I just got an L9 (LG-P769) on Monday and while I'm not 100% certain about this, because the version I got is the prepaid version (in the white/pink T-Mobile box that plainly mentions all the prepaid plans on it and has the flip-cover lid), there appears to have been or still is another version that comes in a black/grey box without all the fluff (a more traditional style phone box, if that makes any sense) that is supposedly the contract version of the phone.
I have a microSIM for T-Mobile (the phone came with one that hasn't been activated and I have no need to use it since I already have a microSIM for T-Mobile with the $30/month unadvertised plan that's so popular) but, I'm trying to confirm some information that I've been reading about in various places:
Some users state the prepaid version of the L9 is factory unlocked and ready to go for any provider (as one might expect or hope), while some are saying it's locked up tight as a drum, and then other people say there's that potential difference between the prepaid white/pink box version and the black/grey box contract phone - it's a bit odd because I was at a T-Mobile store earlier today and the CSR plainly stated "we don't do contracts anymore" so, perhaps the black/grey boxed versions are just the same thing and they were the models manufactured before T-Mobile kicked into prepaid gear back in April.
I just don't know the answers at the moment so I figured I'd ask if there is a way to confirm an L9 is carrier/network unlocked without having a competitor's microSIM to check it with. I know about the 3845#*769# service menu code, so I'm wondering if one of those hidden menu items might provide the info I'm looking for, or if there's some other method I can use to confirm it for sure - but again, I don't have any other microSIMs I can use, like one for AT&T or whatever, all I have is the two T-Mobile microSIMs at this point.
If anyone knows a method to confirm the locked/unlocked network status without putting in a different microSIM, I'm all ears... errrr... eyes I suppose since this is a text-based communication medium.
Related
As per the title does anyone know if the T-Mobile SGS3 handsets are branded with lots of bloatware?
Ollie2 said:
As per the title does anyone know if the T-Mobile SGS3 handsets are branded with lots of bloatware?
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I don't know for sure, but the sales lass I was talking to recently in one of the bigger local T-Mob shops, (gorgeous blonde in her early 20's), was saying that they're trying to cut down on the amount of extra stuff they're putting in, because it's costing them a lot to maintain it, (and of course us customers don't like it).
She did say that the 'droid phones all get that T-Mobile app (used for account control) plus an app and a music store (or at least I think she said that - there was definitely three items mentioned). I'm guessing that - with the new internet provisions - that there'll also be the BT OpenZone "dialer" for those on one of the top two tiers of the internet plans.
I've gone SIM-free for my SIII, and am planning on going for a cheapish uSIM deal when my current 24 month contract with Three ends (it's going to be a long 30 days) - probably the £10.50 talk plan with the 1.5GB internet (which lets me tether and has 3GB OpenZone allocation too). Just thought I'd mention that in case you were wondering why I was in a T-Mobile shop when my details say I'm with Three...
I'd like to know this also, except for Orange.
Did the GS2 come with bloatware, logo on the back, boot logo etc?
Ok so we all know why we got our gear s from at&t (100$) cheaper than sprint.so now after i unlock the phone is there a way to connect it so srint.if yes than how if no than state details why not and whats the best choice for unlocked at&t gear s device ....
Sprint version is CDMA. I think that is why it also cost more. ATT version is gsm version with a sim card. I dont think they will work.
In order to use any phone on a CDMA carrier, it must meet two conditions:
1. It must support CDMA. The AT&T and T-Mobile versions are GSM only, no CDMA support.
2. It must has ESN (each CDMA device has one) already in the carrier's database. There is no known (official) way to put foreign device ESN into the database other than carrier itself. That means you are pretty much limited to devices sold by Sprint only. Even though Verizon is CDMA as well, you can't use any Verizon devices.
Yeah. That's a tall order. Atleast to use all functionality of services. Pairing is fine and using the features of the marriage between your device and GS. But standalone, I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen.
Although. Maybe using Boost or Virgin Mobile may work? I believe they use sim cards. I could totally be wrong though. But i thought they did.
Sent from my SM-N910P
Boost and Virgin Mobile all run off of sprint network. The best thing would be to return the watch to att and just pick up a sprint version. Price wise it only 80 bucks more but then you know you can use it on your network.
billybkny said:
Ok so we all know why we got our gear s from at&t (100$) cheaper than sprint.so now after i unlock the phone is there a way to connect it so srint.if yes than how if no than state details why not and whats the best choice for unlocked at&t gear s device ....
