Hello,
I recently saw the (samsung.com) Buy One Get One (/us/mobile/phones/t-mobile-free-galaxy-s8-promotion) deal on the Samsung S8. I am really interested. The deal applies on buying the T-Mobile variants directly from samsung.com. (Not through T-Mobile)
However, I am from India, and am currently travelling to the US. I would like to buy both the phones and get them unlocked later so that I can use them back in India. I do not mind buying/activating a new T-Mobile line on one of the phones as long as I can SIM unlock the phone later for use with other SIMs. From what I read, T-Mobile does not have these phones registered in their database and it is difficult to get them to unlock the phone for me. What usually ends up happening is that Samsung people redirect to T-Mobile, who in turn redirect back to Samsung. Has anybody had any success?
Here are a couple of reddit threads dealing with the same matter (can't post links yet, sorry) :
/r/tmobile/comments/68w6ow/samsungcom_tmobile_s8_sim_unlock/
/r/tmobile/comments/6crs6v/unlocking_samsung_galaxy_purchased_from_samsungcom/
/r/GalaxyS8/comments/67a942/how_to_get_sim_unlock_code_for_phones_purchased/
Please let me know if this is possible, and how it can be done.
I have T-mo phone bought and paid in full direct from Samsung and I can confirm this nonsense, which should be totally illegal: T-mo has no record of my phone's IMEI and Samsung can't unlock the phone without T-mo. You could try paid services, but I have no idea how well and if they even work. You could also wait for root and probably unlock then, but it's risky. So far I have not been able to resolve this issue.
pete4k said:
I have T-mo phone bought and paid in full direct from Samsung and I can confirm this nonsense, which should be totally illegal: T-mo has no record of my phone's IMEI and Samsung can't unlock the phone without T-mo. You could try paid services, but I have no idea how well and if they even work. You could also wait for root and probably unlock then, but it's risky. So far I have not been able to resolve this issue.
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That's sad to hear. I would have loved to get the phone using this offer. From what I gathered from the reddit threads, you basically have to grind down on customer support (either Samsung or T-Mobile) to get it unlocked from their side.
I recently purchased an at&t samsung galaxy s7 for a friend for a great price. The imei is clean but the phone is still locked to at&t service. My friend wants to use it on another carrier and the seller offered to unlock it for 50 USD but I suspect it can be unlocked for less, if not for free. I've searched around a bit and have seen a number of online services but I figured I'd consult the knowledge folks here for the best course.
Thanks in advance
efaustus9 said:
I recently purchased an at&t samsung galaxy s7 for a friend for a great price. The imei is clean but the phone is still locked to at&t service. My friend wants to use it on another carrier and the seller offered to unlock it for 50 USD but I suspect it can be unlocked for less, if not for free. I've searched around a bit and have seen a number of online services but I figured I'd consult the knowledge folks here for the best course.
Thanks in advance
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AT&T unlocks then for free if the phone is paid on full. I can't remember the website but i did it to my s5
Thanks dirty, but I was under the impression you had to be an at&t customer in order to have at&t unlock it. On their webpage I was having that problem, it was asking for account information I couldn't provide since I do not have an account with at&t.
efaustus9 said:
Thanks dirty, but I was under the impression you had to be an at&t customer in order to have at&t unlock it. On their webpage I was having that problem, it was asking for account information I couldn't provide since I do not have an account with at&t.
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You could call them (not your local dealer) and see if there is anything that they can get off the phone (serial number) to verify that the phone is paid on full, if so then they should unlock it. Also keep in mind that i don't believe it will work on Verizon or sprint since they use cdma, AT&T and T mobile use gsm.
I used unlockscope.com . Was 25$ and took less than 12 hours
Mine is an att version. Traded my 6 plus for it.
Hi All,
I recently purchased this phone while on a trip to the US as a cheap method to have data and use it for it's GPS, etc. I'd like to use it in Canada, but doing that requires it to be unlocked, and Tracphone's unlock policy is that it must be on their network for a year.
