I hate coming here and looking like an idiot, but here goes!
LG V30 (ThinQ), H932, U.S., T-Mobile, all stock, all updated.
Wife and I upgraded to S20+ 5G, because T-Mobile doesn't have great service in a few places near me, and they swore 5G would be better. BOGO deal. We unbox, oooh, aaah, and we download SmartSwitch. My transfer goes off fine. Hers, the Play Store seems to not want to download the app.
Phone restarts, now it hangs on the T-Mobile splash screen.
Wife didn't have any auto-backup, so there's a few thousand pics of the kids that are stuck on this thing. I need those pics.
So, the challenge is: I can't wipe it in the process of unbricking it.
Good news is: I am willing to totally destroy this phone to get those photos. We have a replacement already, so whatever.
I can get to the download mode, but that's about the only good news. I haven't rooted a phone since the G1, so I'm rusty, but I have cables and I can follow instructions. Can anyone suggest something to help me out?
Nimeldolen said:
I hate coming here and looking like an idiot, but here goes!
LG V30 (ThinQ), H932, U.S., T-Mobile, all stock, all updated.
Wife and I upgraded to S20+ 5G, because T-Mobile doesn't have great service in a few places near me, and they swore 5G would be better. BOGO deal. We unbox, oooh, aaah, and we download SmartSwitch. My transfer goes off fine. Hers, the Play Store seems to not want to download the app.
Phone restarts, now it hangs on the T-Mobile splash screen.
Wife didn't have any auto-backup, so there's a few thousand pics of the kids that are stuck on this thing. I need those pics. I know the say you didn't have auto backup, but sometimes people do have that and don't remember.
So, the challenge is: I can't wipe it in the process of unbricking it.
Good news is: I am willing to totally destroy this phone to get those photos. We have a replacement already, so whatever.
I can get to the download mode, but that's about the only good news. I haven't rooted a phone since the G1, so I'm rusty, but I have cables and I can follow instructions. Can anyone suggest something to help me out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you root, that will wipe the phone.
Do you have pictures automatically backed up to photos.google.com?
ChazzMatt said:
If you root, that will wipe the phone.
Do you have pictures automatically backed up to photos.google.com?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, so rooting isn't the way to go.
No, there was no auto-backup of any kind. There's probably a photo dump from a few months ago, onto her laptop, but I'm not sure how recent it is. I checked her Google account.
Nimeldolen said:
I hate coming here and looking like an idiot, but here goes!
LG V30 (ThinQ), H932, U.S., T-Mobile, all stock, all updated.
Wife and I upgraded to S20+ 5G, because T-Mobile doesn't have great service in a few places near me, and they swore 5G would be better. BOGO deal. We unbox, oooh, aaah, and we download SmartSwitch. My transfer goes off fine. Hers, the Play Store seems to not want to download the app.
Phone restarts, now it hangs on the T-Mobile splash screen.
Wife didn't have any auto-backup, so there's a few thousand pics of the kids that are stuck on this thing. I need those pics.
So, the challenge is: I can't wipe it in the process of unbricking it.
Good news is: I am willing to totally destroy this phone to get those photos. We have a replacement already, so whatever.
I can get to the download mode, but that's about the only good news. I haven't rooted a phone since the G1, so I'm rusty, but I have cables and I can follow instructions. Can anyone suggest something to help me out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, I can't really think of a good solution. I'll try and think more
But in the mean time I'd say try calling LG and ask them if they could recover the data, they should be able to do that for a small charge I think.
Losing pictures would be very saddening
Nimeldolen said:
LG V30 (ThinQ), H932, U.S., T-Mobile, all stock, all updated.
Wife and I upgraded to S20+ 5G, because T-Mobile doesn't have great service in a few places near me, and they swore 5G would be better. BOGO deal. We unbox, oooh, aaah, and we download SmartSwitch. My transfer goes off fine. Hers, the Play Store seems to not want to download the app.
Phone restarts, now it hangs on the T-Mobile splash screen.
Wife didn't have any auto-backup, so there's a few thousand pics of the kids that are stuck on this thing. I need those pics.
So, the challenge is: I can't wipe it in the process of unbricking it.
Good news is: I am willing to totally destroy this phone to get those photos. We have a replacement already, so whatever.
I can get to the download mode, but that's about the only good news. I haven't rooted a phone since the G1, so I'm rusty, but I have cables and I can follow instructions. Can anyone suggest something to help me out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know about T-mobile but some carrier stores like AT&T have service techs with boxes and cables to connect which can transfer off data from one phone to another. Maybe they can get it into some kind of "safe mode" and transfer off the data.