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As the other posters have said CDMA = UICC CARD (SPRINT SOME VERIZON) GSM (T-MOBILE &AT&T
SPRINT & VERIZON
NO SIM CARD FOR YOU
T-MOBILE & AT&T
SIM CARD YES UNLOCK MAYBE BUT YOU CAN ONLY GO TO THESE CARRIERS
MOST ARE LOCKED (yOU CAN USE MVNO TO YOUR CARRIER WHILE LOCKED (IE H2O/CRICKET/STRAIGHTTALK ECT=AT&T
WHATEVER VERIZON IS .
You can use separately I for instance have Note 4 Sprint Gear S T-mobile
Ok as i come from sprint im really a noob about sim cards and the prepaid ones.can somebody please give me in details with sim cards will work unlocked fear s at&t .i want to put sim card with phone and text dont care about data ill use wifi mostly but dont want monthly subscibtion to any service.simple sim card that gonna let me talk and text till i finish my minutes...
the thing is that the price for a prepaid sim card is not worth the cost of the service. Most will be 30 a month. I think you may be better just trying to get service from att.
billybkny said:
Ok as i come from sprint im really a noob about sim cards and the prepaid ones.can somebody please give me in details with sim cards will work unlocked fear s at&t .i want to put sim card with phone and text dont care about data ill use wifi mostly but dont want monthly subscibtion to any service.simple sim card that gonna let me talk and text till i finish my minutes...
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H20/cricket/Net10/Red Pocket/Straight Talk/ ect locked AT&T :good:
T-mobile (you unlock sim it will work with these bootleg company's for t-mo)
Metropcs/Simple mobile/GoSmart/walmart plan/Red Pocket/Straight talk /net 10
theres more but these are ones people know
That wasn't confusing at all ...
Haha.
Sprint and Verizon sim cards are for LTE. This watch definitely does not support LTE.
There are definitely two versions that were tested by the FCC, those were the GSM and the CDMA models. I thought at first that it might have a universal radio (CDMA/GSM hybrid) because the Snapdragon 400 in the device supports that. But the FCC didn't license it that way, so #sadface ...
The ONLY benefit to buying on on your same carrier is to get a discount on the device (if you can call Verizon's $349 a discount), and to have a discounted plan ($5-10/mo) to use its independent phone and data ... but you'd be under contract for two years ... that's a long time and quite the commitment.
Most of us just paid AT&T 299 outright and walked out with the device. Some have had to contact AT&T to request unlock, I, for some reason have NOT ... my T-Mobile sim also works in it and did out of the box ... I believe I had a VERY knowledgeable customer service rep where I bought it, and she knew what was up!!!!!! (AT&T in Henderson Nevada by the Sunset Station Mall, I will never go anywhere else! they can have all the monies :good
sbrownla said:
Haha.
Sprint and Verizon sim cards are for LTE. This watch definitely does not support LTE.
There are definitely two versions that were tested by the FCC, those were the GSM and the CDMA models. I thought at first that it might have a universal radio (CDMA/GSM hybrid) because the Snapdragon 400 in the device supports that. But the FCC didn't license it that way, so #sadface ...
The ONLY benefit to buying on on your same carrier is to get a discount on the device (if you can call Verizon's $349 a discount), and to have a discounted plan ($5-10/mo) to use its independent phone and data ... but you'd be under contract for two years ... that's a long time and quite the commitment.
Most of us just paid AT&T 299 outright and walked out with the device. Some have had to contact AT&T to request unlock, I, for some reason have NOT ... my T-Mobile sim also works in it and did out of the box ... I believe I had a VERY knowledgeable customer service rep where I bought it, and she knew what was up!!!!!! (AT&T in Henderson Nevada by the Sunset Station Mall, I will never go anywhere else! they can have all the monies :good
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That was a good look.
I got mines at Sprint and just cashed out on it. Wasn't concerned about the price, nor the plan. Knew all about it prior to buying. I dont regret where/how I got it one bit. That $299 tag is a great deal though. Lol
Sent from my SM-T807P
Is anyone having any luck buying a Sprint Gear S WITHOUT having to activate the data plan to go along with it?
Long Story Short - Trying to buy my girlfriend the Gear S for Christmas. She is with Sprint.
I know that the Gear S can be used without the data connection- Meaning I could just buy the AT&T watch and be good to go. But I want to buy the Sprint version of the watch on the off chance that she decides that she wants to activate the data plan... I'm not having ANY luck calling Spring and/or visiting Sprint Stores.
Any one had any luck?
TeldenW said:
Is anyone having any luck buying a Sprint Gear S WITHOUT having to activate the data plan to go along with it?
Long Story Short - Trying to buy my girlfriend the Gear S for Christmas. She is with Sprint.
