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VZW Galaxy Tab -- Switch Carriers?

(UPDATE: I managed to talk to another person at Verizon who was able somehow to go ahead and make the tablet available for me. I got the $30 pay-as-you-go plan activated a short time later. I'd still like to know about switching carriers on this, just in case a better deal comes along from Sprint or MetroPCS)
I have an sch-i800 galaxy tab running Gingerbread 2.3.5. It was purchased off Craigslist. When I tried to purchase a monthly data plan from Verizon, I found out that he wasn't the original owner of the device. I can't activate it on Verizon because the original owner never dropped it from his plan (it's a 2-year contract tablet). I contacted Verizon's customer service who then contacted the original owner, who apparently claims that it's stolen, though I made it clear to Verizon that he could contact me if that were the case and I'd be happy to give it back to him and go to the police. According to the girl at Verizon, he declined, but wouldn't say why. She told me I can wait until he cancels his Verizon account and try to activate service then, but I have no idea when or if that will ever happen.
I want to change carriers on the phone to MetroPCS or Sprint. I just don't know what I need to do to make it happen. I already have the device rooted. I only need to know whether I can change carriers (Sprint or MetroPCS) and what steps to take to make it compatible with them. I have some limited knowledge of using Heimdall to flash, I have busybox and CWM and all of that. Thanks for any advice.

[Q] Moving AT&T Apps to SD card

I bought a new AT&T factory unlocked G4 Active off eBay. It is running Gingerbread and has not been rooted.I then bought a StraightTalk sim card and everything works fine except two things,
I have used Applications Manager and discovered (I will confess I have learned a lot from this forum AFTER I tried that) it will not allow me to move the useless(????) AT&T apps to the SD card. Is there any way to do that since I don't think I am using them since I have a StraightTalk sim installed? And #2, since I get lousy service on the GSM network (AT&T), is it possible to convert this phone so it runs on VZ?
Thanks

The Galaxy S4 Active is barely 4 months old and shipped with Android 4.2.2 aka Jellybean - if yours has Gingerbread on it (Android 2.3) something is very wrong.
And GS4A's are not sold unlocked, even from AT&T. You have to buy one that's carrier locked, then contact their support to get the unlock code (as I understand it). Even paying full price for the phone off-contract in an AT&T corporate store means you still end up having to contact their support by phone, providing the necessary info, and they'll provide the unlock code as required - the store personnel just don't do that or even have access to those codes even if you pay full price on the spot for one "unlocked."
As for moving the apps to the microSD card, I don't think that's a possibility with the stock apps; your best bet to get rid of them is with Titanium Backup (the paid version) and freeze 'em all out. I could be wrong on that so someone else can answer it perhaps.
The LTE capability of the GS4A won't work with Verizon's CMDA network that I'm aware of, and obviously Verizon isn't a GSM carrier at all so there goes that idea too.
Are you 100% confident of what you actually bought?

Moving AT&T apps to sd card
br0adband said:
The Galaxy S4 Active is barely 4 months old and shipped with Android 4.2.2 aka Jellybean - if yours has Gingerbread on it (Android 2.3) something is very wrong.
And GS4A's are not sold unlocked, even from AT&T. You have to buy one that's carrier locked, then contact their support to get the unlock code (as I understand it). Even paying full price for the phone off-contract in an AT&T corporate store means you still end up having to contact their support by phone, providing the necessary info, and they'll provide the unlock code as required - the store personnel just don't do that or even have access to those codes even if you pay full price on the spot for one "unlocked."
As for moving the apps to the microSD card, I don't think that's a possibility with the stock apps; your best bet to get rid of them is with Titanium Backup (the paid version) and freeze 'em all out. I could be wrong on that so someone else can answer it perhaps.
The LTE capability of the GS4A won't work with Verizon's CMDA network that I'm aware of, and obviously Verizon isn't a GSM carrier at all so there goes that idea too.
Are you 100% confident of what you actually bought?
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Yep, I am sure it is unlocked. I bought it advertised as unlocked and activated it on StraightTalk. It came with an AT&T sim card (unused) and I bought a StraightTalk sim card for it and have been using it for about a month. My only "gripe" is one AT&T app (My AT&T) is still in the App menu and I recently downloaded and launched GPS/Mapquest. AT&T came on in the middle of my drive with their AT&T travel app and I could not get back to my original course. Not to be argumentative but is there any way I can tell for sure I am unlocked given the info above? I have 4.2.2. Guess I'll have to give up on deleting the AT&T apps. PS I have disabled all AT&T apps, except the one above, in my phone App Mgr Haven't checked the Mapquest routing since I did that so don't know if that very big problem went away.
Thanks for the help