From what I have seen, paid unlock services don't support tracphone. What are my options for getting this phone unlocked? I'm ok with rooting and pulling files through ADB if needed.
Thanks, Ivan
There is another thread about root support for this phone here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-j3-2016/help/sm-s327vl-root-support-t3662669/
I have this phone and I doubt they will figure a way to root it. As for unlocking to use on another network or carrier, the policy is that way with Tracfone. You have to wait, since the paid services will not unlock it for you. I could be wrong.
I bought this phone because I thought I was only getting a certain amount for a phone. I was impatient and had family buy it early for me thinking this certain amount on a check I was getting. After buying went through hell with Tracfone, after getting phone and the screen flickered and had vertical lines going through it and had to do a RMA with them, from June 14th to around middle of July, in about a month wait.
By the time of the 2nd week of waiting for the RMA and new phone. I got the check I was waiting for and it was $224. I was thinking before I bought this phone online off of Tracfone website, that I wanted to buy a unlocked phone from Best Buy. The Motorola G4 Play. With the amount I would of got and did not know until too late, I regret not doing the other way.
I could of got a 32gb internal unlocked phone with fingerprint scanner. Oh well, my mistake, and with the 4 week hassle I dealt with Tracfone in getting a replacement. I will never ever buy another phone off their website. Really, bad customer service. If I had a better budget and more options, then I would go with another network.
Any Solution to unlock network on the s320vl?
Hi,
has anyone used the BYOD one year of free service on sprint? I'm currently with USmobile, and apparently that makes me eligible for this plan. That'd basically pay for the phone in savings, which sounds great, but I'm wondering if anyone else has used it? Anything that one would have to take into account taking the unlocked Essential Phone to Sprint?
i have the bYOD free year using sprint and now with the essential phone. I switched over from my pixel.
I am however getting a terrible signal and non existent 4g speeds, currently researching to see if i can do anything about this! Right now, i wish i had my pixel still...
i did byod with an essential phone... and it must have relocked it. when going into settings to unlock (while on the free plan and after waiting the required time frame) it would not unlock. i tried contacting customer support and it said it could only be unlocked by the original owner. then after more back and forth said it was already unlocked. so what i determined was putting it back on sprint RE-locked it, but their system was so messy that it showed it as unlocked.
x000x said:
i did byod with an essential phone... and it must have relocked it. when going into settings to unlock (while on the free plan and after waiting the required time frame) it would not unlock. i tried contacting customer support and it said it could only be unlocked by the original owner. then after more back and forth said it was already unlocked. so what i determined was putting it back on sprint RE-locked it, but their system was so messy that it showed it as unlocked.
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Yikes, that's some ****ed up ****... I'm on the sprint plan now, how do I figure out whether they locked my phone? Also, how is that even possible, wth?
dsip said:
Yikes, that's some ****ed up ****... I'm on the sprint plan now, how do I figure out whether they locked my phone? Also, how is that even possible, wth?
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there was a sale, sprint was selling them for $150, and you could pay it off early, unlock them and leave sprint. a lot of people did that, and then later sprint changed the terms of having to wait x amount of days to unlock them. my first one was probably one of these (got it off ebay). It might only involve those that were sold at that greatly discounted price. easiest way to tell if it is still unlocked is to put a different carrier sim and see what happens, otherwise look for something called uicc unlock. i think if it is relocked you have to wait 45 days to unlock it. I eventually gave up asking sprint customer support, and just did this https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=75994498&postcount=360 to unlock it
I bought this v35 off of eBay and turns out it hasn't been paid off and I can't pay it off because I don't have the old account info.
Can I still go through the online carrier unlock methods to get this unlocked? Is there any way to unlock it myself or otherwise?
You need to return it for a refund.
Ohitstarik said:
I bought this v35 off of eBay and turns out it hasn't been paid off and I can't pay it off because I don't have the old account info.
Can I still go through the online carrier unlock methods to get this unlocked? Is there any way to unlock it myself or otherwise?