Of course, doesn't help that T-mobile just closed 80% of their stores due to the corona virus (SARS-CoV-2).
ChazzMatt said:
Don't know about T-mobile but some carrier stores like AT&T have service techs with boxes and cables to connect which can transfer off data from one phone to another. Maybe they can get it into some kind of "safe mode" and transfer off the data.
Of course, doesn't help that T-mobile just closed 80% of their stores due to the corona virus (SARS-CoV-2).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to be a manager for T-Mobile retail.
The boxes that they have are pretty basic. Biggest limitation is that phone settings have to be perfect, if you can't access them, the boxes won't work.
Is there anything out there like Fonepaw or Dr.Fone that will work?
I know some phones have an SD card stored on the motherboard, and you can remove it if you tear the phone apart; that would work if I could confirm that this phone is made that way, but I watched 3 tear downs and got nowhere.
Related
I just bought this Vibrant over ebay.
What sux is, the user is some what mislead prints.
Here is the case, phone is locked down. pattern lock down...
Factory Reset code does not work.
Hold Down Vol Down + Vol Up + Power Button, Release Power on Vibrant Logo show up. This procedure done so many times, did NOT work.
Does this mean I have a Hardware Lock? on this phone. (the phone shows July/17/2010)
Please tell me what options there are to solve this issue?
I like to use this phone on a prepaid sim. later get this sim unlock also.
Adb reboot recovery. You have to dl the android sdk first.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
does this require, going in the device and enable debug? cause I can not even go in to Stock Recovery Mode. Stuck on the google account log in screen.
can you tell me how to get adb recovery to work?
thnx in advance.
Why does this post seem a little fishy to me? My instincts would lead me to think the phone isn't legit. You bought a phone off of Ebay, AND it came screen locked? Having sold many a phone on Ebay, I can tell you the first thing I do is wipe the phone and restore it to 100% stock. Receving one locked is alot more than "misleading", it just plain makes no sense. But I.m guessing you already know that. If it walks like a duck, and quack likes a duck....it's probably a stolen phone
Just sayin.....
Sent from my Vibrant via Xda App
yup
stolen phone
don't help
Why don't you email the seller and ask what the pattern was?
Sent from my SGH-T959
connnn said:
Why don't you email the seller and ask what the pattern was?
Sent from my SGH-T959
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be too easy
Dipping it in acid unlocks it in sub seconds, if you use hot water it will take longer, but you will get an email confirmation of a full unlock.
flyingmedic said:
Why does this post seem a little fishy to me? My instincts would lead me to think the phone isn't legit. You bought a phone off of Ebay, AND it came screen locked? Having sold many a phone on Ebay, I can tell you the first thing I do is wipe the phone and restore it to 100% stock. Receving one locked is alot more than "misleading", it just plain makes no sense. But I.m guessing you already know that. If it walks like a duck, and quack likes a duck....it's probably a stolen phone
Just sayin.....
Sent from my Vibrant via Xda App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tell you what, I actually got a hold of the Original owner of the phone, she was nice to add me to Authorized user, some hispanic lady. She gave up on the phone cause not what she exactly need. have no clue how to even use it correctly. Friend of her, sold it on ebay. I bought it, ever since been in touch with T-Mobile. Trying to get IMEI Unlock code!! still waiting...for that email...
do not bother, "there is app to get unlock code" I KNOW! there is!! I want to use it badly...Problem is, I am in a town where T-Mobile does NOT EXIST!! Only ATT. That is why, getting unlock code, so I can use it on ATT. Log in the phone, and Format with Custom ROMs.
This is my only choice now I have...suck aint it.
hydrogenman said:
yup
stolen phone
don't help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
up to you, what you think. i got plenty of ways to prove the phone is legit. plus got tmobile and local police report ready file against the seller, if the phone is stolen property.
I handle every online shopping, like if the other end having a death wish to come.
when other play fair, I will too. if they decided something fishy, I will put a guillotine on them.
ekoandrew said:
up to you, what you think. i got plenty of ways to prove the phone is legit. plus got tmobile and local police report ready file against the seller, if the phone is stolen property.
