Invalid SIM After Firmware Unlock - Samsung Galaxy S9+ Questions & Answers

Hi guys,
I just need some general direction here.
I recently purchased a locked Sprint S9 Plus and I had successfully flashed the firmware to the unlocked version of the phone (Model number showing SM-G965U1 )
I had plugged in the sim card to the new phone, only to receive a message that says "Invalid Sim card." I also checked the system apps and it looks like there are some Sprint apps still on the phone. Any ideas?

eyewin said:
Hi guys,
I just need some general direction here.
I recently purchased a locked Sprint S9 Plus and I had successfully flashed the firmware to the unlocked version of the phone (Model number showing SM-G965U1 )
I had plugged in the sim card to the new phone, only to receive a message that says "Invalid Sim card." I also checked the system apps and it looks like there are some Sprint apps still on the phone. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got confused about what "unlocked" means in various contexts. It's easy to do. The U1 firmware is for devices that are sold as "factory unlocked" from Samsung, Best Buy, and Amazon. But what that really means is "unbranded and unlocked". By flashing U1 firmware on a Sprint (SIM locked) device, you now have an unbranded device, but flashing U1 firmware cannot SIM unlock it. Those are different things. You still need a proper SIM unlock, regardless of what firmware happens to be running on it.

CrazyApe18 said:
You got confused about what "unlocked" means in various contexts. It's easy to do. The U1 firmware is for devices that are sold as "factory unlocked" from Samsung, Best Buy, and Amazon. But what that really means is "unbranded and unlocked". By flashing U1 firmware on a Sprint (SIM locked) device, you now have an unbranded device, but flashing U1 firmware cannot SIM unlock it. Those are different things. You still need a proper SIM unlock, regardless of what firmware happens to be running on it.
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Click to collapse
Wow, and after 2 weeks of research - I thought I had it all together.
I've looked up a few options to SIM unlock the phone. They seem to be:
1) root the phone, then sim unlock it (is this possible?)
2) get a sim unlock code (any recommedations?)
OR
3) get a new unlocked or carrier-specific phone
Anyone have inputs for options 1 or 2?

eyewin said:
Wow, and after 2 weeks of research - I thought I had it all together.
I've looked up a few options to SIM unlock the phone. They seem to be:
1) root the phone, then sim unlock it (is this possible?)
2) get a sim unlock code (any recommedations?)
OR
3) get a new unlocked or carrier-specific phone
Anyone have inputs for options 1 or 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't discuss such things on XDA. Your carrier should unlock for you once you've met their requirements.

CrazyApe18 said:
Can't discuss such things on XDA. Your carrier should unlock for you once you've met their requirements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately my family was going through a carrier switch where I purchased the phone before they changed their minds to go with Verizon. Now I'm stuck with a Sprint phone while my family went with Verizon.
I would gladly guidance from anyone, through PM or through this post, and is MUCH appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Related

Att s9+ flashing to T-Mobile

Hey guys. I just ordered my s9+ (att model) specifically with the intention of flashing TMobile firmware for use on their Network. I chose the att version because it was on sale for $200 off, and since I'm gonna trade in my s7 I'm getting $200 for that and i got the phone for $400 off so i couldn't pass it up.
My question is, not having an att sim, and no plans to activate in their Network, would i need to acquire a sim unlock first, either from att or 3rd party, and would flashing the T-Mobile firmware undo the lock or is the sim unlock not even required?
Phone is paid for from Samsung.com so nothing owed and is brand new. I don't know what att requirements are but i could buy an unlock pretty much anywhere. But if it is needed first, would i need just a sim unlock or a complete device unlock? And do i need to do the sim unlock before flashing another carrier firmware for it to work?
All info helps. Thanks!
Flashing the firmware is just another method of unlocking your phone. As far as I know, it will be useless to unlock the phone before flashing (however, I am not 100% sure).
RossTeagan said:
Flashing the firmware is just another method of unlocking your phone. As far as I know, it will be useless to unlock the phone before flashing (however, I am not 100% sure).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was told that sim unlock was at network level and had nothing to do with the Rom. So flashing wouldn't unlock it from the previous carrier. I flashed my s7 from Verizon to T-Mobile but it was previously sim unlocked. It worked like a charm and appears to be network locked to them. Device unlock all doesn't nothing and actually fails lol. Don't have another sim to test though. I'll play it safe and unlock first for the s9.

