i had a thread in generals, but figured it was the wrong place so i moved the post to here. c/p from OP
Hi all, I'm new to XDA so hopefully someone can help me. I purchased a brand new unlocked note 3 N9000W8 in canada from a cellphone store on Monday Morning. The phone was great and worked without a hitch and had android 4.3 on it.
Later on during the day, there were numerous news headlines regarding a 4.4.2 was officially released. So i decided to do the software update. With failed attempts with the message "Your device have been modified, Software updates are not available"
I checked my Settings > about device > status > device status and it states custom or modified. I am unsure how this is possible thinking it was a brand new phone. After some in depth reading i powered off the phone and check the android download mode (power, home button vol down key combo).
It states device status: custom, firmware: custom, knox 0x1 (which meant my warranty was gone essentially). I proceeded to call the shop i purchased the phone at, and the manager said they buy the phones from the distributor which unlocks them before it gets in their hands. so it must have been rooted prior to me receiving the phone.
Long story short...i know its been quite the reading already my appologies. I used samsung KIES to backup the phone and it updated it back to the stock firmware 4.4.2. I was prepared to loose the root as i dont need it. More concerned about the warranty. With the device and firmware status back to original i can now do OTA updates, however
Problem i have now is after the factory firmware upgrade to stock, my sim no longer works on the network. Seems as if the device has a sim lock, but it never asked for one. A local cellphone shop in st.catharines said there might be an issue with the baseband after the official update.
before the update, i tried all the suggestions such as unmounting the sd card, wiping cache, using supersu to unroot.
Can anyone chime in on what the problem may be? I go to school here, so if all else fails i will have to go back to toronto where i purchased it, and have them figure it out. just a hassle for me to get there without a car.
Seems that the phone was software unlocked while it was rooted. Un rooting the device will simply lock the phone back up. Have you tried entering your carriers APN settings under mobile network?
You have a couple of options, you can root your phone again and software unlock your phone using "CF Region Lock Away" (I've heard that it worked on 4.3 (N900W8) not sure if it'll work with 4.4.2.
2nd option is to get a hardware unlock code from a retailer who unlocks phones.
If I were in your position, I'd try and return the USED phone back to the person you bought it from as it was clearly tampered with. You bought a phone which has KNOX 0x1 which VOIDS your warranty. You were under the assumption that the phone you bought was brand new in the box, FALSE ADVERTISING.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk
tedmonddo said:
i had a thread in generals, but figured it was the wrong place so i moved the post to here. c/p from OP
Hi all, I'm new to XDA so hopefully someone can help me. I purchased a brand new unlocked note 3 N9000W8 in canada from a cellphone store on Monday Morning. The phone was great and worked without a hitch and had android 4.3 on it.
Later on during the day, there were numerous news headlines regarding a 4.4.2 was officially released. So i decided to do the software update. With failed attempts with the message "Your device have been modified, Software updates are not available"
I checked my Settings > about device > status > device status and it states custom or modified. I am unsure how this is possible thinking it was a brand new phone. After some in depth reading i powered off the phone and check the android download mode (power, home button vol down key combo).
It states device status: custom, firmware: custom, knox 0x1 (which meant my warranty was gone essentially). I proceeded to call the shop i purchased the phone at, and the manager said they buy the phones from the distributor which unlocks them before it gets in their hands. so it must have been rooted prior to me receiving the phone.
Long story short...i know its been quite the reading already my appologies. I used samsung KIES to backup the phone and it updated it back to the stock firmware 4.4.2. I was prepared to loose the root as i dont need it. More concerned about the warranty. With the device and firmware status back to original i can now do OTA updates, however
Problem i have now is after the factory firmware upgrade to stock, my sim no longer works on the network. Seems as if the device has a sim lock, but it never asked for one. A local cellphone shop in st.catharines said there might be an issue with the baseband after the official update.
before the update, i tried all the suggestions such as unmounting the sd card, wiping cache, using supersu to unroot.
Can anyone chime in on what the problem may be? I go to school here, so if all else fails i will have to go back to toronto where i purchased it, and have them figure it out. just a hassle for me to get there without a car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bro.....
Meet me at the store you bought this from in T.O, I will get you a refund in 5 minutes.
