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.
Related
Hi guys,
I recently picked up a used S4 on Craigslist for cheap because the guy "screwed up" using Odin and flashed something that caused his phone to not register on any networks. I figured, what the hell, it's cheap enough and I might be able to restore it. So far I've restored the Rogers firmware over Odin and tried installing a custom rom/recovery too. I'm still getting this problem unfortunately. The IMEI reported with *#06# and in the status screen does match the sticker on the inside of the phone.
So I'm sure everyone's going to suggest that the phone was stolen and the IMEI has been blacklisted. My provider (Fido/Rogers) apparently doesn't care if the IMEI is blacklisted, they'll let it run anyway. I called up Fido anyway (since I'm a Fido customer) and asked them about the IMEI of this phone and they say they don't have any record of anyone calling in reporting it stolen and they don't have an IMEI database so she didn't have much to say about it.
Does anyone have any other suggestions? I've also flashed just the kernel, and I will flash a modem onto it too. I know my SIM card works, and both my SIM card and the last owners SIM cards don't work. I know the radio works because it picks up the emergency signal fine, and the SIM tray isn't damaged because when I put in my Fido SIM the Fido APN's automatically come up, as well as the lock screen goes from "No SIM inserted" to "unregistered SIM." Could my EFS partition be borked? Wifi works and IMEI shows up correctly.
The buyer said he would take the phone back if I can't fix it, but I want to try a bit more before I give up. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, that would be great. Thanks a lot in advance XDA!
Summary:
-Used S4
-Owner flashed something wrong in Odin
-Gets "Not registered to network" error, unregistered SIM error
-Tried restoring
-Tried new ROM/Recovery
-Carrier says IMEI is fine, also tried directly registering the IMEI to my account
-IMEI is correct in settings/sticker on back of phone
-Wifi/everything else all works
Sounds like it's SIM locked to a different network. Try the the guide here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2285431
MatinatorX said:
Sounds like it's SIM locked to a different network. Try the the guide here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2285431
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My girlfriend has a Bell sim, which when we insert, gives us the "Please enter unlock code" screen.
My sim does not do that. I know this device is for my carrier, but I figure the easiest way to get this going is to just unlock it and see if the problem persists on other networks.
I've tried that unlock tutorial before. The first time I tried it, when I just got the phone from the previous owner, it said "Golden-backup does not exist" so I couldn't do the restore step of that guide. After Odin-flashing everything and starting over, I can't even get into the UMTS menu anymore! I'll try another restore and give it another go though.
Edit: Another problem. I did a restore again using Odin and notices that it never properly wipes the phone. When I finish flashing, my Wifi still autoconnects on first boot, and every few seconds, a process crashes causing the phone to freeze. Has anyone heard of this kind of problem before?
Quick update:
Managed to Odin-flash it to the earliest firmware I could find for the phone without any crashing or freezing problems. Trying to do the network unlock method mentioned online. It does not work, even though I'm following the instructions to a T. Could it be that my EFS partition is borked and that the NV rebuild can't happen, meaning my radio configuration would also be borked?
Edit: Oh and when I booted up my phone for the first time, the phone was actually ON Fido! But within a few seconds, it went back to "Emergency calls only."
Hmm, that is some odd behavior, and definitely not a carrier lock. Shame it's never that simple to fix.
Not quite the same as your issue, but I lost my ability to make and receive calls after flashing a newer modem on an AOSP firmware. Flashing custom kernels, older modems, the latest stock rom and kernel were no help at all. I tried everything I could think of short of groveling. In the end the only way I got everything working again was to flash the original factory firmware my phone shipped with, factory wipe it from stock recovery, then flash it again. If you've already tried that (and I'm guessing you have), consider contacting Samsung regarding warranty. They've been really good to me in the past, even with second-hand phones.
I can confirm that Odin doesn't clean everything out. In my trials I also noticed that flashing via ODIN without a factory reset presented no setup wizard, caused lots of FC's and left some previous files hanging around.
