[Q] Can ANY Vibrant be Unlocked? - Vibrant Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

im planning to buy a Samsung Vibrant to use it with another carrier, my only doubt is if ANY Vibrant CAN be UNlocked?
Thanks in Advance.

Yes all vibrant should be able to be unlocked, just make sure that you have a sim card that is not t-mobile
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Thanks.
One more thing. What is "hardware locked"? i've seen it in other posts but i don't know what it means.

wilee1928 said:
Thanks.
One more thing. What is "hardware locked"? i've seen it in other posts but i don't know what it means.
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unable to get into recovery or download mode using the physical keys.

Why you want to unlock a Vibrant to use on another carrier? All of the 4 major carriers in the USA has a Galaxy S model. Use the one that your carrier has.

By the way, if you unlock the Vibrant it will only work on GSM networks (AT&T and TMO)

quest4fire said:
Why you want to unlock a Vibrant to use on another carrier? All of the 4 major carriers in the USA has a Galaxy S model. Use the one that your carrier has.
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I want the Vibrant because it definitely has more dev-support. Also I like it more i9000-ish.

quest4fire said:
By the way, if you unlock the Vibrant it will only work on GSM networks (AT&T and TMO)
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I plan to use it with Telcel/Mexico (uses same bands as ATT).

zephiK said:
unable to get into recovery or download mode using the physical keys.
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Click to collapse
Thanks a lot, that makes sense.

wilee1928 said:
I plan to use it with Telcel/Mexico (uses same bands as ATT).
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Hi. First of all sorry for my english.
i just bought an unlock Samsung vibrant from T-mobile but i am having trouble with 3g with telcel it doesnt work only 2G but when i change to movistar SIM it does work the 3g i have no idea about the reason maybe in the next update it can be fix. Good luck
PD. if u know how to make it work reply plz

smooky45 said:
Hi. First of all sorry for my english.
i just bought an unlock Samsung vibrant from T-mobile but i am having trouble with 3g with telcel it doesnt work only 2G but when i change to movistar SIM it does work the 3g i have no idea about the reason maybe in the next update it can be fix. Good luck
PD. if u know how to make it work reply plz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Telcel uses the same 3G bands as AT&T (850Mhz/1900Mhz); T-Mobile on the other hand uses 1700/2100 MHz. When it comes to 2G, both T-Mobile and AT&T use the same frequencies.
So basically, there's nothing to fix. If you wanted to use Telcel's 3G network you should have gotten a Samsung Captivate and not a Vibrant. The phone will work, but you will be limited to 2G speeds.
You said it works with Movistar though, so perhaps your best bet would be switching carriers? Still, it's a really sweet phone even if you can't use Telcel's 3G network.

Suggestion
Actually, I think you should be after the Bell Vibrant instead of the T-Mobile's Vibrant. Either that or the Captivate.
Both the Bell (Canada) Vibrant and AT&T's Captivate have the same 3g bands as Telcel and Movistar (850/1900 3g). I would go with either of those for full 3g coverage just in case the 3g down there is as weird as AT&T's (From what I've read AT&T is kinda transitioning it's 3g from the 1900 band and pushing it more onto 850). Besides, not too many places support T-Mobile's Vibrant 3g band (AWS).

Can non-activated Vibrant be unlocked?
I've read related threads but haven't found an answer that really helps me. I'm buying a new Vibrant from someone tomorrow that hasn't been activated yet. As soon as I get it I'm planning on unlocking it to work on AT&T. Will I be able to unlock the Vibrant if it hasn't been activated on T-Mobile yet? Thanks for your help.

rml4uk said:
I've read related threads but haven't found an answer that really helps me. I'm buying a new Vibrant from someone tomorrow that hasn't been activated yet. As soon as I get it I'm planning on unlocking it to work on AT&T. Will I be able to unlock the Vibrant if it hasn't been activated on T-Mobile yet? Thanks for your help.
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Yes you can, the first thing I did after finishing with the unboxing of my Vibrant was unlock the phone and instert my At&t sim card... no need at all to first activate with TMO

eortizr said:
Yes you can, the first thing I did after finishing with the unboxing of my Vibrant was unlock the phone and instert my At&t sim card... no need at all to first activate with TMO
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Awesome! Thanks a lot. Did you use the Samsung Galaxy S Unlock Tool to unlock yours?

