Database Users

Fun With AT&T

Some strange events happened to me yesterday. I've had my g1 since december of 2008. I bought it off someone at craigslist because I am on a AT&T family plan and didn't want to switch carriers. I unlocked the phone soon after and have been using my phone happily since then. I also do no have a data plan and make sure to remove all APN information after each flash.
I have been happily flashing roms going from 1.1 to 1.5 and to 1.6. Lately I was using "NonSense Cupcake revolution" but yesterday I decided to update to cyanogen 5. Right after the upgrade, I got a text from AT&T congratulating me on my new smartphone and telling me that I now need a data plan. 10 minutes later we found out that AT&T deactivated all our sim cards and none of my family were able to make phone calls.
Does anyone have any idea what the heck happened? How did AT&T know all of a sudden I was using a smartphone. Is there something about android 2.1 that raises a red flag? I really DO NOT want a data plan and will rather stop using my g1 than pay $350+/year on one. My current plan is to give them my old Nokia IMEI when I get my new SIM card and then pop it into my g1 after downgrading back to the 1.5 rom I was using.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing your ideas.
Edit: New theory; found this elsewhere:
"Note: If an AT&T customer puts their SIM card into a Nexus One device, our smartphone data requirement policy and control rules will apply; this allows customers to enjoy the benefit of using data services from AT&T. The following welcome message will be delivered:
Your Smartphone is active! A data plan is required and if omitted, will be added to your account. For details, see your sales rep or att.com/smartphoneplans."
So AT&T thinks I put my sim in a nexus one so I think if I downgrade I should be fine. Any way to make a 2.1 rom look like a 1.6 one? build.prop maybe? I cant test anything myself until I get my new sim.

Call them and tell them you put your sim card in a borrowed phone lol. Push a build.prop from any 1.6 to change your id. For fun, open the build.prop with notepad and change g1 to Nokia 1100. If you don't use data they can't charge you

mejorguille said:
Call them and tell them you put your sim card in a borrowed phone lol. Push a build.prop from any 1.6 to change your id. For fun, open the build.prop with notepad and change g1 to Nokia 1100. If you don't use data they can't charge you
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Ha we think alike; I told them exactly that yesterday. What value of the build.prop would I need to change to make it look like a nokia?

There you go=p I just changed every time it said dream, htc, or passion and changed it to nokia=p I don't think that market will work right though. You could try pushing the build.prop from a 1.6 build to cm5 but then i don't think video would work, so you will probably need to merge the 1.6 build.prop with the 2.1 build.prop.
Rename to build.prop and push to /system/

mejorguille said:
There you go=p I just changed every time it said dream, htc, or passion and changed it to nokia=p I don't think that market will work right though. You could try pushing the build.prop from a 1.6 build to cm5 but then i don't think video would work, so you will probably need to merge the 1.6 build.prop with the 2.1 build.prop.
Rename to build.prop and push to /system/
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Click to collapse
Thanks dude. I'll be sure to report back on Tuesday or Wednesday and tell you guys what happened.

Odd. I never had this issue.
I've been using my G1 with AT&T for some time now.
The update to 2.1 (CyanogenMod) didn't result in any variation for me.
Of course, I am using AT&T's "dumb-phone" unlimited internet... even still, there appears to be no indication on their side that I have a smart phone let alone a Nexus One.

Same with me. I am also using the $15 dumb phone data plan and a switch to CM5 did not trigger any notification from AT&T's side.

Quick update: I wussed out and flashed the backup I made of the 1.5 rom I was using. I didn't feel like risking getting "caught" again. I got to play with cyanogen's new rom for a few days and while great it did not drastically give me anything I didn't have before. I ended up giving them an old nokia imei as my phone and putting the new sim in my g1 shortly after. No texts forcing me to get a smartphone plan yet. I doubt I'm the only one that will have this problem so I'll just give a warning:
If you have AT&T with a g1 without any kind of data plan, after updating to android 2.1 they might try to force one on you.
Thanks for the help and ideas. I'll post again if they try to get me to get a plan again.

If AT&T actually offered 3G coverage in my area (a major city, imo) I might consider it. Otherwise, they can polish my knob.

