Database Users

Why does DE get to keep warranty and not the regular version when bootloader is unloc

I don't like the black and white color scheme. The phones are identical and yet one gets to keep the warranty. It doesn't make any sense to me.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

It's an unfair world we're living in.

Mastaking said:
I don't like the black and white color scheme. The phones are identical and yet one gets to keep the warranty. It doesn't make any sense to me.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Motorola needs to sell phones. That's what they do. To do that, they need to be friends with the carriers. Carriers don't want you unlocking your phone and uninstalling all the junk they put there. They make money from that junk. So you need to be discouraged from doing that.
Now, Motorola was actually nice enough to sell phones directly, outside of the carriers, to the general public. These phones are unlocked and easily rooted. That's great!
The cup is half full, not half empty.

maratd said:
Motorola needs to sell phones. That's what they do. To do that, they need to be friends with the carriers. Carriers don't want you unlocking your phone and uninstalling all the junk they put there. They make money from that junk. So you need to be discouraged from doing that.
Now, Motorola was actually nice enough to sell phones directly, outside of the carriers, to the general public. These phones are unlocked and easily rooted. That's great!
The cup is half full, not half empty.
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I hear that and in a Macro way that does make sense, but when I think about it in a selfish Micro way I just can't help but feel that it doesn't make any sense that they would let you keep your warranty if it has the words Developers Edition on your phone.

Mastaking said:
I hear that and in a Macro way that does make sense, but when I think about it in a selfish Micro way I just can't help but feel that it doesn't make any sense that they would let you keep your warranty if it has the words Developers Edition on your phone.
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I'm guessing it's largely about the subsidy. If the carrier is footing the bill for your phone up front, they don't want you running out and doing something they might have to support, thus costing them twice. It's probably easier to void the warranty for all subsidized versions rather than keeping track of who paid full price and who took a subsidy.

binary visions said:
I'm guessing it's largely about the subsidy. If the carrier is footing the bill for your phone up front, they don't want you running out and doing something they might have to support, thus costing them twice. It's probably easier to void the warranty for all subsidized versions rather than keeping track of who paid full price and who took a subsidy.
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That's a very good point.

EDIT: Yes, you do keep the warranty. Sorry for the misinformation below (retained so that the following replies continue to make sense)
You actually DON'T keep warranty with the Dev Ed if you unlock the bootloader.
There's a statement in the box (just got my VZW Moto X DE yesterday) that states as soon as you unlock, you void the warranty and are on your own.
Thus, the only difference is that Motorola willingly gives DE owners the unlock code without having to surreptitiously hack the phone.
I was under the initial impression that you keep warranty. But you do not. Despite whatever the Moto website says.

rfulcher said:
You actually DON'T keep warranty with the Dev Ed if you unlock the bootloader.
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You do, in fact, keep the warranty. I think it's funny that you say "despite what Moto says" - Moto provides the warranty. Why is what they say not valid?
http://motorola-blog.blogspot.com/2013/11/you-asked-we-listened-announcing.html
Requesting an unlock code will no longer void the device’s warranty
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rfulcher said:
You actually DON'T keep warranty with the Dev Ed if you unlock the bootloader.
There's a statement in the box (just got my VZW Moto X DE yesterday) that states as soon as you unlock, you void the warranty and are on your own.
Thus, the only difference is that Motorola willingly gives DE owners the unlock code without having to surreptitiously hack the phone.
I was under the initial impression that you keep warranty. But you do not. Despite whatever the Moto website says.
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Odds are, the retail packaging was never updated when they made their change.

imnuts said:
Odds are, the retail packaging was never updated when they made their change.
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Apparently, that is the case. Mea culpa.
"Despite what Motorola says" I stated because one of the reasons I bought the DE was that I was under the impression that the warranty would be preserved. Then, opening the box and seeing that cautionary pamphlet, I (wrongly) assumed that I had misinterpreted Motorola's website claims regarding the DE. What I didn't do was go back and confirm via Motorola's website.
Sorry for any confusion, and thanks to binary visions and imnuts for the correction!

The pamphlet is being edited to display the same language we have on the web site on new units. Sorry your unit did not come with an updated psmphlet but the web site language and new legal agreement takes precedence.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Plug phone in, run a couple commands, copy key, goto Motorola's official unlock site, paste code, get email from Motorola, copy another code in that email. Run command. Profit. I think that is pretty much how you unlock the carrier versions. It's not any having and is an official procedure from Motorola. What's the difference for the DE versions?
Sent from my XT1056 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

dobbs3x said:
Plug phone in, run a couple commands, copy key, goto Motorola's official unlock site, paste code, get email from Motorola, copy another code in that email. Run command. Profit. I think that is pretty much how you unlock the carrier versions. It's not any having and is an official procedure from Motorola. What's the difference for the DE versions?
Sent from my XT1056 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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A) not all the carrier versions can be unlocked, and
B) only the DE versions maintain their warranty after unlocking, as already stated above

