Database Users

[Q] Verizon S5 using straight talk att sim?

Hello all,
I bought a Verizon s5 on eBay for $250 the other day. From my reading other forums, I thought that I could just pop my straight talk sim in and it would work.
Apparently that is not the case.
After some reading, I used towel root and was able to get the hidden menus to work , but I really don't know what bands that I should try to enable?
I have a straight talk sim that is set up for an att phone (works perfectly in my S4).
Thus far the phone doesn't recognize my sim at all. It just has a circle where the signal indicator would be.
The phone arrived with a apalachian wireless sim installed and it gets full signal with that sim.
I checked the esn with swappa and it appears to be good.
Any insight would be great. I'm new to all of this and really don't know what I'm doing.

hphillips1 said:
Hello all,
I bought a Verizon s5 on eBay for $250 the other day. From my reading other forums, I thought that I could just pop my straight talk sim in and it would work.
Apparently that is not the case.
After some reading, I used towel root and was able to get the hidden menus to work , but I really don't know what bands that I should try to enable?
I have a straight talk sim that is set up for an att phone (works perfectly in my S4).
Thus far the phone doesn't recognize my sim at all. It just has a circle where the signal indicator would be.
The phone arrived with a apalachian wireless sim installed and it gets full signal with that sim.
I checked the esn with swappa and it appears to be good.
Any insight would be great. I'm new to all of this and really don't know what I'm doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What APN are you using?

I didnt bother changing the apn because it doesnt recognize my sim. It just has a circle where the signal indicator should be.

Global mode should work fine. The issue might have something to do with the Verizon system not recognizing the ST sim card. Even though the S5 is unlocked, you might have to call VZW to see if it's a privisioning issue. You can check ESN with them too because it could be bad. Good luck and post back if/when you fine the answer.

I am running the same exact setup. Works great for me. Including mms. U should have done a factory reset before rooting. Either way. ....make sure it's in global mode under settings more networks/ network mode. Then download using WiFi since u don't have data yet, straight talk data settings from Google play store. Hit home button open data settings, follow instructions. Good luck.

Strange calling issue. Anyone with knowledge please look.

Edit. At work I am provided a work phone. It's tmobile service. My phone is unlocked. I put in the tmobile Sim card and the phone is able to make calls on lte/GSM auto PRL.
I guess I'll request and wait for a new Sim and go from there.
My phone seems to be failing when the handover from LTE to voice service takes place. I can see the LTE icon switch from LTE to 4G as the call is dialing but it never connects. When I switch radio modes from LTE/GSM auto PRL to just GSM calls and data work. One would naturally think the problem would be with the Sim card or service provider but when I put my Sim card in another I337 everything functions as normal.
The device in question is a I337 stock rooted OC3. I use straight talk on att towers. I can put in my girlfriends AT&T Sim card and the phone acts the same way. I have tried returning back to stock NC1 via Odin then Ota to NJ4. Kies will not connect to my phone.
Anyone else have this issue? It actually started after my phone was deactivated for a day. Then I bought the refill card and have had this issue since then.

Axon 7 Nougat Verizon - SIM issues!

I just "upgraded" to Android 7.0 today. My carrier is Verizon.
I'm not sure what's up with it or how to troubleshoot it, however I need my phone back up as soon as possible.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! This is kind of a big deal for me.
Under Dual Sim Settings->Network mode it says the following:
Card 1: LTE/WCDMA/GSM
Card 2: missing or error
However, it's not connected to Verizon's network at all.
I've tried popping the sim in and out, along with restarting the device.
edit:
A SOLUTION HAS BEEN FOUND
aijorgenson said:
I managed to get a hold of a friend's active AT&T phone. Put his sim into slot 1, rebooted and put the Verizon sim back into slot 1 once the AT&T sim was recognized.
This resolved my issue. I just did it so I don't know if it's a permanent fix or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I had to remove both my SIMs, put my GSM (T-Mobile) SIM in slot 1...wait for the phone to recognize the SIM...then reboot a few times...then turn it off...put my Verizon and T-Mobile SIMs in slot 1 and 2 respectively...and then reboot. It's worked fine ever since. An old, inactive GSM SIM or a friend's will work fine for this procedure.
But yeah lots of people are having this issue with Verizon SIMs after the update. Really annoying...but it does seem fixable in most cases.

flyer_andy said:
I had to remove both my SIMs, put my GSM (T-Mobile) SIM in slot 1...wait for the phone to recognize the SIM...then reboot a few times...then turn it off...put my Verizon and T-Mobile SIMs in slot 1 and 2 respectively...and then reboot. It's worked fine ever since. An old, inactive GSM SIM or a friend's will work fine for this procedure.
But yeah lots of people are having this issue with Verizon SIMs after the update. Really annoying...but it does seem fixable in most cases.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I have a friend with a GSM sim. I'll try this out tomorrow night.