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Sadly I can't. I tried to refund it on eBay and they sided with the seller on some bull****. The point I made was that I couldn't unlock it because it wasn't paid off (not that it wasn't paid off in the first place), and the seller said it was locked to at&t in the ad (but they didn't say anything about it not being paid off).
So, I'm stuck with this at&t phone in my hand. Apparently at&t users can use it though.
Also: the IMEI is clean
Ohitstarik said:
Sadly I can't. I tried to refund it on eBay and they sided with the seller on some bull****. The point I made was that I couldn't unlock it because it wasn't paid off (not that it wasn't paid off in the first place), and the seller said it was locked to at&t in the ad (but they didn't say anything about it not being paid off).
So, I'm stuck with this at&t phone in my hand. Apparently at&t users can use it though.
Also: the IMEI is clean
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Wow that seems outrageously bogus. Ebay sides with seller that is selling a phone, that isn't paid off? Hard to imagine how they justified that. You can't sell a used car that isn't paid off, unless paying the lien on it is part of the selling transaction, which it usually is. How is it justified selling a phone that isn't paid off, knowing that it can't be unlocked without it being paid for?
I guess that they indicated it was locked to at&t somehow mitigates this in ebays eyes? But it's not like you bought it from the seller knowing you'd have to now pay more to at&t to be able to pay it off and unlock it? that seems totally unfair.
That is crazy for all of the reasons already given. Unless you file an appeal or escalate in some other way, the best you can hope for is that it wasn't stolen, gets paid off, and stays off IMEI blacklists. You have a paperweight if the latter happens.
Ohitstarik said:
I bought this v35 off of eBay and turns out it hasn't been paid off and I can't pay it off because I don't have the old account info.
Can I still go through the online carrier unlock methods to get this unlocked? Is there any way to unlock it myself or otherwise?
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Click to collapse
It definitely is bull****.
Can't say I'm the most responsible person, if I pushed hard enough I might have been able to get something out of this back in the day. It still hasn't been paid off, this all happened 2 years ago. It really surprised me since ebay pretty much always sides with the buyer no matter what.
I've been lazy and have been using the phone lightly for ground control stuff for drones, but it's been sitting around for most of the time. I have a OnePlus 6T but was still thinking of switching to the V35 and selling the 6T. 2gb less ram, but the screen and cameras from what I see are worth it.
Its not possible though? Through bootloader unlock and flashing a new ROM? I guess the network & software side are a different, and the IMEI points to the network stuff. I guess I'll just try to sell it to some At&t user.
Ohitstarik said:
It definitely is bull****.
Can't say I'm the most responsible person, if I pushed hard enough I might have been able to get something out of this back in the day. It still hasn't been paid off, this all happened 2 years ago. It really surprised me since ebay pretty much always sides with the buyer no matter what.
I've been lazy and have been using the phone lightly for ground control stuff for drones, but it's been sitting around for most of the time. I have a OnePlus 6T but was still thinking of switching to the V35 and selling the 6T. 2gb less ram, but the screen and cameras from what I see are worth it.
Its not possible though? Through bootloader unlock and flashing a new ROM? I guess the network & software side are a different, and the IMEI points to the network stuff. I guess I'll just try to sell it to some At&t user.
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No, I don't think crossflashed or boot unlocked will matter. It's the IMEI that will be recognized, no disguising it. And that's too bad, as they are good phones. How much is owed on it? Even on at&t that might be a problem?
That's the thing, they won't even let me pay it off/figure out how much is left on the account. The people at At&t I talked to said you can still use it on the at&t network, but you just can't unlock it (which doesn't make sense). I wonder if there's other forces at play, e.g. this was a store model phone or something like that..
Ohitstarik said:
That's the thing, they won't even let me pay it off/figure out how much is left on the account. The people at At&t I talked to said you can still use it on the at&t network, but you just can't unlock it (which doesn't make sense). I wonder if there's other forces at play, e.g. this was a store model phone or something like that..
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Here's how it makes sense...