The StraightTalk SIM card will be using AT&T's cellular network so that's why it won't complain with it in there - stick a SIM card from T-Mobile or some other network provider and you'll find out instantly if it's carrier locked or not as soon as you turn it on because it'll ask for the unlock code if it is.
AT&T doesn't sell the GS4A unlocked - it is sold locked to their network and if you pay the full price for the phone (meaning you own it at that point) you will be given a number to call (an AT&T support rep) where you have to provide the IMEI of the phone and the transaction number from the purchase receipt; they will provide you with the carrier unlock code which is entered when you put in SIM card from another carrier and turn on the phone.
While I got mine unlocked using an official AT&T unlock code from an eBay reseller, before I got this one off craigslist I had considered buying it brand new back in June from AT&T at the full retail price so I asked how the carrier unlock would be accomplished and was told by the AT&T corporate store employee here in Las Vegas exactly what I just said above: the boxed phones at the stores are locked to AT&T and must be unlocked with the carrier unlock code.
Since I'm not the original owner I couldn't just call in and ask for it myself so that's why I used a person off eBay and haven't had any issues so far, it was worth the $9 to get it unlocked.
Whoever owned that phone you have may have already unlocked it, but AT&T doesn't sell them that way...

You bought it off eBay, not directly from AT$T. Many eBay sellers unlock phones to make them easier to sell, but no carrier sells phones already unlocked. And 4.2.2 is definitely not Gingerbread. All S4 Actives came with Jellybean. As was said, you will not get this phone to work on Verizon's 4G network.

Tmobile Galaxy S6 IMEI not recognized by Tmobile, HUH?

So I bought a brand new, paid off, clean IMEI galaxy s6; tmobile branded.
I made the stupid mistake, that buying any carrier branded galaxy s6, be it att or tmobile, would still be unlockable; my prior galaxy s5 and s6 experience with att were unlocked by requesting such online, and I never had an AT&T account in my life. This time, I went with t-mobile, thinking it didnt matter which variant I got, as a phone purchased and paid for in full, should still be unlocked for free, without the need of having an account.
well, it turns out I was wrong. T-mobile, not only wont unlock my phone, but DOES NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE IT. Da ****?
My imei is showing on swappa, checkesn and other sites as clean, no balance and no blacklist but tmobile themselves, can not verify if its even a tmobile phone, but only if its blacklisted or not. They have informed me that if I want to unlock the phone, I have to meet the requirements set forth. The problem is, how the heck can I meet any requirements, or start the process of trying to meet them, if they cant even recognize the phone as a tmobile phone.
Ive contacted samsung and they are of no help either. I havent been able to go to tmobile store yet to see if they can help me (my hours make it almost impossible to get to a store during business hours).
Im at a loss here, what do i do to verify the phone is legit? Also, is there any way I can bypass tmobiles requirements to get my phone unlocked? Not sure what others experiences were but maybe theres a way to get i unlocked, without tripping knox/flashing and without having to be a tmobile customer for 40-60 days plus 100-120 dollars spent.
If anyone here can help/offer some suggestions, Im open to it and would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks ya'll

You sure it not from metro pcs? Same hard ware different software but interchangeable.
To unlock check out the thread by stifilz he can probably help but remote connect with donation.

Metro PCS phone probably. Buddy of mine bought a "tmobile" phone and ran into the same issue. Found out it was actually a Metro PCS phone.

I bought a phone that has been blacklisted

Hey hows everyone? I bought a phone about 2 months ago, it was working fine last night. When i woked up it dndt had service I called t mobile from my mothers phone and they said that the phone has been blocked or blacklisted. I think if im not wrong there is a way to fix this. Anyone please?

Well if the phone had been blacklisted BY T-MOBILE I could only assume you can't get service on that phone assuming it's something they've done on their end... I may be wrong but if a carrier is blacklisting your device and thus you are no longer getting service it is something being done on their end to block your service.

Same thing happened to me. Bought a second hand Nexus 4, used it for 3 months, then it stops. It was on a delinquent T-Mobile plan. I called them up & they said all I could due was contact the original owner. Sorry for your luck. That is what I hate about t-mobile.

I'm pretty sure you can use the phone on AT&T, but this why it's important to check the imei with the carrier before buying a used phone. You bought a stolen phone, either stolen from T-Mobile or a person and all the carriers respond to that by blacklisting the device. There's nothing to be done though beyond appealing to the original owner, even if you offer to pay what the other person owes.

Unfortunately, checking the imei isn't enough. The Nexus I had had a clean imei. The original owner quit paying on the phone 3 months later. It is a problem with T-Mobiles device payment plan. All other carriers require a phone to be fully payed off before removing from your account, except T-Mobile.