@flyer_andy has helped me too with this problem. I had to buy a straight talk sim from Walmart for $50 to get this thing working. I had to do it because i updated on the way to work. Once got to work i had no phone :crying: lol

I had to use my sisters sim card. I turned off the phone, put hers in, once it saw T-Mobile, I took the SIM out while the phone was on, swapped and was good to go. Boots just fine with Verizon data.

I managed to get a hold of a friend's active AT&T phone. Put his sim into slot 1, rebooted and put the Verizon sim back into slot 1 once the AT&T sim was recognized.
This resolved my issue. I just did it so I don't know if it's a permanent fix or not.

Just had a similar issue, running dual SIM. My T Mobile SIM which I use for the mobile data lost its data connection and would not reconnect, showed full Signal but no data. I eventually had to swap the 1 and 2 positions and now it is working.

tolymatev said:
I had to buy a straight talk sim from Walmart for $50 to get this thing working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope a phone came with it for that price.
I picked up a SimpleMobile (T-Mobile MVNO) SIM at Family Dollar for $1.
I also had the unexplained automatic reboots after installing B15 last night. It also wasn't recognizing the SIM. It wasn't even recognizing the GSM SIM. I did a couple factory resets and reboots with the GSM installed. I t looks like it needed the radio reset like back in the old A20 days. It eventually recognized the GSM SIM. I then switched out the PagePlus SIM, and added the Tracfone APN.
Everything I looked at seems to be working. Speedtest is showing 5.46 mbps down, but only 100 kpbs up. I think that's about normal for me.

pauldow said:
Everything I looked at seems to be working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wrote too soon. I'm back to no service. I'm not sure when service disappeared
I tried putting in the GSM SIM and rebooting a few times.
I put my PagePlus SIM in my old Galaxy S4 to try to have that recognized on the network.
I powered off the Axon and replaced the SIM with the PagePlus one.
It starts up and shows No SIM card, then No Service, then Verizon Wireless for a few seconds, then back to No Service.
It looks like the problem I had when going to A29, but the solution to fix it then isn't working.
Edit:
I did a factory reset with the PagePlus SIM inserted. It came up with phone service. I had to add the TRACFONE.VZWENTP APN.
It then showed an LTE connection. I shut off Wifi, and it started to load a web page. It then stopped loading, and went back to No Service at the top.

pauldow said:
I wrote too soon. I'm back to no service. I'm not sure when service disappeared
I tried putting in the GSM SIM and rebooting a few times.
I put my PagePlus SIM in my old Galaxy S4 to try to have that recognized on the network.
I powered off the Axon and replaced the SIM with the PagePlus one.
It starts up and shows No SIM card, then No Service, then Verizon Wireless for a few seconds, then back to No Service.
It looks like the problem I had when going to A29, but the solution to fix it then isn't working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a Verizon phone that you can stick your PP SIM into, to verify that the SIM correctly works?

i'm having similar data connectivity issues with my Axon 7 and at&t after the Nougat update. Axon 7 is rooted with B15, using 1-sim and a microSD, here's my issue description
-
day 1-3: 4G/LTE connection working, no data issues
day 3: 4G/LTE connection working, can connect to web pages, but could not connect to Google Play, Youtube,Google News and none of my 3 Exchange email accounts. Switch to Wifi and no issues connecting to any Google Play, Youtube,Google News and none of my 3 Exchange email accounts
day 4: Same issues as day 3, factory reset manually reinstall all apps, email accounts, etc. after a couple of reboots, could not connect to Google Play, Youtube,Google News and none of my 3 Exchange email accounts. tried Lineage OS and 4 hours after fully setup, problem is back. with Lineage OS, signal bars showed no signal with each connection attempt and after 30 seconds, connection timed out and signal bars would return.
Troubleshooting:
- swapped sims from two working devices into the Axon 7 and same no-connection/time-out connectivity issues with Google Play, Youtube,Google News and my 3 Exchange email accounts
- all 3 sims tested work in every device except the Axon 7
- at&t re-provisioned my account and confirmed there are not issues on their end.
i'm stumped. any suggestions would be appreciated. otherwise, i'm in my 14-day window and my have to return the device. thanks.

