Database Users

Canadian Focus Buyers beware!!!

I have a really good plan (grandfathered unlimited data, enough said?), thus i'm sticking with bell. I originally got the LG quantum when it came out, however since October i had my eyes set on the Focus.
Other then being heavy and small screen, i had no issue with the quantum. I ordered the Samsung Focus from rogers site.Once i got it, i stuck in my bell SIM and got a screen asking for a code. Took the phone to a local independent cell phone store in Downtown london, ont. the guy took my IMEI and gave me back the phone, a few hours later he e-mailed me the a code. Once entered, the phone went to start screen, everything seemed good.
Could text, and make calls. NO data, NO MMS!!
I found that adding the bells APN (pda.bell.ca), sort of gets data working.
However, It feels as if i would I have to make multiple attempts to force the phone to connect via HSPA+ network (i.e. get 3G+ icon to appear). If on 3G not data works!
and even there it doesn't stay connected. (disconnect between surfing sites, making transactions is a pain) On top of this phone sometimes, looses it's ability to make call or send texts, even with full bars, until soft reset (i.e. power down and up).( only happened once, after i swapped SIM card, hasn't re-occured since hard reset)
Ultimately , the issue is the network profile has been manual programed in the phone to use ROGERS addresses for DATA and MMS. Thus far i can't find a way and the community hasn't helped figuring out how to change the profile, by either manually changing it or changing to a Bell preset.
I can't believe that the phone does not get data in 3G mode. I have a theory, either because the bell network is new it doesn't support 3g data mode, which i doubt as my Quantum seemed fine, or bell doesn't have my IMEI which is how they provided data access on old network. I'm going to a bell store today and giving them my phones IMEI i'm hoping this might provide a break through. (will update afterword)
Samsung offers a network profile app via marketplace, however, once launched it provide the following msg "The application can't be launched with your mobile operator".
I will be contacting Samsung tech support this afternoon, hopefully they'll help with a solution. Although i suspect they say some BS about exclusive to roger, we can't help.
Ultimately, i've played with all WP7 device available in canada. The Samsung focus is the one i enjoy they most. My only let downs are the 16 bit screen which doesn't show gradients, and the OS lacking of essential features (hidden Wi-Fi access, multiple calendars, etc.). When data works i am absolutely in love. hopefully this issue can be fix soon.
UPDATE:
Having provided bell with the IMEI (rep at stored scanned it in from behind battery), nothing has changed still having issues.
I still think it's Network Profile, however in post #3 someone mentions an alternative APN, going to investigate and see what the LG quantum uses then might try.

I wonder if this is due to the Bell network, or if it's due to the Focus coming from Rogers?
I have an AT&T ordered, and it should be here within the week. Let's hope I don't have the same problems as you :S

reaver_shadow said:
I found that adding the bells APN (pda.bell.ca), sort of gets data working.
I can't believe that the phone does not get data in 3G mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There have been some cases reported with new phones on HSPA not being able to connect on pda.bell.ca and that APN setting having to be changed to inet.bell.ca.
Note, however, that under the inet.bell.ca setting, you will incur charges, unless you have a true data plan (150MB/500MB/1-6GB) and not the Unlimited Mobile Browser, which many have historically (and wrongly) referred to as "unlimited data". It's just that pda.bell.ca has never charged people correctly, even now. Expect that free puppy to go the way of the dinosaur, though.

zing said:
There have been some cases reported with new phones on HSPA not being able to connect on pda.bell.ca and that APN setting having to be changed to inet.bell.ca.
Note, however, that under the inet.bell.ca setting, you will incur charges, unless you have a true data plan (150MB/500MB/1-6GB) and not the Unlimited Mobile Browser, which many have historically (and wrongly) referred to as "unlimited data". It's just that pda.bell.ca has never charged people correctly, even now. Expect that free puppy to go the way of the dinosaur, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my plsn it lists "unl Email-Internet Windows 30". Is this consider a "true data plan", and not the historically wrong one?

reaver_shadow said:
On my plsn it lists "unl Email-Internet Windows 30". Is this consider a "true data plan", and not the historically wrong one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neither the UMB, nor the email-internet 30 (often referred to as UNPDA 30, or simply UNPDA), nor the email-IM 15 are true data plans. People everywhere have been calling their UNPDA and UMB plans as unlimited data, only because Bell has not been properly metering and charging through pda.bell.ca portal. The metering of the sessions through pda.bell is actually capped at some ridiculously small amount, whereby you can essentially use "data" well beyond that point and presumably with no limit and the meter still shows stuck at that silly low figure (that figure being in kilobytes and not even reaching megabytes).
It's all good and well to take advantage of this wonky metering. I had the UMB for three years and loved it. "Unlimited data" for 7 bucks! Who would say NO to that? The problem arises when metering actually does function properly. If and when they do correct it, they *can* charge you retroactively for at least that one month of usage not in accordance to your initially agreed to contract. When you first signed up, you agreed to use the UNPDA for emails and internet browsing (and sometimes IM); not for downloading movies, listening to radio and podcasts or tethering to your laptop.
Rather than play hookie with the likes of Bell and go to bed every night praying that today was not the day they fixed the metering, because you just watched "How to Train a Dragon" on your phone, I would suggest to renegotiate a true data plan. This way, you can browse, stream, listen and tether all you want - within reasonable limits.
I switched from the $7 UMB to the 6GB data with tethering plan and I don't lose any sleep. Even with tethering and watching a couple of movies a month, I don't come close to the limit. Oh, and I actually pay about $5 more than I did before for this peace of mind. Some people have even negotiated plans lower than mine.
For some related reading, google "Pda.bell.ca and Tcare Data Usage Meter". A thread from HowarForums should come up at the top. See especially post #14.

I unlocked my Rogers Focus and using it on Telus no problem.
Do you have a friend with a Telus sim?
Maybe the phone is faulty.

geological1 said:
I unlocked my Rogers Focus and using it on Telus no problem.
Do you have a friend with a Telus sim?
Maybe the phone is faulty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW
This sucks, I have questions:
1) How did you unlock you device
2) does network profile app give you error msg when try to launch it?
3) can you MMS?
4) when the phone is in 3G can you use data
5) can you access the root menu using #634# -> *#197328640# ?
Thanks for your reply

reaver_shadow said:
WOW
This sucks, I have questions:
1) How did you unlock you device
2) does network profile app give you error msg when try to launch it?
3) can you MMS?
4) when the phone is in 3G can you use data
5) can you access the root menu using #634# -> *#197328640# ?
Thanks for your reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may want to change the title of the trhead as it is a bit alarmist.
1. I unlocked it from a code supplied from a seller on Ebay.
Great service but the listing is gone now for some reason.
MobileXpress Canada (just one "e")
2. I did install it and yes it gave me an error message so I just uninstalled it.
3. I haven't tried yet
4. Oh ya...big time 3G+ icon at times.
5. I don't want to muck with the root menus until other guinea pigs want to.
I am enjoying the phone too much to mess it up.
I'll let you know if the MMS works after I try it.
You did set up the APN correctly right?
Try another sim??