I handle every online shopping, like if the other end having a death wish to come.
when other play fair, I will too. if they decided something fishy, I will put a guillotine on them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Watch what you stick in the guillotine son......your whole story is just that, a story, and not a good one. now go play in traffic, you've been exposed.
ekoandrew said:
Tell you what, I actually got a hold of the Original owner of the phone, she was nice to add me to Authorized user, some hispanic lady. She gave up on the phone cause not what she exactly need. have no clue how to even use it correctly. Friend of her, sold it on ebay. I bought it, ever since been in touch with T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
She sold you a hardware locked phone that's also pattern locked and you're okay with that? Why don't you demand your money back? How can you talk about how you would put the guillotine to a bad seller when that is exactly what you're dealing with?
I've had a rooted Evo 4G LTE for 14 months now ... my first smartphone ... but have decided to move on and upgrade. I still love the phone, but I'm moving on because it's flashed to work on Page Plus (Verizon MVNO) and I can only get 3G, plus I'm only grandfathered in to be able to keep the phone on PP, and if I should ever get kicked off that network, I can't get back in.
I've got an HTC One M8 on the way, that I bought on Swappa. My question ... what do I do to get all vestiges of "me" off the Evo, as far as clearing my data, accounts, etc., before I do something with it?
I've researched the "standard" process for doing this, I was just wondering if since this phone is rooted, I need to do anything special. I basically was just going to toss this out on the Swappa Boneyard or eBay and see what I can get out of it, not going to put any money into unflashing it because I don't see the point given the pittance these phones are going for right now. I just wondered if there's any way to keep root and keep the ROM I'm using on there (Yankee's ROM) when I do the reset, although I fear if anyone unflashes the phone it might mess that up. I'm still sort of a newbie on such things.
I take it you didn't do the rooting of the phone or flashing of the ROM yourself?
Didn't do the root, did flash the ROM after researching it here.
Have decided just to hang onto the thing and use it as a wi-fi media device (have put Hangouts on it to make phone calls) and camera.
prw94 said:
I've had a rooted Evo 4G LTE for 14 months now ... my first smartphone ... but have decided to move on and upgrade. I still love the phone, but I'm moving on because it's flashed to work on Page Plus (Verizon MVNO) and I can only get 3G, plus I'm only grandfathered in to be able to keep the phone on PP, and if I should ever get kicked off that network, I can't get back in.
I've got an HTC One M8 on the way, that I bought on Swappa. My question ... what do I do to get all vestiges of "me" off the Evo, as far as clearing my data, accounts, etc., before I do something with it?
I've researched the "standard" process for doing this, I was just wondering if since this phone is rooted, I need to do anything special. I basically was just going to toss this out on the Swappa Boneyard or eBay and see what I can get out of it, not going to put any money into unflashing it because I don't see the point given the pittance these phones are going for right now. I just wondered if there's any way to keep root and keep the ROM I'm using on there (Yankee's ROM) when I do the reset, although I fear if anyone unflashes the phone it might mess that up. I'm still sort of a newbie on such things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just remove your Google account and factory reset from phone settings. :good:
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!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
I will be going out of my voice/data area.
I was unknowingly under the impression that everything was fine with my new U.S. Cellular's best 3Mbps Uncapped Unlimited 25GB Plus plan; nothing hidden, everything disclosed ["...and no hidden charges..." (right!? LoL)].
But, what I am finding out quickly is that not even all of CS Reps really know what's going on, and even they are not up-to-date on the details.
"The dickens is in the details!".
Unfortunately, U.S. Cellular's roaming is limited to 400MB per month, no matter what plan you are on, even if you are on their top-of-the-line plan.
Additional GB have to be purchased.
I am located in the States and on a U.S. Cellular 30-month contract.
KevinAuralee said:
I will be going out of my voice/data area.
I am located in the States and on a U.S. Cellular 30-month contract.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to know:
I have a 'locked' Galaxy S9+ (SM-G965U). Would it be cheaper to buy a Sim and use my phone with another carrier instead of roaming?
Is it even possible on a 'locked' phone to temporarily use a different carrier?
I'm mostly concerned about my internet data (or, really my lack thereof), and how much it would cost to buy 'roaming' data.
1.5GB or 3.5GB roaming data will cost extra; $15 or $35 respectively.
I have the choice of Global, LTE/CDMA, LTE/GSM/UMTS under Mobile Networks => Network mode.
It would seem that I could use Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T for a month and not have roaming charges through the nose.
Also, I believe U.S. Cellular's biggest roaming package is 3.5GB (vs the 25GB [Unlimited Plus] plan that I have gotten used to).
