[Q] Activate off contract phone without using at&t - Moto X Q&A

anyone know if at&t will activate my off contract motomaker phone if i do not use at&t? my screen is busted and tech support cant get me an rma number because the phone has not been activated. it makes no sense to me but that is what the customer support lady said that i could not understand.

Related

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] Samsung Galaxy S4 Active SGH-i537

Hi guys,
I was wondering if anyone out there can help me? I have been trying to get this this Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Sgh-I537 to work on Verizon. It is right now with At&t. I was told by at&t that the phone is unlocked already. Actually according to at&t the S4's and up come unlocked. I keep getting the Sim Network Error. I was told by at&t that that means my sim is locked through Verizon. Anyone hear of that? I am not under contract and have not been for at least a year and this phone is not under contract either. Not sure if that is true. I paid to have this phone unlocked and the site told me they cannot generate a code for this phone and refunded me my money back. I want to get this phone working on Verizon due to the fact that I have the unlimited plan an cannot upgrade without paying high dollars for a phone. I bought this phone with the understanding that it will work with Verizon. Can anyone help me or give me suggestions on what to do? I have had this phone now for about a week and about ready to sell it on eBay if I cannot get it working. PLEASE any help would be greatly appreciated.
KiRin1 said:
Hi guys,
I was wondering if anyone out there can help me? I have been trying to get this this Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Sgh-I537 to work on Verizon. It is right now with At&t. I was told by at&t that the phone is unlocked already. Actually according to at&t the S4's and up come unlocked. I keep getting the Sim Network Error. I was told by at&t that that means my sim is locked through Verizon. Anyone hear of that? I am not under contract and have not been for at least a year and this phone is not under contract either. Not sure if that is true. I paid to have this phone unlocked and the site told me they cannot generate a code for this phone and refunded me my money back. I want to get this phone working on Verizon due to the fact that I have the unlimited plan an cannot upgrade without paying high dollars for a phone. I bought this phone with the understanding that it will work with Verizon. Can anyone help me or give me suggestions on what to do? I have had this phone now for about a week and about ready to sell it on eBay if I cannot get it working. PLEASE any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The i537 won't work on Verizon. Verizon is a CDMA network and this is a GSM phone. This phone will work on nearly any other network in the world except Verizon or Sprint.
KiRin1 said:
I have been trying to get this this Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Sgh-I537 to work on Verizon. It is right now with At&t.
I was told by at&t that the phone is unlocked already.
I was told by at&t that means my sim is locked through Verizon.
Anyone hear of that?
I want to get this phone working on Verizon due to the fact that I have the unlimited plan an cannot upgrade without paying high dollars for a phone.
I bought this phone with the understanding that it will work with Verizon.
Can anyone help me or give me suggestions on what to do? I have had this phone now for about a week and about ready to sell it on eBay if I cannot get it working. PLEASE any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bottom line first, like the other member said, your phone is GSM based. It is IMPOSSIBLE for your GSM phone to work with Verizon because Verizon (and Sprint) use CDMA technology. (And vice versa, Verizon and Sprint phones will not work with AT&T or T-Mobile (also a GSM carrier).
Not sure HOW you bought the phone, but if someone told you that the AT&T phone would work with Verizon, they told you wrong.
You have a few options:
- You can sell the phone on eBay to someone who wants a GSM phone (if it is truly unlocked that adds value to the phone. But before advertising it as unlocked make sure it is). And use those proceeds to buy a CDMA Verizon SGS4 phone.
- You can keep the phone and switch to a GSM prepaid carrier. Straight Talk is what I use. And I am using an AT&T branded Samsung Galaxy S4 AT&T Active SGH-i537. (Because I have a Straight Talk AT&T SIM card.) With Straight Talk for $45 monthly I get unlimited talk, text, and 3GB of true 4G LTE service. That's hard to beat, IMO.
Bonus Tip: Next time, notice the difference between phones. The letters that matter are "GSM" or "CDMA." If you see a phone branded AT&T ot T-Mobile, those are GSM phones. If you see a phone branded Verizon or Sprint, those are CDMA phones. Rely on that rather than what someone tells you.
Good luck.
P.S. The carriers kind of told you right. Your phone is a GSM device, but your SIM is CDMA. The easy fix, if you are not under contract with Verizon is to get a GSM SIM, such as through Straight Talk.
If you are under contract with Verizon consider switching to Straight Talk and paying the ETF penalty. This is because the savings with Straight Talk (e.g., $70 monthly off your bill) quickly pays the ETF penalty.
Pencil out the cost of your Verizon unlimited plan. Is it worth the price you are paying, over that which you would pay with a carrier like Straight Talk? If it is, then simply get a CDMA phone. Easiest way is to get an S4 that says "Verizon" on the battery cover. :good:
---------- Post added at 09:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:41 PM ----------
It should have taken a carrier 15 seconds ito tell you in plain English that you were using the incorrect phone.
If I was an AT&T CSR I would have had you flip the phone over and tell me what it says or what graphic it had on the battery cover. I believe Verizon phones say "VERIZON"
On hearing that I would have then tried to sell you an AT&T account.
Whoever sold you the phone (eBay purchase) and the carriers left you floundering on the dock like a fish out of water.