WARNING! Do not update to 8.1 if your phone is CDMA

HTC 8X/8S
HUAWEI W1
Confirmed brick after 8.1 developer update with CDMA network.
Lumia 822 Verizon
Confirmed no problem if you use GSM/WCDMA.
If you have already bricked your phone, try this:
1.Power down phone by pressing Power button.
2.Press Power button and Volume +/- button at the same time, phone will go to flash mode.
3.Press Camera button for 5 seconds to power off your phone.
4.insert a GSM/WCDMA SIM card in your phone and turn on phone.
It seems that 8.1 not compatible with CDMA SIM card.

reker said:
HTC 8X/8S
HUAWEI W1
Confirmed brick after 8.1 developer update with CDMA network.
Lumia 822 Verizon
Confirmed no problem if you use GSM/WCDMA.
If you have already bricked your phone, try this:
1.Power down phone by pressing Power button.
2.Press Power button and Volume +/- button at the same time, phone will go to flash mode.
3.Press Camera button for 5 seconds to power off your phone.
4.insert a GSM/WCDMA SIM card in your phone and turn on phone.
It seems that 8.1 not compatible with CDMA SIM card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have it on my htc 8xt and its working fine. Well I am having lockscreen issues but the network is working fine for me on sprint.

starsoccer9 said:
I have it on my htc 8xt and its working fine. Well I am having lockscreen issues but the network is working fine for me on sprint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the problem with me no wifi
no mobile data

That is so far from something you could call a "brick" it's not funny. "Brick" means un-recoverable. If you can "un-brick" something without diassembling it or at least using hardware a normal user couldn't have access to, it's not a brick!
Also, has anybody else actually had this problem? A few people seem to indicate that they have *not*...

No problems what-so-ever updating and running on my Odyssey...other than taking forever to download and install.

Working fine in my Lumia Icon from Verizon.

No cellular data after hard reset
I by no means have a brick, but I do now have an issue. Here’s what happened.
I have a Sprint ATIV S Neo, GDR3, Interop-unlock, the whole deal.
Installed the 8.1 update yesterday, and everything was working. I have been playing with all kinds of “stuff” in the registry and such, so I decided that since I had just installed 8.1 I would start fresh and do a hard reset. I don’t really care about keeping interop-unlock at this point. Even with it, so much is still locked down. I’m sure in the future someone will get this cracked and we can really have fun, but until then, just being developer unlocked is good enough.
So, when I got home I reset the phone (power+volume down, exclamation point, then the remaining sequence).
Phone boots back up, and I connect to my WiFi and set everything back up. I think life is wonderful at this point. Then decide to test my 4G download speed so I turn off wifi.
Oops, no cellular data, phone calls and text are fine (didn’t try mms, but probably doesn’t work, blank url in the provisioning). Tried all the usual tricks (##72786# and such). I have my msl, so I go into the provisioning, and things look messed up. My MDN and MSID are 000003872. That makes no sense, so I set them back to the correct values and still no go.
Called Sprint. They ran me through all the usual things that I had already done (hour on the phone with them).
Long story short: The activation program seems to be missing from my phone. Hands free activation never tries to start, in fact, after hard resetting again and watching closely, during setup it says “Activate your device can’t be opened”. And the network settings are missing from the settings menu.
So after work I’m going to take it to Sprint and hopefully they have a factory image they can flash (hopefully an older version so I can update things myself).
My thinking is that the 8.1 update is basically the new rom, but during install doesn't delete the existing carrier programs. When I hard reset, all that got re-installed was the strictly Microsoft stuff, not the carrier specific items i.e. hands free activation.
PS Sorry about the novel...

GoodDayToDie said:
That is so far from something you could call a "brick" it's not funny. "Brick" means un-recoverable. If you can "un-brick" something without diassembling it or at least using hardware a normal user couldn't have access to, it's not a brick!
Also, has anybody else actually had this problem? A few people seem to indicate that they have *not*...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC confirmed this yesterday, they awared the problem and contacting with MS. Announcement by HTC China
The problem covered both HTC 8s(A620D) and 8x(C620d)
8X/8S have similar but more serious problem with gdr1 - gdr2 upgrade last year, even can't boot into SPL.
By the way, to normal users, if their phone turn into black screen and can't boot, it's a brick. No one will care about if it's a real brick, what they know is: I can't use my phone, it's not working, just like a brick.

fgr said:
I by no means have a brick, but I do now have an issue. Here’s what happened.
I have a Sprint ATIV S Neo, GDR3, Interop-unlock, the whole deal.
Installed the 8.1 update yesterday, and everything was working. I have been playing with all kinds of “stuff” in the registry and such, so I decided that since I had just installed 8.1 I would start fresh and do a hard reset. I don’t really care about keeping interop-unlock at this point. Even with it, so much is still locked down. I’m sure in the future someone will get this cracked and we can really have fun, but until then, just being developer unlocked is good enough.
So, when I got home I reset the phone (power+volume down, exclamation point, then the remaining sequence).
Phone boots back up, and I connect to my WiFi and set everything back up. I think life is wonderful at this point. Then decide to test my 4G download speed so I turn off wifi.
Oops, no cellular data, phone calls and text are fine (didn’t try mms, but probably doesn’t work, blank url in the provisioning). Tried all the usual tricks (##72786# and such). I have my msl, so I go into the provisioning, and things look messed up. My MDN and MSID are 000003872. That makes no sense, so I set them back to the correct values and still no go.
Called Sprint. They ran me through all the usual things that I had already done (hour on the phone with them).
Long story short: The activation program seems to be missing from my phone. Hands free activation never tries to start, in fact, after hard resetting again and watching closely, during setup it says “Activate your device can’t be opened”. And the network settings are missing from the settings menu.
So after work I’m going to take it to Sprint and hopefully they have a factory image they can flash (hopefully an older version so I can update things myself).
My thinking is that the 8.1 update is basically the new rom, but during install doesn't delete the existing carrier programs. When I hard reset, all that got re-installed was the strictly Microsoft stuff, not the carrier specific items i.e. hands free activation.
PS Sorry about the novel...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i got the same issue with my ativ s.
everything works except mobile data.
is there some settings i can try since i didnt do a hard reset but the normal reset from the phones "about" menu.
my network is WIND greece.