Not even slightly kidding.
You were RIPPED OFF bud!! Do not allow that to go down. Tell them to switch it for another one, until you get one that has a warranty.
Seriously, my offer stands. If you want to meet down there sometime this week I would be glad to do so, I live about an hour outside the GTA but I don't give a ****. If there is anything I can do to help you in this situation I'll do it.
I have tried registering it on the fido network without any luck. Even the local cellphone shop was tinkering with it for 30minutes trying to help me out. They weren't able to do anything either. From my understanding, a software unlock only works for europe phones (based on what i have read) even the local guys said its usually just a pin unlock.
Update: The retailer that i bought it from said he ordered me a new white note 3 unlocked as well to replace my problematic one. When i go again i have to make sure its not rooted. IS there such thing as a Factory unlocked/unbranded samsung note 3 from samsung themselves?
djnoicatse said:
Seems that the phone was software unlocked while it was rooted. Un rooting the device will simply lock the phone back up. Have you tried entering your carriers APN settings under mobile network?
You have a couple of options, you can root your phone again and software unlock your phone using "CF Region Lock Away" (I've heard that it worked on 4.3 (N900W8) not sure if it'll work with 4.4.2.
2nd option is to get a hardware unlock code from a retailer who unlocks phones.
If I were in your position, I'd try and return the USED phone back to the person you bought it from as it was clearly tampered with. You bought a phone which has KNOX 0x1 which VOIDS your warranty. You were under the assumption that the phone you bought was brand new in the box, FALSE ADVERTISING.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The manager is more than willing to help me by getting me a new device. As mentioned in the previous post, i do hope that this one is unmodified/unrooted out of the box. Anything to look out for besides the software download information screen?
May i ask where you got your device? maybe i can go there and get mine. I might take you up on that offer, and I can swing by to get you. I live on the border of milton/oakville so you're not that far out.Go to school in st.catharines. It seems you're much more knowledgeable about this that i was at first.
appreciate the help
nexxusty said:
Bro.....
Meet me at the store you bought this from in T.O, I will get you a refund in 5 minutes.
Not even slightly kidding.
You were RIPPED OFF bud!! Do not allow that to go down. Tell them to switch it for another one, until you get one that has a warranty.
Seriously, my offer stands. If you want to meet down there sometime this week I would be glad to do so, I live about an hour outside the GTA but I don't give a ****. If there is anything I can do to help you in this situation I'll do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tedmonddo said:
The manager is more than willing to help me by getting me a new device. As mentioned in the previous post, i do hope that this one is unmodified/unrooted out of the box. Anything to look out for besides the software download information screen?
May i ask where you got your device? maybe i can go there and get mine. I might take you up on that offer, and I can swing by to get you. I live on the border of milton/oakville so you're not that far out.Go to school in st.catharines. It seems you're much more knowledgeable about this that i was at first.
appreciate the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I traded a Red Nexus 5 I had at the time for a Black Unlocked Note 3 +$200 cash on Kijiji. Came with a Spigen Slim Armor too.
There are tons of decent deals on Kijiji, you NEED to know how to spot fakes, check IMEI's, look for defects, etc.
I can help you find something if you'd like, just say the word. I will still help you deal with the other guy as well. I'll bring an SD card with .apk's on it like CPU-Z to make sure it's legit. The IMEI we just type in protectyourdata.ca on my phone or tethered laptop to make sure it isn't blacklisted. Checking for unlock is easy too, as long as we have multiple sims from different companies (I have 2, we might have 3 with yours).
I'll make sure you walk out of there with a fully legitimate Note 3. 100%.
If I can help a fellow XDA'er, a Canadian to boot, I will do it in a heartbeat.
Sometimes I come off like a **** (especially to n00bs, I am really mean now and then...) but I am always willing to help.
I watched a few videos on how to spot fake devices and this one was legit for sure. I plan to go saturday to get this sorted out once and for all. The problem is i require the knox to be 0x0 as my part time job requires me to have a phone that is enterprise capable, for the byod. In the event he only has rooted unlocked phones, i will get my money back because i need a legit clean phone.
as mentioned i really appreciate the help, Can you send me a PM with your phone number? If you have a few hours to spare on saturday im more than willing to swing by and get you, in hopes to figure out my phone problem.
nexxusty said:
I traded a Red Nexus 5 I had at the time for a Black Unlocked Note 3 +$200 cash on Kijiji. Came with a Spigen Slim Armor too.