How to use Verizon upgrade on Nexus 6?

I'm on a family More Everything plan with shared data on Verizon and I finally became eligible for an upgrade. I'd like to know how I could use the upgrade to get a N6. What I've heard is that some people are upgrading to an iPhone 6+ and then selling it, then buying a N6 at full price. But I don't understand the details of that. Wouldn't the iPhone be activated/used at that point? How would I sell it at a new phone price? Also, I heard that Verizon charges a fee if the new phone isn't activated within a certain period after purchase. Would that be a problem if I bought the iPhone first (and didn't activate/open it), resold it, then waited for a N6 to become available to buy?
iissmart said:
I'm on a family More Everything plan with shared data on Verizon and I finally became eligible for an upgrade. I'd like to know how I could use the upgrade to get a N6. What I've heard is that some people are upgrading to an iPhone 6+ and then selling it, then buying a N6 at full price. But I don't understand the details of that. Wouldn't the iPhone be activated/used at that point? How would I sell it at a new phone price? Also, I heard that Verizon charges a fee if the new phone isn't activated within a certain period after purchase. Would that be a problem if I bought the iPhone first (and didn't activate/open it), resold it, then waited for a N6 to become available to buy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no problem buying a phone on contract, activating it, then giving it to someone else or selling it. The buyer takes a risk that you cancel your contract and skip out on the Etf, in which case Verizon will blacklist the phone. But they will not prevent you from selling the phone or someone else activating it. The buyer simply brings the phone to Verizon to obtain a SIM card.
So if I went into my VZW account online and ordered an iPhone 6+ with my upgrade, would it arrive in a retail box unactivated or does VZW activate it for you with the SIM installed?
iissmart said:
So if I went into my VZW account online and ordered an iPhone 6+ with my upgrade, would it arrive in a retail box unactivated or does VZW activate it for you with the SIM installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It arrives unactivated with a SIM tied to your account. If your intent is to sell, then I would activate it, then switch back to your old phone. You could just sell it unactivated, but your account might get stuck with a pending activation..which might eventually fall off.
Will my old sim remain activated after I activate the new one? I'm upgrading from a DNA which uses a micro sim. If it takes a while to sell the iPhone I'd like to keep using my old phone. I've never sold a phone before.
iissmart said:
Will my old sim remain activated after I activate the new one? I'm upgrading from a DNA which uses a micro sim. If it takes a while to sell the iPhone I'd like to keep using my old phone. I've never sold a phone before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will not. Just go to a Verizon store and they will switch you back for free. Might be able to call and do it.
Hm, so would it make more sense in that case to buy the N6 first (whenever it becomes available), then use my upgrade to get an iPhone and resell it? That way I could immediately activate the sim in the N6 and not even touch the iPhone. Or does the sim have to first be activated with the iPhone because that's what VZW is expecting to see on the account?

AT&T says it can't carrier unlock my GS5 Active bought on launch day

I got 2 GS5 that I paid full retail price for off contract and put on Straight Talk for AT&T and I i tried to request them to be unlocked via AT&T unlock Web page and several times it would error and say that the IMEI on both S5 Active's are not recognize. So I call AT&T support and apparently if you buy their phones out right and don't put them on Official AT&T Network then they can not unlock them..
This is total b/s.. Anyone else experience this same issue??
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
scoot0073 said:
I got 2 GS5 that I paid full retail price for off contract and put on Straight Talk for AT&T and I i tried to request them to be unlocked via AT&T unlock Web page and several times it would error and say that the IMEI on both S5 Active's are not recognize. So I call AT&T support and apparently if you buy their phones out right and don't put them on Official AT&T Network then they can not unlock them..
This is total b/s.. Anyone else experience this same issue??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not only is it total BS, it's also probably now illegal. You may want to try calling them again and if they still refuse to unlock a device that is fully paid for, threaten to file a complaint with the FCC.
Here link to read about.
https://gigaom.com/2015/02/11/phone-tablet-unlocking-rules-ctia-verizon-tmobile-sprint-att/
Its FTC I believe. Or both even.. FTC covers business practices.
Yeah i called back and same thing they claim that they can't unlock them bc they was never on their network. FML. They told me to contact Straight Talk for the unlock code. That's totally b/s I told them how can they not unlock my 2 GS5's when it's their phone's. They still say that they can't bc neither device was never activated on their network. And threatened them to file a claim didn't do nothing
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
scoot0073 said:
Yeah i called back and same thing they claim that they can't unlock them bc they was never on their network. FML. They told me to contact Straight Talk for the unlock code. That's totally b/s I told them how can they not unlock my 2 GS5's when it's their phone's. They still say that they can't bc neither device was never activated on their network. And threatened them to file a claim didn't do nothing
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in order for the device to be SIM unlocked it MUST be activated on the carriers network, ATT rep was totally correct in telling you to contact straight talk to get the unlock codes. your other option is to have the devices activated with an ATT SIM and then get the unlock code. or you can go online and pay for the SIM unlock code I believe it costs around 30-40 dollars.
thanks for your advice, but maybe I'm just missing something I can't see how they can't send me the unlock code for a device that they Sale.. But it is what it is. Lesson learned.
My dad has Official AT&T Network service take his Sim and put it n my GS5 get everything working APN and then retry AT&T unlock Web page again. Or would I have to rock his Sim for like 30 days?
Straight Talk I don't understand how they can send me the unlock code for a device that's not theirs. Bc I'm on the BYOP.
But either way I'll try contacting Straight Talk even though I'm probably going to want time there..
Would we have to go to AT&T store and transfer this device to his line/contract ?
Or I jus throw his Sim in and set apns?
Again thanks for yalls help
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