fgr said:
I by no means have a brick, but I do now have an issue. Here’s what happened.
I have a Sprint ATIV S Neo, GDR3, Interop-unlock, the whole deal.
Installed the 8.1 update yesterday, and everything was working. I have been playing with all kinds of “stuff” in the registry and such, so I decided that since I had just installed 8.1 I would start fresh and do a hard reset. I don’t really care about keeping interop-unlock at this point. Even with it, so much is still locked down. I’m sure in the future someone will get this cracked and we can really have fun, but until then, just being developer unlocked is good enough.
So, when I got home I reset the phone (power+volume down, exclamation point, then the remaining sequence).
Phone boots back up, and I connect to my WiFi and set everything back up. I think life is wonderful at this point. Then decide to test my 4G download speed so I turn off wifi.
Oops, no cellular data, phone calls and text are fine (didn’t try mms, but probably doesn’t work, blank url in the provisioning). Tried all the usual tricks (##72786# and such). I have my msl, so I go into the provisioning, and things look messed up. My MDN and MSID are 000003872. That makes no sense, so I set them back to the correct values and still no go.
Called Sprint. They ran me through all the usual things that I had already done (hour on the phone with them).
Long story short: The activation program seems to be missing from my phone. Hands free activation never tries to start, in fact, after hard resetting again and watching closely, during setup it says “Activate your device can’t be opened”. And the network settings are missing from the settings menu.
So after work I’m going to take it to Sprint and hopefully they have a factory image they can flash (hopefully an older version so I can update things myself).
My thinking is that the 8.1 update is basically the new rom, but during install doesn't delete the existing carrier programs. When I hard reset, all that got re-installed was the strictly Microsoft stuff, not the carrier specific items i.e. hands free activation.
PS Sorry about the novel...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to apologize for the novel! I did the SAME exact thing as you (except I hard resetted via settings > about > more info > reset your phone). Luckily I know my MSL, and have my MSID handy. I wiped my settings by doing ##72786# and selecting ok twice. I rebooted my phone manually and then went to the 'activate my device' app in settings. It did what looked like a profile update and it said my phone was successfully activated with my phone number listed.
I can browse the web on Sprint's network, make/receive calls and send/receive texts. The only thing I can't figure out to fix is MMS. I can't get or send picture mail, group texts or any kind of MMS at all.
I've managed to get my coworkers settings from his ATIV S Neo but I can't figure out how to edit them on my phone. Going into ##3282# doesn't let me edit things that deeply.
From what I've heard on other forums is that we're basically SOL unless Sprint releases their firmware updates and their release of 8.1 soon (which they have confirmed they will do this summer).
I figured from the get go when this started yesterday that this 8.1 release doesn't seem to properly support CDMA and judging by how many people have this issue, I was correct. Microsoft really needs to work better on the CDMA side of things.

fgr said:
I by no means have a brick, but I do now have an issue. Here’s what happened.
I have a Sprint ATIV S Neo, GDR3, Interop-unlock, the whole deal.
Installed the 8.1 update yesterday, and everything was working. I have been playing with all kinds of “stuff” in the registry and such, so I decided that since I had just installed 8.1 I would start fresh and do a hard reset. I don’t really care about keeping interop-unlock at this point. Even with it, so much is still locked down. I’m sure in the future someone will get this cracked and we can really have fun, but until then, just being developer unlocked is good enough.
So, when I got home I reset the phone (power+volume down, exclamation point, then the remaining sequence).
Phone boots back up, and I connect to my WiFi and set everything back up. I think life is wonderful at this point. Then decide to test my 4G download speed so I turn off wifi.
Oops, no cellular data, phone calls and text are fine (didn’t try mms, but probably doesn’t work, blank url in the provisioning). Tried all the usual tricks (##72786# and such). I have my msl, so I go into the provisioning, and things look messed up. My MDN and MSID are 000003872. That makes no sense, so I set them back to the correct values and still no go.
Called Sprint. They ran me through all the usual things that I had already done (hour on the phone with them).
Long story short: The activation program seems to be missing from my phone. Hands free activation never tries to start, in fact, after hard resetting again and watching closely, during setup it says “Activate your device can’t be opened”. And the network settings are missing from the settings menu.
So after work I’m going to take it to Sprint and hopefully they have a factory image they can flash (hopefully an older version so I can update things myself).
My thinking is that the 8.1 update is basically the new rom, but during install doesn't delete the existing carrier programs. When I hard reset, all that got re-installed was the strictly Microsoft stuff, not the carrier specific items i.e. hands free activation.
PS Sorry about the novel...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw your reply to my thread for the same issue. I did some research on WP Central and found another thread where someone was having the same issue with an Ativ S and the solution was to manually enter the APN information. I don't know what the APN info is for Sprint, but when I checked it on my phone it was blank. It seems like a safe bet that updating that info would fix the issue.
---------- Post added at 04:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:40 PM ----------
iknowsingh said:
No need to apologize for the novel! I did the SAME exact thing as you (except I hard resetted via settings > about > more info > reset your phone). Luckily I know my MSL, and have my MSID handy. I wiped my settings by doing ##72786# and selecting ok twice. I rebooted my phone manually and then went to the 'activate my device' app in settings. It did what looked like a profile update and it said my phone was successfully activated with my phone number listed.
I can browse the web on Sprint's network, make/receive calls and send/receive texts. The only thing I can't figure out to fix is MMS. I can't get or send picture mail, group texts or any kind of MMS at all.
I've managed to get my coworkers settings from his ATIV S Neo but I can't figure out how to edit them on my phone. Going into ##3282# doesn't let me edit things that deeply.
From what I've heard on other forums is that we're basically SOL unless Sprint releases their firmware updates and their release of 8.1 soon (which they have confirmed they will do this summer).
I figured from the get go when this started yesterday that this 8.1 release doesn't seem to properly support CDMA and judging by how many people have this issue, I was correct. Microsoft really needs to work better on the CDMA side of things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you be willing to post the settings? I am guessing that the issue may be partially related to APN settings being missing under Settings, Cellular+SIM, SIM settings. I read a post by someone on another forum who had the same data issues but fixed them by entering the APN information for his carrier. I've tried a couple of different APN settings that I've found out on the web for Sprint, but I'm not sure they are accurate. All I know is that they were missing when I checked them on my phone.

i have fixed my issue with some internet research.
adding manually the APN of the provider in the APN settings solved the issue for me.
hope i helped.