Sounds like a bad sim tray.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
make sim fit tighter
graydiggy said:
Sounds like a bad sim tray.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had trouble with my handset after it got run over in the street, making it's otterbox earn it's money. The only bad symptom after that episode was Emergency calls only kept recurring.
I cut a tiny square of transparent scotch tape, avoided touching the sticky side, and placed it squarely on the SIM chip's backside, to make it fit the sim slot more snugly. It sounds like you should try stacking two or three layers on your chip as it sounds to be more loose than mine is.
Hi everybody! Thanks for all the help trying to fix it! It ended up being that the guys the previous owner had unlock it used the debug-menu unlock method and my phone was one of the ones that doesn't accept it. Lots of other people complained about similar problems as me in the free unlock method thread. In the end, I paid for the FastGSM USB Unlock method and it fixed the problem.
OH MY GOSH YOU JUST SAVED ME from buying another phone!! THANKS so much.. I added 3 layers of tape on the back of my sim and it works!!! weird.. cause I have the Dual Sim.. and it was the first sim that would not work. the second sim was fine.. anyways.. THANKS SO MUCH!!
I used Odin to flash a NC2 firmware. I found the firmware in the thread will the leaked KK files. After flashing that firmware ive been unable to connect to Net 10 service with either a ATT or Tmobile SIM card. If i put the Verizon SIM in, i almost immediately see 3G is available. I flashed a second (updated) firmware, and i still have this issue.
Is this a known issue? Anyone else have this issue? Im using BigginsROM cause flashing Hyperdrive causes a black screen when booting. I presume its cause HyperDrive isnt on NC2/NC4 yet. I hope this isnt permanent cause itd defeat the entire purpose of spending $900+ on the phone and accesories.
Any info/help would be greatly appreciated. If ive merely derped something feel free to let me know.
First this firmware: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2528707
Then this firmware: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2787627
I installed a SIM card info app. The app says that the phone is network locked to Verizon. The phone number that is showed is associated with the Net 10 AT&T SIM. Still says network locked and SIM operator is Verizon.
While further researching the issue i found that the servce menu reports "Network: UNBLOCK." The conclusion is that that means the phone is SIM locked. How in the world would i have managed to lock my phone?
While even further researching the issue i found that it might be the NC4 ROM that i flashed when i was having problems getting the KK leak to boot.
Edit.
Hi,
I need anyone's help for my mobile as it says Not registered on Network when I tried to call although the SIM is already inserted .
- This mobile was for Africa & ME version but already opened in ASIA (Non competible regaion ) and started asking the code.
- So it was routed by SU and tried to unlocked it but failed
- Then the mobile was sent back to Saudi Arabia, where I unrouted the mobile thru SU (by complete unroot option in side the SU, installed original firmware successfully. But when I try to call, it display a message as " Not registered on Network"
- I already inserted a paper between the SIM & SIM slot - no use , tried to change the setting thru Mobile Network but not accessible as it dispays " insert SIM to access the network".... ,, On & off several times - no use, went to Flight mode and back - no use...
Need anyone's guide / suggestions to resolve this issue.
Thanks
Farhan
So, if I understand you correctly, this S4 was an African phone that was powered up in Asia? If correct, then you encountered Samsung's region locking, meaning the device requires a SIM from the appropriate region. Needless to say, you don't have one of those.
This is not a hardware issue, but firmware. Therefore, inserting pieces of paper into the SIM card tray does nothing except waste time and potentially damage the SIM card tray. Airplane mode will not shut the region lock off nor will it deactivate a SIM lock.
To solve this...
1. Purchase an unlock code and type it in to remove the SIM lock. This is also supposed to remove the region locking.
If the unlock code does not remove the region locking, follow these additional steps.
2. Root.
3. Install and run RegionLock Away to remove the region locking.
On the I9505, users could downgrade the modem to an Android 4.2.2 version, root, and then run RegionLock Away to remove both the region lock and the SIM lock, thus completely unlocking the phone. However, you have an I9515, which came with Android 4.4.2 out of the box. Since the I9515 never had an Android 4.2.2 ROM available, RegionLock Away cannot remove the SIM lock, though it can still remove the region lock, which is its intended purpose. This is why you have to purchase an unlock code.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
So, if I understand you correctly, this S4 was an African phone that was powered up in Asia? If correct, then you encountered Samsung's region locking, meaning the device requires a SIM from the appropriate region. Needless to say, you don't have one of those.