I know that the Gear S can be used without the data connection- Meaning I could just buy the AT&T watch and be good to go. But I want to buy the Sprint version of the watch on the off chance that she decides that she wants to activate the data plan... I'm not having ANY luck calling Spring and/or visiting Sprint Stores.
Any one had any luck?
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While I can't answer your question, I just wanted to let you know that if you run into walls, and Sprint refuses to help you, you could get the ATT version, unlock it, and get her a Tmo card for 15$/month.
ATT watch and Tmo plan seem to be the best combination in terms of value, especially since she would not be tied in into any kind of contract.
xendula said:
While I can't answer your question, I just wanted to let you know that if you run into walls, and Sprint refuses to help you, you could get the ATT version, unlock it, and get her a Tmo card for 15$/month.
ATT watch and Tmo plan seem to be the best combination in terms of value, especially since she would not be tied in into any kind of contract.
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Thank you so much for the suggestions! A couple follow up questions for you if you don't mind.....
1. How do I 'unlock' the ATT watch?
2. Will the unlocked ATT watch with a Tmob SIM communicate correctly with her Sprint phone??
TeldenW said:
Thank you so much for the suggestions! A couple follow up questions for you if you don't mind.....
1. How do I 'unlock' the ATT watch?
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If you have ever been an ATT customer, or know someone who is or was an ATT customer, you/they can request an unlock code for free. Turn around time is around 4 days. I walked into an ATT store and told them I wanted to buy it straight out and not activate it on ATT. No problem at all.
Otherwise, there is a UK Ebay seller who offers unlock codes for $16. I bought one not knowing if ATT would end up unlocking mine, because I only have a grandfathered data plan with them, but they did. That seller was recommended by someone here, and he said he got his unlock code in less than 24 hrs, so they seem to be legit. (Again, can't speak out of experience because ATT ended up unlocking my phone. I am sitting on an unlock code, debating if I should buy a cheap prepaid Samsung phone just so I can unlock it.) There are sites like unlocker.net that charge $39 for the same service.
All I did was put my Tmo sim card in, and the Gear S prompted me for the unlock code. Once entered, the device was open to use with whatever carrier I wanted.
2. Will the unlocked ATT watch with a Tmob SIM communicate correctly with her Sprint phone??
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Yes. Quite a few users reported successfully using their non Tmo phones with a Gear S that has a Tmo SIM in it, be it a Tmo Gear S or an unlocked ATT Gear S (Tmo won't unlock theirs). I happen to have a Tmo voice plan, but I have not read a single report where the watch was not playing nice with a different carrier on it than on the phone.
And, if I may say, that's a really cool present for your girlfriend, especially if she is active. Great choice
I kind of hate Tmo because they refused to unlock my phone, so I HATE saying anything good about them right now. But they do have the best plan AFAIK, no ties whatsoever, and specific music streaming apps don't count against the watch's 500 MB data allotment, like Milk, which i haven't used, but which comes preinstalled. The plan also includes unlimited talk&text, btw.
ETA: Check out this very long thread about buying an ATT Gear S without a contract
My 21 month old VS985 crapped out 4 days ago. I believe it's an issue with the digitizer. The screen just stopped turning on altogether. When I tried it out again the next day, I discovered that sometimes when I let it sit for a while and cool down, I'll be able to turn the screen on for 10 - 60 seconds. After that, the screen freezes and slowly glitches/fades out. But it's only able to turn on sometimes. Sometimes the screen just won't do anything at all. That's the only thing wrong with it though, I've been able to use it with TeamViewer or by casting my screen to my TV.
(Any advice for replacing the digitizer will be very appreciated, even though that's not the point of this thread. Has anybody here done it? Is it necessary to remove the screen, or can I replace the entire screen/digitizer assembly? I tried to replace the broken screen of my Galaxy S3 a few years back and it was a complete disaster, because after I spent several minutes trying to heat up the glue with a hair-dryer and pry the screen off, I ended up just making the entire screen shatter much more into a billion little shards. All of which obviously destroyed the digitizer as well. Sigh.)
...
Anyway, none of that is the point of this thread. To replace the phone, I bought another LG G3 on ebay. It was listed a brand new, factory unlocked black 32GB VS985 for $175. The seller has 99.9% positive feedback (3 negative points out of 2,827) and the phone did indeed come sealed in the factory OEM box, with all of the accessories and everything. It's definitely brand new.
However, before I give the seller feedback, I want to make sure the phone is actually factory unlocked. Because if it's not, I will likely contact the seller and request a partial refund for a portion of my money on account of the item not being exactly as described.
