Hi guys, I am about to receive a "new" refurb AT&T GSII to use on my T-mobile account. I have not yet received it, so forgive me if this is a stupid question, I just want to be ready for when I get it.
Will I be able to root the phone straight out of the box? I know I need to run the unlocker from the market, but need to root first. Is the phone "locked" like iPhones are out of the box? Thanks!
And also, can I ask what the number 1 recommended ROM is for this phone? I read CM7 has some issues, but are there any CM7 based ROMs that everyone loves?
No, I believe the phone works just fine without a simcard. You should be able to start up odin, flash CWM, and flash a rooted rom all without an active sim card. You can also setup the phone by connecting it to a WiFi network. Once unlocked it will work with your T-Mobile sim.
I don't think the att sgs2 has the radio to work on t-mobile's 3g bands. You'll be limited to edge speeds. If you are ok with that, you should be all set.
Sent from my SGH-I777
karth500 said:
I don't think the att sgs2 has the radio to work on t-mobile's 3g bands. You'll be limited to edge speeds. If you are ok with that, you should be all set.
Sent from my SGH-I777
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, I have no data plan so I'm all good with the incompatible radio. Plus the screen/phone size on the I777 is perfect for me, while the Tmobile one is slightly too big.
I guess I will just follow the guides to root it. Now to pick the best kernel and ROM...
So let me make a long story short.
I am in the military
I am deploying soon
I bought the Photon 4G to use while deployed
(gave the EVO 4G to wife to use while I am gone)
What I was thinking:
Photon 4G uses GSM as well as others
(I am going to Afghanistan, and GSM 900 I think is the used band there)
I bought a SIM card through a company called MTN Afghanistan
As they are the only provider offering service to the are of Afghan that I
will be going (use I know there are others, but MTN is confirmed the provider used by people in the area I am going, therefore why try something new if you know of something that works)
What I plan to do:
Already scheduled to put my Sprint account on a military hold
(means I do not get charged for my phone until I turn it back on
when I return)
I do this because I found Sprint International is not in my area over there as well.
So I was told by sprint international that they can give me an unlock code.
But I am being told by others, that I need to unlock my phone.
I leave in two weeks and need help.
I have searched the boards and found a lot of guilds about unlocking and everything, I have done roms on all my other devices and such.
I just want to make sure that the UNLOCK that I am thinking about
(using the Sprint Photon 4G in Afghan, on someone elses service)
There I is no sim unlock for the photon. Internationally it defaults to unlocked. No root/unlock required. That being said, some roms seem to handle gsm a little better than stock.
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
Mine worked great with stock rom. Had to do nothing extra to get it work.. I live in India. Lol my photon was not even activated!
I have a Photon and also use Sprint. When going abroad, to use abroad you simply set the phone to "GSM" from automatic or CDMA to ensure that Sprint doesn't charge you for international roaming.
Well I'm rooted,unlocked,and use cm7.2 and have had no problems in Australia and saudi.*#*#4636#*#*
Works with all sim cards.
I just like cyanogenmod and all the modifications,I also think aosp roms seem to have better signal strenth.
Cm 7.2 delivered a strong GSM signal for me using telstra and zeam
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
Thanks
Thanks for all of the replies.
I was just worried because I recieved my SIM card I plan to use in Afghan and when I removed Sprints SIM Card, I turned the phone on and nothing was different.
It still connected to Sprint and everything (with no SIM Card) Even made calls.
So then I added the new SIM Card (the iternational one, by MTN Afghan,) and still, Sprint Service as if the SIM Card was doing nothing special. Never asked me for unlock or anything.
That is why I was wanting to make sure there is nothing special I need to do.
I live in the US (on Sprint) and am going to Italy in a few weeks and would like to be able to use my phone over there. I'm running the latest Joker-CM9 (0.7) build.
Theoretically, I should be able to pick up an Italian SIM card over there and the phone should work... but I know there are some known GSM-issues with CM9 and even a GSM-fix available. Up until now, I haven't been paying all that much attention to issues with GSM as it hasn't affected me.
So my questions are:
What do I need to do to switch the phone from CDMA to GSM?
I assume I'll need to do the opposite to go back to CDMA upon returning?
Does anyone have any experience with using CM9 in Italy, specifically? If so, what carrier do you recommend and do you have any tips?
Is Google Voice the best way to go for managing international calling / rates / etc?
Anything else you can think of? Better ideas?
As always, I'll be doing nandroid backups before I try anything...
Thanks for the help!
killersiafu said:
I live in the US (on Sprint) and am going to Italy in a few weeks and would like to be able to use my phone over there. I'm running the latest Joker-CM9 (0.7) build.
