I purchased a used US997 that appears to be a LG demo or test phone. It activates and works, but the software version is still from May of 2017. What is the date of the current stock software for the US997? Furthermore, I attempted to unlock the bootloader and got denied. The message says "Your device (TEST_GPIN) does not support unlocking the bootloader." Hence my thinking the phone is a beta/test version of the consumer model. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge on this? At this juncture, I am posed to return the phone.
Thanks in advance.
There are two versions of the US997. One is the US Cellular version, the bootloader can not be unlocked. The other is a non US Cellular version that can be unlocked. You need to go to the LG developer website and submit your IMEI and they will email you a file that can be used to unlock the bootloader. If you have a US Cellular version, they will reply that your phone is not unlockable.
lemmyslender said:
There are two versions of the US997. One is the US Cellular version, the bootloader can not be unlocked. The other is a non US Cellular version that can be unlocked. You need to go to the LG developer website and submit your IMEI and they will email you a file that can be used to unlock the bootloader. If you have a US Cellular version, they will reply that your phone is not unlockable.
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I am aware that there are the 2 versions. What I have is not the US Cellular version of the phone. It is a demo or test model of the US997 unlocked phone. However, I can't unlock the bootloader and it doesn't look like it is capable of receiving OTA updates.
Irieone said:
I am aware that there are the 2 versions. What I have is not the US Cellular version of the phone. It is a demo or test model of the US997 unlocked phone. However, I can't unlock the bootloader and it doesn't look like it is capable of receiving OTA updates.
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US997 is also the model number of the U.S. Cellular phone. Both the open market US997 and U.S. Cellular US997 are identical in every respect, EXCEPT the U.S. Cellular is not eligible for bootloader unlock.
You have a demo or test model US997 which was NEVER sold at retail by authorized 3rd party retailer like B&H Photo. Thus, it's not eligible for bootloader unlock. The ones that are eligible would not come up TEST_GPIN and their IMEI numbers would in the LG Developer bootloader unlock database.
Related
Hi,
I just purchased a locked Sprint LG V20 online and I'm just wondering what the best (Cheapest) way to unlock it and use it on a Canadian network.
I've read on some threads when you do the Dirty Santa bootloader unlock, the carrier becomes unlocked as well? (Could someone please explain the exact way how or point me to a thread that can). I also read flashing a US cellular rom on a Sprint model will unlock the phone.
Then there's a method similar to the G5 where you can download the hidden menu dialer apk and unlock it that way.
Thanks,
changstalicious said:
Hi,
I just purchased a locked Sprint LG V20 online and I'm just wondering what the best (Cheapest) way to unlock it and use it on a Canadian network.
I've read on some threads when you do the Dirty Santa bootloader unlock, the carrier becomes unlocked as well? (Could someone please explain the exact way how or point me to a thread that can). I also read flashing a US cellular rom on a Sprint model will unlock the phone.
Then there's a method similar to the G5 where you can download the hidden menu dialer apk and unlock it that way.
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
check the software version on your cellular telephone device.
If it mentions zv5, it is rootable. If it says zv6, dont bother. Been patched.
I went on eBay to unlock my Sprint V20 to use with AT&T.
I want to install custom Rom on LG V20. Which carrier should I get it from, T-Mobile, Att, Sprint, Verizon? Thanks.
You should get the US996 unlocked version. It will work on all the carriers plus you can unlock the bootloader on LG's website. All the others you will need to use Dirty Santa to unlock unless they have newer firmware which cannot unlock yet. You can get the US996 fairly cheap. Just make sure it is the US996 unlocked not the US996 US Cellular version.
Is there a way to tell if a phone is the US Cellular version or the actual unlocked version?
Already got burned once buying a US996 from ebay that was labelled as factory unlocked but it was actually a US Cellular.
I'm hoping there/s something on the sticker under the battery that will have the answers but nothing obvious from what I can see.
Does the US996 model support all TMobile bands including band 12 and VoLTE, wifi calling? Thanks.
I am planning to buy an LG G6+ US997U(Model no LGUS997U.AAMZBK) and import it to India for the simple fact that US997U models are bootloader unlockable.
The problem arises that the LTE bands being used in India are not mentioned in the FCC filing for US997 models.
As I understand the modem in SD821 supports all LTE bands and there are region specific software blocks to block other bands.
My question is whether after unlocking and rooting, I can remove those blocks so the phone works fine with the LTE bands in India.
Please Help.
you know only the H870 and US997 can be unlocked no other models like the h870d or ds or a u version
..but DS is quite different. (two sim) 997 and 997U are differ just in mem size and quad dac. So the boot is almost the same.
Indiant said:
..but DS is quite different. (two sim) 997 and 997U are differ just in mem size and quad dac. So the boot is almost the same.