I talked to U.S. Cellular's technical support, and they said... Because there is a balance on the phone, it is locked... And because it is locked, another carrier cannot be used.
I understand, also, from reading this forum, that unlocking a Stateside S9+ is not a good idea, because it will trip Knox and void the warranty.
Unless someone knows something else, looks like I'm sunk.
Can anyone please verify my latest fears?
KevinAuralee said:
I talked to U.S. Cellular's technical support, and they said... Because there is a balance on the phone, it is locked... And because it is locked, another carrier cannot be used.
I understand, also, from reading this forum, that unlocking a Stateside S9+ is not a good idea, because it will trip Knox and void the warranty.
Unless someone knows something else, looks like I'm sunk.
Can anyone please verify my latest fears?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3 posts and I have no idea what your question really is. The Snapdragon models can't be rooted. At best, you could manage to brick your device trying. I'm also not sure what it would accomplish, given your problem.
CrazyApe18 said:
3 posts and I have no idea what your question really is. The Snapdragon models can't be rooted. At best, you could manage to brick your device trying. I'm also not sure what it would accomplish, given your problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have returned from my trip to no-service (roaming) PA. I had to use local wifi while roaming. It was a very bad phone data experience. I was talking about hidden fees with US Cellular to be able to even use my phone for internet access.
I have 1-1/2 years left and will unlock this phone. I really do like the camera and the speed of the apps, etc. But since Snapdragon models cannot be rooted, what is the point of my owning this phone?
Obviously, I should probably ditch this phone or upgrade... probably selling it would be the best way to put money towards a new phone that can be rooted.
What are your suggestions?
Carriers have pro's and con's... If you are worried about having high roaming use then perhaps pick up an unlocked phone that will work on a different provider (with applicable plan through the provider) and use it as a mobile hotspot. Then connect your S9+ to the mobile hotspot and you should be ok.
TBH one of the things you should consider when your buying service through a carrier is the coverage the carrier provides as well as if/what limitations may exist. In your case if you roam a lot and the price of roaming is to much then perhaps consider a different provider when your contract is up.
KevinAuralee said:
I have a 'locked' Galaxy S9+ (SM-G965U). Would it be cheaper to buy a Sim and use my phone with another carrier instead of roaming?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is carrier/network locked which means it can only be used on the carrier you got it from. Because the phone is carrier locked you can not use any other sim card other then what is provided by the carrier.
KevinAuralee said:
Is it even possible on a 'locked' phone to temporarily use a different carrier?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope
KevinAuralee said:
I have 1-1/2 years left and will unlock this phone. I really do like the camera and the speed of the apps, etc. But since Snapdragon models cannot be rooted, what is the point of my owning this phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest you just gave 2 pro's and only 1 con over the device, which would kinda answer your question for you... But again that is the kind of question only you can answer..
IMHO if your sole purpose on having that phone is that you must have it rooted, then this phone is not the one for you. If your only trying to root the phone so you can get cheaper roaming data by using other sim cards then you probably shouldn't be trying to root the phone anyways (not that root is even possible cuz it's not... It's just better to get it carrier/network unlocked by paying it off).
On the other hand for the most part even if it was possible the device could be rooted it won't give you much outside of what you already have. Granted I have had phone(s) being samsung and other where rooting the device allowed me to get better performance and battery life. With this phone it is the first Samsung I have had that is quite snappy, battery life is surprisingly good and overall it works quite well with just the stock firmware.
About the only thing I would root the phone for (if it were possible, it's not obviously) is for nandroid backups. Still even from factory data reset to back up and running doesn't take that long anymore. Outside of that I myself have no reason to root the phone.
KevinAuralee said:
Obviously, I should probably ditch this phone or upgrade... probably selling it would be the best way to put money towards a new phone that can be rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would strongly suggest you entertain/consider those notions after you paid the phone off. But just as an FYI once you get the phone unlocked (after paying it off) you can use it on T-Moble, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T... The G965U and G965U1 whether bought from samsung or the carriers themselves have the same internal hardware. The software determines what bands and carrier compatible features are active... Should be noted that carriers may have additional requirements (like AT&T not letting non AT&T S9+ use VoLTE) for specific services/features.
So if anything pay the phone off faster so you can get it carrier/network unlocked.. The phone or the fact the model isn't rootable isn't the real problem here, it's the data roaming charges your carrier has.