Would you be willing to post the settings? I am guessing that the issue may be partially related to APN settings being missing under Settings, Cellular+SIM, SIM settings. I read a post by someone on another forum who had the same data issues but fixed them by entering the APN information for his carrier. I've tried a couple of different APN settings that I've found out on the web for Sprint, but I'm not sure they are accurate. All I know is that they were missing when I checked them on my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would not mind at all! I went into ##3282# on his phone, selected 'view' then 'others' then 'MMSC URL' . The two pictures are attached, the order of the settings begins with the picture that says '[email protected]'. The second pic is literally a continuation as it starts right where the first picture ends (I scrolled neatly!)
I've been trying to find the correct Sprint APN settings around the web, and a lot of sites have similar settings as options but either Windows Phone doesn't have enough fields for the settings, and the fact that in the APN settings on 8.1, it doesn't let me change the authentication type.
I noted on my coworker's ATIV S Neo that in his 'cellular+SIM' section, he doesn't have options to input APN like I do... the hard reset must've kicked the CDMA stuff in our phones to the curb.

fatdata said:
i have fixed my issue with some internet research.
adding manually the APN of the provider in the APN settings solved the issue for me.
hope i helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you mind posting the APN settings you used? That would be appreciated... I've tried going to various sites but wasn't sure what was the correct ones.

iknowsingh said:
Would you mind posting the APN settings you used? That would be appreciated... I've tried going to various sites but wasn't sure what was the correct ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they are for greek providrs though... I think you need to find the ones for your provider.
note: i just used the GPRS APN address for wind (my provider) and it worked the rest seemed to not make any diference
VODAFONE
GPRS APN: - internet.vodafone.gr ή webonly.vodafone.gr
Username: - {κενό}
Password: - {κενό}
MCC=202
MNC=05
APN type=default
DNS: - 213.249.17.10, 213.249.17.11
WIND
GPRS APN: - gnet.b-online.gr ή gint.b-online.gr
Username: - {κενό}
Password: - {κενό}
MCC=202
MNC=10
APN type=default
DNS: - 212.152.79.19, 212.152.79.20

fatdata said:
they are for greek providrs though... I think you need to find the ones for your provider.
note: i just used the GPRS APN address and it worked the rest seemed to not make any diference
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhhh, Vodafone... I assumed you were a Sprint brethren... I appreciate your post nonetheless! Thank you, sir. Now to continue the hunt for correct Sprint settings -_-

Just got back from two Sprint stores and a Best Buy with Samsung reps on hand. None of them had access to any means of reflashing to stock, and really had no useful information. I was surprised by how little they knew about any Windows phones.
I do have TEP though, and they ordered me a new phone. I should have it in a few days. Costing me nothing
Wish I had something useful to tell you folks...

fgr said:
Just got back from two Sprint stores and a Best Buy with Samsung reps on hand. None of them had access to any means of reflashing to stock, and really had no useful information. I was surprised by how little they knew about any Windows phones.
I do have TEP though, and they ordered me a new phone. I should have it in a few days. Costing me nothing
Wish I had something useful to tell you folks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually work for a Sprint store (non service/repair location) and I don't have TEP. I actually DO have an upgrade available since I bought the ATIV S Neo off-contract. I wouldn't mind using my upgrade on another ATIV S Neo... and whatever Windows Phones Sprint gets in the future, I'll have to buy off contract (which is nothing new to me lol).
I could technically add TEP to my line and wait a few days then do an advanced exchange at a local repair center but I'll most likely get a refurb as most of them are. I'd rather a brand new device
So I'm currently debating using my upgrade...

fgr said:
Just got back from two Sprint stores and a Best Buy with Samsung reps on hand. None of them had access to any means of reflashing to stock, and really had no useful information. I was surprised by how little they knew about any Windows phones.
I do have TEP though, and they ordered me a new phone. I should have it in a few days. Costing me nothing
Wish I had something useful to tell you folks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you mention the update to 8.1 or did you just play dumb? I am thinking I am going to have to do the same thing as you but I don't want to walk in there and tell them that I did the update and have them tell me I'm SOL.

ZogJones said:
Did you mention the update to 8.1 or did you just play dumb? I am thinking I am going to have to do the same thing as you but I don't want to walk in there and tell them that I did the update and have them tell me I'm SOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was completely honest, gave them the whole story from start to finish. Even pointed out some of the cool features of 8.1 :laugh:
If this was the new Galaxy they might have given me a hard time, who knows.

[Q] Verizon apps + Root + Move to TMo

I upgraded my unrooted Galaxy S5 to lollipop and it was bad, slow, freezing a lot. I disabled many Verizon-bloatware apps and lollipop is now a buttery smooth beautiful thing!
What pros & cons would rooting a phone generally give me for an average user's experience?
Most importantly, I'm looking to take & convert this S5 phone (and my daughter's Galaxy S3) to T-Mobile this weekend and want to make it all T-Mobile ready. Any insight, thoughts, suggestions, especially if I wanted to root or factory reset my phone but keep app data (such as Kung Fu Pets )?
I've been told by friends and cell providers these phones are already unlocked and can easily switch networks, no worries of voice or data settings on my part, TMo's WiFi calling will work as if I bought the phone from TMo, etc.
Thanks all!

KCSamerica said:
I upgraded my unrooted Galaxy S5 to lollipop and it was bad, slow, freezing a lot. I disabled many Verizon-bloatware apps and lollipop is now a buttery smooth beautiful thing!
What pros & cons would rooting a phone generally give me for an average user's experience?
Most importantly, I'm looking to take & convert this S5 phone (and my daughter's Galaxy S3) to T-Mobile this weekend and want to make it all T-Mobile ready. Any insight, thoughts, suggestions, especially if I wanted to root or factory reset my phone but keep app data (such as Kung Fu Pets )?
I've been told by friends and cell providers these phones are already unlocked and can easily switch networks, no worries of voice or data settings on my part, TMo's WiFi calling will work as if I bought the phone from TMo, etc.
Thanks all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my opinion only, with that being said for the average user there is no advantage to being rooted. The average user is not interested in flashing new roms or freezing apps beyond what Verizon allows. The average user wants to turn on their phone and go on their merry way. If something goes wrong they want to call Verizon and have they fix it for them. They would never touch Odin.
With that being said, because your in this forum your more than the average user. If you wan to freeze or uninstall more Verizon/Samsung bloat you need to be rooted.
As for moving to a different carrier I'll let some one who has done that chime in.

