Ok, I'm going to try to make a long story short, i hope that i've posted in the correct forum, I've been scouring this forum and others but nothing I've found has quite fixed my issue.
Got my S4 locked to Bell in Canada. Heard it was really easy to unlock [service menu *#0011# method] but once I got to Indonesia [for travel] expecting to be able to use my phone I found that the service menu was no longer available. Ok, no problem, there must be other ways;
I ended up paying for an unlock code from a site, it didn't work. In fact, immediately after I press 'unlock' it would say 'network unlock unsuccessful'.
I thought they gave me a faulty code but when the code I bought FROM Bell was the exact same one, and had the exact same problem I figured it was likely 'region locked'
I ended up flashing a stock rom with odin, one from a weird unlocking site, and eventually I got it working. The only problem was that whenever I'd go into screen lock I'd lose reception and have to airplane mode on and off to get it again.
After Indonesia I went to Turkey, was unable to connect at all with one of their service providers, but had no problems with Vodafone. I think this may have been a side effect of regionlock away app, I needed to use that as well.
Once I got back to Canada I went custom recovery with cwm and flashed Cyanogenmod. This was fine, no reception problems, 10.2 - 11 was all good.
NOW I am in Poland, and getting the same problem I had in the first place. Whatever Cyanogenmod did, re-locked my device, in some way, I'm guessing.
I'm now rooted, with TWP recovery, running Android 4.4.4 Dave GPE rom, and would REALLY like to be able to use my Polish sim card with this fantastic setup. Chainfire's regionlock away app does not work, gives me a CSC error message. My phone now says it's an i9505 instead of i337m
Anything I have overlooked? Any way I can get this fully unlocked and working the way I want it to?
*NOTE* I can't access *#0011# service menu, even though I flashed [i think] stock dialer.
You are not in the correct section
You need to be in this section.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/general
I can help you a little though. If the unlocking methodes fail, then it's usually because you don't have an older modem. You need to look for the modem you should flash in order for it to work. Afterwards you can flash the modem again you are on now. If you can't find it, just flash an old modem and try.
I find it hard to believe that Cyanogenmod could have caused this though.
Cool, that will be my next phase of attack. I appreciate the redirect and thoughts (Y)
I'm trying to try some methods to unlock my AT&T S4. I'm still on MDL firmware, it is rooted but I never unlocked it and now I really want to because I just came back from an overseas trip and didn't have use of my phone. However, all the methods require I be able to dial or enter into some kind of service mode like *#9090# or *#0011#. However after I hit the last # nothing happens, I hit the Call button and I see a USSD Code Runnning then 'Connection problem or invalid MMI'. I can't get anywhere without being able to enter into any of the service menus. Can anyone tell me why or how I can fix this?
Also, I wouldn't be opposed to updating to the latest firmware through AT&T (I disabled the OTA update pushing thing long ago) and then rooting and unlocking with the latest methods. Is this possible right now? But I still need to get the dialing code issue fixed I believe. I would still need to be able to crack through the AT&T wifi tethering feature in the phone which I have right now on MDL, its very important to me. If it can't be done on the latest firmware then I'll just have to wait another 6 months for my contract is up then AT&T will give me the sim unlock code.
Please Help!
Oh, and I just remembered AT&T actually provided me with a sim network unlock code which I didn't try to enter until I was overseas, about a year had passed already. The code didn't work and I actually found that it was just my IMEI#. I'm assuming that was never going to work anyways and whoever gave me that was just messing with me?
You can try flashing the MF3 modem through recovery and then running regionlockaway app. If that doesn't work, you can flash the stock MDL firmware using Odin. The firmware can be downloaded from sammobile site.
Doesn't your phone ask for a unlock code when you insert a different SIM card?
jmjoyas said:
You can try flashing the MF3 modem through recovery and then running regionlockaway app. If that doesn't work, you can flash the stock MDL firmware using Odin. The firmware can be downloaded from sammobile site.
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Click to collapse
If I do this then will I lose root? If so will I be able to recover it?
abhishek1234321 said:
Doesn't your phone ask for a unlock code when you insert a different SIM card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does, but AT&T won't give me a code.
ChuckWow550 said:
If I do this then will I lose root? If so will I be able to recover it?
Yes it does, but AT&T won't give me a code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash the modem won't lose root. If you use Odin you will have root afterwards
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
So after 2 years of problem free usage, my S4 all of a sudden told me that there is no sim card. Reboot fixed it for a bit, but the message returned later. Now I can't get rid of it.