If telcel uses the same bands as at&t then you should have 3g try seeing which band your phone has checked to on. 850 is disabled by default if you go to one of Eugene's froyo builds thread there you will see how to enable the band to have 3g on your phone for that specific carrier which is most likely the 850 band.
Try that if it doesn't work sorry I tried to help. I hope it works for you though enjoy your vibrant.
smooky45 said:
Hi. First of all sorry for my english.
i just bought an unlock Samsung vibrant from T-mobile but i am having trouble with 3g with telcel it doesnt work only 2G but when i change to movistar SIM it does work the 3g i have no idea about the reason maybe in the next update it can be fix. Good luck
PD. if u know how to make it work reply plz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I believe that's the one I used. Its a free app in the market that works perfectly fine.
rml4uk said:
Awesome! Thanks a lot. Did you use the Samsung Galaxy S Unlock Tool to unlock yours?
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Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Did you have to root your Vibrant before you could unlock it? I tried to run the unlock tool but it said no codes could be found. I had read that some of the newer Vibrants were firmware locked so you have to root before you can unlock. This one is brand new so I'm guessing I need to root it first. Any thoughts?

Maybe, idk. I've had my vibrant since it came out and its been rooted so I can't help you there. Why don't you just root?
rml4uk said:
Did you have to root your Vibrant before you could unlock it? I tried to run the unlock tool but it said no codes could be found. I had read that some of the newer Vibrants were firmware locked so you have to root before you can unlock. This one is brand new so I'm guessing I need to root it first. Any thoughts?
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Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Which rooting method did you use?

Related

Please help me pick a new phone

Hey you guys. Currently own the HTC Touch Pro 2 AKA AT&T Tilt 2
I'd love to own the new HD2 but I dont know where to find one online for a good price and if its capable of the AT&T 3G GSM bands.
Second phone I'm deciding on is the Sony Xperia X10, and again, I see the only 3G band it can get from AT&T is the 2100 band.
So the lesser the bands it can connect to, the less 3G service I can get? Am I correct?
Thanks.
bump anybody?
You'll need a Telstra HD2 if you want AT&T 3G. As for the X10, the Canadian Rogers version would work on AT&T 3G bands as well.
chuck232 said:
You'll need a Telstra HD2 if you want AT&T 3G. As for the X10, the Canadian Rogers version would work on AT&T 3G bands as well.
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Thanks Chuck. I've seen the Telstra HD2's and their really expensive at the moment and have to load a hack rom on it for it to work.
What would you think of this Xperia?
http://www.puremobile.com/Sony-Ericsson/Sony-Ericsson-XPERIA-X10-Black-GSM-Phone/
Hey you guys, got a question about an unlocked TMOBILE HD2, would it work with AT&T 3G network?
Thanks.
youngWMuser said:
Thanks Chuck. I've seen the Telstra HD2's and their really expensive at the moment and have to load a hack rom on it for it to work.
What would you think of this Xperia?
http://www.puremobile.com/Sony-Ericsson/Sony-Ericsson-XPERIA-X10-Black-GSM-Phone/
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Click to collapse
That one won't work with AT&T 3G. You're looking for something with 850/1900MHz 3G support. The white version of the X10 on that site would work.
youngWMuser said:
Hey you guys, got a question about an unlocked TMOBILE HD2, would it work with AT&T 3G network?
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
No, T-Mobile and AT&T do not use the same 3G bands. It will not be compatible with AT&T's 3G network. The best you'll get is EDGE.
chuck232 said:
That one won't work with AT&T 3G. You're looking for something with 850/1900MHz 3G support. The white version of the X10 on that site would work.
No, T-Mobile and AT&T do not use the same 3G bands. It will not be compatible with AT&T's 3G network. The best you'll get is EDGE.
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Click to collapse
Thank you again Chuck. I appreciate it. Now I will decide what cellphone to pick.

Galaxy S2 support T-Mobile 3G??