Don't blame Motorola. Carriers require locked bootloaders. When you get unlocked phones usually you can do whatever you want to it. The warranty thing is a nice addition but I've never broken a phone to the point where I couldn't fix it myself. Personally I don't see an issue with the colors the warranty is just a bonus.
Sent from my Nexus 5

We're talking about the carrier variants that can be unlocked. We already know why AT&T and Verizon variants can't be unlocked, and that's completely irrelevant to this thread.

freak4dell said:
We're talking about the carrier variants that can be unlocked. We already know why AT&T and Verizon variants can't be unlocked, and that's completely irrelevant to this thread.
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Same premise applies in the poster's comments above you. The carrier doesn't want to encourage this behavior so while they don't stop you from unlocking, they don't want to cover the related warranty issues.
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

I can't really see how that is true since t mobile and sprint both have and embrace the nexus program. In fact the t mobile moto x is the XT1053... Same exact phone as the gsm Dev edition save for the words on the back. Hell, if woven white was available through moto maker, I could go build a woven white back and black front phone and have the words "Developer Edition" put on the back and it would simply be the exact same.
I don't really understand the warranty thing with t mobile since a 32gb moto maker x is the exact same price and exact same model with the same process for unlocking. For Verizon I get it because they already have a locked phone policy, but t mobile doesn't. In fact, T-Mobile says they carry the phone but it isn't a T-Mobile branded phone (which is why they don't have Wi-Fi calling on it).
As well, functionality wise, if you want a nice looking unlocked moto x for at&t, you moto make a t mobile version and unlock it.
At least Motorola has a no questions asked return policy. I unlocked mine and was able to return it. Of course I flashed back to stock (huge pain compared to normal fastboot) and relocked it prior to returning. One thing they don't mention is they pay for return shipping, contrary to their website.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

arcanexvi said:
Same premise applies in the poster's comments above you. The carrier doesn't want to encourage this behavior so while they don't stop you from unlocking, they don't want to cover the related warranty issues.
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
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The carrier has no say in a manufacturer's warranty, especially when the carrier doesn't even sell the phone.

freak4dell said:
The carrier has no say in a manufacturer's warranty, especially when the carrier doesn't even sell the phone.
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It does as far as warranty facilitation. You will no longer be able to walk into your carrier store for support. You'd need to work with Motorola directly. While you may be covered with Moto, your carrier isn't obligated to assist you.
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

arcanexvi said:
It does as far as warranty facilitation. You will no longer be able to walk into your carrier store for support. You'd need to work with Motorola directly. While you may be covered with Moto, your carrier isn't obligated to assist you.
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
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With the US XT1053, you were never able to walk into a carrier store in the first place. T-Mobile does not sell this phone. They will not support it if you walk into a store, regardless of whether you are unlocked or not. And before somebody tries to say that it's still carrier-associated because they have the carrier name on the website when you order, well, so does the Verizon Dev Edition. The warranty is still valid on that when unlocking. Verizon won't help you with that, either, but Motorola will. That's what needs to happen with the T-Mobile X as well.
Sprint is slightly different, but as mentioned, they sell the Nexus phones in their store, which are also not warranty-voided if unlocked. I'm pretty sure they could manage to figure out how to handle the X, too.

Petition: Allow GSM Unlocked Variant - BL Unlock w/o Voiding Warranty

Hey all,
I created this petition to urge Moto and Google to incorporate the Unlocked GSM Variant (TMO) into the Developer Edition policy and allow the warranty to remain intact when unlocking bootloader.
Reasons:
1. Device is sold Unbranded
2. Device is sold with Unlocked Radio
3. Device is sold at Full Cost (no subsidy from Carrier / No Contract)
4. Cost is the same as Developer Edition ($549 for 32gb)
5. Developer Edition comes in one color - including Unlocked GSM Variant will allow Devs to use MotoMaker to customize their device and enjoy benefits of Developer Edition.
I figured that XDA is the best place to get some momentum to this petition and get it in front of the eyes of Moto and Google.
Please sign and share:
http://www.change.org/petitions/mot...-do-not-void-warranty-upon-bootloader-unlock?

Signed
Sent from my XT1056 using xda app-developers app

byt3b0mb said:
Hey all,
I created this petition to urge Moto and Google to incorporate the Unlocked GSM Variant (TMO) into the Developer Edition policy and allow the warranty to remain intact when unlocking bootloader.
Reasons:
1. Device is sold Unbranded
2. Device is sold with Unlocked Radio
3. Device is sold at Full Cost (no subsidy from Carrier / No Contract)
4. Cost is the same as Developer Edition ($549 for 32gb)
5. Developer Edition comes in one color - including Unlocked GSM Variant will allow Devs to use MotoMaker to customize their device and enjoy benefits of Developer Edition.
I figured that XDA is the best place to get some momentum to this petition and get it in front of the eyes of Moto and Google.
Please sign and share:
http://www.change.org/petitions/mot...-do-not-void-warranty-upon-bootloader-unlock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you would have a much better chance if you created a petition to include the Dev Edition in the Moto Maker process. BL unlock voids warranty if it comes tied to a carrier. Simple as that. I dont think Motorola has the sole say in the matter. People would be rushing to the T-Mobile store for warranty replacements if they mess up their unlocked BL phones. Not something a carrier would want to deal with.

