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Hey there,
I just got my nexus s a couple days ago and right away I noticed that when I switch from wifi to Tmobile data (3G) it takes about 5 mins or so for 3G to actually connect and allow me to surf or use any data connection at all. By the way, it still takes the same amount of time(~5 mins or so) to connect even if I check 'use only 2g networks'. Then in the past 2-3 days everything seemed to work fine (mainly cause I haven't been switching between 3g/wifi but today I found a notification on my phone that a system update is available so I went ahead and installed it. That was 2 hrs ago and ever since then I cant connect to either 3g or edge. For a moment I thought that there might be some issues with the network itself so I slipped the sim card into my old Nokia phone and I immediately got the edge connection (my nokia doesnt support tmobile 3g). I see the 3G icon, ocasionally I see the arrows getting highlighted as well but they never turn green. I restarted the phone several times and it still doesn't connect. Anyone else expereinced this?
Thanks,
TpaFl said:
Hey there,
I just got my nexus s a couple days ago and right away I noticed that when I switch from wifi to Tmobile data (3G) it takes about 5 mins or so for 3G to actually connect and allow me to surf or use any data connection at all. By the way, it still takes the same amount of time(~5 mins or so) to connect even if I check 'use only 2g networks'. Then in the past 2-3 days everything seemed to work fine (mainly cause I haven't been switching between 3g/wifi but today I found a notification on my phone that a system update is available so I went ahead and installed it. That was 2 hrs ago and ever since then I cant connect to either 3g or edge. For a moment I thought that there might be some issues with the network itself so I slipped the sim card into my old Nokia phone and I immediately got the edge connection (my nokia doesnt support tmobile 3g). I see the 3G icon, ocasionally I see the arrows getting highlighted as well but they never turn green. I restarted the phone several times and it still doesn't connect. Anyone else expereinced this?
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure if i understand 100% what your saying, but how fast your device acquires 3G depends on how strong of a presence there is of 3G
Right, but once it acquires the connection it stays strong and I never lose it. Besides that, even if 3g is weak shouldn't edge connect? I know for a fact that edge is available and strong since I never had problems acquiring it with my old signal and even now when I use my old phone it takes not more than 5 sec to connect to edge. Anyway, like I said I found that little weird but not a big deal as I haven't had any problems in last 2-3 days. However, ever since I installed that update I don't get any data conection (3g or edge) no matter what I do.
TpaFl said:
Right, but once it acquires the connection it stays strong and I never lose it. Besides that, even if 3g is weak shouldn't edge connect? I know for a fact that edge is available and strong since I never had problems acquiring it with my old signal and even now when I use my old phone it takes not more than 5 sec to connect to edge. Anyway, like I said I found that little weird but not a big deal as I haven't had any problems in last 2-3 days. However, ever since I installed that update I don't get any data conection (3g or edge) no matter what I do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TpaFL, I am having the exact same issue as you, but I confirm that the Gingerbread update has nothing to do with it. When I got my phone last week I also noticed that the transition from wifi to 3G took a long time, and in some cases I ended up needing to reboot the phone. However, beginning yesterday morning, before the update was sent OTA, I could not use 3G/Edge at all and it's been that way ever since. One thing I've noticed is that when you trying browsing to a webpage that you will get redirected to a "m.web2go.com" page that says "service unavailable". To me this means that I still have 3G connectivity, but somehow T-Mobile is blocking my access to the target site for whatever reason.
When I called T-Mobile and explained the situation they told me a couple of things: 1) there was a network outage in my area that could be causing the problem; and 2) that I might be having a problem due to the fact that I am still on an old Blackberry plan. Neither of these make sense to me because if I plug my SIM into my old phone (Nexus One) everything works perfectly fine. I'm also hesitant to move to one of their current internet plans because my Blackberry plan is so attractively priced.
I just PM'd you regarding this in the hopes that maybe we can talk live and trade notes on how to get this problem solved.
Bob
betabob26 said:
TpaFL, I am having the exact same issue as you, but I confirm that the Gingerbread update has nothing to do with it. When I got my phone last week I also noticed that the transition from wifi to 3G took a long time, and in some cases I ended up needing to reboot the phone. However, beginning yesterday morning, before the update was sent OTA, I could not use 3G/Edge at all and it's been that way ever since. One thing I've noticed is that when you trying browsing to a webpage that you will get redirected to a "m.web2go.com" page that says "service unavailable". To me this means that I still have 3G connectivity, but somehow T-Mobile is blocking my access to the target site for whatever reason.
When I called T-Mobile and explained the situation they told me a couple of things: 1) there was a network outage in my area that could be causing the problem; and 2) that I might be having a problem due to the fact that I am still on an old Blackberry plan. Neither of these make sense to me because if I plug my SIM into my old phone (Nexus One) everything works perfectly fine. I'm also hesitant to move to one of their current internet plans because my Blackberry plan is so attractively priced.
I just PM'd you regarding this in the hopes that maybe we can talk live and trade notes on how to get this problem solved.
Bob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem, I still had a BB data plan. Seems TMO has the IMEI's of the Nexus S ( the phone tech asked me how I liked my S without me telling her what I had... ), but not the Nexus One. My N1 worked just fine with the BB plan. Switched the 2 lines I have data on to the 4G Unlimited (Their name for non-BB data) and all is well.
lethalp1mp said:
I had the same problem, I still had a BB data plan. Seems TMO has the IMEI's of the Nexus S ( the phone tech asked me how I liked my S without me telling her what I had... ), but not the Nexus One. My N1 worked just fine with the BB plan. Switched the 2 lines I have data on to the 4G Unlimited (Their name for non-BB data) and all is well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm...I think T-Mobile knew I had N1 because the rep I spoke to mentioned that she saw that I switched to the N1 back in January.