When the verizon sim is installed, is global mode an option under settings, network settings (not the 4636 menu)? If so, try that.

xtermmin said:
Do you have a Verizon phone that you can stick your PP SIM into, to verify that the SIM correctly works?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have been clearer. The PP SIM works fine with my old Galaxy S4. I miss a lot of incoming calls with it, but that isn't configuration related. It's always done that.
Thank you for the reply.

Can't recognize ATT sim either..

Pull the sim and factory reset, reset network settings also. Then put the sim in and keep factory resetting until it's recognized. Took 3 tries on my phone and 5 on my friends.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Are you all able to use HD Voice & video calling with the native dialer on the Verizon network? Some phones have an option under settings called 'Advanced Calling'. This is where you can turn on HD Voice & Video Calling for Verizon.

VoLTE on Unlocked S8 Through Straight Talk

I was wondering if there is a way to get VoLTE working on a factory unlocked S8 that is using a AT&T Straight Talk SIM card. Right now when I make a call, the data goes to 'H'.

Anybody?

I'm not sure if it's possible but have you tried carrier switch your unlocked S8 to AT&T firmware. That's the only way I could get it to work on my unlocked S8 but I do have AT&T though as a carrier

How did you get it to work on att? I am on att as well and it does not appear to be working after carrier switching my unlocked S8 to att branded also wi-fi calling does not work.

ericsting said:
How did you get it to work on att? I am on att as well and it does not appear to be working after carrier switching my unlocked S8 to att branded also wi-fi calling does not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked for me the first time but then the second time I went back to the Oreo beta they went back to AT&T I was only getting H after that when I was calling so I had to borrow my wife's phone IMEI and they provisioned it and it worked again

so how exactly do i go about doing that? I assume this involves calling att or going into a store and giving them the imei from another phone? Does the imei you use have to NOT be already used or can it be in use by 2 phones at the same time? Also so far we have not even told att about this phone we have just moved the sim card so wouldn't they still have the imei of the old phone or do they pull that automatically OTA? If they do pull it automatically then whats preventing it from getting updated again?

Unlocked S8 failed to register Red Pocket SIM on Verizon after reboot

First thing first, I have sent the unlocked S8 (bought unlocked directly from Samsung) back to repair center for the issue. The phone was returned to me, claimed to be repaired, with the same issue. While I submitted another ticket to send it back again, I believe the devs here may have better solutions than the incompetent technicians at Samsung repair center. I need help!
Description of Issue
Before routine phone reboot
• AT&T compatible SIM (Cricket) worked on the S8.
• Verizon compatible SIM (Red Pocket) worked on the S8.
After routine phone reboot
• AT&T compatible SIM still worked on the S8.
• Verizon compatible SIM couldn’t register on Verizon’s network on the S8. However, the SIM could register on Verizon and make phone calls on another two phones.
• Verizon SIM worked on the S8.
I was instructed by a Samsung technician through chat to
a) do a network reset
b) enter safe mode
c) do a factory reset
None of the above worked. No setting (APN or whatnot) is required for the AT&T compatible or Verizon compatible SIM to work. In short, the Verizon compatible SIM is working properly and the S8 is not blacklisted by Verizon. The S8 just doesn’t work with the Verizon compatible SIM after a reboot.
After the repair
I just received the S8 from the repair center from the previous ticket. I inserted the Red Pocket SIM to S8 and the phone still couldn’t register it on Verizon’s network. I inserted the same SIM to another phone and the phone received messages from Red Pocket right away and showed it was on Verizon’s network. In short, the same issue remained.
Even though I'm sending the S8 back to Samsung for repair, given my first repair experience, I don't have much confidence in their technicians in fixing this. Any input is much appreciated!

Did you figure this out? I am having the exact identical issue and ready to go nuts trying to figure it out. Any help would be great!

willjob said:
Did you figure this out? I am having the exact identical issue and ready to go nuts trying to figure it out. Any help would be great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I haven't. But I do have updates. I sent the phone back for a second repair. The phone came back with the same problem. No surprise at all. One thing I noticed though, from the service record, the technician replaced a third component (the other two were the same as that of the first service). Not sure if this made a difference, I did see "Verizon Wireless" on the status bar when I turned the phone on with the Red Pocket SIM. This was the first time I saw the "Verizon Wireless" after the reboot. However, while I was turning it on, the S8 mandated a reboot to "get the SIM card ready." And man... that reboot just reverted everything to before.
I was on the phone with a Samsung representative and a supervisor after I discovered the phone was not fixed for the second time. While he promised to make a note to the repair center about my situation, the supervisor said the option of a replacement phone wouldn't kick in until 3 or 4 unsuccessful repairs. Frustrated as I was, I've got no choice but to send it back for a third repair.
Hope you have better luck with yours.

