Hey folks. Just ordered my Midnight Blue Nexus 6 from AT&T and had a quick question about activation for phones purchased directly from the carrier. Ideally, I wanted to buy a Cloud White Nexus 6 on contract, but since AT&T is only stocking the blue I figured I could buy it and either trade it or sell it on somewhere like Swappa and use that money to buy an unlocked Cloud White. But I haven't bought a phone outside my Nexus 5 in a few years which I just swapped in my iPhone's old SIM card, so I don't know how activation works.
Do these phones purchased from a carrier come pre-activated? Do you need to put in and register your phone number when you activate? Do you take it to a store usually? Basically, I'm concerned about if I need to open the box to take out the SIM or if I can leave it completely sealed and just resell it like that.
So how does AT&T usually do it?
Typically, when you buy a phone from any carrier (online or in-store), the SIM will either come pre-activated (if it's a new line), or will come with instructions to call a number and activate it (if you're replacing an existing phone). Either way, it's not a big deal, because you can always walk in to the store, pick up a new SIM, and transfer your account to that one. That will free up the SIM that came with the phone to be used by your buyer.
However, if you're extra paranoid, you can always open up the box and take out the SIM. The buyer can easily just walk into their carrier's store and pick one up (or, if they have a nano-sim already, just swap it over).
Related
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.
First, I'm new to pre orders and family plans with T-mobile, and will appreciate any help I can get here.
Here's what's going on. Late September we opened a 4 line family plan, 3 phones were pre ordered, 1 phone bought new at the tmobile store. We were given all 4 SIM cards, but only 1 is activated on the in-store bought phone, when I log into mytmobile site, it shows that we only have 1 phone# / line, which should be normal I think since we only got 1 phone activated with them for now and waiting for the pre ordered phones to arrive.
Now, one of the new phones (Samsung Note 4) will arrive by mail this Thursday, my question is how do I activate the new sim and phone? I heard phones ship with SIM card in the package? If so, which sim do I use? The one in package with new phone or the one I got in store? I know I can't activate it online, I tested it out and right now it only allows me to update and replace the one current sim to a new one, but that's not what I want, I want to ADD new sim/line to the account since this is a family plan. Do I have to take my new phone and sim to a tmobile store to activate or spend a long *** time on the phone with customer service just to activate a sim to our account? What are the steps after I receive the pre ordered phone? BTW the phones are bought on the installment plan.
Sorry if this seems like a simple matter, but again I'm new to all this.
Coolboys32 said:
First, I'm new to pre orders and family plans with T-mobile, and will appreciate any help I can get here.
Here's what's going on. Late September we opened a 4 line family plan, 3 phones were pre ordered, 1 phone bought new at the tmobile store. We were given all 4 SIM cards, but only 1 is activated on the in-store bought phone, when I log into mytmobile site, it shows that we only have 1 phone# / line, which should be normal I think since we only got 1 phone activated with them for now and waiting for the pre ordered phones to arrive.
Now, one of the new phones (Samsung Note 4) will arrive by mail this Thursday, my question is how do I activate the new sim and phone? I heard phones ship with SIM card in the package? If so, which sim do I use? The one in package with new phone or the one I got in store? I know I can't activate it online, I tested it out and right now it only allows me to update and replace the one current sim to a new one, but that's not what I want, I want to ADD new sim/line to the account since this is a family plan. Do I have to take my new phone and sim to a tmobile store to activate or spend a long *** time on the phone with customer service just to activate a sim to our account? What are the steps after I receive the pre ordered phone? BTW the phones are bought on the installment plan.
Sorry if this seems like a simple matter, but again I'm new to all this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that you just put the sim in and they can do everything over the phone
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
Coolboys32 said:
First, I'm new to pre orders and family plans with T-mobile, and will appreciate any help I can get here.
Here's what's going on. Late September we opened a 4 line family plan, 3 phones were pre ordered, 1 phone bought new at the tmobile store. We were given all 4 SIM cards, but only 1 is activated on the in-store bought phone, when I log into mytmobile site, it shows that we only have 1 phone# / line, which should be normal I think since we only got 1 phone activated with them for now and waiting for the pre ordered phones to arrive.
Now, one of the new phones (Samsung Note 4) will arrive by mail this Thursday, my question is how do I activate the new sim and phone? I heard phones ship with SIM card in the package? If so, which sim do I use? The one in package with new phone or the one I got in store? I know I can't activate it online, I tested it out and right now it only allows me to update and replace the one current sim to a new one, but that's not what I want, I want to ADD new sim/line to the account since this is a family plan. Do I have to take my new phone and sim to a tmobile store to activate or spend a long *** time on the phone with customer service just to activate a sim to our account? What are the steps after I receive the pre ordered phone? BTW the phones are bought on the installment plan.
Sorry if this seems like a simple matter, but again I'm new to all this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone came with the new sim and all I did was pop it in and made a call. In your box It gives you a number to call to activate, but all I did was make a call from the phone and my sim was already activated for some reason. For the heck of it, I called the number to activate and it said my card was already activated. So IMO, your card will already be activated upon arrival or you will just need to call the 800 activation number.
just call customer service at 800-866-2453, and say "representative" when you hear the prompt. your new sim/line will be activated in no time. i would suggest you use the new sims from the box, it is ISIS compatible, not that it matters-but would be better if you'd wanna use that service in the future.
