The sticker and box say one thing, but the IMEI on the handset is different.
All I have ever done to the phone was soft/hard (I forget which) SPL so that I could flash WinMo 6.5 following the instructions on the wiki, and everything has been fine since I did this back in May/June time.
Now I have decided to unlock it as I am on O2 with an iPhone, and thought I would use my HD as a backup phone, so I bought a credit on HTCCode.com after seeing several success stories, and it failed on the login with the software. No big concerns just yet, I emailed him the details to sort it, however as I was typing out the IMEI from the box, I thought to double check on the handset, and discovered they are different.
Is this something likely to have been changed by the SPL thing when I flashed it?
I assume I can get it unlocked via the IMEI which is currently on the handset, but I am concerned that this is not the correct one.
Any help?
TIA
ive seen other threads for other devices where ppl have claimed flashing hardspl has changed there imei number ..... just use the one ur fone reports and nt the one on the box .... no big deal
Yeah I realise it works and it's not a problem, but it may look a little bit dodgy if I choose to sell it.
The unlock worked fine anyway, just seems a little odd that the IMEI is so easy to change on these handsets. I thought it was supposed to be almost impossible.
Oh well.
You've probably looked at your phone's system properties to see what it says the IMEI number is. You can also dial *#06# on your phone's key pad. When the final # is entered, a 15-digit number will appear. This is a free call regardless of whether you have a SIM card installed.
As long as you're not doing anything illegal, you should be okay. Within the past couple of days, I read something about crooks changing IMEI numbers mostly with stolen phones but also to evade the law.
I registered my new Blackstone Clone with T-Mobile today on their prepaid plan. I asked them what IMEI number they showed and the operator said she not disclose the number but could confirm it if I, the phone's owner, gave it to her. When I dialed in *#06# (I was on a land line) on the Clone, she confirmed the IMEI when I gave it to her.
I am looking at purchasing a HTC HD2 from ebay. Unfortunately, it was from a "batch of phones that had left the suppliers locked" The supplier eventually offered a refund and he also, maybe inadvertently kept the phone as well. When he now puts in the SIM card the message reads --"Service provider is locked. Please input unlock code." Apparently you can have these unlocked, but one site states that "This service will NOT remove your phone’s security lock" Can somebody please explain to me what this means? Is it correct that you can only enter the unlock code 5 times and then it is permanently locked? Is there any way round this? It seems a little strange that the phone provider supplied a locked phone, then provided the unlock code, which for some reason didn't work? I would appreciate any advice. The emei number appears to check out as far as it is not blocked. I will pay for an "official" check, if it appears that I can get round the unlock problem. I could always approach the original supplier and request an unlock code, and hope that their unlock procedure works the second time round?
Thanks
Which carrier is this from?
Usually when you enter it wrong x number of times you now have to enter the "unfreeze" code, which you should be able to get from the phone provider. Most online unlocks also have the unfreeze code.
What country & network was it locked to ?
Most can be easily unlocked via codes matched to the IMEI
*Do make sure IMEI on sticker in battery area matches that of actual mainboard IMEI when you dial *#06# to view IMEI on screen
Have entered more than 5 myself & been on a time out wait for quite some time ...
Security lock is to do with firmware certificate checking & nothing to do with SIM lock ...
I get all my codes from http://www.pdamagician.com/unlocking.html but if you tried some code already without success I would ask them if they have another code not matching what already been tried.
Other option is getting it unlocked via cable & software & this method can unlock SIM, CID & Security as required but you need to find a local shop that supports it ...
Also worth noting you need to be on Windows Mobile ROM to fully support the code unlocking.
Thanks for the replies
Supplier was Virgin UK
Just to clarify:
"Service provider is locked. Please input unlock code."
• This is security lock and can be unlocked by using:
o code from original phone supplier (Different one in this case).
o code from 3rd party online supplier such as pdamagician.
o cable connection using specialist software at local shop.