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Yes I read in an Amazon review that there is official support for bootloader unlock for US997U.
Question now is whether I can unlock all the LTE bands available with the SD821 and whether I can flash the H870 or US997 recovery and roms(Lineage, AquariOS) on US997U?
@J0SH1X @rc420head Can you guys help answer this please?
gammaboy said:
Yes I read in an Amazon review that there is official support for bootloader unlock for US997U.
Question now is whether I can unlock all the LTE bands available with the SD821 and whether I can flash the H870 or US997 recovery and roms(Lineage, AquariOS) on US997U?
@[email protected] Can you guys help answer this please?
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Not sure about the U h870 and us997 have twrp and custom roms
rc420head said:
Not sure about the U h870 and us997 have twrp and custom roms
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Absolute nothing. No custom rom, no recovery, no root. ...and I think no system updates too for u, because it is an Amazon branded phone.
So... Is the G6+ (US997U) supported by LG Developer's bootloader unlock, or not? That's the real issue... not the fact that it's "just the memory size" because LG distinguishes support based on the IMEI/MEID. Consider the fact that all of the US99x phones are the same model number for the "unlocked" and the "US Cellular" versions... but LG will not send you an unlock code if you attempt to use a device ID from a device that is provisioned to the US Cellular carrier. The hardware is literally identical.
Also consider that the V30+ is in the same boat. The US998 can be unlocked on the LG dev site (with a little trickery - you have to change the website code in Chrome for it to work)... but the US998U can NOT. We're not really sure why.
Presently... the LG Dev Supported Devices List does NOT list the US997U (G6+)... so I want to ask anyone here that says it can be unlocked how they did it. It's hard to find info on xda, since the "plus" version doesn't seem to have it's own portal.
Thanks, all!
I tried to unlock my US997U on the portal (selecting US997 from the dropdown) and my unlock was brutally denied.
Extremely lame that simply having more memory means I can't unlock my phone!
is there any update on this? can LGUS997U be unlocked? I too was denied on the LG developer website
vvsarana said:
is there any update on this? can LGUS997U be unlocked? I too was denied on the LG developer website
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YEAH SUPER LAME!. the website denied mine too. SOOO LAME. because fastboot gave me the CODE... SO LAME.
Unfortunately, your device( United States, (AMAZON(USA)), LGUS997U.AMZ )does not support unlocking the bootloader.
I'm thinking about buying a used US996 UCL (locked to US Cellular) to use on T-Mobile network.
Is there a service selling the unlock code for this phone? I haven't found any service that specifically say they do US Cellular phones.
If I root the phone, can I sim unlock it myself? Are all versions of this phone root-able, or will I need to check for something specific (security software version, firmware version, etc.)?
These are really noobish questions, but I hope someone can help me. Thanks!
According to their policy, all U.S. Cellular phones from February 2016 and newer already come SIM unlocked, so that's probably why you couldn't find any unlock codes/services:
https://www.uscellular.com/site/legal/mobile-wireless-device-unlocking.html
C D said:
According to their policy, all U.S. Cellular phones from February 2016 and newer already come SIM unlocked[/URL]
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Wow, that's really nice of US Cellular. It's a shame they have no presence where I am.
Thanks!
V20 are locked at OS level, flashing to a carrier-less firmware (US996), or a firmware from a carrier that doesn't lock their phone (everything aside from T-Mobile and Sprint), or an AOSP ROM (LineageOS) will unlock the device. Unless its a H918 or LS997, you don't have to worry about SIM locking
So, I happened to get my hands on a pair of V20's. Both were us996 models. One was the USA and the other was UCL (US Cellular). In the past, the UCL was not able to be unlocked on LG's website. I was able to unlock the USA model just fine this time. I've tried a BTP model in the past and was not able to, and knew also the UCL was not able to as well. However, I tried anyway. The first hurdle was the IMEI # is 14 digits, which you need 15 digits for it to unlock correctly. (Typically 14 is ONLY CDMA), which UCL is.
This gives the full 15... https://www.imei.info/calc I proceeded to follow LG's guide, going to fastboot, then fastboot oem device-id And guess what, I got a valid unlock.bin from LG and was able to fully unlock the previously unlockable model us996.UCL. (which is not on the list of unlocked still, only us996.USA).
I then flashed my us99610n.zip (The 20f was installed, so needed to downgrade). The phone boots just fine now and works for GSM/CDMA like any other us996.USA device. It presents the yellow warning, vs. the red stop alert.
With all the said, I'm not sure if ALL V20 models are now unlockable, but others will have to try. Ie.. vs995/h990/ls997/h910. I know the h918 was already was, but some fastboot commands were missing. So if anyone else wants to try and report back. You may not even need to really flash the unlock.bin file, more so LG's website initially would not even email the unlock.bin file if it was not able to be done.