This is not a hardware issue, but firmware. Therefore, inserting pieces of paper into the SIM card tray does nothing except waste time and potentially damage the SIM card tray. Airplane mode will not shut the region lock off nor will it deactivate a SIM lock.
To solve this...
1. Purchase an unlock code and type it in to remove the SIM lock. This is also supposed to remove the region locking.
If the unlock code does not remove the region locking, follow these additional steps.
2. Root.
3. Install and run RegionLock Away to remove the region locking.
On the I9505, users could downgrade the modem to an Android 4.2.2 version, root, and then run RegionLock Away to remove both the region lock and the SIM lock, thus completely unlocking the phone. However, you have an I9515, which came with Android 4.4.2 out of the box. Since the I9515 never had an Android 4.2.2 ROM available, RegionLock Away cannot remove the SIM lock, though it can still remove the region lock, which is its intended purpose. This is why you have to purchase an unlock code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your advise. :good:
As you understood that it is belongs to North African & Middle East.
In the phone box there is one sticker pasted which says need to insert the SIM from North Africa or Middle East first to active the phone where the Saudi Arabia also in the list, but now when I inserted the Mobily SIM from KSA, it displays the above message.
So still whether I have to go far a Unlock code or you have additional idea ?
Regards,
Farhan
I would buy the unlock code. The unlock code not only will remove the SIM lock, but it should also remove the region lock. As a bonus, you'll increase the S4's resale value, as unlocked devices command a premium over ones that are still locked to their carriers.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
I would buy the unlock code. The unlock code not only will remove the SIM lock, but it should also remove the region lock. As a bonus, you'll increase the S4's resale value, as unlocked devices command a premium over ones that are still locked to their carriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went to a sim unlocking site where it says guaranteed unlocking service if the phone is not Hard Locked. So please tell me how to know my phone is hard locked or not.
For your info. wifi is working in my phone
Also, will you recommend any unlocking service site to try.
Thanks
Farhan
A little searching will do you wonders. I generally point people to sammobile's unlocking service, but if you do a search on Google you'll find hundreds of them.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
A little searching will do you wonders. I generally point people to sammobile's unlocking service, but if you do a search on Google you'll find hundreds of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am coming back again to this thread after I communicated with a SIM lock Service Provider who clarified many questions and finaly advised me to take the phone to a workshop who can have original SIM and I tried the same but could not find any workshop to help in this regard.
But when I was checking a forum someone asked to check the status of the IMEI CERTIFICATE status by typing *#0011# which I did so and the mobile displayed as IMEI CERTI: FAIL.
I believe here is the problem for not recognizing the SIM . Please need your guide how to solve it.
IMEI certification is a red herring. My device, when it was on Touchwiz, worked perfectly even though the IMEI Certification result was "Fail".
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
IMEI certification is a red herring. My device, when it was on Touchwiz, worked perfectly even though the IMEI Certification result was "Fail".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it is not the case you mean ?
I already flashed the official firmware successfuly and yesterday, I clicked the 'check update' option in the setting and it updated the latest version of the firmware. all options are working except this SIM access.
So do you think any causes like baseband version or modem problem etc.
Nope. I think you have a hardware issue. Especially if you've tried everything software related, including flashing the modem again.
For the same issue, I was in the Sammobile forum where they found my phone is not showing the product code as it says the Product Code: Not Active in the 'Phone Info *SamSung* ' program (CSC page screen shot attached)
Also they told that need to do some work on the nv-data file to restore your Product Code . But when I checked my EFS folder (rooted folder), I could not find this file. I.e. nv_data.bin (see the screen shot of the EFS file folder)
They guided me to follow the steps in this link. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780509
but could not continue due to the missing file.