Question About My Samsung Galaxy S9+

I purchased this phone today. It is network unlocked.. It was on T-Mobile, and now on Sprint.. What I find funny, when the phone was first turned on, up came the T-Mobile Splash screen. Then when I installed my sim card for Sprint, and had it activated, up came the Sprint Splash screen, and all of it's bloat glory.. I did get a great deal as it was new and perfect condition and it only cost me $288 with box accessories etc..
Under dev options, I do not see anything for OEM unlock so I can install either custom roms or debloat this phone of what I do not need.. Model number is SM-G965U. From what I gather that is not a valid Sprint Model number nor T-mobile.. I'm wondering if this was a factory unlocked version, first set to T-mobile, then Sprint when I activated it today.. Total call on this phone was Zero and very little data use..
doubledragon5 said:
I purchased this phone today. It is network unlocked.. It was on T-Mobile, and now on Sprint.. What I find funny, when the phone was first turned on, up came the T-Mobile Splash screen. Then when I installed my sim card for Sprint, and had it activated, up came the Sprint Splash screen, and all of it's bloat glory.. I did get a great deal as it was new and perfect condition and it only cost me $288 with box accessories etc..
Under dev options, I do not see anything for OEM unlock so I can install either custom roms or debloat this phone of what I do not need.. Model number is SM-G965U. From what I gather that is not a valid Sprint Model number nor T-mobile.. I'm wondering if this was a factory unlocked version, first set to T-mobile, then Sprint when I activated it today.. Total call on this phone was Zero and very little data use..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are multi carrier. Everytime a new sim is inserted it personalizes for a new carrier. All the us models are the same hardware. There is no OEM unlock. No custom roms locked bootloader permanently. you can root 8.0 only no 9 no 10. Look up extreme syndicate down in the snap dragon section. Please note your model is a g950u or g965u. Not to be confused with the g9600 or g9650 which are snapdragon but of other countries with unlocked bootloader. Cannot be interchanged.
TheMadScientist said:
They are multi carrier. Everytime a new sim is inserted it personalizes for a new carrier. All the us models are the same hardware. There is no OEM unlock. No custom roms locked bootloader permanently. you can root 8.0 only no 9 no 10. Look up extreme syndicate down in the snap dragon section. Please note your model is a g950u or g965u. Not to be confused with the g9600 or g9650 which are snapdragon but of other countries with unlocked bootloader. Cannot be interchanged.
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Click to collapse
So I assume, that since it is network unlocked, and all the bloat is based off of each carrier.. Will a factory reset get rid of it all. Or do I have to go the adb route? I have no issue with it, but can not stand all the bloat I have always tried to stay away from.. And if you look at it.. It basically is no different than a carrier branded phone.. Once you pay off it, you and have the UICC unlocked, like this phone already is. Put if I had bought a international version, I'm sure it would never have worked here in the US...
doubledragon5 said:
So I assume, that since it is network unlocked, and all the bloat is based off of each carrier.. Will a factory reset get rid of it all. Or do I have to go the adb route? I have no issue with it, but can not stand all the bloat I have always tried to stay away from.. And if you look at it.. It basically is no different than a carrier branded phone.. Once you pay off it, you and have the UICC unlocked, like this phone already is. Put if I had bought a international version, I'm sure it would never have worked here in the US...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can either root 8.0 to debloat or adb to disable it. Factory reset wont get rid of none of it. The International version o believe supports every carrier except sprint dont have the proper bands. I'm pretty sure it can do verizon. You also have the option of flashing the us U1 firmware which is us unlocked version with no carrier bloat but it still has locked bootloader.
How come when using adb, and I type adb devices it come back with a series of numbers, and then says unauthorized.. I have used in the past and was very simple.. USB debugging it enabled.
Forget it. I figured it out. And debloated this thing just like I want.
doubledragon5 said:
How come when using adb, and I type adb devices it come back with a series of numbers, and then says unauthorized.. I have used in the past and was very simple.. USB debugging it enabled.
Forget it. I figured it out. And debloated this thing just like I want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea the authorization can be a pain sometimes
TheMadScientist said:
Yea the authorization can be a pain sometimes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even thought he bootloader is locked, at least the bloat is gone semi.. If I need it back ( will not) I can just do a factory reset. LOL Time to install youtube vanced.
Question cpu z says I have a Snapdragon845. To bad it would have been nice to tweak it, if the bootloader was unlockable.
doubledragon5 said:
Even thought he bootloader is locked, at least the bloat is gone semi.. If I need it back ( will not) I can just do a factory reset. LOL Time to install youtube vanced.
Question cpu z says I have a Snapdragon845. To bad it would have been nice to tweak it, if the bootloader was unlockable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I got the g9650 unlocked bootloader snapdragon and it's right. Stout. and great battery life even though it's a older device