LG's Guide: https://developer.lge.com/resource/mobile/RetrieveBootloader.dev (you need an account)
You need to make sure in developer settings to enable OEM unlock. YOU may need to go back to stock to get this option to enable it. Not sure coming from Lineage what will happen.
EDIT: Fortunately I had saved my device-id and IMEI before I rooted so I didn't have to flash stock to test on VS995. I had a 15 digit IMEI without having to find the 15th digit.
Unfortunately it didn't work. I got a model not supported message on the LG developer website. Hopefully it will work for everyone with a UCL model.
Original Post:
I am unable to test this on my dirtycow rooted VS995 because "fastboot oem device-id" does not work presumably because of engineering aboot. EDIT: I see now you did mention this OP.
I get this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot oem device-id
...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.073s
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I suppose I could flash stock to see if it works on my spare device if no one else tests this on non us996 variants in the meantime.
Would be fantastic if it works! Great as it is because at least UCL versions are easier to come by than the USA version from what I see for sale online.
I have LG V20 F800L. Fastboot mode is also not available in it. You can unlock the bootlader method DirtySanta ( XDA [LS997|VS995|H910|F800L] DirtySanta Bootloader unlock and Root guide )
This is interesting. Nice find. Hopefully the door can be unlocked. Ls997 for me lol. One fully rooted, one temp root on Oreo, and other Unrooted ZVD.
A user on the V20 Subreddit got the US996 BPT unlocked via LG. So now it appears that at least all US996 models (USA, UCL, BPT) can get their bootloaders officially unlocked through LG's website.
C D said:
A user on the V20 Subreddit got the US996 BPT unlocked via LG. So now it appears that at least all US996 models (USA, UCL, BPT) can get their bootloaders officially unlocked through LG's website.
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Not all, but I wish. I have a US996 UCK model (US CELLULAR_TULSA(USA) that this doesn't work on:
"Unfortunately, your device( United States, (US CELLULAR_TULSA(USA)), LGUS996.UCK )does not support unlocking the bootloader. Your account will be locked if you enter the wrong information more than 9 times." (down to 7 now - LOL.)
My IMEI is already 15 digits (vs 14 as noted), so no need to convert/find the check digit. This is just a standby phone, but it would be nice to unlock it without using the engineering BL/DS method. Same holds true with a pair of VS995's that I have.
Perhaps I overlooked something?
EDIT: I have another US996 device coming next week that "appears" to be the real McCoy (Carrier Code: USA) according to the IMEI . Hopefully this one is legit.
fathergweedo said:
Not all, but I wish. I have a US996 UCK model (US CELLULAR_TULSA(USA) that this doesn't work on:
"Unfortunately, your device( United States, (US CELLULAR_TULSA(USA)), LGUS996.UCK )does not support unlocking the bootloader. Your account will be locked if you enter the wrong information more than 9 times." (down to 7 now - LOL.)
My IMEI is already 15 digits (vs 14 as noted), so no need to convert/find the check digit. This is just a standby phone, but it would be nice to unlock it without using the engineering BL/DS method. Same holds true with a pair of VS995's that I have.
Perhaps I overlooked something?
EDIT: I have another US996 device coming next week that "appears" to be the real McCoy (Carrier Code: USA) according to the IMEI . Hopefully this one is legit.
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Interesting to know. I haven't heard of the UCK variant before. Does it say UCK next to the barcode on the sticker behind the battery?
According to the LG firmware page, it looks like there's even a 5th region called BPS (another Brightpoint model) for the US996. So I guess we still can't go buy US996s blindly for the official bootloader unlock. No surprise about the VS995 as Verizon (along with AT&T) had locked bootloaders on their phones for ages now.
C D said:
Interesting to know. I haven't heard of the UCK variant before. Does it say UCK next to the barcode on the sticker behind the battery?
According to the LG firmware page, it looks like there's even a 5th region called BPS (another Brightpoint model) for the US996. So I guess we still can't go buy US996s blindly for the official bootloader unlock. No surprise about the VS995 as Verizon (along with AT&T) had locked bootloaders on their phones for ages now.
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Yes, UCK on the sticker. Just for kicks I flashed the USA firmware US99610f_00_1205.kdz in hopes it made a difference, but it returns the same unlock string.
I tried it with a H990ds TWN and it did not work ("Unfortunately, your device..."). That was to be expected, but I tried it anyway just in case.
I had a US996 that I previously could not unlock.
The error said something in the lines of this model US996Z is not supported.
I tried the LG developer site again today and it gave me an unlock key.
Thanks for the heads up ?
I noticed that the LG developer site now has a pop-up message saying that it will terminate at the end of the year, so all official bootloader unlocks will no longer be possible after that. Anyone who wants to root any of the supported US996 models after this year would need to do the DirtySanta process.