Current situation of my mobile:
- It is rooted with Super SU.
- Took the backup of this folder to my PC but no use due to the above missing file.
- EMEI in the system (*#06#) and written under the batteries are the same. (Not changed)
- All other functions including touch screen, wifi are perfectly working except the recognizing the SIM.
Appreciate your advise
Thanks
nv_data.bin hasn't been present in the EFS folder for some time now. Its information is stored in hidden partitions on the device. Those partitions can be backed up with Wanam's EFS backup tool, but to see what is in them requires you to break open the backup images.
You would be better off getting the S4 looked at, rather than risk bricking the S4 by modifying data in those partitions.
Hi,
I have a Galaxy S4 i9505 lte that was locked to three Ireland, I unlocked it using the guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2282683.
I put my meteor ireland sim card in the phone and it was not recognised, no pin request, nothing. I put my wife's meteor sim card in and it worked no problem, i put another meteor sim in and it worked no problem, both times asking for pin number.
I put my meteor sim in another phone and it worked no problem, even asking for a pin number.
I went to the meteor shop and exchanged my sim card in the hope it was the card and not the phone. I put the new sim card into the phone and it asked for a pin number but would not work, it worked in three different phones but not my phone and three different meteor sims worked in my phone no problem.
I tried different roms both times, stock-cyanogen-others, none worked with mine and all worked with the other sims, so I guess the phone is unlocked.
Am I missing something, maybe in *#0011# settings that my number is locked out of the phone even though it worked on Three Ireland.
I hope someone can help me.
Whytie
You need to downgrade your modem. Read the last pages of that thread. There is all you need.
Possible try the setting in the hidden menu. I have the E300K I put a different Sim card and it would not register. I went into the hidden menus and changed some of the settings and forced it to read the card and change carriers. I can't tell you exactly what they were I don't have the phone in front of me right now, I'm at work.....if you use *#0011#, you will need to hit back, then key enter, type Q0 and enter or Q000 and enter, wait about 10 seconds or so it will put you in the hidden menu, or you could type the main code and password. Not sure what it would be for your phone.
@2ndcarpenter: Misread the post? The OP had already tried the service menu unlock and found it didn't work. The reason? He didn't downgrade his modem, as mentioned about a half dozen times by me in that thread.
Hi,
Thanks for the replies, but I guess you did misread the post.
I done the guide, which I couldn't have done if I didn't have an older modem.
The unlock actually works with the other meteor sims, just not with my meteor sim, and the sim definitely works in other phones. The pin request I was talking about was the 4 digit sim security one, not the network unlock pin.
So I am still at a loss as to what is wrong.
We all likely misread your post. Now that you explained things however, it's become much more clear. Did you use the service menu method to unlock the S4, or did you use RegionLock Away? The possibility exists that the service menu method may have triggered the SIM pin. If that is the case, then you need to go back into the service menu and set Perso SHA 256 to its original setting. From there, root and run RegionLock Away. If you ran RegionLock Away and it did this, you may be stuck. RegionLock Away's ability to completely unlock the phone is an unintended side effect of its real function, which is to remove Samsung's regional lock list. Chainfire doesn't provide support for the unintended side effect.
Hi,
I used the service menu method to unlock, I will try regionlockaway and see if that maybe will make a difference.
I am already rooted on lollipop but do you think I should downgrade modem again and then run regionlockaway.
Thanks.
Downgrading is required for either unlock method to work.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
@2ndcarpenter: Misread the post? The OP had already tried the service menu unlock and found it didn't work. The reason? He didn't downgrade his modem, as mentioned about a half dozen times by me in that thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did I misread the post? No, I saw a link which I did not check, and I saw that he 'tried' *#0011#, but I didn't see that he was able to get to the hidden menu. *#0011# does not get you to the hidden menu, it gets you to a debug screen. But I'm sure an expert like yourself already knows that. So without a better explanation I wasn't sure exactly what he tried. I am only trying to offer advice to someone on a device that I don't even use anymore. I still own it and test various firmwares and kernels, but do not use for my daily driver. But between work and my CCNA certification class, I have very little time, so I will stick to what is more important.......me and my education.