AT&T can still make money by people using it on AT&T. If carrier unlocked then they don't. The person who didn't finish paying for it was probably reported for not paying a contracted debt. (Technically, it's still AT&T property.)
Probably one of those "buy one, get one free deals" -- but you have to maintain a new line for x number of months (6?, 12? 24?). That's the probably the "debt" they didn't pay, not the phone itself but probably the terms of the freebie deal where a new line is started and maintained.
We saw this a lot with T-Mobile V30. Tons sold on eBay that were "free" phones but with unpaid T-Mobile financial commitment attached.
AT&T have long since written this V35 off, but IF a rep let you pay off the deal:
1) Cost is probably more than the phone is worth. X number of monthly bills? What is X? Would you have to start a new line?
Is interest owed?
Too many questions.
2) It would supremely annoy AT&T's accountants, who have already reconciled 2018 books and would have to adjust their ledger.
3) The debt would no longer be outstanding and AT&T would have to go back and retract the black mark on the previous owner's credit reports. Because some stranger paid the bill? Easier for them to leave it just as it is.
I got you. It's definitely a bummer but that makes sense and at least gives some cleared up closure for me
I was just wondering how you know it has balance? Did AT&T rep said so? Have you run imei check on swappa and on imeipro.info? One of these sites would show if phone is still under obligation. There is a possibility that phone is paid off but just locked to AT&T. I feel this to be the case because too much time has passed for it to have not been paid off or it should have had bad imei by now. Let's assume that it was paid off but locked to AT&T, even then AT&T will not unlock it. I went through many V35 phones that AT&T wouldn't unlock because many of these AT&T branded phones were sold by third parties and mvnos where AT&T didn't have unlock info, or would just refuse to unlock the phone.
I am sure you can still get it unlocked. Go on eBay, search for "lg v35 unlock code". Look for $9.99 listing by seller uws-tech. He should be able to unlock this phone. In my case, over the years, AT&T refused to unlock 5 of lg v35 i tried, i even made complaint on BBB, but AT&T failed to unlock and third party unlock service like the above mentioned unlocked them for me. They worked fine on all carriers i tried them on afterwards.
I tried to unlock it through AT&Ts unlocking service online, and it said it wasn't paid off.
It's clean IMEI though, I ran it through some IMEI checkers online. I remember the seller online did say it was locked to AT&T but I just assumed that was because of the unpaid balance thing. I didn't realize phones would be forever locked to AT&T, even after 2 years. You think that's the case? I'll give a shot to the seller you're talking about if so.
Yes most carriers do not automatically unlock phones once the phone is paid off, although some carriers are starting to do that. Give the unlock service a try but make sure that you use the seller i suggested or the ones who offer premium service. When i quick searched ebay last night he seemed to be the only one but today found cheaper seller, universe.2018. Try this one if you haven't already ordered:. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Unlock-Cod...ium-Service-/283645621174?hash=item420a98b3b6
Just make sure the listing mentions premium service and that they support all imei because for V35 phones they have to look up special database that the cheaper services do not utilize.
Used the seller you noted last night, worked like a charm. V35 is now unlocked, thanks to everyone in the thread.
Ohitstarik said:
Used the seller you noted last night, worked like a charm. V35 is now unlocked, thanks to everyone in the thread.
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So I'm in the same situation as you except my phone is a cricket variant. Which seller did you use on Ebay? $7.50 one or $9.99 one? Thanks.
Ohitstarik said:
Used the seller you noted last night, worked like a charm. V35 is now unlocked, thanks to everyone in the thread.
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My phone isn't asking for an unlock code. It's just not connecting to any mobile network. It shows an error in "call services" app in the notification badge. Did your phone do this? Or did it ask for an unlock code?
intervalchange said:
My phone isn't asking for an unlock code. It's just not connecting to any mobile network. It shows an error in "call services" app in the notification badge. Did your phone do this? Or did it ask for an unlock code?