Bit of a back story:
-I bought this phone (I9505) in EU (Germany). I live in Canada now.
-Was running Slimkat ROM for a really long time, starting with 4.4.2, and upgrading it to 4.4.4.
-When this issue came up, I tried:
Wiping cache
Flashing a lollipop rom
Flashing another baseband
Flashing stock samsung rom
Other sim cards
New sim tray
RegionLockAway
At this point, the device is on stock 4.4.2 from Samsung. It recognizes my EU sim cards, but not the Canadian one (Rogers).
Is the device region locked? I'm just about ready to smash it with a baseball bat, in all honesty. Would any of the unlocks from fastgsm.com work for me? Anyone got any ideas?
Custom ROMs such as SlimKat don't have the region lock included in them, so RegionLock Away is useless on them. Your initial comment of the reboot fixing the problem led me to think the motherboard was the problem. However, your comment about the S4 recognizing your European SIM cards disproves that line of thought.
Going through the list of things you tried, the first four wouldn't correct the issue, and in fact could reintroduce the region lock if it's a stock ROM. Option 6 worked, again based on your comment about the SIM cards, but it didn't fix the problem. RegionLock Away would remove any region locks present in the S4 firmware, as that is what it is supposed to do. However, this did not resolve your problem, which leads us to number 5.
When you mention trying other SIM cards, did you try only the SIM cards you had available? When your Rogers SIM is inserted, do you get an icon like in the attached image? The objective here is to eliminate your Rogers SIM as the source of the problem. Based upon what you've provided in your post however, the SIM card itself is the likely culprit here. If the SIM card tray had gone bad, NONE of your SIM cards would have worked. If you had a region lock active you would have received a notification that the SIM was invalid, and not the circle with slash in the image. To test, you need to do either of the following.
1. Try your Rogers SIM in another device.
2. Head to the nearest Bell or Telus store and use one of their SIMs to test.
If the Bell or Telus SIM works in your S4, then you don't have an active region lock and the Rogers SIM is bad. If the Rogers SIM doesn't work when inserted in a different phone, then the Rogers SIM is bad.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Custom ROMs such as SlimKat don't have the region lock included in them, so RegionLock Away is useless on them. Your initial comment of the reboot fixing the problem led me to think the motherboard was the problem. However, your comment about the S4 recognizing your European SIM cards disproves that line of thought.
Going through the list of things you tried, the first four wouldn't correct the issue, and in fact could reintroduce the region lock if it's a stock ROM. Option 6 worked, again based on your comment about the SIM cards, but it didn't fix the problem. RegionLock Away would remove any region locks present in the S4 firmware, as that is what it is supposed to do. However, this did not resolve your problem, which leads us to number 5.
When you mention trying other SIM cards, did you try only the SIM cards you had available? When your Rogers SIM is inserted, do you get an icon like in the attached image? The objective here is to eliminate your Rogers SIM as the source of the problem. Based upon what you've provided in your post however, the SIM card itself is the likely culprit here. If the SIM card tray had gone bad, NONE of your SIM cards would have worked. If you had a region lock active you would have received a notification that the SIM was invalid, and not the circle with slash in the image. To test, you need to do either of the following.
1. Try your Rogers SIM in another device.
2. Head to the nearest Bell or Telus store and use one of their SIMs to test.
If the Bell or Telus SIM works in your S4, then you don't have an active region lock and the Rogers SIM is bad. If the Rogers SIM doesn't work when inserted in a different phone, then the Rogers SIM is bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I restored my backup of the Lollipop ROM, which doesn't detect any sim card. The backup has a different baseband that I had flashed before.
To answer your question, I don't see that icon. I've been to the Rogers store and my sim worked in their device, but their working sim did not get recognized in mine. That's when I tried replacing the sim tray (to no avail).
So this is what I'm thinking:
Flash the open european 4.4.2 rom from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2265477
Figure out what baseband it's running and get the latest one
Flash lollipop and flash updated baseband (would be nice to be on 5.0.1, but I guess I can skip this step if it doesn't fix my issue)
Root, unlock
BTW Is RegionLockAway actually compatible with 4.4.2 and i9505?
Thanks for your feedback so far!