There are tons of decent deals on Kijiji, you NEED to know how to spot fakes, check IMEI's, look for defects, etc.
I can help you find something if you'd like, just say the word. I will still help you deal with the other guy as well. I'll bring an SD card with .apk's on it like CPU-Z to make sure it's legit. The IMEI we just type in protectyourdata.ca on my phone or tethered laptop to make sure it isn't blacklisted. Checking for unlock is easy too, as long as we have multiple sims from different companies (I have 2, we might have 3 with yours).
I'll make sure you walk out of there with a fully legitimate Note 3. 100%.
If I can help a fellow XDA'er, a Canadian to boot, I will do it in a heartbeat.
Sometimes I come off like a **** (especially to n00bs, I am really mean now and then...) but I am always willing to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tedmonddo said:
I watched a few videos on how to spot fake devices and this one was legit for sure. I plan to go saturday to get this sorted out once and for all. The problem is i require the knox to be 0x0 as my part time job requires me to have a phone that is enterprise capable, for the byod. In the event he only has rooted unlocked phones, i will get my money back because i need a legit clean phone.
as mentioned i really appreciate the help, Can you send me a PM with your phone number? If you have a few hours to spare on saturday im more than willing to swing by and get you, in hopes to figure out my phone problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally understand. Knox containers, etc. hehe.
Will PM you my number. Just to let you know though, I'm NOT a small guy. I hope you don't have a Smart Car or something... lol.
6'4, 330 lbs here.
Talk soon.
no smart car here. will wait for pm
nexxusty said:
I totally understand. Knox containers, etc. hehe.
Will PM you my number. Just to let you know though, I'm NOT a small guy. I hope you don't have a Smart Car or something... lol.
6'4, 330 lbs here.
Talk soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello there XDA! I have a dilemma I bought a used Samsung galaxy s4 i337 from a guy locally and I tried to downgrade the firmware using Odin and I somehow missed up the Wifi because it would not turn on. Long story short I sent the phone to Samsung because it was still under warranty and they replaced the motherboard and sent it back. Upon receiving the device I went to pop in my buddy's AT&T similar (I have metro pcs) and it gave the MM#2 error. I checked the IMEI online and it shows blacklisted/stolen on checkesnfree. So pretty much this guy sold me the phone reported it stolen then used the money to get another through insurance probably. What are my options at this point. I know IMEI change is illegal but is it easy to just swap out motherboards on these devices? Anybody have a suggestion?
Someone was trying to do that with my S5 I had posted for sale. He was asking for the IMEI, serial, receipt, etc... he was for sure going to try to insure it, then report it stolen.
Hi Xda would be really helpful if anyone could help with this one.
Bascially my cuzon bought a Note 4 on Ebay and when it came shortly after we discovered he was having major issues with the phone he was losing 3G and 4G and sometimes texts would go and sometimes they wouldn't.
Anyway we took this up with the buyer who said he would send us another one once he had received this one back. We sent the device back and revived the same one back i knew this when i compared the imei number. This was about 6 months ago since then the case has gone cold Ebay has done nothing and the seller and disappeared, after taking this to trading standards they have hit a brick wall. They are still trying at the present time but they have told us that we are stuck with the device.
When i spoke to Samsung about these issues they told me something interesting that the device was a none-UK device and im pretty sure non-EU.
So my question is this, is there anyway that this issue could be fixed. The device works brilliantly apart from that, i was thinking (Although not sure) Would flashing a UK stock rom work or anything along those lines.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Jacko
Hi all,
I have been a lurker for god knows how long, and have to say, I truly enjoy the posts on this website.
I purchased an S7 Galaxy Edge (SIM-free) from "Currys/PC World" in the UK. After a month or so of using it, the phone just died one night. Had all sorts of errors in recovery mode, so sent it back to Samsung for repair. 12 days later, I receive the phone back, excited. I switch it on and it starts working. What I sigh of relief. Wait...
I am then asked for a Network Unlock code!