The description of the listing says, "Brand New LG G3 Verizon 4G LTE Smartphone Factory Unlocked" and further down it also says, "ESN's Are Clear and Can Be Activated on Your Verizon Line, They Are Also GSM Unlocked to Use With AT&T, Cricket, Straight Talk, Metro Pcs, and More."
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't "factory unlocked" mean the device will work on all the major US carriers? Or does it mean it will only work on the carriers who share the same bands that are built into the LG G3? I don't know much about the technical side of this subject at all, so a little advice/correction would be really nice from you guys. It'll be a bit disappointing if the phone doesn't work with Sprint or T-Mobile, etc, but I'll live. I just want to make sure the seller described the item accurately before I leave him (otherwise well-deserved) positive feedback.
Thanks for reading!
harry_seaward said:
My 21 month old VS985 crapped out 4 days ago. I believe it's an issue with the digitizer. The screen just stopped turning on altogether. When I tried it out again the next day, I discovered that sometimes when I let it sit for a while and cool down, I'll be able to turn the screen on for 10 - 60 seconds. After that, the screen freezes and slowly glitches/fades out. But it's only able to turn on sometimes. Sometimes the screen just won't do anything at all. That's the only thing wrong with it though, I've been able to use it with TeamViewer or by casting my screen to my TV.
(Any advice for replacing the digitizer will be very appreciated, even though that's not the point of this thread. Has anybody here done it? Is it necessary to remove the screen, or can I replace the entire screen/digitizer assembly? I tried to replace the broken screen of my Galaxy S3 a few years back and it was a complete disaster, because after I spent several minutes trying to heat up the glue with a hair-dryer and pry the screen off, I ended up just making the entire screen shatter much more into a billion little shards. All of which obviously destroyed the digitizer as well. Sigh.)
...
Anyway, none of that is the point of this thread. To replace the phone, I bought another LG G3 on ebay. It was listed a brand new, factory unlocked black 32GB VS985 for $175. The seller has 99.9% positive feedback (3 negative points out of 2,827) and the phone did indeed come sealed in the factory OEM box, with all of the accessories and everything. It's definitely brand new.
However, before I give the seller feedback, I want to make sure the phone is actually factory unlocked. Because if it's not, I will likely contact the seller and request a partial refund for a portion of my money on account of the item not being exactly as described.
The description of the listing says, "Brand New LG G3 Verizon 4G LTE Smartphone Factory Unlocked" and further down it also says, "ESN's Are Clear and Can Be Activated on Your Verizon Line, They Are Also GSM Unlocked to Use With AT&T, Cricket, Straight Talk, Metro Pcs, and More."
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't "factory unlocked" mean the device will work on all the major US carriers? Or does it mean it will only work on the carriers who share the same bands that are built into the LG G3? I don't know much about the technical side of this subject at all, so a little advice/correction would be really nice from you guys. It'll be a bit disappointing if the phone doesn't work with Sprint or T-Mobile, etc, but I'll live. I just want to make sure the seller described the item accurately before I leave him (otherwise well-deserved) positive feedback.
Thanks for reading!
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Sounds fishy to me. As far as I know, the VS985 is Verizon only. But, I could be wrong. Just not sure it's a legit offer. But that's just my personal opinion. Someone might have a more educated answer on this, but for me, I would have avoided it.
harry_seaward said:
Anyway, none of that is the point of this thread. To replace the phone, I bought another LG G3 on ebay. It was listed a brand new, factory unlocked black 32GB VS985 for $175. The seller has 99.9% positive feedback (3 negative points out of 2,827) and the phone did indeed come sealed in the factory OEM box, with all of the accessories and everything. It's definitely brand new.
However, before I give the seller feedback, I want to make sure the phone is actually factory unlocked. Because if it's not, I will likely contact the seller and request a partial refund for a portion of my money on account of the item not being exactly as described.
The description of the listing says, "Brand New LG G3 Verizon 4G LTE Smartphone Factory Unlocked" and further down it also says, "ESN's Are Clear and Can Be Activated on Your Verizon Line, They Are Also GSM Unlocked to Use With AT&T, Cricket, Straight Talk, Metro Pcs, and More."
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't "factory unlocked" mean the device will work on all the major US carriers? Or does it mean it will only work on the carriers who share the same bands that are built into the LG G3? I don't know much about the technical side of this subject at all, so a little advice/correction would be really nice from you guys. It'll be a bit disappointing if the phone doesn't work with Sprint or T-Mobile, etc, but I'll live. I just want to make sure the seller described the item accurately before I leave him (otherwise well-deserved) positive feedback.