KevinAuralee said:
What are your suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep the phone and use it until it's paid off.. Then get it carrier/network unlocked would be my suggestion. At that point you can use a sim card with a different provider for cheaper data roaming.. Or after it's paid off and network unlocked you can just sell it (you could probably get more for it since it would be unlocked to work for any carrier).
scottusa2008 said:
IMHO if your sole purpose on having that phone is that you must have it rooted, then this phone is not the one for you.
With this phone it is the first Samsung I have had that is quite snappy, battery life is surprisingly good and overall it works quite well with just the stock firmware.
About the only thing I would root the phone for (if it were possible, it's not obviously) is for nandroid backups. Still even from factory data reset to back up and running doesn't take that long anymore. Outside of that I myself have no reason to root the phone.
I would strongly suggest you entertain/consider those notions after you paid the phone off...
...The phone or the fact the model isn't rootable isn't the real problem here, it's the data roaming charges your carrier has.
Keep the phone and use it until it's paid off.. Then get it carrier/network unlocked would be my suggestion.
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Click to collapse
I don't like a lot of things that deal with not having root.
Google and Samsung push are trying to take over my phone, even though I have a lot of stuff disabled. I just found out my location is full on, and I always have it turned off or set to minimal.
I even had some data usage and never turned data on... am 100% running on wi-fi. And now Samsung's keyboard is active and can't be disabled.
Seems to me that I would like to stock load what I originally had when I first received the phone. I have never taken any updates and get nagged a lot.
But, like you said it isn't mine to root yet! But gimminies, I mean give me a break... I can't even side-load anymore. And that's gonna smart quite a bit.
I have entertained the idea of upgrading to a newer phone, but that would probably result in digging my hole deeper and even harder to get out of. I have 1-1/2 years left to go on my phone, or just flat buy it out while it is still worth something.
Oh, and I have never been able to back up my phone without spilling all of my information to Google or Samsung -- that's the way they like it!
So I have been running without a backup for a year now, and I don't like it. Sure, I have almost everything pics & stuff on hard drive, but my apps, text messages, phone book, etc. I don't.
I'm thinking I would like to take screen pics of my apps & contacts, etc. and start all over. If only I knew of a sure way of gaining 100% control over my phone, I would do it!
But like you say, it might make more sense to just pay it off and then sell it and be rid of it.
KevinAuralee said:
I don't like a lot of things that deal with not having root.
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Click to collapse
Your not the only one... but if that is the case then it would seem that samsung has pretty much gotten on the ball and took care of the exploits that would allow root. While in one sense it's a bummer for those who want to root, but in the other they are making devices that aren't as exploitable (which is actually a good thing).
KevinAuralee said:
I even had some data usage and never turned data on... am 100% running on wi-fi. And now Samsung's keyboard is active and can't be disabled.
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Click to collapse
Did you turn off roaming data? If you did then it would not have connected to the roaming data.. Mine never does unless I have it turned on. Also if your sending and recieving MMS messages this would use mobile data, so check your MMS settings for roaming auto retrieve.
KevinAuralee said:
Oh, and I have never been able to back up my phone without spilling all of my information to Google or Samsung -- that's the way they like it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This whole cloud backup thing has been around for a long time and is not a Samsung or Google thing. Microsoft Windows, Apple devices, Amazon devices all do the same thing. It's convenient for many and for those who are paranoid (or just don't want to use cloud backup) you don't have to use cloud backup services.
You can use smartswitch and make a backup of what is on the phone on your computer. You can save your contacts to the device only and you can export those contacts to a .vcf file... so you can later import them if you get a different phone (or factory data reset).
KevinAuralee said:
So I have been running without a backup for a year now, and I don't like it. Sure, I have almost everything pics & stuff on hard drive, but my apps, text messages, phone book, etc. I don't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out Smartswitch
https://account.samsung.com/membership/terms/privacypolicy
I just did... their privacy policy is that I have no privacy. So I am back to square one and I feel better off NOT backing anything up both by their services and/or their software.
I have no active accounts with the goog, or samsung.
I plan on keeping it this way.
I guess my only question would be if I did a hard reset, and because I have never allowed any updates, would I be able to get back to day one when I first got the phone and be able to start from scratch?
KevinAuralee said:
I guess my only question would be if I did a hard reset, and because I have never allowed any updates, would I be able to get back to day one when I first got the phone and be able to start from scratch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you did a factory data reset your phone would erase all your data and apps from the phone and all settings restored to factory defaults. You would have to go through the setup process again and restore your data (and make what ever changes, disable what apps you need too, misc customizations) which ever way you are going to do so.