Do you really need to be on a 4G plan since the Nexus S only supports 3G? And do you know if you're still able to use the Nexus S for tethering without having to pay for T-Mobile's tethering service?
betabob26 said:
Hmm...I think T-Mobile knew I had N1 because the rep I spoke to mentioned that she saw that I switched to the N1 back in January.
Do you really need to be on a 4G plan since the Nexus S only supports 3G? And do you know if you're still able to use the Nexus S for tethering without having to pay for T-Mobile's tethering service?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you do not need to pay for Tmobile tethering.
slowz3r said:
you do not need to pay for Tmobile tethering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, thanks. Did you get any sort of explanation from T-Mobile as to why they allowed N1 users to access 3G using a BB plan but not the Nexus S? Seems to me that data is data, regardless of the actual device you're using.
Like other posters said, these Nexus S phones have unique IMEI numbers that T-Mobile can recognize and apply data settings on. I have/had a grandfathered Smartphone Unlimited (24.99) data plan on my line for about 3 years now. It worked flawlessly with my Touch Pro 2, Nexus One and Dell Venue Pro.
I noticed with the Nexus S, after I disconnected from wifi and went back to 3G, I would get the time out errors and "upgrade your plan" page in the browser. A reboot would fix it but that was annoying. I called TMO customer support, spoke with a supervisor who changed my grandfathered Smartphone Unlimited (24.99) to the grandfathered Android Unlimited Plan (also 24.99). All that changed was the name, but I never saw that "upgrade" message again. I tried my SIM in my Nexus One and Venue Pro after the change and now all my devices can use 3G data with no issues.
lethalp1mp, I hope your new data plan does not cost you more money because I know for a fact your previous plans can be changed to work at the same previous price.
betabob26 said:
Okay, thanks. Did you get any sort of explanation from T-Mobile as to why they allowed N1 users to access 3G using a BB plan but not the Nexus S? Seems to me that data is data, regardless of the actual device you're using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Data is data, the reason they charge more for a smartphone plan is because smart phone users are likely to use much more data.
betabob26 said:
Hmm...I think T-Mobile knew I had N1 because the rep I spoke to mentioned that she saw that I switched to the N1 back in January.
Do you really need to be on a 4G plan since the Nexus S only supports 3G? And do you know if you're still able to use the Nexus S for tethering without having to pay for T-Mobile's tethering service?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's just what they call their non-Blackberry data plans now from what I can see. You will need to add messaging if you do switch, as the BB plans included messaging, or at least mine did.
Arcarsenal said:
lethalp1mp, I hope your new data plan does not cost you more money because I know for a fact your previous plans can be changed to work at the same previous price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, it came out to be less than what I was paying before.
Well, I just called TMO and spoke to a rep that claimed the reason why I wasn't getting data access was due to my IMEI not being recorded in their system. She took down the IMEI number from my Nexus S and entered it into their "system", and told me it takes up to two hours to register. I played along, but I rather doubt this is going to fix my problem. I'm sure I'll end up having to switch out of my BB plan.
I know a lot of folks plan on tethering their Xooms, but I thought I would actually try activating it since I'm not on contract and can cancel/suspend at any time.
I go into Settings > Wireless & networks > Mobile networks > Activate device, I touch 'activate', it works for a moment, then errors out saying "Unable to activate mobile data service. To try activation again, touch Try Again."
I've seen other folks complain about this, but I didn't see a solution. Is it something obvious I'm missing, or do I actually have to call in to VZW and do it over the phone? If the latter, that's really a letdown, considering I can activate a new phone in seconds without talking to a CS rep. Just thought I'd ask to see if I'm missing something before I call.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Did you activate it with Verizon? ie, do you have a Verizon account and have activated it either with BestBuy, Costco, Verizon store, or over the phone? You have to register the device with the company first. Phones are the same way on Verizon. AT&T and T-Mobile use Sim cards instead, and they are already 'active'.
If not, press the SKIP button on the bottom right to activate over WiFi. It's not worth the $20/mo for 1GB and $35 activation fee.
Yup, I was one of people that was having a lot of trouble with this. The device wont activate by it self,this is what you have to do you have to go to the verizon website and go to their phone activation page and enter your Xooms MEID HEX number (found on the plastic wrap which was covering the back, when you first unboxed it, so make sure you didnt throw away the plastic wraping). From there, you just have to follow the on screen instructions. Also the website asks for your SSN and your Drivers license number for credit approval (this took a whole day) after that they will contact you saying you are ready and that now you can go into settings and network and click activate device.
Also if you by any chance threw away the plastic wrapping, you can find the MEID HEX number on the Xooms box itself. Also to get to the verizon activation site faster al you have to do is google "verizon activation" ----> then click on the second link "Activate Your Verizon Phone | Verizon Wireless" then just enter your Xooms MEID HEX number.
sunnyd119 said:
Yup, I was one of people that was having a lot of trouble with this. The device wont activate by it self,this is what you have to do you have to go to the verizon website and go to their phone activation page and enter your Xooms MEID HEX number (found on the plastic wrap which was covering the back, when you first unboxed it, so make sure you didnt throw away the plastic wraping). From there, you just have to follow the on screen instructions. Also the website asks for your SSN and your Drivers license number for credit approval (this took a whole day) after that they will contact you saying you are ready and that now you can go into settings and network and click activate device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANK YOU, this is what I was looking for! I had tried logging into my VZW account to activate a new device, and all it would allow was for a new phone, not a new device/data package on our account. I couldn't even enter an MEID.