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Unlock procedure would be same for Cricket version and one of the sellers I pointed in my posts above will work for you. Is your phone on AT&T/Cricket firmware? (It will show AT&T logo on startup), if it has already been cross-flashed to another firmware such as ULM or Fi firmwares, it will not show the popup for unlock code. You can't reflash AT&T firmware back on V35 because AT&T don't release their firmwares.
You will need to use Dev patched LG UP that you can get from ChazzMatt's post here (make sure you thank the OP): https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76510671&postcount=168
to flash Mexican version of the software that you can get here: https://lg-firmwares.com/lg-lmv350awm-firmwares/
Then after phone setup, you can insert non-AT&T sim to enter the unlock code. After the phone is unlocked, you can flash any KDZ you like back and it will stay unlocked.
Android# said:
Unlock procedure would be same for Cricket version and one of the sellers I pointed in my posts above will work for you. Is your phone on AT&T/Cricket firmware? (It will show AT&T logo on startup), if it has already been cross-flashed to another firmware such as ULM or Fi firmwares, it will not show the popup for unlock code. You can't reflash AT&T firmware back on V35 because AT&T don't release their firmwares.
You will need to use Dev patched LG UP that you can get from ChazzMatt's post here (make sure you thank the OP): https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76510671&postcount=168
to flash Mexican version of the software that you can get here: https://lg-firmwares.com/lg-lmv350awm-firmwares/
Then after phone setup, you can insert non-AT&T sim to enter the unlock code. After the phone is unlocked, you can flash any KDZ you like back and it will stay unlocked.
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I have a non rooted V35 on Android 9. Will this method work on Pie?
intervalchange said:
I have a non rooted V35 on Android 9. Will this method work on Pie?
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Your phone is unrooted but again as I asked above you need to make sure whether it is on AT&T firmware or not? This part is very important because if you are on AT&T version of firmware and not getting unlock pop-up, the person who sold you the phone may have used up all the 10 tries to enter the unlock code. After 10 failed tries the phone is permanently locked and you cannot unlock it even if you have an unlock code so no point in buying a code if it is hardlocked.
So to make it less confusing, if the phone shows AT&T logo when you restart, don't bother buying unlock code it won't work.
If phone doesn't show AT&T logo when you restart it, use the directions to flash Mexico region KDZ, finish setup after phone starts up, enter non-AT&T sim card in phone, a popup should appear, enter unlock code and phone will restart and will be unlocked.
Yes as long as you still have unlock tries left, this will work regardless of which firmware you are on. I think they only have Oreo on LG firmwares website for Mexico region but that doesn't matter, once you unlock phone, you can use LG UP to go back to your original firmware as the unlock itself is permanent. By the way use the DL partition option in LG UP when downgrading to Mexico region Oreo and then DL partition or Upgrade option to go back to your original firmware.
Android# said:
Your phone is unrooted but again as I asked above you need to make sure whether it is on AT&T firmware or not? This part is very important because if you are on AT&T version of firmware and not getting unlock pop-up, the person who sold you the phone may have used up all the 10 tries to enter the unlock code. After 10 failed tries the phone is permanently locked and you cannot unlock it even if you have an unlock code so no point in buying a code if it is hardlocked.
So to make it less confusing, if the phone shows AT&T logo when you restart, don't bother buying unlock code it won't work.
If phone doesn't show AT&T logo when you restart it, use the directions to flash Mexico region KDZ, finish setup after phone starts up, enter non-AT&T sim card in phone, a popup should appear, enter unlock code and phone will restart and will be unlocked.
Yes as long as you still have unlock tries left, this will work regardless of which firmware you are on. I think they only have Oreo on LG firmwares website for Mexico region but that doesn't matter, once you unlock phone, you can use LG UP to go back to your original firmware as the unlock itself is permanent. By the way use the DL partition option in LG UP when downgrading to Mexico region Oreo and then DL partition or Upgrade option to go back to your original firmware.
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The phone is not on AT&T software. There's no logo of any carrier when it boots up. I have downloaded the LGUP software and am ready to go however I don't get the last part.
When flashing the KDZ, should I click on DL partition instead of the refurbish or upgrade option?