anirudh412 said:
I think you would have a much better chance if you created a petition to include the Dev Edition in the Moto Maker process. BL unlock voids warranty if it comes tied to a carrier. Simple as that. I dont think Motorola has the sole say in the matter. People would be rushing to the T-Mobile store for warranty replacements if they mess up their unlocked BL phones. Not something a carrier would want to deal with.
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This device is not sold by t-mobile in stores, and is not supported for exchange or warranty purposes by t-mobile. t-mobile directs owners to motorola. That is why the petition is for Motorola.

charlie-n said:
Signed
Sent from my XT1056 using xda app-developers app
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Thank you!!!

signed.

buschris said:
signed.
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Thanks!!

anirudh412 said:
I think you would have a much better chance if you created a petition to include the Dev Edition in the Moto Maker process. BL unlock voids warranty if it comes tied to a carrier. Simple as that. I dont think Motorola has the sole say in the matter. People would be rushing to the T-Mobile store for warranty replacements if they mess up their unlocked BL phones. Not something a carrier would want to deal with.
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I think you're right. Possibly the engraving (or whatever the process is) would be an unchangeable "Developer Edition", Luke what comes on the DE models now.
I think the same should apply any full price device purchased directly from Motorola. If the carrier didn't sell or subsidize it, they should be under no obligation to provide warranty support, and should have no say in whether unlocking the boot loader voids the warranty.
I'm signing the petition - I'd much rather have my DE in black, though I have no intention of buying another one just to change color.
Sent from my Moto X using TapaTalk

The lack of warranty acts as a paygate to prevent inexperienced users from claiming. If you were of the experienced type, you would have gotten a DE phone. The best compromise here is a customizable DE phone such that people like us doesn't have to make the choice between Motomaker with 16GB option or the DE phone. I would support the latter initiative.

alpha-niner64 said:
The lack of warranty acts as a paygate to prevent inexperienced users from claiming. If you were of the experienced type, you would have gotten a DE phone. The best compromise here is a customizable DE phone such that people like us doesn't have to make the choice between Motomaker with 16GB option or the DE phone. I would support the latter initiative.
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you can get a 32gb (which is what i got) through motomaker unlike the carrier branded ones. Also, since the unlocked GSM edition is already part of motomaker, it would be easier for motorola to update the policy, rather than recode motomaker to include de devices. not that i am going to trade what i purchased, but I would buy a de version if i could change the colors. If i were to buy a de and change the colors right now, i would be voiding the warranty because i would have to disassemble my device and swap out parts.
just makes sense to me, hence why i started the petition

I agree tho.... A petition here isn't going to be seen. Don't they have any forums?
Also... Phone makers are probably tired of rooting/flashing related warranty claims.... So their putting their feet down.
Plus... They aren't going to care about us "tinkerers".... We're an extremely small percentage of their customers.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....

I signed it although I doubt we can get them to change anything mostly because of the custom nature of the motomaker.
It unfortunately makes sense that they can't support warranties for phones that are as custom as the motomaker allows.
I don't think they're against us unlocking our BLs, they just can't afford to replace our custom colored phones.
I doubt its a tmobile thing because as was mentioned, tmobile doesn't support the phone anyway, they just send you to moto.
They provided us with the DE and made it as colorful as possible without loosing appeal (a pink and green DE would have probably not sold...)
I wanted a custom moto x because I believe in the phone and the work moto + G has done to provide users with real features that actually meet our day to day needs (as opposed to some manufacturers who smoother users with "useful" features). Non-tinkerers recognize the colorful phone and ask me about it because its customizability is so heavily marketed. This sparks conversations that I enjoy having about technology actually being useful and not a barrier or a feature-laden learning curve.
What I would really like to see are stats on how many people return phones from messing up their BLs? How many galaxy nexus' and nexus 4s were returned bricked? While I see where they're coming from, it seems like they missed hitting the nail on the head, and are unfairly punishing those who do the majority of their mouth2mouth marketing. I don't want to speak for everyone here but I know when my friends are looking to buy a new phone they ask me what I think and recommend. My guess is that if the sales earned from the tinkerers word of mouth was accounted for in their business model they would perhaps consider this petition.

I signed. I would have bought the DE version, if the Today Show $150 worked on it.
Doesn't matter to me either way, but would be nice to fully back their hardware regardless.

cliffr39 said:
I signed. I would have bought the DE version, if the Today Show $150 worked on it.
Doesn't matter to me either way, but would be nice to fully back their hardware regardless.
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Signed as well. Would've bought a dev edition if the cyber Monday discount would've applied to it. I feel that if I buy a phone that is not subsidized by the carrier I should do whatever I want with it because I paid for it in full and that means that's mine. If I mess up my phone it's on me and not them.