Found the link in question, I can enter the MEID and establish new service.
For anyone else wondering:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/activate-phone.shtml
I still find it a bit strange that the entire activation process can't be handled through the Xoom itself - seems like you should be able to enter your VZW account into (if you have one already), pick a plan, click through, etc. Activating a phone on an existing line of service is trivially easy via *228, you don't even need to enter an MEID. Not to mention, I do believe you can activate service directly on the iPad, can you not?
I received my Xoom yesterday and after it found my network and I entered the pass key it connected and worked without issue all night. Just got home from work today and it says "no internet connection." It keeps trying to obtain an IP address but just times out and tries again. Its been doing this for a half hour. I tried rebooting it but still the same. Any ideas?
JasonU said:
I still find it a bit strange that the entire activation process can't be handled through the Xoom itself - seems like you should be able to enter your VZW account into (if you have one already), pick a plan, click through, etc. Activating a phone on an existing line of service is trivially easy via *228, you don't even need to enter an MEID. Not to mention, I do believe you can activate service directly on the iPad, can you not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was exactly my question as well, i think what happened was that Verizon setup according to their original plan, which was to have people activate in store so people would pay for the activation fee and have a credit approval done so that they would have no problems in the future. But due to the recent uproar from the android community about the "required 1 month plan" they decided to drop the plan at the last minute. So hence the reason why you have to go through all this trouble to activate 3g, because it was never set to be an out of the box activation or at least that is what I would conclude through my experience. iPad on the other hand (was an owner of the iPad) AT&T set it up according to apples request, which was to have the device out of the box ready for activation. They made it simple by allowing people to just create an account and enter their credit card information, and pick their plan. Reasons to why these companies have such a different approach to this situation.....I have no idea. But there probably is a reason, but iam just not aware of it.
broadwayblue said:
I received my Xoom yesterday and after it found my network and I entered the pass key it connected and worked without issue all night. Just got home from work today and it says "no internet connection." It keeps trying to obtain an IP address but just times out and tries again. Its been doing this for a half hour. I tried rebooting it but still the same. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.) I'm in no way calling you stupid, but have you made sure that airplane mode isnt on?
2.) Since you said you tried a restart and that seemed to not work, try restarting your wireless router.
3.) If that doesnt work, just try and disconnect and reconnect to the network.
If none of these work then you might have to call motorola.
I did not realize I would have to pay the activation fee everytime I wanted to have a data plan. That's very frustrating considering it's the same cost as a months data for 3GB. I wanted to turn it off an on as I needed (on a month-to-month basis) but I will probably just leave it off now...kinda makes me want to sell my 3G model and get a wifi only...unless I'm understanding this wrong?
tlogank said:
I did not realize I would have to pay the activation fee everytime I wanted to have a data plan. That's very frustrating considering it's the same cost as a months data for 3GB. I wanted to turn it off an on as I needed (on a month-to-month basis) but I will probably just leave it off now...kinda makes me want to sell my 3G model and get a wifi only...unless I'm understanding this wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read somewhere that you can suspend your account instead of cancelling which will avoid this but I am not sure if this works since I have never had Verizon.
keitht said:
I read somewhere that you can suspend your account instead of cancelling which will avoid this but I am not sure if this works since I have never had Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I looked into that, but it looks like you can only do it for a couple of months, and also only once a year.
Seriously, that sucks. Why charge an activation fee for something that can be done completely automated online? Not like there's some dude sitting there setting all these up manually...just a way to make quick and easy money on VZW's part.
tlogank said:
I looked into that, but it looks like you can only do it for a couple of months, and also only once a year.
Seriously, that sucks. Why charge an activation fee for something that can be done completely automated online? Not like there's some dude sitting there setting all these up manually...just a way to make quick and easy money on VZW's part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish they had rollover data like AT&T rollover minutes. That would make it more appealing to keep the month to month service. Verizon is just way expensive.
You can indeed suspend your account here : http://support.vzw.com/clc/plan/
I have not been able to activate my device by the previous link. It gives me a number to call. Anyone else seeing this?
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
bmbriefs said:
You can indeed suspend your account here : http://support.vzw.com/clc/plan/
I have not been able to activate my device by the previous link. It gives me a number to call. Anyone else seeing this?
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know you can, but I have read that you can only do it once per year...that's the issue.
3G overseas
I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to activate the 3G overseas. I bought my Xoom a week ago at BestBuy, but I live in Bolivia, so came back to my country and now I'm trying to find out if there is a way I can activate the 3G service here. Anyone? Thanks!
blimpa said:
I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to activate the 3G overseas. I bought my Xoom a week ago at BestBuy, but I live in Bolivia, so came back to my country and now I'm trying to find out if there is a way I can activate the 3G service here. Anyone? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to find a carrier that uses CDMA and ask them if they can activate it. There is no other option really. My first guess would be that there are no carriers like that.
-Bauxite
Sent from my Evo 4G
sunnyd119 said:
Also if you by any chance threw away the plastic wrapping, you can find the MEID HEX number on the Xooms box itself. Also to get to the verizon activation site faster al you have to do is google "verizon activation" ----> then click on the second link "Activate Your Verizon Phone | Verizon Wireless" then just enter your Xooms MEID HEX number.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can find the MEID number by going to settings-->about tablet-->status. It will open a new scrollable window with all sorts of info.
Bauxite said:
You need to find a carrier that uses CDMA and ask them if they can activate it. There is no other option really. My first guess would be that there are no carriers like that.
-Bauxite
Sent from my Evo 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that I have same issue. I bought my XOOM in bestbuy ( US ) and brought it to Europe. Here I have O2 SIM card with 3G Data program. I am trying to use it with XOOM but no success so far.
