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So i recently got invited to join google voice.. however when i sign in and it tells me to pick a number.. i put in my zip code and it says no numbers are available.. so then i put in my entire area code and it also says no number are available
does this mean i cant use the service and am simple **** out of luck? Or can i just pick any random number it comes up with even if its 30 states away because its all internet based and not an actual voice plan so it wont charge you any different depending on the number you use?
Seems like its either that or i just plain dont use the service, because even though im invited, it has no numbers available in my specific area for me to use, the closest ones are one state away
Of course, you can pick any number you want. The only *issue* with that is for people that still have landlines and/or don't have included long distance may be reluctant to call that number vs. a local area code.
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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
Anyone had any issues with google voice? I have had phone calls not come through every so often, and contacts not blocked end up in the spam folder. Only fix I found was to deactivate my Sprint number and re-activate it 15 mins later on Google Voice. Friend has a Nexus S 4G and can not contact her unless I have google voice activated and even then it will go back and some contacts. If anyone has issue like this let me know.
i never really had an issue with google voice, but whenever i did have some sort of issue the first thing sprint reps would ask is "are integrated with google voice?" seems like they want to blame that first for any tech problems.
i got a new ns4g yesterday and decided ditch googlevoice, the novelty has worn of for me
Canadians' reply to American question
G'day,
You asked about Gvoice problems.
Not sure if your situation can be considered contextually similar to mine as I am doing a bit of trickery to be able to use the voicemail section from Canada.
The relevant problem for me is similar to your spam thing. Very rarely, and randomly to boot, voicemail left for me will vanish ... I only know it was left for me because the leavers informed me. No hint whatsoever that it ever happened.
Aside from that its been good to have a voicemail that can SMS me, transcribe to text and just overall be what I thought my OVERPRICED carriers voicemail should be. Already pay far too much for cellular anything in my opinion.
floydlloyd said:
G'day,
You asked about Gvoice problems.
Not sure if your situation can be considered contextually similar to mine as I am doing a bit of trickery to be able to use the voicemail section from Canada.
The relevant problem for me is similar to your spam thing. Very rarely, and randomly to boot, voicemail left for me will vanish ... I only know it was left for me because the leavers informed me. No hint whatsoever that it ever happened.
Aside from that its been good to have a voicemail that can SMS me, transcribe to text and just overall be what I thought my OVERPRICED carriers voicemail should be. Already pay far too much for cellular anything in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please let us know how you managed to get it working in canada
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I'm not sure how he does it but I have my Nexus on Boost and supposedly you can't use Google Voice mail on a prepaid service but mine works. All I did was go through the setup on the google voice app and set it to be my voice mail...I didn't set up anything through the online settings from my computer. But the funny thing is if I reject a call myself it will send it to my Boost voicemail....if I let it just ring out, it will go to Google Voice mail. Don't know if that helps in your case but it works for me.
Story of the guy who thought in circles !!!
asb123 said:
Please let us know how you managed to get it working in canada
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well ... Joke was on me !!
At first I thought I had discovered the Holy Grail ... (fool ... I am I am) I erroneously thought that I could beat the system by forwarding unanswered / phone off type calls to Google Voice, then use "Google Voice Callback FREE" app to "intercept" the "outgoing" forwarded call.
Damn ... worked really well in my coupla tests with friends etc but I quickly realized, once my online call log was posted (roughly 3 hour wait plus or minus) I was essentially just calling Google Voice using INTERNATIONAL LONG DISTANCE ... not good, I was prepared to eat the coupla minutes there, so not ready to fall on sword or anything just yet LOL
( Must have been on some heavy drugs 'cause I never stopped to realize that the forwarding is out of my hands and done at the carriers end FIDO.ca in my case)
Unless there is a way to do forwarding LOCAL to the phone or maybe have it answer THEN redirect the call using tasker or some other programmatic method I think I'm stumped ... of course I'm stumped just like the rest of us Canucks. LOL
I have a long distance plan that gives me free minutes to the US that I never use ... tried setting my voicemail # in Android to dial it ... then pause (tried comma and semicolon) then dial my Gvoice number ... No go there ...
Aaaaaargh ... lotta wasted time really without thinking it thru b4 hand AND here I was thinking that I had figured it out, so I posted that yesterday.
So out of all this blah blah blah Coupla questions
1. Is the forwarding TRULY out of my hands and done at the carriers end?
2. is there SOME way I can redirect incoming unanswered calls locally on my phone so that "Google Voice Callback FREE" app can intercept it?
Sorry to get any hopes up with my "genius" non-discovery
Floydlloyd
budphone.ca cheesy interface with ads BUT voicemail & Canadian Long Distance free
Me again,
For those too cheap ...like myself, to pay even more for voicemail. I got this in a tweet a while back and ignored it thinking I could get the Gvoice thing going "somehow".
budphone(dot)ca
Labatts breweries wants our "consumerist" attention so thru freephoneline.ca they are offering this ... get a phone number and long distance calling to many cities in Canada + voicemail + forwarding to normal phones + coupla other things ... go see if you're interested. I dont work for BUD or Labatts BTW. I just like the free voicemail ...1 day only so far.
I signed up and it is OK for me for now. I really only wanted the voice mail. It does give me an alternate phone number too ... without affecting my current FIDO cell plan.
I already have long distance at $.25 per call in North America no matter how long the call is ... (dial a number ... pause ... dial target number. Works on cellphone homephone etc.
I haven't left it off the hook for days or anything to see if the "no matter how long the call is" thing is true, but hours on end is no problem.
This was called talk 25 with win-tel who now seems to primus.ca and it seems they've abolished that SUPER deal except for grandfathering AFAIK You can look there too to see if they offer any killer deals.