willjob said:
Did you figure this out? I am having the exact identical issue and ready to go nuts trying to figure it out. Any help would be great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I haven't. But I do have updates. I sent the phone back for a second repair. The phone came back with the same problem. No surprise at all. One thing I noticed though, from the service record, the technician replaced a third component (the other two were the same as that of the first service). Not sure if this made a difference, I did see "Verizon Wireless" on the status bar when I turned the phone on with the Red Pocket SIM. This was the first time I saw the "Verizon Wireless" after the reboot. However, while I was turning it on, the S8 mandated a reboot to "get the SIM card ready." And man... that reboot just reverted everything to before.
I was on the phone with a Samsung representative and a supervisor after I discovered the phone was not fixed for the second time. While he promised to make a note to the repair center about my situation, the supervisor said the option of a replacement phone wouldn't kick in until 3 or 4 unsuccessful repairs. Frustrated as I was, I've got no choice but to send it back for a third repair.
Hope you have better luck with yours.

Thanks for the reply. The phone I was having problems with was an S8+. My wife's phone is an s8. I didn't have any problems on Red Pocket CDMA for the first week of service. That was until this morning. Exact same thing on my S8+ and what you describe above. On another forum someone said this is a problem with Samsung devices on Verizon MVNOs.
I just switched both to GSMA for now until I figure out to switch from Red Pocket.

willjob said:
Thanks for the reply. The phone I was having problems with was an S8+. My wife's phone is an s8. I didn't have any problems on Red Pocket CDMA for the first week of service. That was until this morning. Exact same thing on my S8+ and what you describe above. On another forum someone said this is a problem with Samsung devices on Verizon MVNOs.
I just switched both to GSMA for now until I figure out to switch from Red Pocket.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing, especially on Verizon MVNOs. GSM (Cricket) has no signal at all in many locations around where I live and work. If Samsung still couldn't fix my S8 after a couple more tries or even with a replacement phone, I will have to opt for the Verizon MVNO theory and buy a different phone. Heck, my $40 Moto E4 works just fine on both Cricket and CDMA Red Pocket.

I have the same issue my believe is red pocket does not have LTE/CDMA in their sim they have LTE/2g/3g 2g/3g and 2g only they should have LTE/CDMA instead of LTE/2g/3g to work,
xike17 said:
First thing first, I have sent the unlocked S8 (bought unlocked directly from Samsung) back to repair center for the issue. The phone was returned to me, claimed to be repaired, with the same issue. While I submitted another ticket to send it back again, I believe the devs here may have better solutions than the incompetent technicians at Samsung repair center. I need help!
Description of Issue
Before routine phone reboot
• AT&T compatible SIM (Cricket) worked on the S8.
• Verizon compatible SIM (Red Pocket) worked on the S8.
After routine phone reboot
• AT&T compatible SIM still worked on the S8.
• Verizon compatible SIM couldn’t register on Verizon’s network on the S8. However, the SIM could register on Verizon and make phone calls on another two phones.
• Verizon SIM worked on the S8.
I was instructed by a Samsung technician through chat to
a) do a network reset
b) enter safe mode
c) do a factory reset
None of the above worked. No setting (APN or whatnot) is required for the AT&T compatible or Verizon compatible SIM to work. In short, the Verizon compatible SIM is working properly and the S8 is not blacklisted by Verizon. The S8 just doesn’t work with the Verizon compatible SIM after a reboot.
After the repair
I just received the S8 from the repair center from the previous ticket. I inserted the Red Pocket SIM to S8 and the phone still couldn’t register it on Verizon’s network. I inserted the same SIM to another phone and the phone received messages from Red Pocket right away and showed it was on Verizon’s network. In short, the same issue remained.
Even though I'm sending the S8 back to Samsung for repair, given my first repair experience, I don't have much confidence in their technicians in fixing this. Any input is much appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Update:
No. This problem was not fixed by Samsung after three repairs.
I ordered a new Verizon SIM from Red Pocket during the third repair. Samsung didn't replace anything in the third. I received the phone and popped in the new SIM and the phone could register the SIM on Verizon! I even tried a couple of restarts (which caused the problem in the first place) and everything seemed fine. I even blamed myself for bashing Samsung technicians' incompetence. How stupid was I to blame myself and how naive was I to believe Samsung technician had actually delivered...
It's the fourth or fifth day I've been using the phone and the new SIM. The battery died after a long day. When I returned home and charged the phone, the S8 needed to "reconfigure" the SIM, which prompted for an automatic reboot. Voila! The same pesky unable-to-register-on-Verizon issue came right back. The phone is now in the process of a replacement. I honestly don't hold much hope for the replacement that I'm awaiting. Perhaps I should consider selling off the phone or asking Samsung for a refund.