Theoretically, I should be able to pick up an Italian SIM card over there and the phone should work... but I know there are some known GSM-issues with CM9 and even a GSM-fix available. Up until now, I haven't been paying all that much attention to issues with GSM as it hasn't affected me.
So my questions are:
What do I need to do to switch the phone from CDMA to GSM?
I assume I'll need to do the opposite to go back to CDMA upon returning?
Does anyone have any experience with using CM9 in Italy, specifically? If so, what carrier do you recommend and do you have any tips?
Is Google Voice the best way to go for managing international calling / rates / etc?
Anything else you can think of? Better ideas?
As always, I'll be doing nandroid backups before I try anything...
Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I picked up a TIM sim card in Turin,a few weeks back. It worked like a champ ,I think I was running Peetr 2.3.5 though.I have tried also CM 7.2,jokers skinny,Looki,and Rocko overseas, with all of them switching networks fine.
don't use CM 9 refuse to lose my camcorder: )
But if you on blur /deblur rom ,the mobile networks setting has toggle options.
If your on AOSP just type
*#*#4636#*#* to change to gsm.
Hope this helps...
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
So I put the latest .10 ICS leak on my phone yesterday because I can't wait for the OTA since i'm leaving soon. I downloaded the 4G on off app and am thinking I should be able to pop in any SIM card and it should work on GSM. Is the phone unlocked? Also I might need to use my normal Verizon SIM to use in Italy and Spain. The verizon reps said if I left it in it would work just fine. Is this true? I currently don't have any GSM cards to test with and I've been looking everywhere for the answer but no success. Help would be amazing.
Thanks in advance
For full GSM support I believe you need to install one of the custom roms with it added...
mjones73 said:
For full GSM support I believe you need to install one of the custom roms with it added...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I thought that was one part of the ICS update. So is the phone kinda locked like I can only use verizons rates? I want to try a SIM but I don't have one
With GB or the ICS leak you probably can get basic calling and texts with a GSM cell company sim card.
With the conrom ROM you should also get mms and data to work. Supposedly everything works.
Also, I suspect gsm antenna is not in the extended battery cover, so you should use the standard back cover that came with the phone.
I personally have not tried gsm in my rezound, so the above advise might be incorrect. this is just something I am interested in.
howard
p.s. T-Mobile sells a $1 sim card with 10 minutes of talk time, an internet deal. So you can buy this $1 simm to test with.
p.p.s. You will also need to go into the settings and add the apn settings for the cell company whose sim you are using. data and mms won't work without this.
HowardZ said:
With GB or the ICS leak you probably can get basic calling and texts with a GSM cell company sim card.
With the conrom ROM you should also get mms and data to work. Supposedly everything works.
Also, I suspect gsm antenna is not in the extended battery cover, so you should use the standard back cover that came with the phone.
I personally have not tried gsm in my rezound, so the above advise might be incorrect. this is just something I am interested in.
howard
p.s. T-Mobile sells a $1 sim card with 10 minutes of talk time, an internet deal. So you can buy this $1 simm to test with.
p.p.s. You will also need to go into the settings and add the apn settings for the cell company whose sim you are using. data and mms won't work without this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much. I just need calling and data and mms to work. I'm just going to google how to change the APN setting as you said. Thanks a lot for the help man. I have the ICS leak which is supposed to support global roaming straight from VZW.
Well, there is a thanks button you can click on.
I do not know much about Verizon's New global roaming, bit I suspect it will be expensive per minute. Using a local cell company's sim card probably will cost less for long visits overseas.
I wrote an app called HZUTILS which can also do the radio changes like the LTE on off app. My app is free, also does a few other functions, and if you click on an advertisement I earn a few cents.
The CONROM is available in the development forum. During installation one is asked GSM or LTE. no easy switching back and forth. I suggest you make a nandroid backup first with Ramon ra recovery or the touch recovery. Restoring the backup is a method for returning to LTE. Or one can reinstall the conrom and select LTE.
If you look through the development forum you will find other gsm ROMs. The CONROM does both LTE and GSM, was made from the latest .10 ICS leak, and sounds like it is very reliable.
p.s. let me know how this works for you.
Thank you but I don't wanna root my phone really.. I forgot something last time and almost bricked it. Well not really but it was scary. My only question is really can I just switch it from your app as it is now because I can or must I have a custom Rom for some type of reason?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
ajv00 said:
Thank you but I don't wanna root my phone really.. I forgot something last time and almost bricked it. Well not really but it was scary. My only question is really can I just switch it from your app as it is now because I can or must I have a custom Rom for some type of reason?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recall, a few months ago, reading a very long multiple page posting about people having various levels of success with stock GB and changing the radio setting using LTE on off app. People were successful with phone calls and texting, but had difficulties with mms and data.