Signed!

Guys, I'm sorry to rain on your parade, but this will never happen. They barely made it possible for Dev Editions warranties to remain intact after unlocking the bootloader. That wasn't a start of a movement, that was the whole not-making-sense deal of calling a phone a developer edition, but not being able to do any development on it if you want a warranty. And I know the board of execs at Motorola probably spent weeks weighing the pros and cons of doing that. They must have figured that being able to advertise that decision is a bigger PR advantage than the money lost by replacing the bricked devices that were a cause of that decision. Heck, even the Nexus line has their warranties voided by unlocking the bootloader.
The whole reason unlocking bootloaders voids warranties, is because after unlocking, you can flash files not signed by the manufacturer. As in, any file anyone, experienced or not, with good intentions or not, of any general technology experience, has put together. You can run commands from the prompt that will literally brick your phone in 1 second. Can you see why the Moto X Dev Edition is the only phone (that I've heard of) to make it OK to unlock the bootloader? You could purposely flash a malicious image, brick your phone, then request an RMA, just because you feel like it. I'm not saying that anyone here would do that, but look at this from their point of view. If you open the doors, people will walk through.
Look at this at a wider angle. What personal electronics device other than the Dev Edition Moto X is it A-OK to unlock the bootloader? Virtually nothing. It just doesn't make business sense to allow everyday, John Doe users to execute mission-critical commands and have your business responsible when John Doe flashes a kernel for another device because he apparently can't read. Or run a command that someone on the Internet said was OK to run, because hey, who would go on the Internet and just lie? I'm sorry guys, but we need to thank our lucky stars that even the Dev Edition got that capability. That Motorola decided the PR gained was worth the money lost replacing units.

doesn't the DE already have the bootloader unlocked? And there are many phones that already have unlocked bootloaders, I wonder seriously how many have been bricked so bad that they needed to be replaced? There has to be a way to recover these phones regardless.

buschris said:
doesn't the DE already have the bootloader unlocked? And there are many phones that already have unlocked bootloaders, I wonder seriously how many have been bricked so bad that they needed to be replaced? There has to be a way to recover these phones regardless.
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Probably not allot of returns from bricking... Considering "rooters" are a tiny fraction of overall consumers.... But, they know us small percentage root... And they don't want to replace a single phone because we messed it up.... that's my guess. I saw plenty of posts in the t989 S2 forum from guys planning to send in rooted phones. They figure if it won't boot... How will Samsung know the difference. The phone makers know this too. So making us unlock on their website is smart, cause they know for sure who unlocked.... Weather they can boot our RMA'd phone or not.
I'm OK with this... Yes, I voided my warranty on day one. It's not just phone companies that don't want to replace tampered with products.... Almost anything you buy now has a warning about warranty being void if you do or don't do this or that. Electronics of any kind usually have a sticker, or whatever, that if you disrupt by trying to open the device up.... Boom. No warranty anymore. Even the tags on clothing.... They're itchy, but if you remove them... Warranty void.
Almost anything really... If they know you tampered with it in any way... Warranty void. Why would phones be any different?
Even if very few people tamper.... They still don't want to give up a single dollar if they don't have to. Lol
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....

really just changing the software should not be a warranty breaker - the OEMs have tools to low level flash any device back to the stock software and even hard bricks can be repaired. The OEMs should honor the hardware. That is the point of this petition - honor the hardware. unlocking the bootloader and rooting a device has no impact on the hardware. I am not asking that they accept all devices that are broken by the user by doing something stupid, but rather allowing folks to flash a custom recovery and take charge of their device.
are there any computers that have their warranty voided when you remove windows and install linux or vice versa? NO because that is a software change. If the hardware fails then that is something the OEM should cover.