Galaxy S2 support T-Mobile 3G?? EDGE only??
Use the f-in search feature.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
wootek76 said:
Galaxy S2 support T-Mobile 3G?? EDGE only??
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Click to collapse
To answer your question the SGS II only works on Edge and not 3g for T-mobile.
brandenk0 said:
To answer your question the SGS II only works on Edge and not 3g for T-mobile.
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Works fine on 3g for me!
I am also using T-Mobile with 3G (or Orange T-Mobile as it is now called in the UK).
I assume the guys that can't get it working are in the States?
Getting 3g and h here on my tmobile, pretty fast to
shrubbery said:
I am also using T-Mobile with 3G (or Orange T-Mobile as it is now called in the UK).
I assume the guys that can't get it working are in the States?
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Correct. We would only get Edge here.
*Edit*
Just saw your name was shrubbery... oh man I love Monty Python!
Dirky said:
Works fine on 3g for me!
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Me too..
No problems here
the thread starter needs to title his thread "tmobile USA" because obviously this phone does not work with tmobile usa 3g. of course tmobile in europe will work fine.
Should have written my answer with more detail :/ The SGS II works for Orange in the UK but with T-mobile US it only works on Edge.
Perhaps You Can Help with T-M 3G?
vimto25 said:
Getting 3g and h here on my tmobile, pretty fast to
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Hello. I have a GSII from UK, on T-Mobile. Tried to work with a guy at T-Mobile to figure out how to get 3G (only Edge now). My unit is rooted. I would love (and would pay!) to get 3G working on my phone. Can you help out?
RobertCBoston said:
Hello. I have a GSII from UK, on T-Mobile. Tried to work with a guy at T-Mobile to figure out how to get 3G (only Edge now). My unit is rooted. I would love (and would pay!) to get 3G working on my phone. Can you help out?
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Click to collapse
If your on T-Mobile US, you can never get anything but EDGE.
Thanks for quick reply...
...not to be a pest, but does the phone I got (UK GSII) just totally lack the hardware capability to do 3G, or is it a software/firmware issue that may some day have a solution?
RobertCBoston said:
...not to be a pest, but does the phone I got (UK GSII) just totally lack the hardware capability to do 3G, or is it a software/firmware issue that may some day have a solution?
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The UK GS2 lacks the current bands to run on T-mobile US network, since they use different bands compared to T-Mobile UK. If you want 3g/4g, you have to wait for T-mobile to release their variant in the states or otherwise change to AT&T.
RobertCBoston said:
...not to be a pest, but does the phone I got (UK GSII) just totally lack the hardware capability to do 3G, or is it a software/firmware issue that may some day have a solution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey BostonBob... you might what to take a look at this thread. It explains the situation in a little more detail: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=16356271
Short answer... it appears one-half (the upload half) of the TMobile USA 3G signal is at the wrong frequency (meaning this phone won't support it.)
I looked around to see if there's a software hack to reprogram the frequency or a hardware thing. Best I can tell...
1) The SGS2 supports a VERY wide range of frequencies. The i9100 service manual shows it clearly supports service in the 1700 MHz range... but not specifically AWS (Advanced Wireless Service) that TMobile USA uses.
2) The service manual actually shows you how to go in and 'fine tune' the frequencies if you have superhuman soldering skills.
3) Bad news, even if you hit the right frequency, I'd assume the antenna firmware would have to be changed (well outside of my area of expertise.)
I keep hoping that someone with some knowledge of programming one of these antennas will chime it, but no luck yet.
Now that TMobile USA is releasing their bastardized version of the SGS2, maybe we'll get lucky and the telephony portion of the hardware will be interchangeable (though I highly doubt it.)
If it's any consolation, I'm in the same boat.