People did strange things to get data working, and it only worked for some people. I think it involved driving the phone in a car to get somewhere with no cell signal, then back home? Not sure, as I don't recall it very well.
Then people started typing in the APN for their gsm provider. This evening, just for fun I tried typing in the APN for T-Mobile into .10 ICS leak rezound, and it would not get saved. No error message. Verizon appears to have locked out the capability to add a non Verizon APN. So, yes, I think a gsm ROM is needed.
BTW, there must be plenty of rezound owners using GSM who can more confidently give you more concrete advise. They can tell you what they tried, what worked, what didn't, and what is the best approach. I think the answer is a GSM ROM, or paying high roaming charges to Verizon.
Alright ill just try and get a sim off someone on at&t and see what happens. But thanks a lot man I hope I get an answer from someone doing it. You were a lot of help ill let you know how it goes!!
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
I tried putting in a SIM and changing the radios and I got nothing /: I need to get this working
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
Global in VZ ICS
ajv00 said:
I tried putting in a SIM and changing the radios and I got nothing /: I need to get this working
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just received the official Verizon ICS in the last hour. I am poking around looking for the global feature, since it is THE promised reason I bought the phone. Offhand, I do not see the global feature anywhere . Network mode still only shows' LTE/CDMA' or 'CDMA only' as the choices, so it seems that 'global' is still not official from Verizon in the ICS as just shipped.
The LTE ON/OFF app seems to have a few more options than when I last looked, but I've no idea what's may have changed.
I put in a tmobile SIM card and changed the settings in the app to GSM and wcdma and it worked calling and texting! It didn't have data but if you go to mobile network settings and access point names I feel like you could add the apn and be golden using data and mms over gsm. I'm Hoping this is the truth but I don't have anything to test it with
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
I'm on the leak from three months ago, in Afghanistan. Popped in a sim card from a shop on base and it works with no problems. Calls only though no data. I'm using the extended battery. Had to use the lte on off app to put it in gsm.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA App
GSM switch gone in ICS OTA?
Looks like option to switch to GSM is gone. Dialing *#*#4636#*#* does nothing...
that option to show network modes when dailing *#*#4636#*#* is removed in latest RUUs and official OTA, but however you may flash any of ROMs available to get GSM
ajv00 said:
I put in a tmobile SIM card and changed the settings in the app to GSM and wcdma and it worked calling and texting! It didn't have data but if you go to mobile network settings and access point names I feel like you could add the apn and be golden using data and mms over gsm. I'm Hoping this is the truth but I don't have anything to test it with
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So SMS worked with the ICS OTA, both send and receive? Last time I tried 2 months ago under Gingerbread, GSM calls were fine, but could only receive SMS text, could not sent texts, and never got data to work.
I've spent over 1/2 of the last 3 months overseas, so this is a big deal to me. Even if just the calls and SMS send/receive work, I will be pleased. VZ told me the global feature is not in this latest Verizon ICS OTA, but maybe the inner workings are there and they just haven't put in the frontend and any VZ profitmaking carrier lockouts?
I am off to South Africa next Friday. Sounds like I will have to get an MTN sim in ZA and try again when I get there. Maybe this ICS OTA will have some value to me afterall. I'll try to remember to post back here, whether it works or not. If it all works, however, I'm pretty sure the posting will only be redundant info, since my screams of giddiness would be heard around the world... afterall, I've been using an old unlocked GSM RAZR flip phone when I travel.
---------- Post added at 09:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 PM ----------
postmortem. said:
Looks like option to switch to GSM is gone. Dialing *#*#4636#*#* does nothing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The LTE ON OFF app still seems to allow access. However, until I get overseas I'm not sure how to tell if it is truly switching/working
I only tried receiving a text/: sorry I can't confirm sending. But if you flash a gsm Rom which I might everything works
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
Ting on Atrix 4G
Hello everybody,
I've signed up for Ting, a better alternative to StraightTalk I believed. I tried everything I could think of to make Ting's SIM card work with CyanogenMod 11 on my Atrix, no such luck. I then flashed back to the stock rom, reluctantly, thinking I would be able to make the SIM work before flashing back to Cyanogen. This is also a failure, so it seems like to me that Ting will never work on my Atrix.
I cannot make calls, there is no Mobile Network it states. I don't care about data or messaging, all I need is for the voice to work. I've tried numerous APNs and nothing is working.
Anyone else out there running Ting on their Atrix? I'm not one to quit so after 2 days straight of this I'm ready to throw the phone against a brick wall to force myself to stop working on this lost cause.
Appreciate anyone with any insight to offer. Thanks
TracFone's SIMs also don't work on the Atrix. They are deliberately locked down to work in their own devices ONLY.