I only mention this because I do not know what firmware your running or what was on the phone when you originally bought it. This part may or may not apply in your case, but in case it does... The only thing about a factory data reset is it does not change what firmware is installed on the phone. If you have the latest android pie installed then that is what will be on the phone once the factory data reset is completed.
Hey everyone,
So I did this on my personal phones a few years ago, and even my MIL's phone (Mother in law). I cut the SIM card in those cases, and plugged it into the new phone, and all worked just fine for the most part (MIL phone is having issues, maybe because I did a poor job of the manual cutting).
Anyway, now I'm on the FIL's phone (father in law). I activated a brand new phone on an old Droid Turbo phone, and it's working fine there. I moved the SIM to the new V30 (originally US998) and it's not registering on the network. I wonder if I just did this too quickly (I didn't let the SIM "sit" on the Turbo for very long)... which is why I moved it back there now. I figure I should let it sit there for a bit, and then try again?
Any ideas on what else I can try? Basically, the V30 was saying it saw the phone number, but it said IMS not registered... any ideas on how we can fix that? The *#*#4636#*#* doesn't work on the LG phones... I've used Shortcut Master before to register VOLTE, but I'm out of my realm here because the SIM is not registering the phone, so that's not an APN or VOLTE issue.
Any help or ideas are appreciated... thank you!
EDIT: One more comment. I'm hoping to go to VZ tomorrow and get a new card for the MIL phone. In order to activate that SIM, I'll have to activate that SIM on the Turbo, otherwise VZ will throw a hissyfit for the mismatched IMEI. So, I'm hoping I can repeat this process with the new SIM on that phone... I'm hoping we don't have this problem there too.
Ugh, VZ, why do you suck so bad.
I've been down a similar path. I own the same phones. You didn't mention which rom is on the v30 but suspect it is a us998. I, too, had some difficulties getting my v30 to work properly on the vz network. The turbo with a stock verizon rom came in handy to set vz account/network options.
1) Install stock MM rom on the turbo. The debloated one by computer_freak works great. You can get it here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/dr.../computerfreek274mm1-0-android-6-0-1-t3503634
2) Pop the vz sim in the turbo
3) Activate: HD calling, visual voicemail in the dialer, and set up volte. I don't remember if vowifi is an option on the turbo. If it is, then turn it on, too.
4) Put sim in the v30 and enjoy.
Another and possibly better option to get the sim and phone working together is to cross-flash to the verizon vs996 rom. The advantage of the vs996 rom is that vowifi and visual voicemail will work. I've never succeeded in getting vowifi provisioned on the us998 open market rom. That is some vz-lg shennanigan.
I second what cmrntnnr stated above and emphasize flashing VS996 on the V30. Big Red can still tell what your phone actually is by its IMEI. My V30 originally was a LS998. I also had to manually set the MMS settings to keep Verizon firmware from thinking it is a Sprint phone. Please see this if you have issues with MMS. https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v30/how-to/guide-how-fixed-mms-settings-flashable-t3856109
Yes, I am on VS996 for this phone. And I did this very same process on my personal phones, but for some reason the new V30 isn't accepting the card, which is why I asked.
Yes, I know VZ can see it's not a true VS996. Thanks for the link to fix MMS, but I wanted to fix the lack of connection first before working on the other things.
I will try it again (maybe I swapped SIMs "too fast" for the VZ network to accept it or something?... though I swapped it back to the FIL's LG G3 with no issues... so very weird, and annoying).
All that said, we may just get them "true" VS996s instead, because that way they can still get help from VZ when they aren't nearby (they live in FL, while I'm in CT). It's not that VZ can't help, it's just that they won't... that's what pisses me off...
EDIT: Again, the question is, why isn't this phone connecting? It's seeing the phone number, sees the SIM fine, just wouldn't connect to the network and kept saying it wasn't registered... didn't know if there was a trick I could do or something to force it (probably not, as it may be a VZ-server thing, but who knows).
schwinn8 said:
Yes, I am on VS996 for this phone. And I did this very same process on my personal phones, but for some reason the new V30 isn't accepting the card, which is why I asked.
Yes, I know VZ can see it's not a true VS996. Thanks for the link to fix MMS, but I wanted to fix the lack of connection first before working on the other things.
I will try it again (maybe I swapped SIMs "too fast" for the VZ network to accept it or something?... though I swapped it back to the FIL's LG G3 with no issues... so very weird, and annoying).
