
Has the imei problem been rearing its head or should I go without a hitch?
Have read here that you no longer need to do anything with APN's. True?
Just want to be prepared for everything that could happen tomorrow, to make it a seemless transition to this beauty.
Thanks in Advance and Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Put your SIM in, enter APN settings (google AT&T APN settings) and go from there.
If you get a text, email AT&T by googling the executive office's email. Professionally state your case that your Note is a smartphone and not a tablet and they should fix you up.

If I were you, I would go to my local AT&T store and have them issue you a standard
sims card (no charge for this, although your IPhone will not be active). Their have been reports of these adaptors getting stuck in the Note's sim slot and damaging the
Phone. I didn't want to take the chance.
Charles

cbnash said:
If I were you, I would go to my local AT&T store and have them issue you a standard
sims card (no charge for this, although your IPhone will not be active). Their have been reports of these adaptors getting stuck in the Note's sim slot and damaging the
Phone. I didn't want to take the chance.
Charles
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would agree a new sim would prbably be safeer, however I would hate to get caught up in a snafu of a blockage problem having to deal with someone else who may not be informed that it is a phone, hence causing a bigger headache.
Has anyone had problems with the microsim to sim adaptor? I could not find any issues.

GatesHD said:
I would agree a new sim would prbably be safeer, however I would hate to get caught up in a snafu of a blockage problem having to deal with someone else who may not be informed that it is a phone, hence causing a bigger headache.
Has anyone had problems with the microsim to sim adaptor? I could not find any issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congratulation on your new Note! Welcome to the family!
As for the IMEI issue, I would just lift the IMEI (enter *#06# in dialer) from another Samsung display device at the AT&T store (like an SGS2 or Infuse 4G, something that ISN'T LTE!) and call in to customer care stating that you are upgrading your device to -insert type of device you got IMEI from store- and give them that IMEI. Switch your iPhone unlimited plan to "Smartphone Unlimited" plan (they cost the same). At this point you should be able to put your new SIM card into your Note and off you go! Not only will this prevent you from running into any IMEI related issues, but your data speeds should noticeably increase on HSPA+
You still need to add APN to your device for its data to work though. Like Eric said earlier, it's very easy just to Google those. There are basically two APN's that will work:
"Phone" and "wap.cingular"
The Phone APN is the newer one and may run faster than wap.cingular, but I'm pretty sure AT&T has started throttling that once you reach a certain data threshold, so honestly it's just better to stick with wap.cingular
Also, you might want to disable Fast Dormancy for the best network results. This is a feature enabled by default on the Note which AT&T does not support, and it only serves to drain your battery and make your data connection erratic. You can disable it by going to *#*#9900#*#* from your dialer.
Let's see, what other quick tips can I think of to make the experience that much better... Oh, yes! Replace your homescreen launcher with something other than TouchWiz (because it sucks). I recommend ADW ex (because it is highly customizable and lightweight), or if you really want to be fancy, and are willing to dish out a couple bucks, use SPB Shell 3D. I like this one personally. Even though it isn't as customizable as other launchers, it uses native 3D acceleration to make the whole experience buttery smooth.
Also, get Google music, and on your PC, point the downloader to your iTunes directory. Let it do its thing, and low and behold, you have all your iTunes on your Note (and in the cloud!) just like that! Easy peasy!
Finally, don't be shy! Ask us questions! Community support and development is Android's greatest asset!

Jade, thanks for all that info!! The IMEI is device specific though, if going into a store and "lifting" would'nt it already be in their system as their demo? Also the switch from iphone dataplan to Smartphone data plan, will that increase the data by that much? Never heard of the "fast dormancy issue" but will definitely look into that.

GatesHD said:
So I bit the bullet and leaped onboard after it seems the AT&T Threat Data letters have ceased. I am going from my iphone 4 to the Note (Cant wait!). It will be here tomorrow.
Should I look for anything except my microsim to sim adaptor plug and play?
Has the imei problem been rearing its head or should I go without a hitch?
Have read here that you no longer need to do anything with APN's. True?
Just want to be prepared for everything that could happen tomorrow, to make it a seemless transition to this beauty.
Thanks in Advance and Happy Holidays to Everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my 1 and a half ownership of the note, i never received the tablet threat text. Strange....
Maybe it's because I went from an AT&T s2 to my note.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

xAnimal5 said:
In my 1 and a half ownership of the note, i never received the tablet threat text. Strange....
Maybe it's because I went from an AT&T s2 to my note.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe some IMEI's were transposed (accidentally) as tablets.
So, if you get a text about using a tablet, contact AT&T and explain its a smartphone.

