So I had an AT&T branded Galaxy s5 that went for a swim in the washing machine and as luck would have it my charging port cover broke off the week before and the phone is now dead. I’m now wanting to replace it, but this time I really don’t want to go through AT&T. I figure if I have to pay full price for a phone I want to get one with an unlocked boot loader. The problem is I have read in other places that the international version will not work on at&t’s LTE network and a branded AT&T phone is required to utilize LTE. Is it possible to get a phone that has an unlocked boot loader and compatible with at&t’s LTE network? I just want to do my research before making a decision and don’t want to get trapped unto getting the wrong phone. Any advice?
I had my old phone rooted and I used safe strap. I probably do the same with the new one as well just so I don’t trip knox right away, but I like the option of having the unlocked boot loader in case when I need it in the future.
correct me if i am wrong, but i believe at&t devices are gsm. so couldnt you just buy another gsm device and have it unlocked and then go to at&t with that device and add it to your plan with an at&t sim card?
wo5m said:
So I had an AT&T branded Galaxy s5 that went for a swim in the washing machine and as luck would have it my charging port cover broke off the week before and the phone is now dead. I’m now wanting to replace it, but this time I really don’t want to go through AT&T. I figure if I have to pay full price for a phone I want to get one with an unlocked boot loader. The problem is I have read in other places that the international version will not work on at&t’s LTE network and a branded AT&T phone is required to utilize LTE. Is it possible to get a phone that has an unlocked boot loader and compatible with at&t’s LTE network? I just want to do my research before making a decision and don’t want to get trapped unto getting the wrong phone. Any advice?
I had my old phone rooted and I used safe strap. I probably do the same with the new one as well just so I don’t trip knox right away, but I like the option of having the unlocked boot loader in case when I need it in the future.
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If you're buying outright then TMO bootloader isn't locked then you can just sim unlock and you're good to go
"And on that bombshell it's time to end the show!"
Sent from my G900A powered by Pyrana Rom
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I'll have to admit, I'm sort of a Samsung fanboy. Ever since I had my first Galaxy S that replaced my iPhone I've never looked back. All of them have been rooted, custom recoveries, and custom OS's. I like being able to do what i want with my own phone.....
Then I got a 920A.... I own this phone out right and I should be able to do that I want with it. Locked bootloader. Thanks AT&T.
I'm rooted and on AOE2, but I really want to go for 5.1, but since there's no root for it yet I'm stuck like everyone else. I go to this section of the forum everyday hoping for a root method. I notice posts are so few and far between in this section I'm loosing hope.
So this rant brings me to my question..
I want to get an S6 that works on all AT&T bands, but has an unlocked bootloader, and can install TWRP if I want to. What should I get?
Thanks in advance!
g920f or g920i would be good ones. even the g920t would be alright. Heck as long as it is not at&t or verizon and works within the LTE frequency range in your country your good to go. Its only Big Red and Big Blue that love to lock us out of our own phone. Good luck getting rid of the g920a its not very desireable because of the locked bootloader and will sell for a quarter of what you paid if your lucky
AT&T will unlock your phone for free if it meets their requirements:
(as of 2015.11.13) Devices may qualify for unlocking if they meet the following requirements:
The device must be designed for use on, and locked to, the AT&T wireless network. For help see Device Unlock Support.
It must not be reported lost or stolen.
It's not associated with fraudulent activity.
All the device's service commitments and installment plans are completed, and all early termination fees are paid in full.
The device is not currently active on a different AT&T customer's account.
If you performed an early upgrade, you must wait the 14-day buyer's remorse period before you can request to unlock your previous device.
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I'd post a direct link to the ATT page if I could, but google "unlock ATT phone" and the first result should get you there.
I've unlocked a few ATT phones this way. FYI: it does require a "non-att" sim card to complete the unlock service.
demidude said:
AT&T will unlock your phone for free if it meets their requirements:
I'd post a direct link to the ATT page if I could, but google "unlock ATT phone" and the first result should get you there.
I've unlocked a few ATT phones this way. FYI: it does require a "non-att" sim card to complete the unlock service.
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Thanks for the info, but the sim lock is not really what I was referring to, I was referring to the bootloader lock.
custommx3 said:
Thanks for the info, but the sim lock is not really what I was referring to, I was referring to the bootloader lock.
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D'oh...thanks for the clarification.
Just admit we got the short end of the stick this time. Look at the galaxy s5 and how they are doing on bootloader bypassing, which is nothing. The best they have is what we have safe starp and a selection of sub par roms, not putting any developer down because I know its a limited environment when you can't touch the kernel for all that juicy goodness. I was in your same position a week ago and eventually took the 5.1.1 update for the Samsung pay which awesome if your bank or credit provider supports. It friggen emulates a card so dope but besides the point, the security on its kernel is supposedly heavy which makes sense because you are storing card info on your phone now. I even went above and beyond and whole disc encrypted it just in case it gets stolen, glhf getting into it. So yeah you can wait around on 5.02 and not enjoy the performance enhancements and cool card features or realize AT&T finally found a good enough encryption scheme to shore things up . Your next purchase may have to be a different phone, admittedly I rarely stray far from Samsung. I leave you with a bit of hope you honestly don't need root as it is. I was just once a flashaholic on s3 and s4 but that was all to tether and have better control of my cpu stepping. Now I have a tether app, you have to pay but its five bucks. I don't remember the subs rule on ads but it its reads like Firefox but is spelled foxify or something like that . Also, I rum a VPN on the phone so that ATT dosent know I'm tethering, gets me through any of their packet snorting and threatening texts of we will take your grandfather data away if you don't stop. So in the end it's all up to you kind XDA'er best of luck on your decision process.