jrv331 said:
This is my opinion only, with that being said for the average user there is no advantage to being rooted. The average user is not interested in flashing new roms or freezing apps beyond what Verizon allows. The average user wants to turn on their phone and go on their merry way. If something goes wrong they want to call Verizon and have they fix it for them. They would never touch Odin.
With that being said, because your in this forum your more than the average user. If you wan to freeze or uninstall more Verizon/Samsung bloat you need to be rooted.
As for moving to a different carrier I'll let some one who has done that chime in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! It won't be a Verizon phone for long, so I guess with rooting it and installing a known stable release be a good idea to get rid of Verizon's bloatware (and maybe some of Samsung's) while keeping a good, hard-working phone? I noticed a big difference disabling what I'm allowed to with Verizon's apps and maybe that's enough, I don't know - any place to research which Verizon and/or Samsung apps are safe to disable (if rooting it & installing a stable release doesn't already remove them)?
Oh, also, is there where I'll go to get future updates since I'll no longer be part of Verizon, and T-Mobile will probably not update my phone since I didn't buy it from them?
Thanks again!

Through a couple phone calls, T-Mobile reassured me both my S3 and S5 would work just fine, everything just the same except I'll have to make sure the phone is unlocked. They also said on both calls that their WiFi calling would most definitely work. Verizon, though a half dozen calls, gave me a different "unlock" story each time. So much for trying to be prepared...
Neither the S3 or the S5 work as expected. The S3 uses the far inferior network speeds and takes about 3 minutes just to send a pic text, and that's only if we're using Hangouts - stock Messages or Verizon's Messages+ don't work on the S3. The S5, I get a lot of "Data (Network) connection lost", setting the time errors, I can't access my voicemail or change my voicemail phone number (not sure if that is a new issue).
So with all this in mind:
1) is the S3 using an inferior data speed network due to hardware limitations or settings I can change?
2) would rooting my S3 and S5 alleviate a lot or all of these issues?
3) any way to get TMo WiFi calling to work on a Verizon phone? Would rooting it allow me to install a TMo version Android?
4) how do I go about updating Android on these phones now that they're off Verizon and not officially TMo phones?
5) any suggestions to fix any or all of these other issues?

KCSamerica said:
Through a couple phone calls, T-Mobile reassured me both my S3 and S5 would work just fine, everything just the same except I'll have to make sure the phone is unlocked. They also said on both calls that their WiFi calling would most definitely work. Verizon, though a half dozen calls, gave me a different "unlock" story each time. So much for trying to be prepared...
Neither the S3 or the S5 work as expected. The S3 uses the far inferior network speeds and takes about 3 minutes just to send a pic text, and that's only if we're using Hangouts - stock Messages or Verizon's Messages+ don't work on the S3. The S5, I get a lot of "Data (Network) connection lost", setting the time errors, I can't access my voicemail or change my voicemail phone number (not sure if that is a new issue).
So with all this in mind:
1) is the S3 using an inferior data speed network due to hardware limitations or settings I can change?
2) would rooting my S3 and S5 alleviate a lot or all of these issues?
3) any way to get TMo WiFi calling to work on a Verizon phone? Would rooting it allow me to install a TMo version Android?
4) how do I go about updating Android on these phones now that they're off Verizon and not officially TMo phones?
5) any suggestions to fix any or all of these other issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) probably, but I haven't checked the specs.
2) probably not. The APN in your phone needs to be changed to the right settings for your mobile carrier. It's under Settings/More Networks/Mobile Networks. You should be able to google the settings for TMo.
3) The APN may resolve the issue, if the phone allows for it.
4) If you root, you can do it. You may be able to get OTAs with the new sim, but I can't for Consumer Cellular.
5)Again, the APN will solve a lot of issues. The voicemail number needs to be changed to your carrier's voicemail number under Phone Settings.
5)

Rapunzl said:
1) probably, but I haven't checked the specs.
2) probably not. The APN in your phone needs to be changed to the right settings for your mobile carrier. It's under Settings/More Networks/Mobile Networks. You should be able to google the settings for TMo.
3) The APN may resolve the issue, if the phone allows for it.
4) If you root, you can do it. You may be able to get OTAs with the new sim, but I can't for Consumer Cellular.
5)Again, the APN will solve a lot of issues. The voicemail number needs to be changed to your carrier's voicemail number under Phone Settings.
5)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) probably hardware limitations or probably settings I can change?
2 & 3) the APN was already set by the TMo in-store rep, and google search confirms it's the correct setting.
5) voicemail number just won't change! Ug, I've google searched this issue too, no luck, and it seems many Android 5.0 users have this issue unless they factory reset - an option I'm hoping to avoid for a last resort.
I have noticed by disabling Verizon apps, much is working better, but I'm wondering if Verizon made these apps imperative for the system to run properly...?

KCSamerica said:
1) probably hardware limitations or probably settings I can change?
2 & 3) the APN was already set by the TMo in-store rep, and google search confirms it's the correct setting.
5) voicemail number just won't change! Ug, I've google searched this issue too, no luck, and it seems many Android 5.0 users have this issue unless they factory reset - an option I'm hoping to avoid for a last resort.
I have noticed by disabling Verizon apps, much is working better, but I'm wondering if Verizon made these apps imperative for the system to run properly...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you disable the apps? If you used TiBU, there have been discussion of issues in some threads.

Rapunzl said:
How did you disable the apps? If you used TiBU, there have been discussion of issues in some threads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the Android's built-in disable feature (since it won't let me uninstall it).

KCSamerica said:
I used the Android's built-in disable feature (since it won't let me uninstall it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing I can think of then, is that one or more of the disabled features are required to make things work properly. I would unfreeze the apps and then freeze them, one-by-one to find out which are causing the issues. Other than that, Kies may be able to repair the install if you don't have luck with unfreezing the apps.