IMEI sticker number matches mainboard
• This can only be checked after unlocking security on phone as above?
I presume by windows mobile rom, you mean not running on other operating system such as android? The phone has never been used, so it will be on windows and therefore not be a problem?
Are these phones still available new anywhere?
I can still buy them new here in Bangkok but getting harder to find.
Vodafone UK should be easily SIM unlocked by genuine HTC code & if for some odd reason not software & cable will for sure.
I would get likes of pdamagician to verify the code you have already tried as suspect a genuine HTC IMEI database code will be different .
bankok
Mister B said:
I can still buy them new here in Bangkok but getting harder to find.
Vodafone UK should be easily SIM unlocked by genuine HTC code & if for some odd reason not software & cable will for sure.
I would get likes of pdamagician to verify the code you have already tried as suspect a genuine HTC IMEI database code will be different .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a friend in Bankok. What do they cost now over there?
All the best
about 8,000Baht 100% new but varies on shop & availability as stock is low but demand is not high here.
Hi Folks,
I am switching from an iPhone to S8 and noticed this annoyance. I spent 3+ hours setting up my S8 and proceeded to insert my SIM. After which, it totally erased my phone! I googled around and found out that this is apparently a "security feature".
I'm wondering if there's a way to disable this "feature"? I would want an option to pop-in the local sim when I am traveling abroad.
Thanks for your help!
I believe this only happens under initial setup or after a factory reset. When you insert a different sim from now on it will not reset everything.
Link to info you found on Google? So need to stick sim on it before we boot up if we're switching from say iPhone to S8?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, definitely insert your sim before you do anything.
boomfunk said:
Yes, definitely insert your sim before you do anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After initial setup are you allowed to swap sim as you see fit? Have a iPhone I'm going to share duties with.
Did you have the Canadian version? I saw this in S7 that was sold in Costco. Due to the unified rom, the first sim you put in will wipe the phone and configure it to that network.
This happens because when the SIM card is inserted, its carrier is detected and the phone switches from a generic CSC to the CSC of that carrier. Changing the CSC on a Samsung phone always results in a factory reset.
It is one of the reasons that carrier employees are supposed to insert the SIM card into the phone before giving it to the customer in the store. For those who receive their phone by mail, unfortunately there is no warning.
A good rule of thumb for Samsung phones (and probably a good idea for all Android phones in general) is to always insert the SIM card before doing any setup of any sort.
Yes, I have the Candian version and I'm with Koodo. As some of you pointed out, the restart indeed locked my phone. I can pop in another sim no problem now, but the phone prompts me for an unlock code.
A warning for mail orders would have been nice. But, such is life.
I also had this beautiful experience. I have not tried another SIM and have to admit I'm very hesitant to now, until I figure out a good backup process, now that I'm root-less. Did you try a SIM from a whole other carrier?
Edit: Sorry, misread and confused with my own experience. Unlock code = because you tried another carrier, right? I picked up elsewhere that the phones lock themselves to the first carrier they pick up, so you now need to get an unlock code from your carrier.
Geebus, I can't say I don't find this a bit annoying, I bought an unlocked device to avoid things like that. That's what you get for not researching, I suppose. :silly:
Edit 2: To impart a bit of what I found for other readers (since there aren't many threads about it, from what I can tell):
- Snapdragon phones since the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge come Region Locked, not just carrier-locked. A region lock is to combat grey market reselling, but it's not so bad; just place a five-minute phone call in the region the phone was intended for, and that constraint is gone.
- Next, carrier SIM lock codes are not new, but I guess I was surprised to find that my direct-from-Samsung device will lock itself to the first carrier it attaches to. You can get an unlock code from the carrier (especially if you are leaving/moving, or the contract is over, for example), or via third-party service for around $30 USD or less.