Confirmed s8 doesn't work on the budget Verizon mnvo's
I just switched from the att sim on red pocket to the Verizon sim with no luck. I found a temporary fix. When prompt to restart to configure network, press the power button and go into emergency mode. Then restart from there. May take a couple of tries but the prompt disappeared. Then switch back to regular mode. I was able to use the phone on Verizon but can only get 3g speeds. This all goes away the moment you restart the phone as the moment the confirmation takes it won't recognize the Verizon networks. This is a cheap Verizon service. You can see your options for network mode are lte/3g/2g. Not the typical lte/cdma. Also tried boom mobile, and that sort of worked but my texts would not go out and again no fix. I'm convinced this is purely Verizon restricting needed services that the s8 requires. The att sim works perfectly. Most phones are fine, not the newer Galaxy.

nytq said:
I just switched from the att sim on red pocket to the Verizon sim with no luck. I found a temporary fix. When prompt to restart to configure network, press the power button and go into emergency mode. Then restart from there. May take a couple of tries but the prompt disappeared. Then switch back to regular mode. I was able to use the phone on Verizon but can only get 3g speeds. This all goes away the moment you restart the phone as the moment the confirmation takes it won't recognize the Verizon networks. This is a cheap Verizon service. You can see your options for network mode are lte/3g/2g. Not the typical lte/cdma. Also tried boom mobile, and that sort of worked but my texts would not go out and again no fix. I'm convinced this is purely Verizon restricting needed services that the s8 requires. The att sim works perfectly. Most phones are fine, not the newer Galaxy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the workaround. I'll give a shot when I receive the replacement. Meanwhile, I have been using an unlocked prepaid Verizon Moto E4 and everything works fine. I have 4G with the E4. I can also receive multimedia text. A $40 budget phone works better for my needs than a $700 factory unlocked premium phone. How ironic!

I have the same problem
I have a fully-paid-for Galaxy S8 from a Verizon account with good standing, and service on this particular line is ended. It worked on Redpocket until I took the sim out to insert an SD card. Afterwards it reconfigured the sim and lost network access. The sim works in my iPhone and the original Verizon sim works in the S8 and the phone states its ready to set up a Verizon account.
The third Redpocket support agent I contacted sent me a screenshot listing an error "DISCOUNT_4_ACCESS". He stated that means Verizon is blocking it for some reason but he doesn't have access to the reason. Two Verizon agents couldn't even tell if they were blocking it or not - but as far as they could tell everything was good.
According to an article on Whistleout, Verizon MVNO requirements are that the "phone must be network compatible, financially unencumbered, and not less than 12 months old (though this last policy changes from time to time)" Could our phones be blocked because they were sold less than 12 months ago?

Leecewest said:
I have a fully-paid-for Galaxy S8 from a Verizon account with good standing, and service on this particular line is ended. It worked on Redpocket until I took the sim out to insert an SD card. Afterwards it reconfigured the sim and lost network access. The sim works in my iPhone and the original Verizon sim works in the S8 and the phone states its ready to set up a Verizon account.
The third Redpocket support agent I contacted sent me a screenshot listing an error "DISCOUNT_4_ACCESS". He stated that means Verizon is blocking it for some reason but he doesn't have access to the reason. Two Verizon agents couldn't even tell if they were blocking it or not - but as far as they could tell everything was good.
According to an article on Whistleout, Verizon MVNO requirements are that the "phone must be network compatible, financially unencumbered, and not less than 12 months old (though this last policy changes from time to time)" Could our phones be blocked because they were sold less than 12 months ago?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing this. I bought a Moto E4 around February, a Verizon postpaid (or prepaid?) from Walmart and got it unlocked through eBay. This is the phone I'm using with Red Pocket now. The phone is of course less than 12 months old. One thing to mention is when I asked Red Pocket support to activate a new SIM with the E4, I was told because the phone was Verizon branded (post/prepaid) they could not activate the phone with the SIM. Then I told them I had success before. The rep further said the service would be deactivated once their system detected the phone was Verizon branded. Well, it turned out this rep knew nothing. I ended up using IMEI of another phone to activate the line then inserted the SIM in the E4. And I have been using the E4 ever since without a single issue (network-wise).