Whew ... lotta babbling there ... but might spark some Ideas perhaps?
Floydlloyd
Google Voice is available in Canada at the 403 (Calgary, AB) area code. Google will let you set it up if you sign up over a vpn. Buy yourself a cheap DID.
I have been a Verizon Customer for longer that it has been Verizon.
Service in my area has been great... up until the last year or so. Basically since they put 4G here. I no longer have service in my office, or several other places that I frequent. I travel alot and most always have verizon service where I go.
So here is the dilema... I don't want to lose my phone number! I was thinking about porting my number to another service, cause I do not want to lose my number... I have had it forever. But at the same time I do not want to lose my verizon line until I know that the other service is ok for me. primarily the unlimited data.
Anyone have any ideas?
Chris
cseeley said:
I have been a Verizon Customer for longer that it has been Verizon.
Service in my area has been great... up until the last year or so. Basically since they put 4G here. I no longer have service in my office, or several other places that I frequent. I travel alot and most always have verizon service where I go.
So here is the dilema... I don't want to lose my phone number! I was thinking about porting my number to another service, cause I do not want to lose my number... I have had it forever. But at the same time I do not want to lose my verizon line until I know that the other service is ok for me. primarily the unlimited data.
Anyone have any ideas?
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a issue a growing number people are encountering now a days. I would suggest that you take look into T-Mobile network Test Drive offer an see if they are for you.I know that in my area T-Mobile is terrible so I'm with Verizon till I get kicked off Unlimited then it looks like it's Sprint time. The porting of the number won't be too much of a issue as most company's do that now. I don't know what happened when they flipped the 4G switch but their towers weren't ready.
cseeley said:
I have been a Verizon Customer for longer that it has been Verizon.
Service in my area has been great... up until the last year or so. Basically since they put 4G here. I no longer have service in my office, or several other places that I frequent. I travel alot and most always have verizon service where I go.
So here is the dilema... I don't want to lose my phone number! I was thinking about porting my number to another service, cause I do not want to lose my number... I have had it forever. But at the same time I do not want to lose my verizon line until I know that the other service is ok for me. primarily the unlimited data.
Anyone have any ideas?
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go get a new number from some other carrier then forward your Verizon number to it till you get it figured out then port or not
cseeley said:
I have been a Verizon Customer for longer that it has been Verizon.
Service in my area has been great... up until the last year or so. Basically since they put 4G here. I no longer have service in my office, or several other places that I frequent. I travel alot and most always have verizon service where I go.
So here is the dilema... I don't want to lose my phone number! I was thinking about porting my number to another service, cause I do not want to lose my number... I have had it forever. But at the same time I do not want to lose my verizon line until I know that the other service is ok for me. primarily the unlimited data.
Anyone have any ideas?
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one's easy. Port your phone number to Google Voice. Then get a new number from Verizon for your existing phone. Install the Google Voice app on your phone and all of the incoming and outgoing calls will be via Google Voice using the number your ported there.
I've had Google Voice as my primary number for years and I'm completely independent of any carrier or single phone. In fact, when someone calls my phone number it rings on my cell phone, my home phone, my office phone, my tablet and my PC. My wife giggles every time I get a call because it sounds like I'm in a clock store with all the alarms going off at once.
If you get a new phone from another carrier just install Google Voice on it and both your old cell phone and new phone will ring at once. You will be completely independent of a carrier. I am so independent of the carrier that I have no idea what phone number is on my current cell phone. I'd have to look in the settings to see what it is.
Two caveats:
1) You will need to use Google Voice for text messaging. If you use any other text messaging app it will show that the message came from the cell phone's number and not Google Voice's number.
2) Google Voice messaging doesn't handle MMS texts. You can't send/receive photos or videos.
One huge advantage:
You can send/receive texts on your PC by going to Voice.Google.com and logging in. In fact, your entire text messaging history is stored in the cloud. Get a text and it shows up on your phone, on your tablet and in your browser. Immediately. When I'm on my computer and I hear my phone chime that a text has arrived, I never take my phone out, I just look at the text in my browser. It's so much more convenient than any other messaging app that I would never change.
Yeah... I already use google voice quite a bit with a different number.
Here is the problem, if I port my number out of Verizon, their system automatically closes the line when the port is complete. It is no problem getting it turned back on, but then I lose the unlimited data.
That is where my problem lies.
Chris
TabGuy said:
This one's easy. Port your phone number to Google Voice. Then get a new number from Verizon for your existing phone. Install the Google Voice app on your phone and all of the incoming and outgoing calls will be via Google Voice using the number your ported there.
I've had Google Voice as my primary number for years and I'm completely independent of any carrier or single phone. In fact, when someone calls my phone number it rings on my cell phone, my home phone, my office phone, my tablet and my PC. My wife giggles every time I get a call because it sounds like I'm in a clock store with all the alarms going off at once.
If you get a new phone from another carrier just install Google Voice on it and both your old cell phone and new phone will ring at once. You will be completely independent of a carrier. I am so independent of the carrier that I have no idea what phone number is on my current cell phone. I'd have to look in the settings to see what it is.
Two caveats:
1) You will need to use Google Voice for text messaging. If you use any other text messaging app it will show that the message came from the cell phone's number and not Google Voice's number.
2) Google Voice messaging doesn't handle MMS texts. You can't send/receive photos or videos.
One huge advantage:
You can send/receive texts on your PC by going to Voice.Google.com and logging in. In fact, your entire text messaging history is stored in the cloud. Get a text and it shows up on your phone, on your tablet and in your browser. Immediately. When I'm on my computer and I hear my phone chime that a text has arrived, I never take my phone out, I just look at the text in my browser. It's so much more convenient than any other messaging app that I would never change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!!
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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
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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.