My FoxiFi isn't working
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.
Hi everyone,
i got a Sprint HTC One M8 from ebay, it is new but i was planning to use it on AT&T network, since it have a Sim Card Slot. Furthermore, even though i'm living on the US now, i'm from Brazil and i was planning to use the phone there as well.
And now starts the problem.
I called the previous owner, asked him to contact sprint to make the sim unlock procedure. He did so, providing me the MSL for the phone. The next step, he said, was to "flash" the phone on AT&T in order to get it connected to their network. I tried several sims, even bought a new one and activated it but with no success.
I spend almost 2 hours on the phone with the sprint's international support, and all they said was that they did everything that they could about unlocking my phone and now i should contact AT&T.
I'm afraid of staying on this infinite loop and i want your opinion.
Does anyone in fact unlocked their SPRINT phone to use on another GSM US carrier? If yes, what did you do? Because i'm planning to return the phone and ask for my money back.
BUT, with the "International Unlock" i should be able to use the phone on ANY international carrier? Because if that is the case, maybe i keep the phone to use when i go back to Brazil.
Thank you very much!
jeffamorim said:
Hi everyone,
i got a Sprint HTC One M8 from ebay, it is new but i was planning to use it on AT&T network, since it have a Sim Card Slot. Furthermore, even though i'm living on the US now, i'm from Brazil and i was planning to use the phone there as well.
And now starts the problem.
I called the previous owner, asked him to contact sprint to make the sim unlock procedure. He did so, providing me the MSL for the phone. The next step, he said, was to "flash" the phone on AT&T in order to get it connected to their network. I tried several sims, even bought a new one and activated it but with no success.
I spend almost 2 hours on the phone with the sprint's international support, and all they said was that they did everything that they could about unlocking my phone and now i should contact AT&T.
I'm afraid of staying on this infinite loop and i want your opinion.
Does anyone in fact unlocked their SPRINT phone to use on another GSM US carrier? If yes, what did you do? Because i'm planning to return the phone and ask for my money back.
BUT, with the "International Unlock" i should be able to use the phone on ANY international carrier? Because if that is the case, maybe i keep the phone to use when i go back to Brazil.
Thank you very much!
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On the CDMA version of the M8, it lacks the LTE bands needed for Domestic carriers. You can use it overseas somewhat, but not too well. If I was you, I'd grab a Droid Turbo for ~$200-$250 off eBay. It just recently got its bootloader unlocked finally
I'm ashamed to even ask.....
Former TMO S3 owner here who switched to Nexus and never looked back. Things are just so much easier now with firmware updates and rooting.
We currently pay cell bills for one of our workers and his wife on our TMO family account. His wife was using my old S3, and without talking to me first, he bought her a SIM locked ATT S6 online recently.
I'm working on a SIM unlock code, that won't be a problem.
I'm right in thinking that there's no (current) way to load a TMO S6 ROM onto the ATT S6, right?
Bootloader still locked up tight on ATT?
I know that in the past some of the Galaxy S phones had hardware differences......are the ATT and TMO S6 variants now the exact same hardware (other than exterior logos)?
Sorry for what seems to be an obvious and already asked question. I know someone asked the same question back in August.....wondering if anything has changed since then.
Thanks for all replies.
Yup, bootloader locked tight, can't even get a root working besides the people who are selling it
I recently purchased 4 brand new sprint note 8's from Ebay (for a small company). In hindsight I think I should of opted for the unlocked version but I'm here now. My question is what would it take to unlock the phones and flash with unlocked software? I ask because I'm a little PO'ed that sprint takes away a few features native to Samsung (looking at you Hyia caller id). There's apps that can take care of all that, but that's besides the point.
I'm looking for pro's and cons to what that would do. Coming from a rooted S6 and having played with the note 8 I didn't see any reason to root until now. But I think if I root it locks me out of other features? Samsung Pay? And sprint won't fix if I make any insurance claim?
Is there any way to go through all that and then turn root back off? Again, coming from the S6 as my last bit of rooting experience (couldn't turn knox counter off, so Samsung pay never worked....).
Any suggestions?
tl;dr, should probably go with unlocked phones next time to avoid the bs
rob.mwpropane said:
should probably go with unlocked phones next time to avoid the bs
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Search function in the forum. Look for carrier switching. Are you using them for sprint?
If you go to unlocked XXA you will get the other features but loose wifi-calling and sprint calling plus.
You can download the new sprint zone form play store now so thats a non issue.
If you understand how to put together your own flash-able rom you could pull the stuff for sprint and add to xxa and get both parts but its not something ive seen floating around here.
Ultimately sprint has a paid version of Samsung feature for the caller id part, if thats the only thing you want there are a ton of other free alternative. (soft fix) Sprint isn't going to fix a personal issue you have with their device setup lol, they charge for premium caller id and Samsung/sprint wont change that part, most carriers charge for it as its "premium"
I have a optimized rom for the note 8 (sprint users) but you will be limited to 80% battery charge, spay and secure folder are broken. With the new safestrap recovery you can atleast un-root and re-root from the device to get around apps that scan for root and be able to use them, with my custom rom having edits in /system you will never achieve spay etc , this is reversible by just odin to stock software again and back to stock, the current root methods do not effect knox or warranty.
If i unlocked it can i use gsm sim form Bangladesh?