So is the AT&T N6 SIM locked or not?

I'm confused. Are the N6 phones carrier locked?
I travel to Europe every other year for about two months to see family and I normally just pickup a pre-paid SIM while I'm there for my phone. Last trip I called up AT&T International and told them my plans and they got my IMEI from me and gave me the code to unlock my phone so I could pick up a pre-paid SIM. This was in there best interest as it kept me a happy customer and I renewed my contract when it was up. I've since sold that phone to help cover part of the cost of my AT&T N6.
Yesterday I contacted AT&T International again and asked for the same thing. This time I'm told they do not do that and never have and that I need to go threw some link to request it to be unlocked. Unfortunately that link very specifically says you have to finish your contract of pay the ETF or if Next, pay off the device.
This is NOT what happened last time. I was 100% for sure under contract, I was 6 months into my new contract with AT&T as a NEW customer. This time around I'm a renewed customer and they will not do this for me.
This is going to make me leave AT&T on principal. Unlocking my phone does not release me from the agreement I signed but as mentioned above does keep me a happy customer.
Googling I found this... Seems this is a new thing and others have had issues. Interesting the way they kissed his ass when they found out he writes tech reviews and said they were looking into ways to help out international travelers with this, looks like they have done nothing.
http://arstechnica.com/staff/2014/11/atts-outdated-unlock-policies-cost-it-a-loyal-customer-me/
So I happened to mention to a friend I need to look into moving to Sprint or something else that will buy out my contract so I can have a phone to take with and he said ummm I don't think N6's are carrier locked.
Now I know I could buy a cheap phone but its the point of the matter. EVERYTHING I do is on "this" phone. I don't want to take two phones, I want to take THIS phone and I don't want to pay for AT&T International service.
@kdoggy
Yes, AT&T N6 is carrier locked. You can not get the unlock code from AT&T unless your device is paid off.
But there are a number of 3rd party companies that will sell you the code for $10 to $25. Look for an older thread in this General section with a title something like "undo AT&T customization".
Or do a Google search for carrier unlock codes.
This phone wasn't carrier locked out of the box was it? I remember now when I first set it up I followed some instructions to NOT get the AT&T customizations that involved removing the SIM etc but then the second time I re-flashed the phone I forgot to do that and now I get the carrier crap. Previous to that my Google Play account KNEW it was an Nexus phone but did not know what carrier it was. It just said Unspecified Nexus 6. After that refresh without removing the SIM for the first part of the setup, it now gets the crap and Play says AT&T Nexus 6.
Sigh, OK yeah I'll pay $10~25.00 dollars. I'm not happy about this on principal though. Them unlocking my phone does not release me from my contract. Looks like I may have to evaluate in another few months when my Next is up.
@kdoggy
Yes, the AT&T version was carrier locked out of the box.
Ah OK. Yeah just read the thread you spoke of. Sounds like the SIM card thing was just for the bloat.
OK well this helped, screw AT&T, I'll just pay the money and remember this next go around. We have been on a family plan for the past few years but I'm in the middle of a divorce right now so I may just go Verizon when this contracts up. Nothing keeping me on AT&T anymore. Previously it was just because the wife and kids were on AT&T too.
I can say for a fact that the Tmobile version of the N6 comes unlocked. I got mine and was able to pop in my att sim without having to unlock it. I even got it replaced through warranty (bad battery) and was able to use my At&t sim on this one too. But as far as I know Tmobile and the international version are the only ones to come unlocked.
The Sprint and Verizon models are unlocked as well.
The US Cellular version is totally unlocked as well...for all carriers.

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