Bauxite - are you trying to say that 3G module inside of XOOM is different for US as is requred in EU? Are there some different standards of 3G? I am worried that I could save couple of hundreds $ if I bought only WIFI version
moriakoj said:
I think that I have same issue. I bought my XOOM in bestbuy ( US ) and brought it to Europe. Here I have O2 SIM card with 3G Data program. I am trying to use it with XOOM but no success so far.
Bauxite - are you trying to say that 3G module inside of XOOM is different for US as is requred in EU? Are there some different standards of 3G? I am worried that I could save couple of hundreds $ if I bought only WIFI version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why didn't you research what you were buying before spending more than $800? The Xoom you bought is a CDMA device and will not work on GSM networks.
Yesterday I bought a $50 starter pack from Verizon prepaid to get a sim card because my last phone didn't use a Sim. So I go to the store to get help activating it. They told me that I'd need to call cs because they didn't provide support for prepaid. So I called & everything went well until the tech had me to restart the phone & try o make a call. All I got was a notice to reboot my phone because there was an error. So the cs guy transferred me to tech support where I spent almost 2 hours on the phone with a lady that wasn't able to get the phone working. She kept telling me the phone wasnt in the system, even though the 1st guy added it with no problem. She then wrote up a ticket to escalate the issue to an advanced department & says they should figure something out in 48hrs. In the meantime I asked if I whould be credited these 3 days that I paid for & won't actually have service, answer: no. Smh.
Additional info my phone now shows the Verizon network & level of service in status bar. However it sometimes says no sim, emergency calls only.
If anyone has any suggestions at all as to what I can do or say to them to get this fixed it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Did you try to do it online ? The website will see the imei number and should let you add it.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
I tried doing it online first & when that didn't work I called. I've still not heard anything from the uber tech ppl @ Verizon. The lady I spoke with didn't give me the ticket #, blue I'm wondering if it was actually submitted.
This may or may not help, but I had a time trying to get my XPE activated on VZW last week. I tried to activate it online, on the phone with Verizon, at a Verizon store and finally at Best Buy. The only reason the Best Buy guy helped me is that he and his roommate had recently bought one so he knew it would work.
I think in the end what it was is that the I and others were putting in the IMEI instead of the MEID. The IMEI is one digit longer and you need to use the shorter number. The guy at Best Buy said something to that effect in passing, but I did not follow up with him on it. Try using the MEID by going to About Phone->Status->IMEI Info and using the MEID for activating.
Another thing to note - if you get the MEID by typing in *#06# into the dialer keypad, it brings up the longer number, even though it says it is the MEID, it is really showing you the IMEI. Hopefully this helps someone.
I'm glad to hear you were able to get yours activated! Trying the MEID is a good suggestion, but it didn't work. That's the # requested when you try to activate online. I'm going to spend a few hours on the phone with tech support today & see if they have figured out a solution.
Maybe try calling back at a different time. I was SO reluctant to buy this phone only because I KNEW I’d end up having to call Verizon and deal with the support line. Amazingly, the first lady I talked to knew exactly what phone I was using and got it working in seconds. I'm on unlimited & she did her due diligence in trying to convert me to a different plan (unsuccessfully).
My connection and speed has been miserable at best though… My APN settings were on global, I switched it to CMDA 2 days ago, the connection has gotten faster/better. It's still unreliable though, I don't think I live in an area THAT saturated with Verizon customers... still trying to find a solution for constant/good connection/speeds. I’m not doing anything that would put me in the throttled group either… just slow-garbage connection. Not completely happy with the phone yet. *Completely stock.
Edit: By "I" I mean, "My wife's". This phone was my attempt to convert her from Apple and this situation isn't helping at all.
The trick is to activate the sim card, then put it in the MXP. If you can borrow someone's Verizon phone (i.e. They put their sim in your MXP to free their phone) then you should have no problem getting Verizon to activate a free and clear Verizon phone. Once activated just swap sims back.
I buy/sell/trade phones all the time (had my sim in 3 today). The only time I've had an issue activating on Verizon is when I messed up my sim and only had a Sprint/unlocked Nexus 6 to use at the moment. It took me hours to get a tech to activate. Finally he pulled up an old IMEI from my account and used that phone to activate my sim.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
I had trouble activating on prepaid aswell a store was nice enough to give me a sim card and I called and it took 2 representatives to activate and an old galaxy s3 meid I had laying around for some reason.
Jodsfk421 said:
Maybe try calling back at a different time. I was SO reluctant to buy this phone only because I KNEW I’d end up having to call Verizon and deal with the support line. Amazingly, the first lady I talked to knew exactly what phone I was using and got it working in seconds. I'm on unlimited & she did her due diligence in trying to convert me to a different plan (unsuccessfully).
My connection and speed has been miserable at best though… My APN settings were on global, I switched it to CMDA 2 days ago, the connection has gotten faster/better. It's still unreliable though, I don't think I live in an area THAT saturated with Verizon customers... still trying to find a solution for constant/good connection/speeds. I’m not doing anything that would put me in the throttled group either… just slow-garbage connection. Not completely happy with the phone yet. *Completely stock.
Edit: By "I" I mean, "My wife's". This phone was my attempt to convert her from Apple and this situation isn't helping at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon can't legally throttle you based on your unlimited data and/or monthly usage. They can and will, however, throttle you if you're in a congested area. Every time we go to sporting events, shows, or any type of big event where hundreds of phones are pinging the same tower my service crawls. At my home (in the country) I don't even use WiFi because my phone runs circles around my 60 MBPS Charter WiFi (which rarely/never sees 60 MBPS).