All that said, we may just get them "true" VS996s instead, because that way they can still get help from VZ when they aren't nearby (they live in FL, while I'm in CT). It's not that VZ can't help, it's just that they won't... that's what pisses me off...
EDIT: Again, the question is, why isn't this phone connecting? It's seeing the phone number, sees the SIM fine, just wouldn't connect to the network and kept saying it wasn't registered... didn't know if there was a trick I could do or something to force it (probably not, as it may be a VZ-server thing, but who knows).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try the Verizon secret menu and play around with the settings: *#*#4636#*#* or LG Secret Menu (must use stock LG dialer and not Google dialer): *#546368#*996#
HueyT said:
Try the Verizon secret menu and play around with the settings: *#*#4636#*#* or LG Secret Menu (must use stock LG dialer and not Google dialer): *#546368#*996#
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, this is what I was looking for.
I tried getting to the secret menu, but it never seems to work (even on stock dialer). When I did the VOLTE fix on my phone, I had to use ShortcutMaster.
Regardless, once there, what should I look for/do?
I have the phone back in-hand now. As before, the SIM works fine in the old phone (LG G3) but it still doesn't connect with the new V30 (on VS996). Note, I did use a SIM adapter to put it into the old phone (it uses micro-SIM sized cards). And, again, it's seeing the correct phone number, but it's not connecting to the network. Network mode is set to global (default) and toggling that around doesn't help.
I also got ShortcutMasterLite to let me into the 4636 menu, but I don't see anything wrong in there either. Not sure how to get this phone working?!
I'm now wondering if it's just a defective phone? I'm seeing signal levels that match my other phone, but still, who knows? Maybe the radio is having issues or something... I suppose I could try my personal SIM instead, or something?
So no help.... not that I'm blaming anyone.
Problem is that the Ebay listing said that this phone will NOT work on VZ, etc. So, I don't have much hope of the seller helping me, even though it's a completely false statement, as we all know. So, I may have to convert back to US998 and then test with an ATT SIM to prove to the seller that this is a defective phone. Anyone have any ideas on how I could do this? For example, would anyone be willing to meet me somewhere (I live in CT, but I can drive wherever in New England) to try your SIM on this phone? I figure, if it doesn't work, then I have proof that it's defective. Otherwise, I don't think the seller is going to even try to help.
Anyone willing to throw me a bone here with a little help? Or anyone have other ideas on how I can test? Does ATT have a prepaid thing that I could try for a month (low cost) to prove it out or something? I know far too little about ATT...
schwinn8 said:
Anyone willing to throw me a bone here with a little help? Or anyone have other ideas on how I can test? Does ATT have a prepaid thing that I could try for a month (low cost) to prove it out or something? I know far too little about ATT...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
They have a Prepaid minutes plan they don't like to advertise.
https://www.att.com/buy/wireless/prepaid/devicesandplans
When you put in your IMEI to the AT&T Prepaid webpage put all zeroes instead of your real IMEI and it will show you all plans, not just what they want to sell you.
Also AT&T Prepaid uses same same regular AT&T SIM cards. Don't let them sell you some special SIM card.
I'd have reached out to help if I had any ideas. Your hypothesis that it is broken seems reasonable and so does flashing it to US998 as verification.
Getting on the ATT network without ATT is a breeze. Cruise down to Walmart and pick up a StraightTalk kit for $30-50. It will have sims for VZ, ATT, and TM so you can choose whichever network is best for you. They're good to have around.
schwinn8 said:
Hey everyone,
So I did this on my personal phones a few years ago, and even my MIL's phone (Mother in law). I cut the SIM card in those cases, and plugged it into the new phone, and all worked just fine for the most part (MIL phone is having issues, maybe because I did a poor job of the manual cutting).
Anyway, now I'm on the FIL's phone (father in law). I activated a brand new phone on an old Droid Turbo phone, and it's working fine there. I moved the SIM to the new V30 (originally US998) and it's not registering on the network. I wonder if I just did this too quickly (I didn't let the SIM "sit" on the Turbo for very long)... which is why I moved it back there now. I figure I should let it sit there for a bit, and then try again?
Any ideas on what else I can try? Basically, the V30 was saying it saw the phone number, but it said IMS not registered... any ideas on how we can fix that? The *#*#4636#*#* doesn't work on the LG phones... I've used Shortcut Master before to register VOLTE, but I'm out of my realm here because the SIM is not registering the phone, so that's not an APN or VOLTE issue.
Any help or ideas are appreciated... thank you!