byt3b0mb said:
really just changing the software should not be a warranty breaker - the OEMs have tools to low level flash any device back to the stock software and even hard bricks can be repaired. The OEMs should honor the hardware. That is the point of this petition - honor the hardware. unlocking the bootloader and rooting a device has no impact on the hardware. I am not asking that they accept all devices that are broken by the user by doing something stupid, but rather allowing folks to flash a custom recovery and take charge of their device.
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First, I'm not 100% sure that OEMs have the ability to save hard-bricks. Hard-bricks are the bootloader being corrupt. The bootloader, being the first thing to even load into memory, from which everything else gets loaded into memory, is vital to the bootstrapping process. Think of it like your BIOS on your computer. If you BIOS goes corrupt, you basically either replace the BIOS chip, Mobo, or in super-rare cases, find someone somewhere with the tools, expertise, and ability to flash that specific BIOS to that specific chip even though it's corrupt. I suppose it's possible that the OEMs have those tools to do it. I'm not saying that do, but I'll give you that it's possible. Even if they do, it probably wouldn't be worth the time and effort though.
Second, unlocking the bootloader isn't just giving the ability to flash to the recovery partition, or even to the /system/ partition. It's removing the entire signature check which checks if the package you are trying to flash has a unique signature that comes from the OEM. Unlocking the bootloader basically opens every single command up for anyone besides the OEM to use. It really is as serious as they warn about in the screen asking if you're sure. Now, since communities like XDA exist where you can basically get walked through how to do most anything, and where 1-click toolkits to do very very dangerous stuff exist, it's fairly safe to have your bootloader unlocked. But as an electronics manufacturer, you need to assume the user won't take advantage of tools like XDA. I'm a software engineer and one of the fundamental rules of thumb is "if the user can break it, they will".
Third, you said:
byt3b0mb said:
are there any computers that have their warranty voided when you remove windows and install linux or vice versa? NO because that is a software change.
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I think you'd be surprised. Have you ever tried to get anything replaced under warranty, then telling the customer support you installed Linux on your box? I mean, you may or may not actually get your warranty honored, and if you do, it will be after a few hours on the phone, getting bounced around, escalated, redirected, on hold, checking with this other guy, etc. before they finally figure it's eligible. We're of course talking about pre-built PCs, to make this analogy fit.
Look, I mean no disrespect or negativity toward you. I'm simply saying that it's pretty much industry standard to void warranties when unlocking the bootloader in any electronics, and as bad as this next part sounds, it's for good reason. If you start preserving warranties through bootloader unlocking on more widely-used or mainstream electronics, then more and more people who shouldn't be tinkering will. Your brick rate, and thus number of replacement units sent out, will go up, and the prices of your electronics will go up to make up for loss. It's good to have warranties preserved through the bootloader unlocking process on niche "developer edition" units because it covers that small percentage of users who want that option, but still bars people who wouldn't mind having that perk, but aren't willing to make the sacrifices necessary to have it. This ultimately makes it so the people who got the "developer edition" of your phone most likely enthusiasts or developers, who know what they're doing, and their brick-rate is probably pretty low.

Unlocked S7 Edge?

Anyone know if these Tmobile S7 Edge is unlocked? Or how do you get them unlocked? Thx/

There locked, you can go to eBay and purchase an unlock code for under $20. Doesn't matter if the IMEI is blocked, lost/stolen, financed, etc.

T Mobile never unlock their device , doesnt matter if you paid in full .
If you paid in full , you need to use you device with your line for 40 days to qualified for unlocked.
Or you can try cellunlocker.net to buy unlock with T Mobile unlock app , it will cost you $39.99 and processing time in 1-3 days.
Just purchased today and now waitting for email when unlock completely done.

Please let us know when you receive your unlock code. Did you use cellunlocker or ebay? How much did it cost you?

T-mobile might disagree (apparently they do... sketchy) but there legally obligated to unlock a fully paid off device provided that 1) You've been a customer for over a year and 2) Your account's in good standing. Here's the full deal (all US carriers signed and agreed to implement these terms), as well as where/how to file a complaint if they don't respond to your request within 2 days: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/cell-phone-unlocking-faqs
If I were trying to get a phone unlocked knowing that I was eligible, I would try to get escalated at the first hint of being jerked around, then make sure that they knew I knew the law/my rights... that I play golf with Tom Wheeler on Thursdays ya know, whatever's pertinent... and if they try to fault some bs "policy", i.e. "you can only unlock x devices/year" (something that I just read on a Tmo site) I'd try to stay cool but firm, and make sure that they know that you know what you're talking about. You may have to file a complaint with the FCC but hopefully that will get results.... I'm actually planning on paying off my current phone (Note 4) and keeping it, so I'm glad that you asked about 'official' unlocking because I hadn't really though about that :good: I want to pay this thing off and call them up to see what happens now! I actually started writing up a "script" of what I'd say to the highest level rep I could get connected to if the gave me any (illegal, as of 2/15) grief. It was getting lengthy so I cut it from this post, but let me know if you think it might help and I can finish it up and post.
I highly recommend that you write down the names of anyone you talk to, and if you live in a single-party consent state and have the means, it couldn't hurt to record the call either (not quite sure how it would help, but if you're on a custom ROM with it built in, might as well). Good luck! I'm interested to hear how it goes

kendu2412 said:
T Mobile never unlock their device , doesnt matter if you paid in full .
If you paid in full , you need to use you device with your line for 40 days to qualified for unlocked.
Or you can try cellunlocker.net to buy unlock with T Mobile unlock app , it will cost you $39.99 and processing time in 1-3 days.
Just purchased today and now waitting for email when unlock completely done.
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They did unlock my s5 last yr and wasnt fully paid. I asked for them to unlock it since i will be using it in another country
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I have an agreement where they unlock my phones period in case of military deployment. Literally bought the phone Saturday night on JoD, and Monday at noon, it was unlocked. If you have good enough reason to be outside of the terms, they will unlock it, otherwise, I have never had a problem getting a phone unlocked through T-Mo as long as I was within their guidelines.