If anyone has evidence or experience of the contrary, by all means let me know!
kachunkachunk said:
Next, carrier SIM lock codes are not new, but I guess I was surprised to find that my direct-from-Samsung device will lock itself to the first carrier it attaches to. You can get an unlock code from the carrier (especially if you are leaving/moving, or the contract is over, for example), or via third-party service for around $30 USD or less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is correct. It is done this way so that only one set of firmware is needed for the entire country, despite us having almost a dozen different carriers. It would be too much work for Samsung to have to tweak each new firmware update for each individual Canadian carrier, so they put them all into a single package.
All SM-G955W units use the same firmware and said firmware contains the CSC settings and 'bloatware' of every Canadian carrier. The pre-installed firmware does not install any carrier bloatware; those apps just sit in waiting, hidden in the firmware. Once a SIM card is inserted for the first time, the phone detects said SIM card's carrier, reboots into recovery and 'updates' by locking itself to that carrier and installing that carrier's bloatware. That change is written permanently into the phone's internals; from this point on, any time you factory reset it will go back to this state, with that carrier's firmware installed, even if you have subsequently unlocked the phone and have a different carrier's SIM card inserted.
When you see firmware downloads for a Samsung phone and each one is listed from a different carrier, that is actually irrelevant. The resulting firmware is identical and the phone will take whatever settings, CSC, and apps from within the firmware and install according to which carrier it was originally locked to (even if it is now unlocked).
Sevael said:
Once a SIM card is inserted for the first time, the phone detects said SIM card's carrier, reboots into recovery and 'updates' by locking itself to that carrier and installing that carrier's bloatware. That change is written permanently into the phone's internals; from this point on, any time you factory reset it will go back to this state, with that carrier's firmware installed, even if you have subsequently unlocked the phone and have a different carrier's SIM card inserted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does this affect a device that was a carrier device but flashed to the U1 firmware? Or, alternate question: I flashed 950U1, so if I need to factory reset, will it revert to Verizon's branding?
raduque said:
How does this affect a device that was a carrier device but flashed to the U1 firmware? Or, alternate question: I flashed 950U1, so if I need to factory reset, will it revert to Verizon's branding?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will factory reset to whatever the default is for the currently installed firmware.
Samsung phones from the US use a different firmware for each carrier. What was covered in this thread mostly applies to the Canadian firmware, which is just a singular firmware for all carriers throughout Canada.
Sevael said:
It will factory reset to whatever the default is for the currently installed firmware.
Samsung phones from the US use a different firmware for each carrier. What was covered in this thread mostly applies to the Canadian firmware, which is just a singular firmware for all carriers throughout Canada.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. It's nice to know Verizon won't be coming back on factory reset.
Maybe it's a carrier thing. I factory reset my devices when I first get them and don't put the SIM in until I get my Samsung and Google accounts set up the way I want them. For my Exynos S8+ I had it almost completely set up before I went to AT&T to get its SIM cut. Whenever you remove a SIM from a phone where its currently being used you'll always get a "SIM removed - restart required." But it's a normal restart not a reset.
kachunkachunk said:
I also had this beautiful experience. I have not tried another SIM and have to admit I'm very hesitant to now, until I figure out a good backup process, now that I'm root-less. Did you try a SIM from a whole other carrier?
Edit: Sorry, misread and confused with my own experience. Unlock code = because you tried another carrier, right? I picked up elsewhere that the phones lock themselves to the first carrier they pick up, so you now need to get an unlock code from your carrier.
Geebus, I can't say I don't find this a bit annoying, I bought an unlocked device to avoid things like that. That's what you get for not researching, I suppose. :silly:
Edit 2: To impart a bit of what I found for other readers (since there aren't many threads about it, from what I can tell):
- Snapdragon phones since the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge come Region Locked, not just carrier-locked. A region lock is to combat grey market reselling, but it's not so bad; just place a five-minute phone call in the region the phone was intended for, and that constraint is gone.
- Next, carrier SIM lock codes are not new, but I guess I was surprised to find that my direct-from-Samsung device will lock itself to the first carrier it attaches to. You can get an unlock code from the carrier (especially if you are leaving/moving, or the contract is over, for example), or via third-party service for around $30 USD or less.