Has anyone experienced this before? I spoke to the Samsung and they have confirmed that the unique code of the phone is tied to a Network and when they rebuilt the motherboard and flashed the phone, it went back to default (which included a network lock).
Now, who is at fault? The retailer who sold me a "SIM-free" phone, which in fact was a network locked phone but unlocked with a code? Samsung, for re-locking the phone?
I have gone round and round and no one is owning up to it. The phone is locked to EE (with whom have never dealt with). My SIM is from Three, UK.
Advice / Suggestions anyone? Thanks, and much appreciated!
railfanatic said:
Hi all,
I have been a lurker for god knows how long, and have to say, I truly enjoy the posts on this website.
I purchased an S7 Galaxy Edge (SIM-free) from "Currys/PC World" in the UK. After a month or so of using it, the phone just died one night. Had all sorts of errors in recovery mode, so sent it back to Samsung for repair. 12 days later, I receive the phone back, excited. I switch it on and it starts working. What I sigh of relief. Wait...
I am then asked for a Network Unlock code!
Has anyone experienced this before? I spoke to the Samsung and they have confirmed that the unique code of the phone is tied to a Network and when they rebuilt the motherboard and flashed the phone, it went back to default (which included a network lock).
Now, who is at fault? The retailer who sold me a "SIM-free" phone, which in fact was a network locked phone but unlocked with a code? Samsung, for re-locking the phone?
I have gone round and round and no one is owning up to it. The phone is locked to EE (with whom have never dealt with). My SIM is from Three, UK.
Advice / Suggestions anyone? Thanks, and much appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simply take it back to currys with the receipt and tell them its locked and you either want your money back or they pay to unlock it, or save messing about, spend a few quid and buy a network unlock code off ebay or something and unlock yourself, will cost you £12
From the stories I'm hearing about Samslow, this will be the first and last Samsung phone I ever buy, I hate this phone, can wait for my next upgrade.
Hi there all! I'm posting in the hope this information might help others. I purchased an unlocked S10+ from eBay, but it had a bad motherboard. I sent it in to Samsung for warranty repair, and when they sent it back, they had locked the phone again. I wasted a bunch of time calling Samsung, T-Mobile and Sprint to no avail, until I discovered the international travel department at Sprint. They were able to unlock the phone again for me, and I can confirm that another XDA forum user was able to unlock their phone using my advice. In order to do this, they did have to confirm that the phone had been previously unlocked by Sprint, which they verified by looking up the IMEI number in their system. If you have a phone that was not previously unlocked by Sprint, this method will probably not work.
I called this number: 888-226-7212
That is the Sprint International department. They handle problems for people who are traveling overseas, like making sure they have the right plan, issues with connecting to foreign networks, and unlocking phones for people who need to use foreign SIM cards. I explained approximately as follows, "Hi there, I'm not a Sprint customer, but I'm looking for your help because I purchased a Sprint branded Galaxy S10+ that has a clean IMEI, is not stolen, is not blacklisted, and was already previously unlocked by Sprint. My problem is that my phone had a bad motherboard, and I sent it to Samsung for a warranty repair, and at the factory they had to put in a new motherboard and reinstall the software to factory settings, and unfortunately in the process they locked the phone up again."
She was very helpful, looked up my IMEI, confirmed that it was not blacklisted and she said, "I see that phone is already unlocked." I said, "Yeah, that's the problem... It was already unlocked by Sprint, but now it's locked again because of Samsung, and I don't know what to do, but I need it unlocked because right now I just can't use it." She said, "Yeah, that's not good, and I understand why you're distressed. I want to help you, can you please hold?" So then she had me on hold for a while, checked in on me a couple times, and after about 20 minutes, she finally came back and said, "I spoke to my technicians and they sent a "lock and then unlock" command to your phone. It could take up to 24 hours, so just be patient."
The next day, I inserted my T-Mobile SIM card and I had to reboot a couple of times, but VOILA, it worked!!! I can't believe it. Give this a try, be very nice, of course, and let me know below if it worked for you! If it doesn't work the first time, try again and see if you get a more helpful person. The other person who followed my advice said they had to call 3 times before they finally reached someone who understood the problem and was willing to help!
Good luck!
You can use samtool to unlock s10, note10 sprint, it support unlock directly via usb cable !