Sprint One Year Free - Essential Phone?

Hi,
has anyone used the BYOD one year of free service on sprint? I'm currently with USmobile, and apparently that makes me eligible for this plan. That'd basically pay for the phone in savings, which sounds great, but I'm wondering if anyone else has used it? Anything that one would have to take into account taking the unlocked Essential Phone to Sprint?

i have the bYOD free year using sprint and now with the essential phone. I switched over from my pixel.
I am however getting a terrible signal and non existent 4g speeds, currently researching to see if i can do anything about this! Right now, i wish i had my pixel still...

i did byod with an essential phone... and it must have relocked it. when going into settings to unlock (while on the free plan and after waiting the required time frame) it would not unlock. i tried contacting customer support and it said it could only be unlocked by the original owner. then after more back and forth said it was already unlocked. so what i determined was putting it back on sprint RE-locked it, but their system was so messy that it showed it as unlocked.

x000x said:
i did byod with an essential phone... and it must have relocked it. when going into settings to unlock (while on the free plan and after waiting the required time frame) it would not unlock. i tried contacting customer support and it said it could only be unlocked by the original owner. then after more back and forth said it was already unlocked. so what i determined was putting it back on sprint RE-locked it, but their system was so messy that it showed it as unlocked.
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Yikes, that's some ****ed up ****... I'm on the sprint plan now, how do I figure out whether they locked my phone? Also, how is that even possible, wth?

dsip said:
Yikes, that's some ****ed up ****... I'm on the sprint plan now, how do I figure out whether they locked my phone? Also, how is that even possible, wth?
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there was a sale, sprint was selling them for $150, and you could pay it off early, unlock them and leave sprint. a lot of people did that, and then later sprint changed the terms of having to wait x amount of days to unlock them. my first one was probably one of these (got it off ebay). It might only involve those that were sold at that greatly discounted price. easiest way to tell if it is still unlocked is to put a different carrier sim and see what happens, otherwise look for something called uicc unlock. i think if it is relocked you have to wait 45 days to unlock it. I eventually gave up asking sprint customer support, and just did this https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=75994498&postcount=360 to unlock it

Carrier unlock if the device hasn't been paid off?

I bought this v35 off of eBay and turns out it hasn't been paid off and I can't pay it off because I don't have the old account info.
Can I still go through the online carrier unlock methods to get this unlocked? Is there any way to unlock it myself or otherwise?

You need to return it for a refund.
Ohitstarik said:
I bought this v35 off of eBay and turns out it hasn't been paid off and I can't pay it off because I don't have the old account info.
Can I still go through the online carrier unlock methods to get this unlocked? Is there any way to unlock it myself or otherwise?
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Click to collapse

Sadly I can't. I tried to refund it on eBay and they sided with the seller on some bull****. The point I made was that I couldn't unlock it because it wasn't paid off (not that it wasn't paid off in the first place), and the seller said it was locked to at&t in the ad (but they didn't say anything about it not being paid off).
So, I'm stuck with this at&t phone in my hand. Apparently at&t users can use it though.
Also: the IMEI is clean

Ohitstarik said:
Sadly I can't. I tried to refund it on eBay and they sided with the seller on some bull****. The point I made was that I couldn't unlock it because it wasn't paid off (not that it wasn't paid off in the first place), and the seller said it was locked to at&t in the ad (but they didn't say anything about it not being paid off).
So, I'm stuck with this at&t phone in my hand. Apparently at&t users can use it though.
Also: the IMEI is clean
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Wow that seems outrageously bogus. Ebay sides with seller that is selling a phone, that isn't paid off? Hard to imagine how they justified that. You can't sell a used car that isn't paid off, unless paying the lien on it is part of the selling transaction, which it usually is. How is it justified selling a phone that isn't paid off, knowing that it can't be unlocked without it being paid for?
I guess that they indicated it was locked to at&t somehow mitigates this in ebays eyes? But it's not like you bought it from the seller knowing you'd have to now pay more to at&t to be able to pay it off and unlock it? that seems totally unfair.

That is crazy for all of the reasons already given. Unless you file an appeal or escalate in some other way, the best you can hope for is that it wasn't stolen, gets paid off, and stays off IMEI blacklists. You have a paperweight if the latter happens.
Ohitstarik said:
I bought this v35 off of eBay and turns out it hasn't been paid off and I can't pay it off because I don't have the old account info.
Can I still go through the online carrier unlock methods to get this unlocked? Is there any way to unlock it myself or otherwise?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

It definitely is bull****.
Can't say I'm the most responsible person, if I pushed hard enough I might have been able to get something out of this back in the day. It still hasn't been paid off, this all happened 2 years ago. It really surprised me since ebay pretty much always sides with the buyer no matter what.
I've been lazy and have been using the phone lightly for ground control stuff for drones, but it's been sitting around for most of the time. I have a OnePlus 6T but was still thinking of switching to the V35 and selling the 6T. 2gb less ram, but the screen and cameras from what I see are worth it.
Its not possible though? Through bootloader unlock and flashing a new ROM? I guess the network & software side are a different, and the IMEI points to the network stuff. I guess I'll just try to sell it to some At&t user.