Thanks for reading!
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Click to collapse
iBolski said:
Sounds fishy to me. As far as I know, the VS985 is Verizon only. But, I could be wrong. Just not sure it's a legit offer. But that's just my personal opinion. Someone might have a more educated answer on this, but for me, I would have avoided it.
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All Verizon devices are factory unlocked as is. You can freely use any made-for-Verizon device on any carrier that the device's radio frequencies support. Unfortunately, the VS985 only supports a few other frequencies, some of which do require enabling on your own in order to use - and that's not the same kind thing as being "factory unlocked", but Verizon themselves do not restrict the device from being used on any carrier, and some other devices like my VK810 support even fewer radio frequencies than the VS985 making it harder to use with any other network, but not impossible.
Bunches of people in these sections have made posts about using their VS985 on other networks, which besides enabling particular radio bands that the VS985 supports, sometimes only requires changing the APN (and the SIM obviously). The software does complain when a Verizon SIM isn't installed, but it's just an annoyance and doesn't keep from using the phone that way, and there may be ways to disable that (G3TweaksBox?).
I can't answer particulars because I've never used mine on anything but Verizon.
IMHO, the title of the Ebay listing is only misleading because all VS985s are factory unlocked; i.e. the particular listing isn't special by specifically mentioning that it's unlocked, but it's not inferior because of it either.
To be clear, "it will only work on the carriers who share the same bands that are built into the LG G3." There's no possibility that a device could work with carriers that use bands other than what the device supports, and being factory unlocked doesn't mean that you don't have to follow the instructions in the threads having to do with enabling optional bands if you wanted to use it on certain carriers, since the stock LG ROMs have some of those optional bands disabled by default. *Some* bands other than what Verizon uses are already enabled.
That is interesting about being able to enable some additional radio bands. I am waiting for a VS985 which I just bought, in order to try it with Total Wireless, since the AT&T coverage in my area comes up short for data connection. Am hoping that it will also work well enough with AT&T if I have a poor result with TW.
A few years back, while living in a different area, I had pretty good results with a G2 vs980 as GSM with t-mo, although results were a little better after switching to the t-mo G2 D801, so I figured that it would serve for AT&T as well if need be, although I've read reports of it lacking LTE band for AT&T, but they don't seem to offer LTE in my area anyway, so no loss there.
Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk
About 2 months ago I cancelled my T-Mobile account after some bad experiences with them. I had my LG V10 on lease with them, not yet fully paid. At the same time I convinced the representative to unlock my phone so I could switch to another carrier. I asked her if I needed to do anything and she said no, she can do it remotely, then told me it was all done. My phone was under some old guarantee that I could continue paying off the phone monthly instead of all at once (apparently that's since vanished, and they have no record of that guarantee ever existing. Figures.)
Anyway, I was happy to have an unlocked phone. But a few weeks ago I got a letter asking me to pay up the remaining balance or be sent to a collection agency. I couldn't, so they did. Yesterday I called T-Mobile to find out if my phone was unlocked and they said that since my account was closed and in collection, they couldn't check or tell me, and to call the agency. I did, and the collection rep didn't seem to want to give me a straight answer. His answers were (paraphrasing): "There's some things T-Mobile doesn't want us telling you (the consumer); "I'm going to choose my words carefully"; and, If you pay off your balance T-Mobile may unlock your phone." He repeated the last one whenever I asked additional questions. I figure he could've just said no, your phone is not unlocked.
So I'm thinking that since my phone was remotely unlocked by T-Mobile just before closing my account, that it's still unlocked and they just don't want to confirm it to me for fear that I may not pay them back as fast. My question is, if T-Mobile unlocked my phone before closing my account, could they re-lock it, wven without an active account? Also, could the rep have lied to me about having unlocked my phone?
By the way, I can't do the SIM swap trick because everyone I know uses micro sim and my phone uses a nano sim. Also there isn't a cell store anywhere near me.
Oh, I did an IMEI check online on Swappa and it said Activation Status: Clear, not blacklisted, and identified my phone as either LG V10 (T-Mobile) or LG V10 (Unlocked). Not sure what that means. Did a check on another site and under carrier code it said T-Mobile, and carrier code TMO.
Did you get your phone from tmobile? Aka model h901? It should have the tmobile unlock app already installed which will tell you if it's unlocked or eligible to be unlocked. They would have told you to use it to unlock it in the first place.
Also, a collection agency isn't going to know anything about tmobile services, they'll say anything to get your money. It's a completely separate company.
I'd be more worried that tmobile blacklisted your imei rather than having it locked since you didn't pay off your lease.