Rapunzl said:
The only thing I can think of then, is that one or more of the disabled features are required to make things work properly. I would unfreeze the apps and then freeze them, one-by-one to find out which are causing the issues. Other than that, Kies may be able to repair the install if you don't have luck with unfreezing the apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easiest step is to try the enable/disable apps as you suggested. Have you, or anyone out there, tried loading another's stock software onto a phone before doing a factory reset?
See this page: http://www.andromods.com/download-files/tmobile-galaxy-s5-stock-firmware-sm-g900t.html
It gives me the impression all S5's are the same hardware. If that's true, then why can't I install TMo's stock software in the recovery partition, then do a factory reset? (Another worse case scenario, but possibly more of a thorough cure)

KCSamerica said:
Easiest step is to try the enable/disable apps as you suggested. Have you, or anyone out there, tried loading another's stock software onto a phone before doing a factory reset?
See this page: http://www.andromods.com/download-files/tmobile-galaxy-s5-stock-firmware-sm-g900t.html
It gives me the impression all S5's are the same hardware. If that's true, then why can't I install TMo's stock software in the recovery partition, then do a factory reset? (Another worse case scenario, but possibly more of a thorough cure)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read toward the end of that post, it says:
Before download check your model number and software version, head to Settings -> About. Confirm that you get the correct firmware that match with the model number of your device, and never use a firmware that isn’t built for your S5, downgrade is also not recommended.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also seen a thread talking about doing this for a TMo user on the Verizon S5, but I'm on Consumer Cellular, so I'm not sure if it would really work. Even if it does, I'm not sure if that would solve your issues, and I hear you're risking bricking your phone attempting it.

Not sure if I already mentioned, but sadly a couple T-Mobile reps assured me everything would work great. Not. A factory reset did help a lot, but I keep getting these oddities that TMo is now saying I just have to live with, now that my trial period is over. So any ideas and help would be great!
"Data network unavailable" often appears after a phone call and lasts for a few seconds or longer. In that time, I can't get Maps to find anything, among other issues. This error appears at random times otherwise, but most consistently after a phone call.
"SIM error" happens periodically. I'm not sure the pattern yet, but maybe after a couple phone calls in a row, or call swapping. The only way to fix this is to reboot the phone.
The top status bar bounces between "H+" and "3G". I haven't found a pattern as to when or why, but often can't do much with the phone until it settles down, if it settles down.
Everything I've read and originally heard lead me to believe this S5 should work much better than it is, as if some APN or data setting is wrong. I've triple checked and they seem to be set properly, but I don't know anymore...

[Q] Need help - Unlocked Japanese Note 3 no longer works!

Hi All,
Please help. I'm a rookie at rooting and have an unlocked Japanese Note 3 through AU (my Japanese service provider). I was in a rush and paid someone to unlock it before heading back to the States last year. The phone works with my AT&T sim card but when I am back in Japan (with Japanese sim) I am constantly being dropped from the network. 4G service usually works for internet, etc, but I cannot make/receive phone calls and only occasionally can send/receive text messages. I need to know if I should re-root the phone (and leave it rooted) or just do a factory reset (or perhaps change some other setting to get things working again)? The problem with a factory reset is that it will probably re-lock the phone and I don't have a code.
Strange Detail:
Whenever I try to dial a number, the name of a Chinese Province shows up under the Contact's Name. This suggested to me some network issue where the phone somehow thinks it's in China (though texts still kinda work...) and doesn't connect correctly to the Japanese network.
Details:
Model: sm-N900J (per the download screen) i believe this means it has a SnapDragon Processor
Knox warranty has been tripped (apparently by the guy I paid to unlock it originally - is that bad?)
Android 4.3 (looks like I'm still in the original version of Jellybean. Should I upgrade to Kitkat or Lollipop?)
Other Issues:
As of two days ago, the phone now restarts after about 5 minutes of use. Like many Note 3 phones, it's always done the occasional random restart (another reason to root?) but now it's making the phone almost unusable. Also, since having the phone rooted/unlocked/re-rooted I always get a series of warnings upon start-up. Typically, standard Samsung apps like S Planner, Calendar Storage, Keyguard and Index Service have stopped. I have never been able to use the Calendar (or other basic apps) since it always crashes. Is this an issue with Knox clashing with something from the original root (I still see SuperSU loaded -but "turned off"- in the apps menu)?
Idealy...
...someone can help me decide the best course of action (Root, Reset, Other), and how to make sure I can connect back up to my Japanese network properly. I think I'd prefer to root since what I want is an unlocked phone that works smoothly, with good battery life, little to no bloatware, a custom theme and a working S pen. If I root, what's the best method (already have SuperSU apparently) and which ROM and version of Android would be the most stable?
Main Issues Recap:
No connection to phone network (or limited 4G internet).
Phone restarts every few minutes.
Many Apps crash upon Start-up.
Thanks in advance!

So, here's an update that someone with a similar problem might find useful...
Japan uses CDMA for voice and GSM for LTE Data. Somehow (probably through using my phone in the states on a GSM network) the phone was no longer connecting to the CDMA network. Since I'd gotten no responses and felt like there was a good chance that a factory reset would not reverse the sim-unlock I'd stupidly paid to have done, I did a factory reset. Despite appearing to have solved my Index Service, Calendar Storage, S Planner crashing issues, I was still having the exact same problem of LTE working but no CDMA network.
Somehow I stumbled on to this website...(well, I'm unable to post as a new user but searching for "How To Fix Samsung Galaxy error while searching for network" should bring it up).
There, I found some really odd directions that solve network error issues. The only part of the instructions I was really able to carry out was take out the battery and simultaneously press the home and power buttons 10 times. I restarted my phone and miraculously was able to place a call for the first time in a year in Japan!
But then I no longer had any data. I figured it had to do with the APN settings being wiped in the strange reset I just tried. But when I went into Settings>More Networks>Mobile Networks there was no longer an Access Point Names option in the menu. There is no longer a "Network Mode" option either. I used to have that set to LTE/WCDMA/GSM but now I only see a System Select option that simply lets me change my CDMA roaming mode from Automatic to Home Only.
I tried searching everywhere for the missing Access Point Names menu to no avail (and almost attempted to try flashing CyanogenMod for the time hoping this would bring back the APN settings menu) but then I realized that I could do a search in the settings app. I searched APN and the option came right up (though it's frustrating that this now appears to be hidden). Using the following settings (copied below) from the AU by KDDI website I created a new APN profile. Now mobile date appears to be working just fine too!
So, now I just need to decide if I want to keep running Touchwiz in Jellybean or use my new found confidence to try rooting and custom roms...
I'm also kind of curious to see that the next phone bill comes in as expected and I'm not being charged for a bunch of crazy usage! Also, any suggestions to help explain how I got into this problem in the first place, or how to clean up any loose ends would be appreciated.
APN Setting for LTE NET for DATA
APN name au.au-net.ne.jp
User name [email protected]
Password au
Authentication type CHAP

I cannot get LTE to any APN work right with any custom ROM on the Moto G4 Play. :(