Do you live in the city, an apartment, anywhere that's congested?
Also, in case you weren't aware your bill will be going up $20 per line for every unlimited line not currently under contract. The cut off to get under contract was 11/15 so my 2 lines will cost me an extra $40 on my next billing cycle.
EDIT - Not sure of the legality of them throttling unlimited users but Verizon did try to implement that. They caught so much flak from users and the FCC, they opted to increase monthly charges and only throttle the top 1% of data users on any given tower during periods of heavy use.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Had the same exact problem last weekend. Tried to do it online...wouldn't work. Went into the Verizon store and they couldn't do it either. They activated the sim in another phone, set up the account, then moved the sim to my phone and then ported my phone number over. Took almost two hours to get onto a prepaid plan.
This is only a problem if it's a new account/sim card. If you are pulling a sim from a previous phone, it goes smoothly.
magentacat said:
Yesterday I bought a $50 starter pack from Verizon prepaid to get a sim card because my last phone didn't use a Sim. So I go to the store to get help activating it. They told me that I'd need to call cs because they didn't provide support for prepaid. So I called & everything went well until the tech had me to restart the phone & try o make a call. All I got was a notice to reboot my phone because there was an error. So the cs guy transferred me to tech support where I spent almost 2 hours on the phone with a lady that wasn't able to get the phone working. She kept telling me the phone wasnt in the system, even though the 1st guy added it with no problem. She then wrote up a ticket to escalate the issue to an advanced department & says they should figure something out in 48hrs. In the meantime I asked if I whould be credited these 3 days that I paid for & won't actually have service, answer: no. Smh.
Additional info my phone now shows the Verizon network & level of service in status bar. However it sometimes says no sim, emergency calls only.
If anyone has any suggestions at all as to what I can do or say to them to get this fixed it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all the Pure may not work for pre-paid but it definitely works for post paid. However if you have it working then OK. As for your other issue try changing Settings > under Wireless & networks choose "More" > Cellular networks > Preferred network type > choose LTE/CDMA.
I used to leave mine on Global all the time until a few weeks ago I started getting a message similar if not the same as yours. Everything still worked OK but the error message would not go away no matter what I did...until I stopped using Global. Now I have not tested it recently to see if Global would work again but from reading about the Global setting it is really for when you are "global" that is, out of the country and roaming for a signal that can be used. While here in the USA as long as you have a decent signal for LTE/CDMA then no need for the phone to even try to connect. It should just do so automatically. Give it a try and report back.
I'm in Japan for a couple of weeks for work and signed up for the Japan pack that Sprint offers. I spent almost an entire week working with Sprint support ( ) trying to get data roaming working properly on the phone without much luck (voice and text worked great), but yesterday I lost all connectivity but wifi. Figuring I must have changed something I shouldn't have, I saved everything I could and did a hard reset on the phone.
It still won't connect to any networks. I've re-downloaded PRL and device configs over wifi in the settings but it doesn't even attempt to connect to any wireless networks, or see any for that matter.
I have 2 guesses here but I'd like some kind of confirmation here before I take any action.
1: Maybe my radio firmware is corrupted somehow? I'm not exactly sure how to check it but it just doesn't seem to be doing much of anything. In the SIM status page it says searching for network, but I have no way to know if that's really the case.
2: Since the phone has a Sprint SIM, does it has to be on an actual Sprint network to initialize the networks? (Not Softbank's network here in Japan?) I spent over an hour on Google Voice with them last night trying to get an answer/help but got absolutely nowhere.
The phone is currently all stock but I have no problem unlocking and installing recoveries/software/roms if need be. Any ideas what I can do here or am I just stuck without communication until I get home next week?
Usually the best route is to get a local prepaid sim while traveling but honestly I have no idea what sprint offers for roaming in Japan. Check your plan and see if there is an add on needed.
I'm not alone!
Also THIS IS STILL AN ISSUE!
It worked fine for me last time I came to Japan, about a year ago. This time, I only have voice and text, no data. Right now I'm backing everything up to do a factory reset.
Did you ever find a solution to this?
I'm not sure if you've already done your factory reset, but if you're on Sprint, don't do a reset. The phone can't reactivate itself off of Sprint towers. You have to be in the US when you do the reset. I was stuck with WiFi only for most of my time there because I reset mine.
I never found a solution other than dropping Sprint when I got back to the states. Switched to Verizon and never looked back, though I'm not sure what I'm going to do for my next trip with their ridiculous international rates.
I actually got it working last night.
Factory reset and restore over wifi
Update device config over wifi -> handles activation
Update PRL over wifi 3 times
Now it works
Oh, I'm glad it worked. Is yours on Sprint?
Yes, but I may have spoken too soon. It worked for a few hours and now isn't getting back on data. I think it may be SIM related, since I saw a weird SIM error pop up and rebooted my phone, which led to the data working the first time
They must have redone their activation system since I had my issue in July. At that time there was no way for the phone to reactivate without being on Sprint's system.
As far as the data, that's the same thing I had happen and they were never able to solve the problem. It would work for a little while then stop for no reason. If you find a solution I'd love to hear it though.
I'm wondering if I can flash a different radio or something
Hello,
I am new to this site, and have a burning question I am trying to find an answer for.
So AT&T has been my carrier since about 2014. In July of 2019, I purchased an unlocked S8 from Amazon for about $350 Description says it is: Samsung Galaxy S8 64GB Factory Unlocked Smartphone - US Version (Midnight Black) - US Warranty - [SM-G950UZKAXAA]. In the settings, the model number is listed as: SM-G950U1.