This doesn't have anything to do with the version of android you are running. They can't detect that. They CAN detect your IMEI and compare it to the database to determine if it is a smartphone or not.
Alternatively, the thing tried to connect to a data service when you plugged your card into it, and they looked at the data and determined that it was consistent with a smartphone, i.e., dumbphones don't try to connect to google on port 5228.
Very likely the reason this happened so suddenly is one of the two things;
1) it corresponds to the end of their infinite data plans.
2) it corresponds to you "activating" your google account on your phone.

lbcoder said:
This doesn't have anything to do with the version of android you are running. They can't detect that. They CAN detect your IMEI and compare it to the database to determine if it is a smartphone or not.
Alternatively, the thing tried to connect to a data service when you plugged your card into it, and they looked at the data and determined that it was consistent with a smartphone, i.e., dumbphones don't try to connect to google on port 5228.
Very likely the reason this happened so suddenly is one of the two things;
1) it corresponds to the end of their infinite data plans.
2) it corresponds to you "activating" your google account on your phone.
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Click to collapse
Interesting. I'm not sure about the IMEI thing since it is a t-mobile phone runnning on an AT&T network. I just find it too much of a coincidence that the problem occured right after updating so I doubt its that. They also haven't reported anything since putting my new sim in my phone 2 days ago.
I guess you're right about them not knowing what version of android I'm running but there must be something in 2.1 that raised a red flag. I deleted an APN file from /system/ before I even booted the rom for the first time so I don't even think its possible that it tried to connect to them. Strange stuff.

d00m said:
Interesting. I'm not sure about the IMEI thing since it is a t-mobile phone runnning on an AT&T network.
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You don't think that ATT can read the IMEI from a phone sold by tmobile? I can guarantee that they can. Or if you're worried about ATT being able to link up an IMEI to a type of phone... they can link the IMEI to a lot more than that.... I'm not sure if you realize this, but the IMEI exists ***FOR A REASON*** and it isn't just to look pretty....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_Allocation_Code
wikipedia said:
The Type Allocation Code (TAC) is a portion of the 15-digit IMEI code used to uniquely identify wireless devices.
The Type Allocation Code is an 8-digit number that identifies a particular model (and often revision) of wireless telephone for use on a GSM, UMTS, or other IMEI-supporting wireless network.
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http://www.radioraiders.com/gsm-IMEI-TAC.php
I just find it too much of a coincidence that the problem occured right after updating so I doubt its that.
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The coincidence is that you happen to be updating your phone when ATT happened to be changing their policies.
They also haven't reported anything since putting my new sim in my phone 2 days ago.
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That's because they probably do it cyclically, or they put your account into a freeze period after a manual adjustment.
It may ALSO have related to rebooting the device -- connecting to their network that first time after they initiated a policy change may have triggered a routine.
I guess you're right about them not knowing what version of android I'm running but there must be something in 2.1 that raised a red flag. I deleted an APN file from /system/ before I even booted the rom for the first time so I don't even think its possible that it tried to connect to them. Strange stuff.
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Nope. Nothing special in 2.1. In fact, it would be quite a security violation if it were to broadcast itself out to them.

So I guess it's only a matter of time before they detect my g1. Pitty since I was using my phone for over a year before all this happened. It's weird that they make you read out your IMEI to them while activating a sim card as if they can't see it. I'm just going to keep using my phone as is for as long as I can. The vibration on it no longer functions so I won't be supper crushed if I have to change phones to avoid a data plan.
I have 3-4 friends who have t-mobile branded blackberrys and android phones without a data plan on AT&T. Our school has wifi everywhere so it is truly unneeded. I guess their "check" cycle is fairly slow as none of them have had problems yet. Maybe the process isn't automated yet.
I really do appreciate the information although it's not exactly what I wanted to hear.
edit: http://androidandme.com/2010/06/carriers/att-introduces-new-lower-priced-tiered-data-plans-june-7th/
This isn't terrible. I can always do this but there's no rush I guess.
edit 2: Is it possible that an attempted apn connection (data) is what caused the detection? I said I deleted a file but looking back on it, it may not have been the correct one to prevent connections.

d00m said:
edit: http://androidandme.com/2010/06/carriers/att-introduces-new-lower-priced-tiered-data-plans-june-7th/
This isn't terrible. I can always do this but there's no rush I guess.
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Yep, that's what I was referring to.
edit 2: Is it possible that an attempted apn connection (data) is what caused the detection? I said I deleted a file but looking back on it, it may not have been the correct one to prevent connections.
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It is possible.
Note that the rep you read the IMEI out to may NOT have had a read-out of the device model ID. In fact, doing that might freak some people out -- you know, the whole big brother knows too much thing.