OEM Unlock not available, can't flash U1 with Odin, etc (ATT S21)

Hi,
I'm not unfamiliar with rooting/unlocking/flashing phones at all, but everywhere I turn there's a roadblock for this one that I can't seem to get by. I've never owned a carrier branded phone before so maybe there's some extra software lock that goes into the devices?
First off, let me state my purpose, which is to flash my ATT branded S21 with an unbranded firmware and/or to root and remove bloat.
1. Trying to flash with Odin multiple U1 XAA firmwares will cause a SHA256 error. Can't test with ATT firmware because ATT doesn't release it.
2. Fastboot won't detect my device in Download mode, selecting "Reboot to Bootloader" in recovery goes to normal boot. Tried Google drivers, Samsung drivers, no luck. ADB detects in sideload mode. Can I repack a firmware into a ROM and sideload it?
3. OEM Unlock is completely absent from Dev options. Tried the time trick. No dice.
Has anybody else done this to an ATT phone?
There is no OEM unlock option on any of the US phones, however to get the U1 firmware to flash you need to download the patched ODIN from here. After that it won't give you anymore SHA256 errors.
Make sure the firmware you download has OYM in it, not OYZ. You can see what I mean here.
OYZ will flash the Thom Browne firmware, which you most likely don't want.
zimgir124 said:
There is no OEM unlock option on any of the US phones, however to get the U1 firmware to flash you need to download the patched ODIN from here. After that it won't give you anymore SHA256 errors.
Make sure the firmware you download has OYM in it, not OYZ. You can see what I mean here.
OYZ will flash the Thom Browne firmware, which you most likely don't want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy HECK. I knew it was something stupid and simple. zimgir124 you're a saint and I really hope somebody finds this thread useful in the future.
I was this close to returning the phone. Welp, looks like I'm a Samsung guy now. Time to tip that ODIN guy.
I may be in the same boat as I purchased an S21 from Samsung.com with ATT firmware. It is carrier locked to ATT and neither Samsung nor ATT are capable of unlocking the device. ATT claims they did not receive an unlock code since the imei is absent from their database. Samsung claims they send unlock codes automatically to carriers at time of manufacture but that they are unable to provide individual unlock codes post manufacture. Is it possible to flash a carrier locked S21 with U1 firmware to have an unlocked device? This might be a better option than going through the headache of an RMA.
[email protected] said:
I may be in the same boat as I purchased an S21 from Samsung.com with ATT firmware. It is carrier locked to ATT and neither Samsung nor ATT are capable of unlocking the device. ATT claims they did not receive an unlock code since the imei is absent from their database. Samsung claims they send unlock codes automatically to carriers at time of manufacture but that they are unable to provide individual unlock codes post manufacture. Is it possible to flash a carrier locked S21 with U1 firmware to have an unlocked device? This might be a better option than going through the headache of an RMA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it don't work like that. Must be unlocked through company or any legit 3rd party service
I would like to get the oem unlock option on my t-mobile z fold 3. Is this possible after flashing u1 firmw?