Recently, I received a message from AT&T saying that they are shutting down their 3G network in February of 2022, and that my phone will no longer work on their network. I went into one of their stores and showed them that my phone operates on LTE, but I was told that is for data only and voice operates on 3G. I could not remember the VoLTE name at the time, but mentioned that my phone had the capability to operate on LTE. They refused to go thru settings with me, and told me that my phone will stop working in February. Period. End of story. Also, I was told the same thing that the message states, that they are sending me a new phone and will be deactivating my phone after 30 days.
Now some of my friends are laughing at me saying, "Dang free phones!" But I do not want a 5G phone (which is obviously what they are sending). I have my reasons and this is not what I wish to discuss here.
The issue is... I love my telephone!! It does exactly what I want, and I don't need anything new. Not to mention that I paid for it entirely, with no subsidy from AT&T. I specifically bought it unlocked with intentions of avoiding contracts and having the ability to switch carriers if I so choose.
I am pretty sure that I saw VoLTE mentioned in my settings a while back. But now a search on my phone finds nothing. I assume a firmware update hid this info from me.
So... what gives? Does anybody here know if this particular device can make/receive voice calls using VoLTE - on AT&T (or any other carriers) - simply by changing settings in the phone? Do I have any options to make my phone continue to operate as intended? With any carrier?
Sorry for the long post. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Steve
willnotbecontrolled said:
Hello,
I am new to this site, and have a burning question I am trying to find an answer for.
So AT&T has been my carrier since about 2014. In July of 2019, I purchased an unlocked S8 from Amazon for about $350 Description says it is: Samsung Galaxy S8 64GB Factory Unlocked Smartphone - US Version (Midnight Black) - US Warranty - [SM-G950UZKAXAA]. In the settings, the model number is listed as: SM-G950U1.
Recently, I received a message from AT&T saying that they are shutting down their 3G network in February of 2022, and that my phone will no longer work on their network. I went into one of their stores and showed them that my phone operates on LTE, but I was told that is for data only and voice operates on 3G. I could not remember the VoLTE name at the time, but mentioned that my phone had the capability to operate on LTE. They refused to go thru settings with me, and told me that my phone will stop working in February. Period. End of story. Also, I was told the same thing that the message states, that they are sending me a new phone and will be deactivating my phone after 30 days.
Now some of my friends are laughing at me saying, "Dang free phones!" But I do not want a 5G phone (which is obviously what they are sending). I have my reasons and this is not what I wish to discuss here.
The issue is... I love my telephone!! It does exactly what I want, and I don't need anything new. Not to mention that I paid for it entirely, with no subsidy from AT&T. I specifically bought it unlocked with intentions of avoiding contracts and having the ability to switch carriers if I so choose.
I am pretty sure that I saw VoLTE mentioned in my settings a while back. But now a search on my phone finds nothing. I assume a firmware update hid this info from me.
So... what gives? Does anybody here know if this particular device can make/receive voice calls using VoLTE - on AT&T (or any other carriers) - simply by changing settings in the phone? Do I have any options to make my phone continue to operate as intended? With any carrier?
Sorry for the long post. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same issue with crickett (att).
got that txt msg, recently maybe december there was a firmware update that greyed out my network settings and hid some items.
i cant even change my prefered network, 3g 4g lte etc, its locked..
I have the 950u1 also
HOWEVER I have a s8 950U that I think has all these unlocked.
Im going to backup and odin flash the U firmware to the UI and see if it works.
Thats bull**** about doing this. greedy ****s..
I go with somone else if I have to.
willnotbecontrolled said:
Hello,
I am new to this site, and have a burning question I am trying to find an answer for.
So AT&T has been my carrier since about 2014. In July of 2019, I purchased an unlocked S8 from Amazon for about $350 Description says it is: Samsung Galaxy S8 64GB Factory Unlocked Smartphone - US Version (Midnight Black) - US Warranty - [SM-G950UZKAXAA]. In the settings, the model number is listed as: SM-G950U1.
Recently, I received a message from AT&T saying that they are shutting down their 3G network in February of 2022, and that my phone will no longer work on their network. I went into one of their stores and showed them that my phone operates on LTE, but I was told that is for data only and voice operates on 3G. I could not remember the VoLTE name at the time, but mentioned that my phone had the capability to operate on LTE. They refused to go thru settings with me, and told me that my phone will stop working in February. Period. End of story. Also, I was told the same thing that the message states, that they are sending me a new phone and will be deactivating my phone after 30 days.
Now some of my friends are laughing at me saying, "Dang free phones!" But I do not want a 5G phone (which is obviously what they are sending). I have my reasons and this is not what I wish to discuss here.
The issue is... I love my telephone!! It does exactly what I want, and I don't need anything new. Not to mention that I paid for it entirely, with no subsidy from AT&T. I specifically bought it unlocked with intentions of avoiding contracts and having the ability to switch carriers if I so choose.
I am pretty sure that I saw VoLTE mentioned in my settings a while back. But now a search on my phone finds nothing. I assume a firmware update hid this info from me.
So... what gives? Does anybody here know if this particular device can make/receive voice calls using VoLTE - on AT&T (or any other carriers) - simply by changing settings in the phone? Do I have any options to make my phone continue to operate as intended? With any carrier?
Sorry for the long post. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
press phone icon, then top right corner hit the 3 vertical dots.
select settings and it should be in there if you havent updated lately... they ****ed us and locked out network and volte settings.
djmdesign said:
Same issue with crickett (att).
got that txt msg, recently maybe december there was a firmware update that greyed out my network settings and hid some items.
i cant even change my prefered network, 3g 4g lte etc, its locked..
I have the 950u1 also
HOWEVER I have a s8 950U that I think has all these unlocked.