Finally some resolution. Turns out a woman stole my mom's identity and went to a wal-mart and bought 5 blackberries under our AT&T account (probably to sell on the black market). Our SIMs where soon deactivated like I said in the OP and the smart phone text had to do with those phones rather than my phone. Upgrading to android 2.1 had NOTHING to do with it (of course). It was all just a coincidence. The strange thing is that AT&T never told us about these new numbers, even when we were reactivating our new SIMs, and we found out when checking our monthly bill.
Now we have to go to the wal-mart where the people committed fraud and try to find out who did it and file a police report. We might end up being charged $400 in deactivation fees. Well that's how it all went down. Funny. I upgraded to android 2.1 at 4:30 on that day and booted my phone at the EXACT moment they bought the fraud blackberries. Ugh. I know this is largely unrelated to android or my g1 but I thought I would let you guys know in case you were curious.

Sorry to hear about that. Your mom might have to pay the fees but as long as the individual(s) in question are found, you can always take civil action.
Surprised no one brought this up but, ATT and all the other services can't turn your service off just because you're using a smartphone and don't have a data plan. That is an optional addition to your monthly bill and as long as you are not using data, they can't charge you or force you to buy the data.
If you're dumb enough to sign a two year contract that requires a data charge monthly for the duration of the contract..well, yeah.

If the phones were added by someone other than the account owner, the service provider has no legal grounds to hold you accountable for it. Fact is that this was a failure in THEIR security and/or walmart's. The service provider should have some procedure to make sure that the person adding the phones is actually who they claim to be.
If not, then you sue ATT AND WALMART for this.

Using current android data plan on tab

ok i have a simple question, has anyone been able to use their current phone sim card (Vibrant,G1) to work on the TAB to access 3G (i know it will not work for phone calls) or are you running the tab with a webconnect plan. some one advised to use the method below but i had no luck with tmobile, they kept insisting that i need a webconnect plan, currently i am running the tab via wifi. also a few people have gotten as far as the web.to.go site and no further using their existing phone sim.
There is a work around though... with voice enabled, you can call tmobile and ask for a tech support supervisor, open a trouble ticket and request an engineer to change your device ip range to that of a smartphone... then data and voice should work together. I had this problem on my aws version of the dell streak and it fixed it using unlimited voice and unlimited android data plans
or is this not yet possible? or can we only use the webconnect? i had asked the tmo rep if there was a way to add the webconnect to my current sim and they stated no, then after thinking about it, if it was possible would the webconnect even work on a standard phone (Vibrant,G1). this is really driving me up a wall.....

ggolemg said:
at my local t-mobile store:
30-day return policy
Previous phone insurance carried over to tab
Even more plus unlimited plan was good to go on tab if you pay in full for the tab itself. That's what I did. Popped out my sim from my old G1 and popped it into the tab. No data. Only goes to the t-mobile site on 2g/3g. I'm heading back there tonight after work to find out what's going on with it.
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Click to collapse
So I will find out tonight and report back.

ggolemg said:
So I will find out tonight and report back.
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thank you...

what happened? could you make it work? could you use the card from your G1 in your Tab?