I have the Moto G4 Play (XT1607) (Harpia) and I have decided to flash LineageOS (lineage-14.1-20170131-nightly-harpia-signed.zip) on it using TWRP v3.0.2 r5. After getting it installed I noticed that it was not connecting to my 4g LTE Internet (I have Ting). So I figured I needed to make some changes to the APN settings. So I go to Settings>... More> Cellular Networks and the moment I click on "Cellular networks" I get an error message saying "com.android.phone has stopped". After reflashing and trying again a few times with the same result, I tried using a completely different ROM. AOKP. (aokp_harpia_nougat_nightly_2017-01-31.zip) and I ran into the same exact problem I was having with LineageOS.
I then tried to see if I could force my way into the APN configuration using an app called "Change APN". This worked, but now I see the message "Access Point Name settings are not available for this user". I decided to ignore this and click on the + to create a new APN. After filling the correct info out for Ting APN, I click on "Save"... and it doesn't save at all.
I decided to revert to the stock rom, and everything works perfectly fine with the stock rom. 4G LTE on Ting works fine. Whenever I try using a custom ROM of any kind, I run into the problem I described above. I don't know if I am forgetting to do something, or completely doing something wrong. I could use some help with this guys.

Isn't Ting a Sprint service? I didn't think CDMA-based networks had APN settings to configure. Verizon and US Cellular have always used *22XXX for programming, as far as I can remember.

mkollersms said:
Isn't Ting a Sprint service? I didn't think CDMA-based networks had APN settings to configure. Verizon and US Cellular have always used *22XXX for programming, as far as I can remember.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Ting is a Sprint service. Well either way LTE isn't working and the 3G keeps randomly turning on and off whenever I use a custom ROM. However, when I use Stock firmware, everything works perfectly fine. I am unsure what is causing the issue.

It seems nearly all custom ROMs at this point are having data connectivity issues. I'm trying to find a nandroid of the original xt1607 rom so I can just go back until its all sorted out.

mkollersms said:
Isn't Ting a Sprint service? I didn't think CDMA-based networks had APN settings to configure. Verizon and US Cellular have always used *22XXX for programming, as far as I can remember.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With Ting you can choose to use Sprint or T-Mobile. I am using the T-Mobile side of Ting and you do need to add Ting's APN settings for it to work. I am still on factory ROM but watching closely to see what others are experiencing with custom ROMs.

n76 said:
With Ting you can choose to use Sprint or T-Mobile. I am using the T-Mobile side of Ting and you do need to add Ting's APN settings for it to work. I am still on factory ROM but watching closely to see what others are experiencing with custom ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't noticed any issue with my GSM ting service on lineage. I get LTE and the WiFi/LTE handoff seems to work. I don't install many apps and don't let them run in the background, so perhaps there's a conflict between them that's shutting down LTE service. This is just a guess.

Anyone have any information pertaining to this subject? I've searched hours on hours to no avail. I run U.S. Cellular and on the newest RR-5.8.1-OMS after I go to Settings>More>Cellular Networks>Crash. Every time. Resets my radio and picks right back up again. Everything works until I'm in my house, then I'm roaming and there's no way to manage in settings because of the crash.
I looked around in the file system and in /data/data/com.android.phone/ there is no files, no .db files or anything. I don't know of there's supposed to be either. But like OP stated, stock rom is flawless.
Would I be and to copy com.android.phone from stock and restore after flashing? I don't know what to do but this is with every single custom ROM out right now on every release. Data and everything works fine as far as I can tell but just no way to configure the settings. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

[email protected] said:
Anyone have any information pertaining to this subject? I've searched hours on hours to no avail. I run U.S. Cellular and on the newest RR-5.8.1-OMS after I go to Settings>More>Cellular Networks>Crash. Every time. Resets my radio and picks right back up again. Everything works until I'm in my house, then I'm roaming and there's no way to manage in settings because of the crash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just out of curiosity, have you tried the *22XXX thing yet?
EDIT: Just so we're clear, with you all who have CDMA phones, when you go into "IMEI Information," it does show both an IMEI and an ICCID, right? Because if not, I think I figured out why your LTE isn't working.

I tried, I tried dialing *22999 (guessing that the x stood for the 9 button in T9 language) and pressed the make a call button. Am I wrong about the "XXX" part? Because I did try that when I seen it previously in the thread earlier but had the same thoughts.
So to make that novel a shorter version, what exactly should I dial?

[email protected] said:
I tried, I tried dialing *22999 (guessing that the x stood for the 9 button in T9 language) and pressed the make a call button. Am I wrong about the "XXX" part? Because I did try that when I seen it previously in the thread earlier but had the same thoughts.
So to make that novel a shorter version, what exactly should I dial?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on the carrier and the model of the phone. For most Tracfones, it's *22890. For US Cellular, I've seen it as *228 and *22894. You may have to call your carrier and ask what their phone programming code is.

Aaah ok I got you now. Yes I've tried that on nearly every ROM. Matter of fact I just noticed I posted a little off topic almost, but I'm here for the relevance of com.android.phone crashing EVERY SINGLE TIME I try to open Cellular Networks. The only ROM I will say it doesn't force close on is the Slim Nougat ROM, but I don't run that because instead of Cellular Networks settings making com.android.phone crash its when you place a call and then it force closes the UI part of the call but still carries the call through. I forgot to mention that by the way, whatever it is in Slim that is the making the different reason for force closing com.android.phone could probably be a pretty easy red flag for someone better equipped for this Lind of troubleshooting than myself!
Thank you for the suggestion though on the *22(8 in my case)

[email protected] said:
Aaah ok I got you now. Yes I've tried that on nearly every ROM. Matter of fact I just noticed I posted a little off topic almost, but I'm here for the relevance of com.android.phone crashing EVERY SINGLE TIME I try to open Cellular Networks. The only ROM I will say it doesn't force close on is the Slim Nougat ROM, but I don't run that because instead of Cellular Networks settings making com.android.phone crash its when you place a call and then it force closes the UI part of the call but still carries the call through. I forgot to mention that by the way, whatever it is in Slim that is the making the different reason for force closing com.android.phone could probably be a pretty easy red flag for someone better equipped for this Lind of troubleshooting than myself!
Thank you for the suggestion though on the *22(8 in my case)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After I posted that, I went back to try and see if Lineage was able to pick up my phone's MEID (even though I use a GSM SIM, the MEID is still tied to the phone hardware). For some reason, Lineage is not reading it, and I think all of your problems are being attributed to that fact.
The way CDMA phones work (and god, do I hate this), is your 2G/3G network is tied to the phone MEID, while the LTE SIM is data only. The OS needs to read both the 14-digit MEID (sometimes shows as a 15 digit IMEI where last digit is 0) as well as the 20 digit ICCID (SIM Number). A phone may also use the SIM number itself as an IMEI (BYOP SIMs do this) by dropping the first five digits of the 20 digit SIM number.
If you phone is showing only one 15 digit number in the system settings, then it's either the MEID OR the SIM, not both. So either you have calling and no LTE, or LTE and no calling. You can't program APN settings because the phone has no idea what ID number to tie APN settings to. This is actually a rather serious conundrum.