Ohitstarik said:
It definitely is bull****.
Can't say I'm the most responsible person, if I pushed hard enough I might have been able to get something out of this back in the day. It still hasn't been paid off, this all happened 2 years ago. It really surprised me since ebay pretty much always sides with the buyer no matter what.
I've been lazy and have been using the phone lightly for ground control stuff for drones, but it's been sitting around for most of the time. I have a OnePlus 6T but was still thinking of switching to the V35 and selling the 6T. 2gb less ram, but the screen and cameras from what I see are worth it.
Its not possible though? Through bootloader unlock and flashing a new ROM? I guess the network & software side are a different, and the IMEI points to the network stuff. I guess I'll just try to sell it to some At&t user.
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No, I don't think crossflashed or boot unlocked will matter. It's the IMEI that will be recognized, no disguising it. And that's too bad, as they are good phones. How much is owed on it? Even on at&t that might be a problem?

That's the thing, they won't even let me pay it off/figure out how much is left on the account. The people at At&t I talked to said you can still use it on the at&t network, but you just can't unlock it (which doesn't make sense). I wonder if there's other forces at play, e.g. this was a store model phone or something like that..

Ohitstarik said:
That's the thing, they won't even let me pay it off/figure out how much is left on the account. The people at At&t I talked to said you can still use it on the at&t network, but you just can't unlock it (which doesn't make sense). I wonder if there's other forces at play, e.g. this was a store model phone or something like that..
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Here's how it makes sense...
AT&T can still make money by people using it on AT&T. If carrier unlocked then they don't. The person who didn't finish paying for it was probably reported for not paying a contracted debt. (Technically, it's still AT&T property.)
Probably one of those "buy one, get one free deals" -- but you have to maintain a new line for x number of months (6?, 12? 24?). That's the probably the "debt" they didn't pay, not the phone itself but probably the terms of the freebie deal where a new line is started and maintained.
We saw this a lot with T-Mobile V30. Tons sold on eBay that were "free" phones but with unpaid T-Mobile financial commitment attached.
AT&T have long since written this V35 off, but IF a rep let you pay off the deal:
1) Cost is probably more than the phone is worth. X number of monthly bills? What is X? Would you have to start a new line?
Is interest owed?
Too many questions.
2) It would supremely annoy AT&T's accountants, who have already reconciled 2018 books and would have to adjust their ledger.
3) The debt would no longer be outstanding and AT&T would have to go back and retract the black mark on the previous owner's credit reports. Because some stranger paid the bill? Easier for them to leave it just as it is.

I got you. It's definitely a bummer but that makes sense and at least gives some cleared up closure for me

I was just wondering how you know it has balance? Did AT&T rep said so? Have you run imei check on swappa and on imeipro.info? One of these sites would show if phone is still under obligation. There is a possibility that phone is paid off but just locked to AT&T. I feel this to be the case because too much time has passed for it to have not been paid off or it should have had bad imei by now. Let's assume that it was paid off but locked to AT&T, even then AT&T will not unlock it. I went through many V35 phones that AT&T wouldn't unlock because many of these AT&T branded phones were sold by third parties and mvnos where AT&T didn't have unlock info, or would just refuse to unlock the phone.
I am sure you can still get it unlocked. Go on eBay, search for "lg v35 unlock code". Look for $9.99 listing by seller uws-tech. He should be able to unlock this phone. In my case, over the years, AT&T refused to unlock 5 of lg v35 i tried, i even made complaint on BBB, but AT&T failed to unlock and third party unlock service like the above mentioned unlocked them for me. They worked fine on all carriers i tried them on afterwards.

I tried to unlock it through AT&Ts unlocking service online, and it said it wasn't paid off.
It's clean IMEI though, I ran it through some IMEI checkers online. I remember the seller online did say it was locked to AT&T but I just assumed that was because of the unpaid balance thing. I didn't realize phones would be forever locked to AT&T, even after 2 years. You think that's the case? I'll give a shot to the seller you're talking about if so.

Yes most carriers do not automatically unlock phones once the phone is paid off, although some carriers are starting to do that. Give the unlock service a try but make sure that you use the seller i suggested or the ones who offer premium service. When i quick searched ebay last night he seemed to be the only one but today found cheaper seller, universe.2018. Try this one if you haven't already ordered:. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Unlock-Cod...ium-Service-/283645621174?hash=item420a98b3b6
Just make sure the listing mentions premium service and that they support all imei because for V35 phones they have to look up special database that the cheaper services do not utilize.

Used the seller you noted last night, worked like a charm. V35 is now unlocked, thanks to everyone in the thread.