Worst thing about the Xoom... Verizon

Really, I have never had a harder time setting up an on-line account with any technology vendor for the simple purpose of paying a bill.
This is primarily rooted around Verizon's insistance on sending text messages for any activity to a device that does not accept them.
After two requests still awaiting for that snail mail that gives me a pin number so I can actually register on-line.
And all I see is grief in the future, whenever you want to do something, Verizon insists on sending a text. Sheesh.

mjpacheco said:
Really, I have never had a harder time setting up an on-line account with any technology vendor for the simple purpose of paying a bill.
This is primarily rooted around Verizon's insistance on sending text messages for any activity to a device that does not accept them.
After two requests still awaiting for that snail mail that gives me a pin number so I can actually register on-line.
And all I see is grief in the future, whenever you want to do something, Verizon insists on sending a text. Sheesh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What the tech did for me, was activate a test phone on the account, then have the text message sent to that phone.
Once I used that temporary password to set up the online account, he took the test phone off the account.
I had them waive my activation fee for my troubles, but that was back when they weren't automatically waiving them anyway.

gbenj said:
What the tech did for me, was activate a test phone on the account, then have the text message sent to that phone.
Once I used that temporary password to set up the online account, he took the test phone off the account.
I had them waive my activation fee for my troubles, but that was back when they weren't automatically waiving them anyway.
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same issue.. dumb setup.. you would think they would have another way , not to mention, what they need to do is when you setup your tablet, they give you a pin in the box or set it up with a backup phone number.
there is a million ways to do it., its dumb that they forgot this setup
but then, I am still curious why they do not set these DATA only setups to NOT have pohone numbers. we all know that the US is running out of numbers, what is the use of the number?! Give me an account number, or hell, just a IP address or something that does not waste a phone number that I cant use.

eatonjb said:
same issue.. dumb setup.. you would think they would have another way , not to mention, what they need to do is when you setup your tablet, they give you a pin in the box or set it up with a backup phone number.
there is a million ways to do it., its dumb that they forgot this setup
but then, I am still curious why they do not set these DATA only setups to NOT have pohone numbers. we all know that the US is running out of numbers, what is the use of the number?! Give me an account number, or hell, just a IP address or something that does not waste a phone number that I cant use.
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This is a phone wireless provider. Initially the data was setup for a means of phones getting data. So built on top of that principal in order to communicate with the Verizon NOC your unique identifier is actually your phone number, thats how their system evolved and it would be silly to rewrite their entire setup so tablets, a small percentage of their devies on their network, don't have to have a unique number that isn't a phone number.

sleeplessninja said:
This is a phone wireless provider. Initially the data was setup for a means of phones getting data. So built on top of that principal in order to communicate with the Verizon NOC your unique identifier is actually your phone number, thats how their system evolved and it would be silly to rewrite their entire setup so tablets, a small percentage of their devies on their network, don't have to have a unique number that isn't a phone number.
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I would accept that, but have you seen the iPad 2? You can signup for and pre-pay data ON THE DEVICE. This is on verizon, they have it setup already, they just didn't want to for the xoom.

Really man..?
mjpacheco said:
Really, I have never had a harder time setting up an on-line account with any technology vendor for the simple purpose of paying a bill.
This is primarily rooted around Verizon's insistance on sending text messages for any activity to a device that does not accept them.
After two requests still awaiting for that snail mail that gives me a pin number so I can actually register on-line.
And all I see is grief in the future, whenever you want to do something, Verizon insists on sending a text. Sheesh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last time I checked the moto xoom was not a phone. We have stores for people that cant handle the internet.
The text message feature is provisioned onto any and all devices, including aircards, its just the way the system was programmed pre-tablet'age.

Bunch of crap, I am currently waiting for my third PIN number to arrive by mail as the last two didnt work, I even called them and had THEM do it to make sure I wasnt screwing something up. I really wish I was inside of my 14day window or Id take it back and get the wifi and tether to my EVO and be done with it.

AJMetal87 said:
Last time I checked the moto xoom was not a phone. We have stores for people that cant handle the internet.
The text message feature is provisioned onto any and all devices, including aircards, its just the way the system was programmed pre-tablet'age.
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Click to collapse
it might not make calls, but it is a device, I understand what he's talking about
but, lets face it, with the decent amount of tablets coming out, data cards, and other hardware and devices, getting rid of the number system might be advantagious in the near future.. but then, I actualy would not mind this thing having a number to text me too. but then with the costs, no way!
/rant.