Im going to backup and odin flash the U firmware to the UI and see if it works.
Thats bull**** about doing this. greedy ****s..
I go with somone else if I have to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please let me know if this works. I thought about doing the same thing, but have not gotten around to trying it. In theory, it sounds like a solid plan. But I have a couple of concerns.
During a recent phone call, AT&T told me their system has flagged my IMEI and that my phone will stop working very soon. So, if the system flagged an IMEI as an unsupported device, will it even matter which firmware is installed? Or will their system just deactivate the phone at some point?
Second, if you install the 950U firmware in place of the 950U1, will the device become carrier locked at this point? That would really suck if it did.
BTW, I was able to lock preferred network to “LTE only” by dialing *#*#4636#*#* and entering Device information screen. Unfortunately, my phone would not complete a call when using LTE only setting. VoLTE provisioned toggle is greyed out, along with others. Seems to me that if a guy could self provision VoLTE, this would solve the issue.
I called AT&T tech support and spent 45 minutes trying to get them to provision VoLTE, but they could not, or would not do it. At first, they kept telling me that my phone is a 3G phone. I argued that I could change the radio to “LTE only” and that my sim card status showed LTE for “mobile voice network type”, which proves that the phone is indeed LTE capable for voice calls - but that it will not complete a call because it is not provisioned to do so. Eventually they told me that their system would not allow them to provision VoLTE for me, since it is flagged as an unsupported device. Which leads back to the first part of this post.
I also found some stuff on reddit about putting the phone into “engineering mode” and something about a Samsung tool that unlocks additional dialer codes. Have not tried this, tho.
At this point, I am just completely fed up with AT&T for this whole S8 situation, as well as other unrelated issues. I will most likely switch carriers for principle’s sake, even though I know other carriers play similar games.
Anyway, I am interested in whether or not you find a solution and would very much like to hear about it. Thank you for the response!!
willnotbecontrolled said:
Please let me know if this works. I thought about doing the same thing, but have not gotten around to trying it. In theory, it sounds like a solid plan. But I have a couple of concerns.
During a recent phone call, AT&T told me their system has flagged my IMEI and that my phone will stop working very soon. So, if the system flagged an IMEI as an unsupported device, will it even matter which firmware is installed? Or will their system just deactivate the phone at some point?
Second, if you install the 950U firmware in place of the 950U1, will the device become carrier locked at this point? That would really suck if it did.
BTW, I was able to lock preferred network to “LTE only” by dialing *#*#4636#*#* and entering Device information screen. Unfortunately, my phone would not complete a call when using LTE only setting. VoLTE provisioned toggle is greyed out, along with others. Seems to me that if a guy could self provision VoLTE, this would solve the issue.
I called AT&T tech support and spent 45 minutes trying to get them to provision VoLTE, but they could not, or would not do it. At first, they kept telling me that my phone is a 3G phone. I argued that I could change the radio to “LTE only” and that my sim card status showed LTE for “mobile voice network type”, which proves that the phone is indeed LTE capable for voice calls - but that it will not complete a call because it is not provisioned to do so. Eventually they told me that their system would not allow them to provision VoLTE for me, since it is flagged as an unsupported device. Which leads back to the first part of this post.
I also found some stuff on reddit about putting the phone into “engineering mode” and something about a Samsung tool that unlocks additional dialer codes. Have not tried this, tho.
At this point, I am just completely fed up with AT&T for this whole S8 situation, as well as other unrelated issues. I will most likely switch carriers for principle’s sake, even though I know other carriers play similar games.
Anyway, I am interested in whether or not you find a solution and would very much like to hear about it. Thank you for the response!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I'm Newbie around here. I'd like to share my experience with ATT and my beloved S8+ this past few months:
Much like you and many others I started receiving texts from ATT by mid 2021 saying my phone would not work after Feb '22. Yes, every time they suspended my line I wasted 30~ 40 mins on the phone, listening how they would insist my S8+ was a 3G phone. It didn't matter that I offered to send them screenshots of my device showing the "VoLTE option" and "4G LTE" while both in the USA and Mexico. Thing is, they only based their saying on a st....id whitelist and all the reps are just talking heads.
I use an S8+ international version which is NOT on the dreaded list. and I am on the 300/year prepaid plan which allows roaming between Mexico and USA with no 50/50 usage limit.
I bought this phone on amazon for 350-ish bucks a couple of years ago and I love it!
I have to cross the Mexico/USA border very frequently and I need two separate numbers one on each country for business reasons so dual sim is a must. On the other hand, I receive lots and lots of phone calls while driving, this made me crave for android 8.1 when call recording was allowed by google, not the case anymore. None of these 2 features are available on the S8/S9 US based phones. I do not need 5G, I do not use social media nor watch videos on my phone but do get to use Pandora, Spotify, MLB radio and so on......... Enter SM-G955F/DS. I was able to change Samsung's CSC code to Israel so call recording is active for all those notes I cannot write down while driving and I get to carry just one device with 2 separate numbers thanks to a dual sim.
Ok, so back to my phone not being on the f... list :
Around Feb 10th, I got yet another email and SMS telling me it was my last opportunity to change or I MAY be disconnected after 2/22/22 ( funny choice of date huh?). I noticed that words on email and text messages had been changed from WILL NOT on Jul/2021 to MAY NOT work on Feb/2022. Since I know for a fact that my phone is VoLTE capable, I figured my S8+ would work as long as AT&T did not intentionally disconnected my line.
So, I took a crappy phoenix ATT phone and updated it's IMEI on my account via the ATT prepaid webpage. After getting "approval" from ATT's system, I put the SIM card in and used it for a full weekend. After that, I put the SIM card back to my S8+ and it is still going strong to date.