Wow, so i wasn't the only one. Had the exact same problem. Ported my number from Red Pocket Verizon to Red Pocket AT&T. Now everything is fine.

When I switch from a Verizon SIM to my Red Pocket-Verizon SIM the phone comes up with "SIM card changed" but the phone receives incoming calls and notifications (wi-fi is off). Unfortunately, the only thing that I can do with the "SIM card changed" message showing is answer phone calls - I cant even turn "Emergency mode" on. Could it be that Red Pocket SIM messes up the configuration? One of the first things Red Pocket support wants to check is if the phone is in CDMA mode, but with the Red Pocket sim inserted modes are limited to LTE/3G/2G. The Verizon SIM gives CDMA options.

With the Verizon SIM in and configured, switch to "Emergency Mode". Replace the Verizon SIM with the Red Pocket SIM without turning the phone off. Turn "Emergency Mode" off. The phone doesn't detect the SIM change, but it shows the ICCID of the Red Pocket SIM and correct phone number. Data works, 4G LTE. Of course, the first power cycle it detects the SIM change and messes up the configuration.

Another update: Received an unlocked S9 (yes, because Samsung is out of unlocked S8 inventory) two days ago. Inserted Red Pocket Verizon... the phone couldn't register the SIM on Verizon at all in my first try. This is the end of my journey with Samsung phones. I hope one day this issue can be addressed and solved.

Am having the same red-pocket/Verizon/S8 problem. Too bad I did not see this first.
I have tried almost everything (barring having a different network Sim Card) to have my phone request me to restart the phone on inserting new sim. It appears the last network is saved somewhere and my unlocked/unbrand S8 does not seem to forget it.
Is there a way where I can force the phone to request a restart if I re-insert the Sim card. Thanks

fnkhan said:
Am having the same red-pocket/Verizon/S8 problem. Too bad I did not see this first.
I have tried almost everything (barring having a different network Sim Card) to have my phone request me to restart the phone on inserting new sim. It appears the last network is saved somewhere and my unlocked/unbrand S8 does not seem to forget it.
Is there a way where I can force the phone to request a restart if I re-insert the Sim card. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My understanding is that Galaxy S8s are configured wrong when Red-Pocket (and other Verizon MVNO) SIMs are inserted - they aren't fully set to the Verizon network and if your phone had, for example, and AT&T SIM, the phone stays AT&T branded when a Red-Pocket Verizon SIM is inserted.
The work-around:
1) Insert a Verizon SIM and let it setup everything and reboot when it wants.
2)Turn on "Emergency mode" (Hold down the power button and select "Emergency mode")
3)Insert Red-Rocket SIM
4)Turn "Emergency mode" off
*If you reboot after inserting the Red-Pocket SIM the phone will become wrongly-configured and you'll need to do the work-around again.

Leecewest said:
My understanding is that Galaxy S8s are configured wrong when Red-Pocket (and other Verizon MVNO) SIMs are inserted - they aren't fully set to the Verizon network and if your phone had, for example, and AT&T SIM, the phone stays AT&T branded when a Red-Pocket Verizon SIM is inserted.
The work-around:
1) Insert a Verizon SIM and let it setup everything and reboot when it wants.
2)Turn on "Emergency mode" (Hold down the power button and select "Emergency mode")
3)Insert Red-Rocket SIM
4)Turn "Emergency mode" off
*If you reboot after inserting the Red-Pocket SIM the phone will become wrongly-configured and you'll need to do the work-around again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the update. Yes - if I can only get hold of a non Red-pocket Sim, this can work. Since I don't have Verizon (or any other) Sim card, I was wondering if there is some other workaround to have the phone request me to restart. I suppose I would still need Verizon Sim since it uses that to configure the network.
Looking at another thread - it appears the 'configuration' that Verizon sim card does has to do with CSC codes. My phone is unbranded, so the codes are XAA (Firmware) and XAA (Network). I believe the latter has to be VZW and a Verizon Sim fixes that. Someone who has successfully used the workaround can confirm what codes are being displayed at their end. I am using 'phone info' app. Then maybe we can work to find another workaround ....

My S8 is Verizon branded. It CSC is currently VZW. Under "Service provider SW ver." its VZW/VZW/VZW.