[Q] Defy+ with a gophone sim

Please pardon my noobishness, I've been reading til my eyes crossed, but I can't seem to find a straight answer.
I just purchased an unlocked (UK) Defy+ because I need a durable phone and they don't seem to offer many options here in the US. I don't use many minutes and I just wanted text and phone coverage without a data plan: I have wifi coverage much of the time and can live without internet when I don't have it. Therefore, I snagged a cheap gophone ($20 got me a sim, a backup phone, and an extra charger) planning to run the sim in the Defy.
The problem is that while the gophone works fine, when I put the sim in the defy it tells me I have an invalid sim. The phone is supposed to be unlocked and it doesn't ask me for an unlock pin.
One possibility that I haven't tried yet - I have bypassed the motoblur setup so far, since my reading has had nothing good to say about it, and I don't use facebook, twitter or really any major social media (and if I did, I wouldn't want motorolla messing with it anyway). Could this be my problem? I didn't plan to root the phone (at least not yet...) since I didn't think I needed this level of access. I wanted to simply skip the motoblur service in the first place. I did run across some references on google of other motorolla phones having these symptoms because of not setting up motoblur. Should I just bite the bullet and set it up, or maybe root the phone and get rid of it? How intrusive is the motorblur service?

I don't think it matters. Try a friends phone with that sim?
Verstuurd van mijn MB525 met Tapatalk

The sim works fine in the cheap gophone I got when I set it up. I can't imagine it being any different anywhere else. I tried plugging in an ancient cingular sim I still had floating about for some reason which gave me a different message - no service instead of invalid sim card.

Further reading, could this be a baseband version issue? They never intended the defy+ for the US market. I knew from the start that web access would not function except by wifi, but I was given to understand that I could make phonecalls. Not much of a phone without that...

I think maybe I'm on the right track with the baseband issue. I need to be running at 850/1900mhz which the phone will do according to the box... UK is 900/2100, correct? Is it possible that baseband ver. epu93_U_00.60.00 doesn't support my frequencies?
Thanks to everyone responsible for all the info on this forum. I'm overwhelmed at this point, but hopefully it will become more clear with time. I need to walk away from this for the night. Hopefully, tomorrow some of this stuff will have sorted itself out in my head. If anyone has any input, please weigh in!

If you want to see if baseband change helps.
Root the phone, install baseband changer (or something) and try out the Argentinian. They also use the 850/1900 frequentie band. T-mobile uses 850/1700/2100.
But normally I thought that was only needed to get 3g working.

Further updates and no luck.
I made the mistake of letting the phone update via wifi, thinking that might help, so now at 2.3.6 I can't seem to unlock it - tried superoneclick and doomlord, no luck so far. I'm very close to seeing if I can't get my money's worth of frustrations out of this phone with a 12lb sledgehammer. Wouldn't be the most expensive thing I've ever destroyed!
Its funny, this same kind of crap with the SLVR I bought years ago was why my last motorola product was going to be the last thing I ever purchased from them. Fool that I am, I thought I'd give them another chance.

For rooting the phone on 2.3.6 check the 'bl7 finally rooted' threat.

Have you tried factory reset? Read somewhere that that helps

Yes, I had tried the factory reset. The "BL7 finally rooted" thread did root the phone. I haven't done the baseband switch yet, but I'm hopeful.

Baseband switcher thread

Well, I should've listened to labsin in the first place - go figure.
My phone is now unlocked, rooted and baseband switched - it now recognizes US 3G, but the sim is still invalid. On the upside, I think I know what the problem is now. Turns out AT&T sometimes locks their sims for 180 days to the phone you activate it with. I guess I need to go to the store and try to get a different sim out of them.

If its at&t go phone u need to call at&t and have ur sim unlocked . Its locked to the phone u activate it in for so many months. Just tell them that ur go phone wont work and u cant return it . Hope this works for u . I had to do this couple times .
Sent from my MB525 using XDA

Didnt read all of ur last post before i posted . Sorry . But just give them a call . U shouldnt need a new one ..
Sent from my MB525 using XDA

Probably ought to call them from a landline, huh?
I tried going into the store yesterday. The girl there told me it was locked for 30 days, which is different than the six months I had heard elsewhere. I wonder if she was just trying to keep the great big scary guy (aka me) from losing his temper. I get it, I guess. They don't want people with smartphones using their $50 prepay unlimited, then tethering their laptop off it... What kind of person would do such a thing. On the other hand, don't call it unlimited if it isn't!

Ahhhh, victory. Thanks for all the help. By the look of things, switching basebands was necessary in the end, so I'm glad I went through all the trouble. I can't believe some of you guys do this as a hobby, I'd rather slam my privates in a car door than go through this again!

I wanted to keep it...

Once I got the phone setup and on the Sprint network I tried a test SMS to someone. They replied and the message came in. Then it repeated itself over and over indefinitely. I had someone else send me a SMS message but that message never came through. I received the last message that was sent once again.
Countless hours on the phone with Sprint escalated through tech support. Took it back to the store. They tried to "flash" it but could not. Swapped out for another Essential Ph-1 and it did the same thing.
I told them to keep it. It has caused enough stress in my life for years at this point.