AJMetal87 said:
Last time I checked the moto xoom was not a phone. We have stores for people that cant handle the internet.
The text message feature is provisioned onto any and all devices, including aircards, its just the way the system was programmed pre-tablet'age.
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Click to collapse
Don't be a dork. This has to do with setting up a Verizon account on the internet, not with any one persons skill in using the internet. During the process there is a step "we will now text you your PIN", which you need the pin in order to complete the setup so you have access to your account on-line.
This is where Verizon drops the ball. After looking through the "I didn't / cannot get a text", a reference is made that it will be snail mailed to you if you do not complete the registration in 24 hours.
Apparently 24 hours actually means two weeks, which is how long it took me to get the PIN, which arrived today after my original posting, which of course happened after I have called them again and they have generated a new one which will probably take two more weeks, and this one is presumably invalid.

sleeplessninja said:
This is a phone wireless provider. Initially the data was setup for a means of phones getting data. So built on top of that principal in order to communicate with the Verizon NOC your unique identifier is actually your phone number, thats how their system evolved and it would be silly to rewrite their entire setup so tablets, a small percentage of their devies on their network, don't have to have a unique number that isn't a phone number.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A company is not defined by how they handle routine matters, but by how they handle exceptions.
It should not require rewriting the entire setup, the process should be smart enough to know when a device is not text capable, and provide an alternative flow... like maybe an e-mail?

gbenj said:
What the tech did for me, was activate a test phone on the account, then have the text message sent to that phone.
Once I used that temporary password to set up the online account, he took the test phone off the account.
I had them waive my activation fee for my troubles, but that was back when they weren't automatically waiving them anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a good tech who knows a work around. Unfortunately I waited a day or two before trying to set up my access to my on-line acount.

Hate VZW? In a word: Sprint. I bought mine a week ago. After getting confirmation of the sprint version, this one is boxed up and being returned. Can you find anyone willing to purchase your Xoom and transfer it over to another guy?

you could also go the Mifi way.
Virgin has a great deal. 10 days and 100mb for $10, or unlimited for a month for for $40 and no contracts, no nothing!
I still have the 20$ Verizon plan for now, just for the convenence, and since I use mostly Wifi, I can either use that, or call them up for one month to give me a GB of bandwitch.
but , no matter how i look at it, I think Verizon and Sprint, and T-Mo AND AT&T prices are CRAZy, exp if you dont use it all that much.

As sad as this may sound, I found that there is no speed difference between Verizon 3G and using my Nexus S wifi hotpot. So was kinda regretting getting the 3G version.

It took me about five minutes to do it in person

The Samsung Epic 4G Flashing Guide (for alternative carriers)

The following is a guide I put together over the course of today about flashing the Samsung Epic 4G to both Cricket and Page Plus. This will work with phones that have bad ESN's (at least, Page Plus and Cricket) -- and with phones that are totally fine and saintly, but maybe you want to go to another carrier for a cheaper rate?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E4nNITQnzEoEkkVp4j7k_N_yghvNh_SozuKe3az_Nx4/edit?hl=en_US
In the future, as more information becomes available, I'd like to incorporate other carriers that people are flashing (Metro PCS, Boost), as I find out more. The idea is to build a one-source guide for everything you need from start to finish.
The guide takes you from the very beginning to the very end. PRL's, etc, are all inclusive. I've flashed my Epic to both Cricket and Page Plus successfully -- just like Page Plus's coverage/quality better (and cheaper... but hardly any data -- user Wifi). Even if you don't want to flash, it still has useful things like unlocking your phone for use on any carrier that will take it.
Any comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Just as a note, I'm no longer involved in the Epic community. I migrated on to a newer device. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=34802383&postcount=72 If you need any help, I will still be available through PM's to the best of my ability.

The HA/AAA shared secrets for Page Plus are not "vzw", trust me. I'm running with full 3G on Page Plus right now and after many late nights I realized the only way to get it was a temporary clone to a Verizon phone so that I could get the proper keys through OTA programming. Unfortunately posting a guide to that would probably get XDA on my/your ass. With the "vzw" password you will technically get 3G but it will be throttled to 1xRTT speed (about .1 Mbps). I don't know if the same is true for cricket or not...
Nevertheless I'm sure someone out there will very much appreciate the time and effort you put into this; props!