If you are technically inclined you could "swap" an imei from another phone but this practice can be illegal in many many ways, there are legal ways to do it but you have to be careful. Otherwise the blacklist is now a collaboration between the major cell carriers in the US aka the big 4, so it is not likely your phone will work on any carrier in the states. Probably the best you can hope hope for is to flip it to someone at a discount who wants it as a wifi only device or to someone who can use it for parts, or you could lie like the other guy did and not tell someone its blacklisted, although this too is immoral and possibly illegal.

just go on ebay, there's a few people you can pay on there to remove the blacklist.

http://www.androidrooter.com/
he has mail in service as well as remote service.
i have used him in the past with great success.
he is located in northern new jersey

That sucks.
@dannygoround

blacklisted/blocked tmobile tab s2 9.7

Hey, just bought a Tmobile tab s2 9.7 T817T off of craigslist today for $200.... good deal I think even for a wifi model.. BUT.. it's blocked/blackslisted, Tmobile says large balance owed and the guy I bought it from won't call me back.(go figure)_ So.. I'm fine with using with wifi but I've read about rooting and changing the IMEI .. Anyone have experience with this? I've got 2 Tmobile one unlimited numbers.. and they are now offering a 3rd unlimited LTE for free and this would be perfect for the tab s2.

tri0xinn said:
Hey, just bought a Tmobile tab s2 9.7 T817T off of craigslist today for $200.... good deal I think even for a wifi model.. BUT.. it's blocked/blackslisted, Tmobile says large balance owed and the guy I bought it from won't call me back.(go figure)_ So.. I'm fine with using with wifi but I've read about rooting and changing the IMEI .. Anyone have experience with this? I've got 2 Tmobile one unlimited numbers.. and they are now offering a 3rd unlimited LTE for free and this would be perfect for the tab s2.
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I believe it is against XDA policy to discuss about changing IMEI and fix blacklisted devices (for obvious reasons, of course).
I hope you can find help somewhere else....

The bad news is that T-mobile is unlikely to restore that IMEI unless someone pays the tab. You might be able to press them on the fact that you are now the owner of the device, but they are unlikely to bend. However, the blacklisting likely only impacts its use on T-mobile since it is for non-payment, not theft, so you might be able to use a pay as you go SIM card on a different LTE network to get service on it.
Worth a shot, and if it still doesn't work, you can always sell the card or use it on a difference device.
As an aside, this is why you ALWAYS check the status of an IMEI before buying, though as you said, $200 for a WiFi only Tab 2 is still a great deal.

On a related item, how would one protect oneself in this situation? I often buy older phones from craigslist and ask the seller to meet me at an ATT store where the device can be examined and I get a chip from the vendor (we are after all inside the ATT Store).
Also, when I sell a phone, I meet the buyer at an ATT Store and ask them to check or bring their own chip so ensure all is clear
Would that have worked in this case?

xdafly said:
On a related item, how would one protect oneself in this situation? I often buy older phones from craigslist and ask the seller to meet me at an ATT store where the device can be examined and I get a chip from the vendor (we are after all inside the ATT Store).
Also, when I sell a phone, I meet the buyer at an ATT Store and ask them to check or bring their own chip so ensure all is clear
Would that have worked in this case?
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Click to collapse
The SIM card has nothing to do with it - the blacklist involves the device's IMEI. If you are in the store, you can ask the rep to check and see if the device is flagged or if the seller has an unpaid balance. However, T-Mobile has a nasty habit of not immediately blacklisting devices until months later, leaving a window during which the device will work and appear clean, even to service reps, but get kicked off later.
Doing deals at a carrier store is a good idea, though. Most carrier reps can tell you fairly quickly if a device is going to work on their network or not, and even lend you a SIM card to try it out.

There are sites that you can use to check imei including swappa :
https://swappa.com/esn?esn
How much help they really are I dunno.

xdafly said:
On a related item, how would one protect oneself in this situation? I often buy older phones from craigslist and ask the seller to meet me at an ATT store where the device can be examined and I get a chip from the vendor (we are after all inside the ATT Store).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jhill110 said:
There are sites that you can use to check imei including swappa :
https://swappa.com/esn?esn
How much help they really are I dunno.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swappa's IMEI check is not completely reliable, as it checks for blacklisted devices only. It cannot check if the device has unpaid balance. T-mobile's IMEI check actually includes the information if the device have unpaid balance. So, checking the device on t-mobile site makes it safe enough. I don't know if AT&T provides the same.
https://support.t-mobile.com/thread/72842?start=0&tstart=0
---------- Post added at 11:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 AM ----------
jshamlet said:
However, the blacklisting likely only impacts its use on T-mobile since it is for non-payment, not theft, so you might be able to use a pay as you go SIM card on a different LTE network to get service on it.
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I bought my tablet from Craigslist myself. I knew it had unpaid balance, when I checked. But I didn't care since I only wanted to use on WiFi, with some cosmetic defects paid only 150$. It has been working without issue as a WiFi only tablet. I didn't even insert any sim card, for fear that t-mobile might block it !

To protect yourself is pretty simple. With the device in hand ( IMEI) at time of purchase, call customer services using your own phone and request that you are adding another device to your line, give them the IMEI number and have the device setup on your line. Now if something goes wrong in two weeks time, its too late for the them to blacklist it now since you have already added this device to your line via correct channels. Basically from the moment the phone or devices' imei is put in your name then it cannot be reversed or blacklisted afterwards. I use this method all the time and dont need to meet seller in store etc.