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?
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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?
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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.
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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?
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.
I intend to purchase the Nexus 6, Midnight Blue, 32 GB at full retail price and maintain my unlimited data plan on Verizon. Does it matter where I purchase the phone? What should I keep in mind?
Google Store
Motorola.com
Verizon Wireless
Best Buy
Amazon
You will be able to keep your unlimited data, and since the nexus only comes in two models (international and US) any one you purchase from a us seller will work. I'm even rocking an AT&T nexus on Verizon as we speak.
Be careful...
http://www.reddit.com/r/nexus6/comments/34gglr/filed_my_fcc_complaint_against_verizon/
http://www.reddit.com/r/nexus6/comments/34au1x/psa_verizon_has_changed_the_way_they_deal_with/
sdz2 said:
I intend to purchase the Nexus 6, Midnight Blue, 32 GB at full retail price and maintain my unlimited data plan on Verizon. Does it matter where I purchase the phone? What should I keep in mind?
Google Store
Motorola.com
Verizon Wireless
Best Buy
Amazon
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Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3069915
Noted. Verizon dislikes non-VZW devices. The phone will work, but they may choose not to honor any discounts.
Are there any drawbacks to purchasing from Verizon?
sdz2 said:
Are there any drawbacks to purchasing from Verizon?
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it has a verizon logo on it
simms22 said:
it has a verizon logo on it
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Click to collapse
If its anything like the att one easy fix I scrapped the att death star logo off with a credit card
Sent from my Nexus 6
simms22 said:
it has a verizon logo on it
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Click to collapse
And there's only one color and storage size.
Ryjabo said:
Be careful...
http://www.reddit.com/r/nexus6/comments/34gglr/filed_my_fcc_complaint_against_verizon/
http://www.reddit.com/r/nexus6/comments/34au1x/psa_verizon_has_changed_the_way_they_deal_with/
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Click to collapse
When this is true I would never choose Verizon as provider.
sdz2 said:
I intend to purchase the Nexus 6, Midnight Blue, 32 GB at full retail price and maintain my unlimited data plan on Verizon. Does it matter where I purchase the phone? What should I keep in mind?
Google Store
Motorola.com
Verizon Wireless
Best Buy
Amazon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I purchased my white 64gb Nexus 6 through Google to be able to keep my unlimited plan as well. The device does show up as a non vzw device though. It's easy to make changes to the plan if you're adding (meaning more money for them) but to removing options (less money for them) is where it gets tricky. Really in my opinion it just depends on the rep you talk to. Long story short, about two weeks ago I called to add international calling to my plan, the rep offered me a plan they no longer have. When I realized she added the wrong plan I called back and the guy said he couldn't remove the options that were added and needed to submit a ticket and I would receive a call back when it's all taken care of. After a week of hearing nothing I called back and was talking to a guy who was really helpful. He removed and changes that were made to my account, but did say that having the Nexus 6 come up as a non vzw device made it a little tricky to remove the options but nothing that couldn't be done.
I have unlimited data on VZW, and I bought 64gb blue off Play Store. I didn't want any tie to VZW because when my invite for Google FI comes, I just may go that route.
I went into company-owned store (not a retailer) for new SIM card. Was a bit of a "hassle" insofar as all the reps were all clueless as to how to give me a SIM card when the device ID was not in their database. They tried to shuffle me off to customer service, but I made them call customer service with me in the store. The tech support rep went into the same bootloop (can't give you a card and get the device registered if the device id is not in the database) but eventually, they figured out they just needed to insert SIM card and it would activate itself. I found I had to be pleasant but assertive to get it done, as they seemed to be unwilling to just hand over a SIM card, which is all they needed to do.
gr8scott_o said:
I have unlimited data on VZW, and I bought 64gb blue off Play Store. I didn't want any tie to VZW because when my invite for Google FI comes, I just may go that route.
I went into company-owned store (not a retailer) for new SIM card. Was a bit of a "hassle" insofar as all the reps were all clueless as to how to give me a SIM card when the device ID was not in their database. They tried to shuffle me off to customer service, but I made them call customer service with me in the store. The tech support rep went into the same bootloop (can't give you a card and get the device registered if the device id is not in the database) but eventually, they figured out they just needed to insert SIM card and it would activate itself. I found I had to be pleasant but assertive to get it done, as they seemed to be unwilling to just hand over a SIM card, which is all they needed to do.
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Click to collapse
You were lucky that you found some reasonable reps to deal with. Many VZW representatives will flat out refuse to give you a SIM if the IMEI is not in their system.
cam30era said:
You were lucky that you found some reasonable reps to deal with. Many VZW representatives will flat out refuse to give you a SIM if the IMEI is not in their system.
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Click to collapse
It looked like it was heading that way, but I was assertive in saying that I know it could be done and that is when we got the phone to tech support. I suggested we use the SIM card they had in front of me and ask tech support to get it going while I was in the store, and eventually it all worked out after the tier 1 tech support guy took the initiative to look some things up.
Point is, be polite but firm, don't take "no" for an answer. There is a difference in software (although what, I don't know, but I didn't want anything other than pure google on my phone), so it was worth the minor hassle to me.