So using this guide i can unlock the epic meaning ill still be on sprint, but if i suddenly wanted metro i can just take it to the store and have em flash it?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

I request a stickey

I haven't flashed to Metro, but if I can find someone that supports all the features I want, I may give it a shot and write a guide. Does Metro support bad ESN's? (Long story short, got scammed by a Samsung Epic on CraigsList, Sprint said ESN was clear, but is still linked to scammer's account, who refuses to remove, etc, and commit insurance fraud... Talked to insurance and he's in jail now, apparently, but phone will probably be forever blacklisted on Sprint).
Currently, I'm trying to find a provider who can give Google Voice support and Data... MMS I'm not so concerned about. Page Plus is my only "good" option now (a step above cricket, but limited data). Any thoughts? Metro PCS apparently doesn't support Houston, TX when I try to find a plan, either.
EDIT: I may try to give Cricket another go. I've been reading a little bit more and have learned a bit about making Cricket work. Would be nice to try the $45 plan on Cricket to save some $$$. I've talked with some people who claim MMS and Google Voice CAN happen, but it's a little more tricky. Will let you know as I figure it out (must wait a month to not lose $30 from PagePlus).

im confused i dont have these MDN and MIN and your guide says i should have gotten them when i got the phone? is this from sprint and am i supposed to call?
also i got the phone replaced by another epic today. the phone kept trying to auto activate. it still is trying to autoactivate. i swapped the epic out for a nexus the other day. what should i do. if you can pm me and talk over the phone that would be great. my mom is going to new york wednesday and i want to pageplus this phone before she leaves.

I've gotten a couple PMs regarding the HA/AAA keys so I'm going to say this. I would gladly provide them for you guys but that's just not how it works. The keys change every time I (re)activate. They are probably tied to the time and the MEID of the phone, possibly more than that. My keys wouldn't do any of you any good.
It sucks, but the only way that I know to get them is to use a Verizon phone.

duh ask from carrier. now i followed all the steps including the manual update because auto won't happen. afterwards i autoupdated but it aint working? or am i supposed to buy airtime now?

not getting any help. please someone
i completed all the instructions and i can't dial out. i have a triangle at the top. when i call pageplus they are asking for a esn. what the heck am i supposed to do

What happens when you try to dial out? Have you bought/activated your service yet?

yesh i just activated a service using crap motorola. the prl on the page gave me a triangle on the bar i switched it to an older modified one for sprint. when i dial out i get the message welcome to verizon wireless your mobile number is not active or ....
---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:04 PM ----------
Poryhack said:
What happens when you try to dial out? Have you bought/activated your service yet?
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i switched back to the prl on his thread. i wonder if he switched the prls from cricket to pageplus on accident? this sucks i been working all day got school soon and no help for my mom. ahh

So, the PRL isn't working for you, eh? The PRL for Page Plus is 51--- something -- Cricket is 42700.
Are you sure that your phone is unlocked? Are you sure you're reading from phone to get current settings before writing PRL, phone number, etc, back to the phone? (it should prompt you for your MSL -- which should now be 000000) Then make sure you fill out the data correctly. You should be able to get your MIN/MDN by asking for them from Page Plus. I openly told the rep on the phone I was trying to flash the phone myself and he gave me all of the information (and then a little bit more -- unfortunately, not the HA/AAA secret). I was actually originally using my Motorola Droid and asked them to try putting ONE OTHER phone on, to test it out (my Epic). Long story short, it did.
Page Plus uses Verizon's towers -- so it's OK if you're getting that. My phone apparently "roams" as well, but I have yet to have any issues. It's just what shows up.
I've heard that Cricket (prior carrier) can be configured to work 100% with the Samsung Epic for the $45 plan. When my month of minutes runs out, I'll try swapping back and seeing what all I can do... I learned a lot while working on this, so I think I have a little more expertise on this. Prior, I had never unlocked my device, so auto-activation never worked with Cricket! Eeek!
Anyway I will of course write something up about that.

