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
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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...
A friend of mine has tasked me to help him as I have some experience with rooting, unlocking etc from other Android phones. Someone sold him a Metro PCS version of the LG Optimus L9 and he has a family plan on T-Mobile. He wants to give this phone to his daughter. Anyways, Since the phone runs on the T-Mobile network, is it possible to flash the phone so that he can put it on his T-Mobile plan? I have looked through the forums and have not found anything of this nature but I do apologize if I have missed it. It is not necessary to go into great detail for this, I jsut want to know if it is possible and a good place to start if it is possible. Thanks for your time!
dstoler said:
A friend of mine has tasked me to help him as I have some experience with rooting, unlocking etc from other Android phones. Someone sold him a Metro PCS version of the LG Optimus L9 and he has a family plan on T-Mobile. He wants to give this phone to his daughter. Anyways, Since the phone runs on the T-Mobile network, is it possible to flash the phone so that he can put it on his T-Mobile plan? I have looked through the forums and have not found anything of this nature but I do apologize if I have missed it. It is not necessary to go into great detail for this, I jsut want to know if it is possible and a good place to start if it is possible. Thanks for your time!
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The only thing I can assume would work is tp buy an unlock code on ebay or amazon and unlock it. t-mobile blows where I am so I unlocked my phone and am now on att
Sent from a Crackhead Donkey
im sure it would work. i have a rooted tmobile branded L9 using a slightly modified metro rom with a tmo sim. it actually shows metro under about phone/network. it is rooted. so if u havent already tried a puting a tmo sim in it and seeing if it worked then rooting might be your answer.
Hey all,
So I've done some searching here, but I cannot find a concise, definitive answer to my questions. I'm buying a first phone for my daughter for Christmas, mainly for use as an MP3 and video player, but also for emergencies. She's still young, so when I say emergency we were leaning towards ONLY FOR A 911 TYPE EMERGENCY, as I believe those are placed even if the phone isn't activated. Anyway, her mom and I are on a GSM carrier so if we did activate it, we'd likely do it there, or a very cheap CDMA provider like Page Plus. So if I buy a phone off eBay or Craigslist today, regardless of whatever HBOOT/BOOTLOADER or ROM it has on it, can I still root it, use HTC Dev to unlock the bootloader, the toolkit to S-OFF, and then flash a 4.X ROM and use GSM if I desire?
Thanks for any help! If this will work then I'll go this route and she'll be very excited!!
vettejock99 said:
Hey all,
So I've done some searching here, but I cannot find a concise, definitive answer to my questions. I'm buying a first phone for my daughter for Christmas, mainly for use as an MP3 and video player, but also for emergencies. She's still young, so when I say emergency we were leaning towards ONLY FOR A 911 TYPE EMERGENCY, as I believe those are placed even if the phone isn't activated. Anyway, her mom and I are on a GSM carrier so if we did activate it, we'd likely do it there, or a very cheap CDMA provider like Page Plus. So if I buy a phone off eBay or Craigslist today, regardless of whatever HBOOT/BOOTLOADER or ROM it has on it, can I still root it, use HTC Dev to unlock the bootloader, the toolkit to S-OFF, and then flash a 4.X ROM and use GSM if I desire?
Thanks for any help! If this will work then I'll go this route and she'll be very excited!!
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Click to collapse
The answer is yes, you can do that... the phone will work for E911 calls without being activated. You can also unlock, S-OFF, root, ROM and everything else like you said, although the Rezound is a little more complicated than to S-OFF than just using a toolkit it is doable with some homework and a little Linux knowledge, but to be honest, GSM works fine (Edge data only, 3G/4G higher possible with significant tweaking on some GSM carriers) on the stock 4.5.605.14 ROM.
If you know you will likely be activating this on a GSM carrier, why not get a phone designed for that right off the bat? Several unlocked GSM phones can be purchased for around the same price as the Rez, like the Galaxy Nexus, Sony Xperia S, HTC Sensation, Samsung GS2 GT-I9100 or similar phones. Don't get me wrong, I love the Rezound, but for ease of use on a GSM carrier with full 3G data you migh be better off looking at a phone suited to that purpose.
Yes, it's doable, just know what you are in for...
Thanks you.SO much! I've done wire tricks on some phones before and I think I'm learning that is the challenge here, but I should be good. I appreciate the other thoughts as well. To your question, well, we have poor GSM coverage in a number of spots around here, even we my wife and I using it, and CDMA seems like a good emergency precaution.