RegionLock Away should work on Android 4.4.2. It requires root, as I'm sure you know, because it rewrites a system file. In simple language, it wipes out the region lock table in one of the files. When I used it on my I9505 however, I had downgraded to 4.2.2 to take advantage of RegionLock Away's unintended side effect of fully unlocking the S4. So I personally would downgrade the modem to a 4.2.2 version, run RegionLock Away and take advantage of that unintended side effect, then upgrade the modem to 4.4.2 at least.
There is a possibility that your SIM lock is back on the phone, thus why I recommend the downgrade. Without going into details, I was getting that circle with slash icon, downgraded, and found out that not only was my SIM tray toast, but the SIM lock had returned. I replaced the tray. RegionLock Away got rid of the SIM lock and region lock.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
RegionLock Away should work on Android 4.4.2. It requires root, as I'm sure you know, because it rewrites a system file. In simple language, it wipes out the region lock table in one of the files. When I used it on my I9505 however, I had downgraded to 4.2.2 to take advantage of RegionLock Away's unintended side effect of fully unlocking the S4. So I personally would downgrade the modem to a 4.2.2 version, run RegionLock Away and take advantage of that unintended side effect, then upgrade the modem to 4.4.2 at least.
There is a possibility that your SIM lock is back on the phone, thus why I recommend the downgrade. Without going into details, I was getting that circle with slash icon, downgraded, and found out that not only was my SIM tray toast, but the SIM lock had returned. I replaced the tray. RegionLock Away got rid of the SIM lock and region lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried what you suggested. When I run RegionLockAway I get this message: http://dl-1.va.us.xda-developers.co....jpg?key=-d8VgjHV1_MaPeiioYPGfA&ts=1427415458
Side note:
After wiping everything and flashing stock, my sim card was recognized for a few seconds. I received some messages and got some coverage. Then I got the sim card undetected error again.
Your attachment didn't work so I don't know what it said.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Your attachment didn't work so I don't know what it said.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I reattached it.
I also can't seem to downgrade anymore. Download mode gives me an error something fuse 2 : binary 1, whenever I try to flash a lower version ROM
Any idea if I can sim unlock with an unlock code? I'd rather pay than waste any more time on this :\
That's a new one. Perhaps you should bring that up in the RegionLock Away thread and see if Chainfire knows what's going on. That could very easily be some added security that was added by Samsung in Android 5.0.1. Or it could simply be Knox objecting, in which case you have to disable Knox.
While I've recommended RegionLock Away to unlock phones, it doesn't have a 100% success rate, and it's not guaranteed the unlock will stick after an upgrade. Purchasing an unlock code is usually a better choice, even though you're paying for it.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
That's a new one. Perhaps you should bring that up in the RegionLock Away thread and see if Chainfire knows what's going on. That could very easily be some added security that was added by Samsung in Android 5.0.1. Or it could simply be Knox objecting, in which case you have to disable Knox.
While I've recommended RegionLock Away to unlock phones, it doesn't have a 100% success rate, and it's not guaranteed the unlock will stick after an upgrade. Purchasing an unlock code is usually a better choice, even though you're paying for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SuperSU tries to disable Knox though, and it says it accomplishes it. So just to get this straight, Knox is introduced in one of the newer stock Samsung roms. Once it makes it on the device, it's not going away no matter what rom I flash or which backup I restore, right? And if I do try to fiddle around, it will go 0x1 on me and void the warranty (not that I have one at this point). Is it supposed to prevent me from downgrading as well? Or is that a side effect of something else?
BTW, every time I boot up now I get a message in the top left corner saying something like "Kernel is not seandroid enforcing" in red, followed by "set warranty bit: kernel" in yellow.
I ordered an unlock code from fastgsm yesterday. Let's hope that works. Though I gotta admit, after owning an S3 and the 2 years that I got out of this S4 I think I'm officially done with Samsung. I paid $600 bucks for this phone, I should be able to mod it however I want. Especially if they push their stupid bloat and TouchWiz on me.
Knox is part of the bootloader, so it's not going away. You can however remove the Knox apps from the ROM. The Knox flag will trip if you attempt to install a custom recovery, but whether you lose any remaining warranty or not is subject to debate. It's not supposed to prevent you from downgrading, because the stock ROM my S4 came with had a Knox-enabled bootloader, and the Knox flag was already tripped, yet I was still able to downgrade long enough to solve my issues.