Today is March 1st, and I have been weary of ATT sneaking me out of their system but fortunately it has not happened yet. Needless to say, I have not updated my S8's IMEI on ATT's webpage and do not intend to do so.
Now, This "proves" that my phone is indeed capable of using VoLTE and HD , and all those things ATT said it would not do is just plain B.S.. if they disconnect me down the road I would definitely move to T Mobile although I would have some issues with the 50/50 international roaming and I still have 8 months left on my prepaid annual plan with ATT so, keeping my fingers crossed.
AT&T just wants to make more money out of selling new 5G devices while getting rid of their stocked 4G phones.
I wouldn't mind if they just plain out stated " If you do not buy from ATT then ATT will not support your device and will not sell service to you" then again, it would probably be a PR nightmare for them although they do that for WIFI calling anyways.
Ain't it funny how 2/22/22 is coincidentally a paycheck's time ( 2 weeks) after a new flagship phone (S22) was made available for purchase ?
Anyways, enough for ranting and conspiracy theories lol...
I have taken out and put back to my S8+ the SIM card two times in the past 9 days after 2/22/22 and my service is still in good standing.
Maybe if you got a new replacement phone that you don't like, you may swap back your SIM card and it MAY work just like mine is even if it is NOT ON THE INFAMOUS WHITE LIST.
Oldschoolguy said:
Hi, I'm Newbie around here. I'd like to share my experience with ATT and my beloved S8+ this past few months:
Much like you and many others I started receiving texts from ATT by mid 2021 saying my phone would not work after Feb '22. Yes, every time they suspended my line I wasted 30~ 40 mins on the phone, listening how they would insist my S8+ was a 3G phone. It didn't matter that I offered to send them screenshots of my device showing the "VoLTE option" and "4G LTE" while both in the USA and Mexico. Thing is, they only based their saying on a st....id whitelist and all the reps are just talking heads.
I use an S8+ international version which is NOT on the dreaded list. and I am on the 300/year prepaid plan which allows roaming between Mexico and USA with no 50/50 usage limit.
I bought this phone on amazon for 350-ish bucks a couple of years ago and I love it!
I have to cross the Mexico/USA border very frequently and I need two separate numbers one on each country for business reasons so dual sim is a must. On the other hand, I receive lots and lots of phone calls while driving, this made me crave for android 8.1 when call recording was allowed by google, not the case anymore. None of these 2 features are available on the S8/S9 US based phones. I do not need 5G, I do not use social media nor watch videos on my phone but do get to use Pandora, Spotify, MLB radio and so on......... Enter SM-G955F/DS. I was able to change Samsung's CSC code to Israel so call recording is active for all those notes I cannot write down while driving and I get to carry just one device with 2 separate numbers thanks to a dual sim.
Ok, so back to my phone not being on the f... list :
Around Feb 10th, I got yet another email and SMS telling me it was my last opportunity to change or I MAY be disconnected after 2/22/22 ( funny choice of date huh?). I noticed that words on email and text messages had been changed from WILL NOT on Jul/2021 to MAY NOT work on Feb/2022. Since I know for a fact that my phone is VoLTE capable, I figured my S8+ would work as long as AT&T did not intentionally disconnected my line.
So, I took a crappy phoenix ATT phone and updated it's IMEI on my account via the ATT prepaid webpage. After getting "approval" from ATT's system, I put the SIM card in and used it for a full weekend. After that, I put the SIM card back to my S8+ and it is still going strong to date.
Today is March 1st, and I have been weary of ATT sneaking me out of their system but fortunately it has not happened yet. Needless to say, I have not updated my S8's IMEI on ATT's webpage and do not intend to do so.
Now, This "proves" that my phone is indeed capable of using VoLTE and HD , and all those things ATT said it would not do is just plain B.S.. if they disconnect me down the road I would definitely move to T Mobile although I would have some issues with the 50/50 international roaming and I still have 8 months left on my prepaid annual plan with ATT so, keeping my fingers crossed.
AT&T just wants to make more money out of selling new 5G devices while getting rid of their stocked 4G phones.
I wouldn't mind if they just plain out stated " If you do not buy from ATT then ATT will not support your device and will not sell service to you" then again, it would probably be a PR nightmare for them although they do that for WIFI calling anyways.
Ain't it funny how 2/22/22 is coincidentally a paycheck's time ( 2 weeks) after a new flagship phone (S22) was made available for purchase ?
Anyways, enough for ranting and conspiracy theories lol...
I have taken out and put back to my S8+ the SIM card two times in the past 9 days after 2/22/22 and my service is still in good standing.
Maybe if you got a new replacement phone that you don't like, you may swap back your SIM card and it MAY work just like mine is even if it is NOT ON THE INFAMOUS WHITE LIST.
View attachment 5549949View attachment 5549951View attachment 5549953View attachment 5549955
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep... AT&T is full of it. I got sick of wasting my time and energy trying to fight this. I eventually just switched over to TMo, and I have been running around with my S8's radio set to LTE only. No issues whatsoever. Great cell service, $30 bucks a month cheaper, all fees included in the flat rate, and a free Netflix account, to boot.
See ya AT&T!!! I hope some group with the the gumption and time takes you to court for your deceptive trade practices. I hope you lose lots of customers, time, and money for your douchery!!!
Has anyone looked into potentially using ODIN to use AT&T's firmware on the unbranded G950U1 without rooting to see if it adds the VoLTE software feature? Does anyone know if that flashing will disable (permanently break) samsung pay? I don't want any rooting since that will permanently break samsung pay on the hardware.