Curious, there have been a few random issues (not just on Sprint) that have turned out to be APN related. Do you know if they checked the APN settings and verified they were correct for their network? I changed a couple settings on TMobile to match what their recommendation is on their website and I know a couple AT&T people have had to change a thing or two as well.

ack154 said:
Curious, there have been a few random issues (not just on Sprint) that have turned out to be APN related. Do you know if they checked the APN settings and verified they were correct for their network? I changed a couple settings on TMobile to match what their recommendation is on their website and I know a couple AT&T people have had to change a thing or two as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest I do not know if they checked that and I did not know to check it.

So you only had the phone for a few hours? Your call but I think you may have jumped the gun.

spotmark said:
So you only had the phone for a few hours? Your call but I think you may have jumped the gun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not know what else to do. Guess I should have asked you guys first.

chasdw said:
I did not know what else to do. Guess I should have asked you guys first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No use crying over spilled milk. Enjoy whatever you went with.

This is entirely speculation, but it could be on either Sprint's side or the Messenger app itself. What you describe mirrors my experience with my unlocked Galaxy S8 and using the Messenger app. I switched that line over to the Essential phone it started working fine with text messages. If you try again in the future, try disabling the advanced SMS features (called RDS I think?).

CollinFX45 said:
This is entirely speculation, but it could be on either Sprint's side or the Messenger app itself. What you describe mirrors my experience with my unlocked Galaxy S8 and using the Messenger app. I switched that line over to the Essential phone it started working fine with text messages. If you try again in the future, try disabling the advanced SMS features (called RDS I think?).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, appreciate the advice.

I work for sprint and this is an uncommon issue that has plagued the network for years. If your phone is not rooted, a simple profile update can fix this. One common issue we have seen with the essential phones bought through sprint is it not activating fully the first time. After the phone says it's activated still go through the settings, tap about, tap "OMADM updates" and click profile update. It was reprovision the phone correctly and reboot again. Sometimes it gets stuck on the last step. As long as the reception goes blank and then comes back with a LTE logo then you are done and can reboot the phone.
I know you already went with another phone but you could just as easily have the same issues on another phone. This comment is more for those who are looking for answers to your issue.

hellot1M said:
I work for sprint and this is an uncommon issue that has plagued the network for years. If your phone is not rooted, a simple profile update can fix this. One common issue we have seen with the essential phones bought through sprint is it not activating fully the first time. After the phone says it's activated still go through the settings, tap about, tap "OMADM updates" and click profile update. It was reprovision the phone correctly and reboot again. Sometimes it gets stuck on the last step. As long as the reception goes blank and then comes back with a LTE logo then you are done and can reboot the phone.
I know you already went with another phone but you could just as easily have the same issues on another phone. This comment is more for those who are looking for answers to your issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very much appreciate the reply. I have not gone with a different phone because I am not really interested in any others at this time.
I did try what you suggested on both of the essential phones. It did not work on either.
I will probably go back by the Sprint store tomorrow to see if they figured anything out.
I cannot be without a phone and I do not currently have time to troubleshoot one that is not working.
I will keep chugging along with my old phone for the time being.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

To be clear, Sprint Technical Support is so close to useless you might as well ask your dog how to fix your phone. You'd get the same quality of information and save yourself some time to boot. This is not necessarily Sprint's fault. It's very likely that Essential isn't giving them enough information. For example, I was trying to get files transfered from my PC to my Essential Phone earlier today. All I got was an big empty nothing telling me "This Folder is Empty." Figured it was something very simple but I couldn't figure out what. Sprint's second level support told me to call HP (computer OEM). Came onto this forum and somebody mentioned "just change the setting in notifications from charging to file transfer." Yep! It really was that easy! And Sprint should have easy fixes like that extremely well documented.
It makes me more that a little nervous to realize that Sprint is completely clueless about this phone and that Essential is next to impossible to get in touch with. Makes me wish I could have held out for the other Sprint exclusive coming soon: The LG V30+. Same 128GB internal, better screen, waterproof certification, drop proof certification, OLED screen instead of the PH-1's disappointing LCD panel, bigger screen, has an SD card slot, better camera, and above all else, well supported. Unfortunately, my old phone was broken and I needed to replace it immediately and as cheaply as possible. $15 per month made the PH-1 the best option available for me. Even the LG G6 with it's inferior specs, processor, etc. would have cost me more -- $20 per month.
We'll see how I'm feeling about my PH-1 in a week. Right now there's a lot of good and a lot of bad, so it's hard to say. At least by shear dumb luck I got the PH-1 at a budget phone price.

I had the same issue and took it to a Sprint store today. After a lot of trial and error, turning off Google voice did the trick for me. Even though they already switched me to a new phone.

I wanted to keep it but Pixel 2 coming out in October and camera subpar.
Sent from my Pixel XL using XDA-Developers Legacy app

I am on sprint and I have had zero issues, in fact I have a better signal with this phone because it utilizes the LTE + network. This is very interesting to me.