"Kernel is not SEAndroid enforcing" on the splash screen is harmless. The bootloader detects the old ROM's kernel and notices that it doesn't have secure Android coding, so it warns you of this when you boot. If you can get the phone back to Android 4.4.2 or Android 5.0.1 the warning will go away.
Thanks for the clarification.
So I got the unlock code. However, I am not sure how to properly enter it. I'm following these instructions (Invalid SIM card screen, as nothing else seems to apply). Nothing happens when I enter the instructed codes. It's a manufacturer unlock code... surely it's not useless, is it?
Shouldn't be useless. Watch this YouTube video.
EDIT: If you repeatedly get a message that the unlock is unsuccessful, check out this YouTube video.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Shouldn't be useless. Watch this YouTube video.
EDIT: If you repeatedly get a message that the unlock is unsuccessful, check out this YouTube video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never got a prompt like the one in the video.
I tried the procedure from the second video before, but I can't get into the UMTS main menu.
Then you have a different problem. The moment you put in the Bell or Telus SIM cards you should have gotten that prompt. Hate to say this, but I would have the phone serviced. Keep the unlock code however. You may as well use it when you get the S4 back.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Then you have a different problem. The moment you put in the Bell or Telus SIM cards you should have gotten that prompt. Hate to say this, but I would have the phone serviced. Keep the unlock code however. You may as well use it when you get the S4 back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK thanks for all your help, man.
i all to everyone don't know if this is correct in putting this post here . I have a Samsung galaxy s4 i9505 locked to ee tried a ×#0011#. And tried the long number to enter service mode. I can change it to 1. But I don't get the other menu to pop up. I've had an idea. I have tried looking for this method and I'm 50/50 weather it will work or not. As this as phone has got ee branded phone. If I installed a custom firmware btu version black edition . What the chances of unlocking it via the method above or would this phone still know in it a ee phone what are your thoughts regards James. I don't want to root the phone. I'm quite happy to put a btu black edition on the phone . I have used odin in the past on my old i9505 but that phone was already unlocked
Changing firmware will not unlock the phone. To get the proper menu to appear you have to downgrade the modem (or firmware) to Android 4.2.2, then use the service menu. If the service menu does not work, your only other alternative is to root while the modem is downgraded and run RegionLock Away.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Changing firmware will not unlock the phone. To get the proper menu to appear you have to downgrade the modem (or firmware) to Android 4.2.2, then use the service menu. If the service menu does not work, your only other alternative is to root while the modem is downgraded and run RegionLock Away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks for your reply. So if I down grade my firmware to 4.2.2 btu so I can enter the service menu . Are you saying this mite work 50/50
I did the downgrade myself when I lost my SIM unlock. The service menu worked but I messed up somewhere and failed to unlock. RegionLock Away worked perfectly.
Access menu
diesalweasel said:
i all to everyone don't know if this is correct in putting this post here . I have a Samsung galaxy s4 i9505 locked to ee tried a ×#0011#. And tried the long number to enter service mode. I can change it to 1. But I don't get the other menu to pop up. I've had an idea. I have tried looking for this method and I'm 50/50 weather it will work or not. As this as phone has got ee branded phone. If I installed a custom firmware btu version black edition . What the chances of unlocking it via the method above or would this phone still know in it a ee phone what are your thoughts regards James. I don't want to root the phone. I'm quite happy to put a btu black edition on the phone . I have used odin in the past on my old i9505 but that phone was already unlocked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont know if this will help you but after *#0011# press back then key input and type Q0 instead of 1. wait a few seconds and should take you to the menu.
i am using galaxy s4 for a year
it was not locked to any carrier
i updated to lollipop and didnt like it and then i flashed kitkat over lollipop
then i faced invalid imei issue
after many searches on google i found the solution of flashing rom and modem files will solve the issue
so i flashed few stock roms and few modems
now i got back my imei, my baseband version is correct
but when i check service mode *#0011#
it shows IMEI CERTI - FAIL
and it asks for sim unlock after every restart and cannot register to network
i guess that when i flashed few roms, one of those roms might be a carrier specific rom.
now how can i get rid of that, coz no carrier will give me unlock code because it was never locked to any carrier
Check the SIM unlocking thread in the General forum for added details, but in short, downgrade the modem to an Android 4.2.2 version using Odin, install RegionLock Away on the device, and run it. That will blow away the SIM lock so you can use your S4 again. Afterward, restore the existing modem.