EDIT: One more comment. I'm hoping to go to VZ tomorrow and get a new card for the MIL phone. In order to activate that SIM, I'll have to activate that SIM on the Turbo, otherwise VZ will throw a hissyfit for the mismatched IMEI. So, I'm hoping I can repeat this process with the new SIM on that phone... I'm hoping we don't have this problem there too.
Ugh, VZ, why do you suck so bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
schwinn8 said:
So no help.... not that I'm blaming anyone.
Problem is that the Ebay listing said that this phone will NOT work on VZ, etc. So, I don't have much hope of the seller helping me, even though it's a completely false statement, as we all know. So, I may have to convert back to US998 and then test with an ATT SIM to prove to the seller that this is a defective phone. Anyone have any ideas on how I could do this? For example, would anyone be willing to meet me somewhere (I live in CT, but I can drive wherever in New England) to try your SIM on this phone? I figure, if it doesn't work, then I have proof that it's defective. Otherwise, I don't think the seller is going to even try to help.
Anyone willing to throw me a bone here with a little help? Or anyone have other ideas on how I can test? Does ATT have a prepaid thing that I could try for a month (low cost) to prove it out or something? I know far too little about ATT...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
schwinn8 said:
So no help.... not that I'm blaming anyone.
Problem is that the Ebay listing said that this phone will NOT work on VZ, etc. So, I don't have much hope of the seller helping me, even though it's a completely false statement, as we all know. So, I may have to convert back to US998 and then test with an ATT SIM to prove to the seller that this is a defective phone. Anyone have any ideas on how I could do this? For example, would anyone be willing to meet me somewhere (I live in CT, but I can drive wherever in New England) to try your SIM on this phone? I figure, if it doesn't work, then I have proof that it's defective. Otherwise, I don't think the seller is going to even try to help.
Anyone willing to throw me a bone here with a little help? Or anyone have other ideas on how I can test? Does ATT have a prepaid thing that I could try for a month (low cost) to prove it out or something? I know far too little about ATT...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which VS996 version did you flash? Nougat, Oreo, Pie? Try Nougat as it's the most reliable VS996. US998 Nougat should read VZW sim also.
Thanks for the tips on ATT and Straight Talk. I think I will have to try that, but first I'm going to try to get the ebay seller to "promise" me that if I go through this, that they'll actually do something to help. Otherwise I'm just spending money for no reason.
As for the VS996, it was Oreo, the same version I'm using on my personal phones, and the other V30 - you may recall that the MIL's phone is functioning, but the FIL's is the one that is just not connecting at all... I always get 0-bars with the "x" on that one. That's what I'm trying to fix here...
Again, thanks for the tips, let's see what I can get done here with all your excellent help!
Ok, so the debacle is over. I wanted to provide a little info for what ended up happening, and what I learned.
Longer story short, I was able to get the first H931 phone working fine with no issues. It runs on VZ towers on VS996 and US998 (I created a video for the latter, to prove it to myself and the warranty company). The second one refused to work on VZ, and I felt it had issues on GSM carriers as well (I tested Mint Mobile, as it was free). This phone was sent for repair to a warranty company that the ebay seller offered to pay for.
The warranty company tried to get that phone to work on VZ, but couldn't. They kept telling me that this was "not possible" when, as we all know, it most certainly is. Bottom line, something is defective with that phone, as I suspected. However, I expect no one is going to bother to repair it so it will likely show up on Ebay or wherever again as an H931 (or US998) with this problem persisting. I figure another buyer may not notice it, as long as they don't use VZ....
But, the moral here is that you should be careful when you buy the device, to ensure that the seller doesn't put text on their post saying that it won't work on other carriers. I was afraid of this text, but I went forward anyway as I (and we) know this works fine. I also proved it on one phone (the first one). However, if the seller says this, then they won't necessarily take any steps to help fix the issue if there is a problem anyway. I got lucky and my seller at least provided me with the warranty card, which helped a lot.
The warranty company did do everything they could to help. I have to commend them on that, as we are hacking the phone, after all... but Jose was very understanding and helpful regardless. For this reason, I really recommend their service... they are CPS Warranty and they can be found at https://www.cpscentral.com/ Again, they could have blown me off, but they didn't... and after all that, they offered a settlement to pay be back for the phone since they couldn't get it working on VZ. I'm out a little money, but the settlement was fair, so I can't complain.
So, while this all works, we do need to be careful, as some devices are defective and hard to detect for this type of issue.