Unlocked phone but no 4g, please help

So I bought a new SGII 1777 for a really good deal. Brand new out of box, etc. Anyways, T-mobile is my carrier. I was able to root the phone and unlock it. The strange thing is that now that my T-mobile SIM card is in this AT&T phone, I am not getting 4g. I am only getting "E" coverage. I followed this guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1286432. Am I missing something? Is it firmware? Kernel? currently, kernel in phone is 2.6.35.7 with Gingerbread.UCKH7. I'm in the US, so if any of this info helps my cause please assist. Any advice/help/suggestions are welcome. Thanks XDA!
Brobarian said:
So I bought a new SGII 1777 for a really good deal. Brand new out of box, etc. Anyways, T-mobile is my carrier. I was able to root the phone and unlock it. The strange thing is that now that my T-mobile SIM card is in this AT&T phone, I am not getting 4g. I am only getting "E" coverage. I followed this guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1286432. Am I missing something? Is it firmware? Kernel? currently, kernel in phone is 2.6.35.7 with Gingerbread.UCKH7. I'm in the US, so if any of this info helps my cause please assist. Any advice/help/suggestions are welcome. Thanks XDA!
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Click to collapse
Your on E and you will continue to be on E. The AT&T phone dosent support 3G/4G Tmo bands.
You won't get anything faster than Edge with an att phone on T-Mobile. Hardware is the cause.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA
Sledutah said:
You won't get anything faster than Edge with an att phone on T-Mobile. Hardware is the cause.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The exception would be some of their LTE phones reflashed with a T-Mobile radio. Pretty much Skyrocket and Note and that's it.
This is because AT&T uses 1700 MHz for LTE and T-Mo uses it for 3G, and other than the radio firmware the T989 and Skyrocket are almost identical.
Right now, with the exception of the above cases and the international unlocked Galaxy Nexus (which is pentaband HSPA) - only T-Mobile USA phones will get 3G on T-Mo USA. There may be a small handful of other exceptions, but very few non-Tmo devices support 1700 MHz.
Some research could've prevented this. Or just buy the phone made for T-Mobile.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2
lols
thanks for the quick responses everyone. I just sold the phone for more than I bough it for. Going to get the T-Mobile one like I should have in the first place
Just curios how much did u sell it for? New or used when u bought it?

Sim card locked?

I've been trying to find the answer but haven't had any luck.
Simple question- is the Verizon G3 sim card locked? If so, is it just to US carriers or everyone?
I know the G2 was unlocked for international and US carriers. I'm trying to find out if the G3 is also just as open.
Thanks.
arich57 said:
I've been trying to find the answer but haven't had any luck.
Simple question- is the Verizon G3 sim card locked? If so, is it just to US carriers or everyone?
I know the G2 was unlocked for international and US carriers. I'm trying to find out if the G3 is also just as open.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A quick search would show that all newer verizon phones are sim unlocked. Just only at 3g speeds. 4G will not work on other carriers. :good:
Thanks.
I was just hoping to get confirmation from someone who owned it already.
Thanks again.
Locked in the US. If you are traveling international then no problem.
johnciaccio said:
Locked in the US. If you are traveling international then no problem.
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Click to collapse
That is not correct. I just put my T-Mobile SIM into my Verizon LG G3.
All I had to do to get it to work was manually input T-Mobile's APN, then search operators and select T-Mobile.
Got four times the download speed on TMo than I'm getting on VZW...unfortunately TMo can't penetrate my office building, so my G3 is sticking with Verizon.
6bolt2g said:
A quick search would show that all newer verizon phones are sim unlocked. Just only at 3g speeds. 4G will not work on other carriers. :good:
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Click to collapse
I've got lte working on tmobile using my Verizon g3
Sent from my VS985 4G using XDA Free mobile app

?SIM Unlocked Sprint S6 on T-Moile?

OK Question:
I have been trying to find reliable information on this specific question for quite some time.. I am wondering two things:
How well will a Sprint Samsung S6 work unlocked on T-Mobile? I was comparing Basebands or bands or whatever and it has most of the LTE bands but none of the 3G bands. Does that mean that IF I was in a place where LTE was not available that it wouldn't be able to connect to 3G? How well would this work?
Thanks
beforedenied said:
OK Question:
I have been trying to find reliable information on this specific question for quite some time.. I am wondering two things:
How well will a Sprint Samsung S6 work unlocked on T-Mobile? I was comparing Basebands or bands or whatever and it has most of the LTE bands but none of the 3G bands. Does that mean that IF I was in a place where LTE was not available that it wouldn't be able to connect to 3G? How well would this work?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3G will work.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
optimummind said:
3G will work.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Ok Please give me more information. how well will it work? Perfectly all the time?
If you are in the United States, by law the carrier cannot "lock" a phone to be only activated by their own network. You may have to call them to get it unlocked though. They may request for you to pay off the ETF on it, which is usually the remaining balance of the discounted phone on contract.
So really there is no such thing as a locked phone anymore, at least not for now. The hardware on the Samsung S6 should be the same for all carriers, the only difference should be the SIM card.

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