Ohitstarik said:
Used the seller you noted last night, worked like a charm. V35 is now unlocked, thanks to everyone in the thread.
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So I'm in the same situation as you except my phone is a cricket variant. Which seller did you use on Ebay? $7.50 one or $9.99 one? Thanks.

Ohitstarik said:
Used the seller you noted last night, worked like a charm. V35 is now unlocked, thanks to everyone in the thread.
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My phone isn't asking for an unlock code. It's just not connecting to any mobile network. It shows an error in "call services" app in the notification badge. Did your phone do this? Or did it ask for an unlock code?

intervalchange said:
My phone isn't asking for an unlock code. It's just not connecting to any mobile network. It shows an error in "call services" app in the notification badge. Did your phone do this? Or did it ask for an unlock code?
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Unlock procedure would be same for Cricket version and one of the sellers I pointed in my posts above will work for you. Is your phone on AT&T/Cricket firmware? (It will show AT&T logo on startup), if it has already been cross-flashed to another firmware such as ULM or Fi firmwares, it will not show the popup for unlock code. You can't reflash AT&T firmware back on V35 because AT&T don't release their firmwares.
You will need to use Dev patched LG UP that you can get from ChazzMatt's post here (make sure you thank the OP): https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76510671&postcount=168
to flash Mexican version of the software that you can get here: https://lg-firmwares.com/lg-lmv350awm-firmwares/
Then after phone setup, you can insert non-AT&T sim to enter the unlock code. After the phone is unlocked, you can flash any KDZ you like back and it will stay unlocked.

Android# said:
Unlock procedure would be same for Cricket version and one of the sellers I pointed in my posts above will work for you. Is your phone on AT&T/Cricket firmware? (It will show AT&T logo on startup), if it has already been cross-flashed to another firmware such as ULM or Fi firmwares, it will not show the popup for unlock code. You can't reflash AT&T firmware back on V35 because AT&T don't release their firmwares.
You will need to use Dev patched LG UP that you can get from ChazzMatt's post here (make sure you thank the OP): https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76510671&postcount=168
to flash Mexican version of the software that you can get here: https://lg-firmwares.com/lg-lmv350awm-firmwares/
Then after phone setup, you can insert non-AT&T sim to enter the unlock code. After the phone is unlocked, you can flash any KDZ you like back and it will stay unlocked.
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I have a non rooted V35 on Android 9. Will this method work on Pie?

intervalchange said:
I have a non rooted V35 on Android 9. Will this method work on Pie?
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Your phone is unrooted but again as I asked above you need to make sure whether it is on AT&T firmware or not? This part is very important because if you are on AT&T version of firmware and not getting unlock pop-up, the person who sold you the phone may have used up all the 10 tries to enter the unlock code. After 10 failed tries the phone is permanently locked and you cannot unlock it even if you have an unlock code so no point in buying a code if it is hardlocked.
So to make it less confusing, if the phone shows AT&T logo when you restart, don't bother buying unlock code it won't work.
If phone doesn't show AT&T logo when you restart it, use the directions to flash Mexico region KDZ, finish setup after phone starts up, enter non-AT&T sim card in phone, a popup should appear, enter unlock code and phone will restart and will be unlocked.
Yes as long as you still have unlock tries left, this will work regardless of which firmware you are on. I think they only have Oreo on LG firmwares website for Mexico region but that doesn't matter, once you unlock phone, you can use LG UP to go back to your original firmware as the unlock itself is permanent. By the way use the DL partition option in LG UP when downgrading to Mexico region Oreo and then DL partition or Upgrade option to go back to your original firmware.

Android# said:
Your phone is unrooted but again as I asked above you need to make sure whether it is on AT&T firmware or not? This part is very important because if you are on AT&T version of firmware and not getting unlock pop-up, the person who sold you the phone may have used up all the 10 tries to enter the unlock code. After 10 failed tries the phone is permanently locked and you cannot unlock it even if you have an unlock code so no point in buying a code if it is hardlocked.
So to make it less confusing, if the phone shows AT&T logo when you restart, don't bother buying unlock code it won't work.
If phone doesn't show AT&T logo when you restart it, use the directions to flash Mexico region KDZ, finish setup after phone starts up, enter non-AT&T sim card in phone, a popup should appear, enter unlock code and phone will restart and will be unlocked.
Yes as long as you still have unlock tries left, this will work regardless of which firmware you are on. I think they only have Oreo on LG firmwares website for Mexico region but that doesn't matter, once you unlock phone, you can use LG UP to go back to your original firmware as the unlock itself is permanent. By the way use the DL partition option in LG UP when downgrading to Mexico region Oreo and then DL partition or Upgrade option to go back to your original firmware.
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The phone is not on AT&T software. There's no logo of any carrier when it boots up. I have downloaded the LGUP software and am ready to go however I don't get the last part.
When flashing the KDZ, should I click on DL partition instead of the refurbish or upgrade option?