If anyone has evidence or experience of the contrary, by all means let me know!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you purchased unlocked from Samsung Canada they included the unlock code and IMEI with the shipping notice email. The phone locks to the first carrier then you put in the next SIM and use the unlock code from the shipping order. It didn't reset anything when I used a Rogers SIM to unlock from Virgin.
Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk
Fantastic, thanks for letting me know! It'll help others too I'm sure.
I remember my phone arriving before I got a notice, so I may need to do some digging. Can't quite find it just yet. : /
Edit: Ah, look for Tech Data, not Samsung.
Sevael said:
This is correct. It is done this way so that only one set of firmware is needed for the entire country, despite us having almost a dozen different carriers. It would be too much work for Samsung to have to tweak each new firmware update for each individual Canadian carrier, so they put them all into a single package.
All SM-G955W units use the same firmware and said firmware contains the CSC settings and 'bloatware' of every Canadian carrier. The pre-installed firmware does not install any carrier bloatware; those apps just sit in waiting, hidden in the firmware. Once a SIM card is inserted for the first time, the phone detects said SIM card's carrier, reboots into recovery and 'updates' by locking itself to that carrier and installing that carrier's bloatware. That change is written permanently into the phone's internals; from this point on, any time you factory reset it will go back to this state, with that carrier's firmware installed, even if you have subsequently unlocked the phone and have a different carrier's SIM card inserted.
When you see firmware downloads for a Samsung phone and each one is listed from a different carrier, that is actually irrelevant. The resulting firmware is identical and the phone will take whatever settings, CSC, and apps from within the firmware and install according to which carrier it was originally locked to (even if it is now unlocked).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any way to flash out the settings and apps from the original Sim/carrier?
I.e. im going from Rogers to Freedom mobile and have factory unlocked my phone with a code; can I now go from a rogers branded phone to a Freedom mobile branded phone or more preferably an unbranded version and still utilize all the functions of Freedom mobile such as Wi-Fi calling?
howellinmad said:
Is there any way to flash out the settings and apps from the original Sim/carrier?
I.e. im going from Rogers to Freedom mobile and have factory unlocked my phone with a code; can I now go from a rogers branded phone to a Freedom mobile branded phone or more preferably an unbranded version and still utilize all the functions of Freedom mobile such as Wi-Fi calling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late reply. I didn't get an email notification about this post for some reason...
With root access, you would normally be able to remove these apps from the system partition of the phone, but on an unrooted Samsung device, the best you can do is to disable those apps. Once disabled, they are completely dormant and you can go about your business as if they aren't there. The bloatware from all Canadian carriers is baked into the firmware and on every one of our phones regardless, so it's not like you could truly get an "unbranded" Samsung phone in Canada. At best, these apps are hidden. They are not taking up space in the user partition, so it's not like deleting them would free up any usable space anyhow.
As for WiFi calling, my understanding is that carriers that support WiFi calling have to flag that IMEI to allow WiFi calling on their network. Furthermore, it seems that the carriers only initially flag their own phones (i.e. the ones you buy directly from that carrier) and refuse to add devices by customer request. I've read that some people have had luck calling their new carrier and asking for their ported phone to be enabled for WiFi calling, but it appears that the vast majority of people are denied. So I can't really say whether or not you will have any luck enabling WiFi calling after bringing a phone that was originally from a different carrier. If I had to wager, I would say that it wouldn't work as that seems to be the general consensus.
My "unlocked" Canadian SM-G955W Galaxy S8 is currently set on the FIDO network, since it was the first SIM I inserted into it.
I didn't mind too much about the bloatware: they're easy enough to disable.
I was a little irritated that the FIDO firmware disabled the "data" and "wireless hotspot" quick tiles, but read of a way using adb to make them available; but that needs to be done again after every firmware update.