terinfire said:
So, the PRL isn't working for you, eh? The PRL for Page Plus is 51--- something
yup its 51529... in short it was shiet
Are you sure that your phone is unlocked? yes
Are you sure you're reading from phone to get current settings before writing PRL, phone number, etc, back to the phone? yup(it should prompt you for your MSL -- which should now be 000000)
Then make sure you fill out the data correctly. You should be able to get your MIN/MDN by asking for them from Page Plus. I openly told the rep on the phone I was trying to flash the phone myself and he gave me all of the information (and then a little bit more -- unfortunately, not the HA/AAA secret). I was actually originally using my Motorola Droid and asked them to try putting ONE OTHER phone on, to test it out (my Epic). Long story short, it did.
Page Plus uses Verizon's towers -- so it's OK if you're getting that. My phone apparently "roams" as well, but I have yet to have any issues. It's just what shows up.
I've heard that Cricket (prior carrier) can be configured to work 100% with the Samsung Epic for the $45 plan. When my month of minutes runs out, I'll try swapping back and seeing what all I can do... I learned a lot while working on this, so I think I have a little more expertise on this. Prior, I had never unlocked my device, so auto-activation never worked with Cricket! Eeek!
Anyway I will of course write something up about that.
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cool. i will stick to sero truly duly unlim 4g wimax. anyways. roaming is normal? where did you get the prl? i am using an older prl i found online. i was getting the message you might be charged for roaming prior to each call.

I do not get that message for my PRL. If I remember correctly, PRL's are just how your phone knows which tower to connect to. I've heard they vary based on where you live. In any case, since PP offers nationwide coverage, I'm not thinking I'm roaming and no charges have shown on my phone yet.

terinfire said:
I do not get that message for my PRL. If I remember correctly, PRL's are just how your phone knows which tower to connect to. I've heard they vary based on where you live. In any case, since PP offers nationwide coverage, I'm not thinking I'm roaming and no charges have shown on my phone yet.
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yeah that's what i am guessing. i flashed different prl's and i still get the same message. can you please check to see if the prl wasn't switched or renamed incorrectly or better yet can you give me the source? prl's get updated and i have an older one. too bad my parents already left for new york i hope everything works out well for them

Poryhack said:
What happens when you try to dial out? Have you bought/activated your service yet?
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yeah its activated. i had your prl when i activated it and i was getting the roaming message per call. there was the roaming signal on the signal bar throughout. i switched the prl and it went away.
can you check the prl out and the source can you pm it?

Newbie question. I have an unactivated sprint epic. I can't seem to get QPST to recognize the phone. The phone shows up as a modem in the device manager but QPST appears to see something connected but doesn't see the phone as modem. I've rebooted and switched USB ports as well. Any ideas on what could be wrong?

Reboot
Keep. Trying its a pain

feihoon said:
Newbie question. I have an unactivated sprint epic. I can't seem to get QPST to recognize the phone. The phone shows up as a modem in the device manager but QPST appears to see something connected but doesn't see the phone as modem. I've rebooted and switched USB ports as well. Any ideas on what could be wrong?
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Do you have the drivers for the Samsung Epic 4G installed for sure? What OS? May want to potentially try running as an Administrator, just in case (I don't have this issue, but I know some folks at MS have told me their hardware-heavy programs don't work when they aren't in Admin mode).
Make sure to uncheck the box in QPST about diagnostic/etc ports. Just enable all the ports you can in QPST Configuration and you should hopefully see it.
Are you absolutely sure it shows up as a Samsung Modem?

terinfire said:
Do you have the drivers for the Samsung Epic 4G installed for sure? What OS? May want to potentially try running as an Administrator, just in case (I don't have this issue, but I know some folks at MS have told me their hardware-heavy programs don't work when they aren't in Admin mode).
Make sure to uncheck the box in QPST about diagnostic/etc ports. Just enable all the ports you can in QPST Configuration and you should hopefully see it.
Are you absolutely sure it shows up as a Samsung Modem?
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I am using XP. Under Device Manager -> Modems, it reads "Samsung Mobile Modem #2". I also installed the drivers from the Samsung support site. For ports, QPST reads "COM5-USB/QC Data Modem" in the "Add New Port" window with the box unchecked. In the "Ports" window it reads "No Phone" under the "Phone" column.
Thanks

Help:Can't get my mxpe activated on Verizon prepaid with sim starter pack.

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.
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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!
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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.