I purchased an SGH-i337 motherboard from Ali Express. However it is booting into an [email protected] stock i9500 ROM with Android 4.2.2 on it. I tried to flash it using Odin 3.09 with the corresponding SGH i337M stock ROM of the 5.0.1 Android but getting <ID:0/013> FAIL! (Auth) message. Also in download mode on the top left on the screen it shows one grayed out line saying "write protection enabled". So, I assume its the write protection giving me this problem. Perhaps someone has an idea how to enable writing to the device?
Thanks in advance
Lutz
AT&T never sold the I9500. If the motherboard is an AT&T model - a quick trip into download mode will confirm that - then your best option is to get your money back. AT&T locks the bootloader, meaning you cannot change the ROM.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
AT&T never sold the I9500. If the motherboard is an AT&T model - a quick trip into download mode will confirm that - then your best option is to get your money back. AT&T locks the bootloader, meaning you cannot change the ROM.
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Thank you. Well I got this main board for cheap and for the purpose of playing around, experimenting with rooting etc. What struck me was that the board is an i337 (which also is confirmed when going in download mode) but contains a well running i9500 firmware. I wonder if someone ever here has come across such oddity. Perhaps it is a chinese trick to re-sell old main boards, who knows... So, what you are saying is that it is bricked already and there is no way to ever download a different OS? Also of the bat, my Canadian SIM card will not work - which points clearly to a locked ATT firmware. I heard about a possible way with enabling debug mode to turn off the write lock, not sure though if that is applicable here...
Frequently. Resellers would buy the boards from phones with bad IMEIs in the US and, using hardware that worked with contact points on the board, rewrite the firmware without touching the bootloader and change the IMEI as well.
We usually tell people who get such a motherboard to get their money back. Now...if you want a North American motherboard that can be modded, you want a SGH-I337M or a SGH-M919 board as both of them have LTE that works in the US and have unlocked bootloaders.
Thank you again. I think I have learned something... So, the resellers just rig the board by somehow enabling to write firmware to the NAND flash bypassing the boot loader? I thought the IMEI is absolutely untouchable, but as you say apparently not so if you know the exact location in memory and know how to override perhaps? Darn, I thought I could practice with this board a bit until using my "good phone" for going to LineageOS. Well I will leave a rant on this seller at least.
Essentially yes. It used to be that changing the IMEI wasn't necessary, but if I recall correctly IMEI blacklists are now global in scope, so a phone IMEI that is blocked in one country would be blocked in others.
On Android 4.2.2 the IMEI was stored in a directory in the device internal storage and could be easily lost. Around Android 4.3 or 4.4.4 that file was moved into a portion of the device storage that normally is not user-accessible.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Essentially yes. It used to be that changing the IMEI wasn't necessary, but if I recall correctly IMEI blacklists are now global in scope, so a phone IMEI that is blocked in one country would be blocked in others.
On Android 4.2.2 the IMEI was stored in a directory in the device internal storage and could be easily lost. Around Android 4.3 or 4.4.4 that file was moved into a portion of the device storage that normally is not user-accessible.
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Click to collapse
I have been trying to root this thing using jortex method with the exploits. This failed as literally every memory address this program tried to access was readonly. I am just running this board on a display and the USB connection, which should not be the problem.
Also curiously, on this board I can't get any SIM card to give me access to a network operator. Searching for operators fails with a brief error message. Otherwise it seems okay reading my phone number and showing it. There is no apparent network lock present. So, this piece of hardware really puzzeles me. It seems bricked if I can't even use my SIM card, let alone the write protection to everything. I already complained, but what can you do with these AliExpress Chinese dealers. He tried to explain to me how I can lock a SD card - totally off, - or avoiding the topic.
Unless things have changed, you have to use Safestrap recovery on an AT&T board to be able to do anything with it, including root it. With Safestrap you can install a second copy of the firmware on the internal storage and root it. You'll need to search the AT&T S4 forum for more information.