But now, I'm pissed to discover that the FIDO firmware removed the option to do Bluetooth tethering. What? That's what brought me to this thread, searching for a way to have a truly unlocked phone.
So there really is no way to do this without rooting? What would happen if I flashed a US firmware? or UK?
Thanks!
You can change the csc to the unlocked variant xac, Dial *#243203855# in the dialer. But this will wipe your device.
I know the unlocked model of the s8 is supposed to be released at the end of may, but I bought an s8 off of swappa that was unlocked model number G950, and it seems to be unlocked and there are no carrier boot up logos or bloatware. My Sim card (At&t) is recognized and I am able to get LTE, But texting doesn't work, it just immediately says retry and calling just gives me an error saying Sim is not installed or something. Dunno if this means anything but while I was installing an OTA update for the phone the screen looked kinda different from any other phones I've used (trust me I've used a lot of phones...) and I was wondering if that meant anything. I've attached a photo so you all can see. Any insight or help on how to get my calls and texts working would be helpful. Also, I honestly don't know what phone I have. I did some research of some model numbers I found in the settings and there was only one search that led me to Samsung saying that it was a model for C-Spire but I've never heard of them.
That's the regular update screen. I did an update last night.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
If you look in the root/change carrier thread and do some reading. You can flash from C-spire to XAC. Which is unlocked Canadian version. It unlocks LTE bands and no carrier bloat. I had a US cellular version and did this. Now it works great
Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk
The stock messaging app, "settings", then "more settings" , then "text messages" then "message center"" . Make sure you have this number there: +13603399740
That is what AT&T told me to go to when I couldn't get messages on my phone. Not 100% sure if the number is the same for everyone on AT&T or not.
I purchased an Essential phone on eBay.
Excited to use my new phone;
I tried to insert my sim card
(I use Walmart Family Mobile which is under T-MOBILE)
and I get a screen saying
"SIM NETWORK UNLOCK PIN"
So confused I look up the IMEI to see if it is unlocked or not
It says CLEAN
other things it said:
"Error message: device is available"
"Device FED description: FED is in the past. Financial eligibility on the device has been met"
"Blacklist status: CLEAN(failed deactivation)"
"Activation status: device is inactive"
"Currently active: no"
Device FED met: YES
SPCS: YES
I tried rebooting the phone a few times. I tried going through settings but when I tried to select "automatically detect network" and turn it off, it goes to a black screen and the settings app crashes.
So I went into the recovery mode just to see and it says
PRODUCT NAME - MATA
VARIANT - SPRINT
BOOTLOADER VERSION - MATA-34cc3f5
BASEBAND VERSION - 2.0.c.4-M2.0.10
SERIAL NUMBER: *BUNCH OF THINGS*
SECURE BOOT - yes
DEVICE STATE: LOCKED
I have tried contacting Sprint they said they can't unlock with the account. The eBay seller has yet to get back to me and I'm frustrated. I tried contacting family movie and no one there knows a lick about anything other than how to read a script. I checked online with Family Mobile and T-MOBILE and both websites, after entering IMEI, I shouldn't have any problem and to sign up for a contract with them today! But talking on the phone family mobile said it is impossible to switch a Sprint phone over to them because you can't switch a Sprint phone to be used on T-Mobile. Which I know is baloney....
I just wanna use my phone with my same number and stuff... Idk why this is so difficult.
This may be a stupid question but I'm definitely stupid and uneducated in this department and would love some advice/assistance...
Please and thanks
I'd keep pursuing Sprint. Did they confirm it's SIM unlocked? If they said it can't be unlocked as is, then it suggests it's SIM locked. Only Sprint can unlock it but there is a thread about unlocking it yourself.
The phone may need to be reactivated on the seller's Sprint account and then unlocked. But Sprint has a time period a phone needs to be activated before they'll unlock it. That may complicate things more.
Contact the eBay seller since he/she locked it and therefore know the code, or, contact Sprint to unlock it, it is a relatively straightforward solution nowadays, service providers don't hold people and phones hostage like they used to.