Question Can you unlock the bootloader on this? (Canada, Carrier Unlocked)

I'm just about to return my Samsung A52 5G after realizing that the bootloader seemingly can't be unlocked. I did a quick google and thought it was possible, but apparently the North American version is locked.
Now I'm looking at this phone as my next option. Can anyone confirm if the OEM Unlock button appears in the Canadian version of this phone? I'm buying from the OnePlus website, and it says that it is carrier-unlocked (not T-Mobile).
I'm not even planning to root the device or do anything advanced, but I want to have the option to install Lineage later on once I stop receiving OTA updates, assuming that the Lineage devs make a build for this phone.
_eternal said:
I'm just about to return my Samsung A52 5G after realizing that the bootloader seemingly can't be unlocked. I did a quick google and thought it was possible, but apparently the North American version is locked.
Now I'm looking at this phone as my next option. Can anyone confirm if the OEM Unlock button appears in the Canadian version of this phone? I'm buying from the OnePlus website, and it says that it is carrier-unlocked (not T-Mobile).
I'm not even planning to root the device or do anything advanced, but I want to have the option to install Lineage later on once I stop receiving OTA updates, assuming that the Lineage devs make a build for this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same issue. T-mobile US and the OEM Unlock button is gone
greenteaandroid said:
I'm having the same issue. T-mobile US and the OEM Unlock button is gone
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Click to collapse
I believe there's a method to unlock the T-Mobile US version. I asked OnePlus's support, and there was a separate set of instructions for T-Mobile, so they might be able to help you.
I ended up buying the carrier-unlocked phone in Canada, and everything worked out; the OEM Unlock button wasn't blocked or anything. You just need the fastboot and adb drivers for the device, as usual.
There's a way to get oem ungreyed,read aroud
Even OEM and SIM unlock are separate, you have to have SIM unlock first before enabling OEM unlock.
Units sold directly from OnePlus.com is SIM unlocked.

Question Any way around "Locked device"

This phone was given to me by a friend, he says he got drunk, changed his lock code and doesn't remember. After a factory reset it just stays on a screen asking for a Tracfone SIM and he kept his SIM & moved halfway across the country.
I just wanna know if there is any means around this?
I called Tracfone, gave them the IMEI & they told me the phone will be eligible for unlock in about a month, I don't wanna wait as I can't root my S22 Ultra and I just wanna get back in the rooting scene, LOL
I know, call me impatient....
I apologize, I didn't notice a post w/ same issue but on a Cricket phone whereas mine is Tracfone but same situation.
AlphaTekk Epoch said:
This phone was given to me by a friend, he says he got drunk, changed his lock code and doesn't remember. After a factory reset it just stays on a screen asking for a Tracfone SIM and he kept his SIM & moved halfway across the country.
I just wanna know if there is any means around this?
I called Tracfone, gave them the IMEI & they told me the phone will be eligible for unlock in about a month, I don't wanna wait as I can't root my S22 Ultra and I just wanna get back in the rooting scene, LOL
I know, call me impatient....
I apologize, I didn't notice a post w/ same issue but on a Cricket phone whereas mine is Tracfone but same situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the Model and build number? Is the bootloader locked or unlocked? Without knowing much detail I'd recommend finding the firmware that matches your phone and fastboot flash that or at least TWRP recovery if you can find one that works with yours and then you'd have more flexibility. This is all if your bootloader has been unlocked already though and if it hasn't I'd start looking through some threads on how to do that if you don't already know how to. If it's possible with your variant too I know carrier devices are pretty strict on unlocking the bootloader but Idk about tracphone variants.
It's not unlocked.
It's the Tracfone Moto G Power
Look up a thread here on xda about unlocking the bootloader for Motorola devices and come back here if you can unlock it. You'll have to do that before you can even flash anything such as partitions like a custom recovery.

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