Thanks again so much!!
vettejock99 said:
Thanks you.SO much! I've done wire tricks on some phones before and I think I'm learning that is the challenge here, but I should be good. I appreciate the other thoughts as well. To your question, well, we have poor GSM coverage in a number of spots around here, even we my wife and I using it, and CDMA seems like a good emergency precaution.
Thanks again so much!!
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Cool... Note that activating the Rezound on PagePlus requires significant "tweaking" and a donor PagePlus phone to clone the ESN/MEID, PagePlus will not activate the Rezound as it is, neither will any other CDMA carrier but Verizon, and even then they won't do it on a prepaid plan. People have mentioned before that Cricket will do it, but the results have been mixed.
As long as you are aware of the issues and what you might need to do, go for it. Although for use as a video player, I would recommend an extended battery, the screen time on a standard battery is >2 hours. :/
acejavelin said:
Cool... Note that activating the Rezound on PagePlus requires significant "tweaking" and a donor PagePlus phone to clone the ESN/MEID, PagePlus will not activate the Rezound as it is, neither will any other CDMA carrier but Verizon, and even then they won't do it on a prepaid plan. People have mentioned before that Cricket will do it, but the results have been mixed.
As long as you are aware of the issues and what you might need to do, go for it. Although for use as a video player, I would recommend an extended battery, the screen time on a standard battery is >2 hours. :/
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Excellent points. Yeah, I had a S3 on PP for a while and it was a pain - actually CDMA overall is a pain to me so I probably won't do it. Per your advice - looking for an extended battery right now!
I called tracfone to activate a Verizon galaxy s4 I got from a friend who switched att and iphone 5. When tech support tried to activate it they said the phone was locked and I needed to have Verizon unlock the phone.
I cannot get a hold of my friend as he's on a business trip for a week. Is there a way to unlock this myself? or can I only have Verizon do this. And if I can do this myself, will I have quirky setup and need workarounds for use?
My galaxy has a verizon sim card and a 32gb data card. My phone model number is i545 if iirc.
Thanks for any advice.
-=Mark=
rmjohnson144 said:
I called tracfone to activate a Verizon galaxy s4 I got from a friend who switched att and iphone 5. When tech support tried to activate it they said the phone was locked and I needed to have Verizon unlock the phone.
I cannot get a hold of my friend as he's on a business trip for a week. Is there a way to unlock this myself? or can I only have Verizon do this. And if I can do this myself, will I have quirky setup and need workarounds for use?
My galaxy has a verizon sim card and a 32gb data card. My phone model number is i545 if iirc.
Thanks for any advice.
-=Mark=
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To help you get started with replies quicker I'll say that it is mostly dependant on which firmware you have and also if you have root.
those two factors will allow you to know if you can use any of the unlocking apps by chainVire if they are still around. someone will point it out to you I hope. On the go, can't show you myself. Best of everything in your efforts but read around. I'm sure someone has done it before. Welcome to XDA. I seen that was your 1st Post. Awesome!
That app is for unlocking the sim card. My track phone doesn't need a sim card.
Can I maybe just remove the sim card and have it work? Or do I need the sim card for the s4 to work at all?
Idk why they told you it is locked, all Verizon phones legally have to be carrier unlocked because of their deal with the FCC.
Translated from Calligraphy
Okay, I also remember they asking for an MEID off my S4 and this one only has an IMEI number.
Will this make it not compatible? I don't want to pay to unlock this thing if it won't work with Tracfone afterwards.
Hey,
I don't know if this is too device specific, but I have a Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SM-G955U). It was originally AT&T, though I got it unlocked the day I purchased it. I use it with T-Mobile now, and I never was able to update my phone since I switched. Turns out, it was because you can only do so using AT&T activated SIM cards. Literally had to get a prepaid to update it.
My questions is: Since I have an unlocked phone and use it with T-Mobile, is it possible for me to flash T-Mobile's firmware updates to my phone without consequence instead of having to get an AT&T SIM card every time to get their firmware?
I did some research, but was not able to come up with a definitive answer. It would really save me a lot of trouble if such is possible.
If not, any other way I can update without having to get through AT&T's prepaid SIMs?
Really would appreciate any help given. This has been driving me insane.
Thanks!