Ok ok, makes sense. I checked my Status info, every ROM has dual SIM capability by the way so I don't know if that would effect anything for xt-1607, but I looked at SIM slot 1 info and it reads my MEID correctly with 14 digits. I couldn't find anything about ICCID. My head pounding question here though, why in the hell (pardon the language) is everything flawless on stock, but on every ROM this problem occurs? Here's my next killer, everything works like it should for me, LTE, 3G, Calls, SMS/MMS, just can't change any of the settings due to a force close, AND I put my friends Straight Talk SIM in and it fired right up with no force close when going to change Network settings...?!

[email protected] said:
Ok ok, makes sense. I checked my Status info, every ROM has dual SIM capability by the way so I don't know if that would effect anything for xt-1607, but I looked at SIM slot 1 info and it reads my MEID correctly with 14 digits. I couldn't find anything about ICCID. My head pounding question here though, why in the hell (pardon the language) is everything flawless on stock, but on every ROM this problem occurs? Here's my next killer, everything works like it should for me, LTE, 3G, Calls, SMS/MMS, just can't change any of the settings due to a force close, AND I put my friends Straight Talk SIM in and it fired right up with no force close when going to change Network settings...?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you just answered your own question. As stated in PCMag back in 2015, "Nobody makes a Dual-Sim phone compatible with Sprint or Verizon." It legitimately believes your MEID is a GSM-based IMEI, and is attempting to cross the streams, so to speak. And the only way your friend's StraightTalk SIM would work is if it was piggybacking off ATT or TMo's networks (the MEID would have been paired to the other phone causing a mismatch).
If you look at the stock ROM for this phone, you will see a BUNCH of system apps for programming Sprint and Verizon network information. They never made it into the custom ROMs we're using. FWIW, here's my thoughts on the matter. Someone needs to go back and make a single-SIM variant of these ROMs, as well as a flashable ZIP containing the necessary APKs for Android to detect the necessary information correctly. And if that doesn't happen, then everyone who bought an XT-1607 has to ditch their carrier and move to a GSM carrier.

That makes complete and total sense! Because I wasn't thinking this while time of it but I was in Oklahoma at the time where the main towers are AT&T, matter of fact Sprint and U.S. Cellular lose almost all signal right when you hit the county line where I was at. Verizon only gets signal because it's Verizon, lol. Reason I say that is because I was wondering why this whole time I has full signal with LTE coverage and completely list everything when I went hone, because where I live is complete opposite, there is hardly any GSM coverage, we don't even have an AT&T store, just Verizon, Sprint, USC.
So, with that being figured out, my laptop just recently kicked the bucket on me so I'm out for the most part, I do have a trick to swap files in and out of a compressed archive without extracting it in any way! But, it takes a while, not too much longer I guess but nowvi just remembered everything is pretty much .dat files so nevermind that.
Not that this thread isn't the most popular, but where would be the best place to take this request too to get the most attention from it? I mean if I had to go back to stock, so be it, but I'm a little spoiled to the custom life. Lol.

[email protected] said:
Not that this thread isn't the most popular, but where would be the best place to take this request too to get the most attention from it? I mean if I had to go back to stock, so be it, but I'm a little spoiled to the custom life. Lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IIRC, there is a Verizon thread with 80ish replies, but I think a developer like Squid might need to be made aware of this, so I might copy this into the Lineage thread.

A bit of good news. While reflashing all the time that were force closing when opening cellular networks, I looked in /data/data/com.android.phone/ and was looking, now remember to go back to that directory after I say all this, I found that directory was empty, on all of the Roms. Was curious so I flashed back to stock. Went to the same directory, BOOM! com.android.phone was not empty, in that folder I found 2 folders that were now populated with in:
1: (/files/ )I now had a file named carrierconfig-com.android.carrierconfig- (and after the dash was my ICCID number) so for this directory I need /data/data/com.android.phone/files/carrierconfig-com.android.carrierconfig**ICCID** (replace **ICCID** my ICCID number)
2: then there was this /data/data/com.android.phone/shared_prefs/_has_set_default_values.xml
and
phone/shared_prefs/com.android.phone_preferences.xml
These files are missing on all the Roms, I know this doesn't since everything, but I know for almost a fact it's a good chunk of something that needs to be available. Can I copy these files and move them into place, and set permissions how they were? I ran out of time tonight, and am busy all week so this is mainly for reference I guess. More research told me these files can be edited to change what is available to configure in cellular network settings like option to change from 2G, 3G, LTE, APN, and so on. Sorry for the mess, that's all I have for right now.

[email protected] said:
These files are missing on all the Roms, I know this doesn't since everything, but I know for almost a fact it's a good chunk of something that needs to be available. Can I copy these files and move them into place, and set permissions how they were? I ran out of time tonight, and am busy all week so this is mainly for reference I guess. More research told me these files can be edited to change what is available to configure in cellular network settings like option to change from 2G, 3G, LTE, APN, and so on. Sorry for the mess, that's all I have for right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is definitely a major find! My only concern is even if you do that, there might be further missing components that would cause Dialer to crash on startup or some other wacky side effect. However, if you can make it work, then it's possible the proper APN settings will load by default and you'll no longer need to change them.
If you can, go into the System Apps on the stock ROM and look for any APKs branded by/with Sprint, VZW or USCellular, or anything CDMA related. They might be necessary for reading the SIM's ICCID.

That's what I was thinking too, and sadly for me I don't really know EVERYTHING to look for so it'll be mostly out of trial and error for me to figure it out. I wish they didn't compress Roms into .dat so I could use a root explorer to swap between tabs rather than copy, flash the rom, paste files and then if that didn't work start all over on restoring stock, so on and so forth. I miss my laptop. =(

Updates?
Has anyone looked into this further? I'm experiencing the same problem with the latest LineageOS nightly. US Cellular Prepaid with an XT1607.
I noticed that in my case i had to skip the Insert Sim thing on 1st boot. It never did whatever it wanted to there. (Maybe because I have no signal or weak roaming where I live?)
I'm seriously considering trying it from an area that I have good service in..