I don't where to put this thread specifically but I know there is some confusion in the HD7 forums. So I'm here to explain the difference between Unbranding, Unlocking, Rooting.
Unlocking:
Unlocking your device simply allows you to use it with any other GSM carrier in the world. It is a good way for you to not incur roaming charges since you can travel out of the country(or inside for that matter) and pick up a prepaid SIM card and use it. It does not damage your phone, disable any features or functionality and does not void the warranty. Unlocking your phone can also increase its value, because the phone can be transferred to a non-CDMA based company (CDMA is, in basic terms, phones that have SIM card built-in, but don't rip apart your phone, there is no SIM card; Sprint is an example of a CDMA based company). There are some carriers, who allow you to unlock your phone, for example, T-Mobile will give out unlocking codes for some phones, if you tell them your travelling outside of the country. This is because this specific carrier does not have an international call plan.
Unbranding:
Unbranding, or debranding as it is some times referred to, is where you remove the carrier branding from your device. This will void your warranty since you are essentially removing all carrier affiliation, besides the logo physically printed on your phone, from your device. It is possible for you to "rebrand" your device with your carrier again, although there is no point to unbranding if you're going to do this. One thing unbranding will do is that it will remove the carrier splash screen that is displayed when your phone is booting. It will also revert your device back to the factory defaults, so back-up your hone if you plan to. The process of unbranding your device is not illegal, although for a small number of devices(like Blackberries) the software is!
Rooting[?]:
The reason I put a question mark in brakets is because for Windows Phone, rooting isnt the correct term. Jailbreaking was the first instance of this type of software modification, and freed iPhone users of the incredibly limiting way the iPhone was set-up. Androids were later 'jailbroken'; however, due to the fact the OS is Linux based, they called it rooting due to the way the files were set up and named{I don't know the full reason, go google it}. Anyways, rooting{which is what I'll call it in this thread} is when a device is totally released from all restraints set by the manufacturer. In the case of the iPhone and Android phones, it allowed to install 3rd party application(applications that weren't allowed to be in their respective marketplaces), change the appareance and layout of the phone, and even change the splash screen(what's seen when booting the phone; i.e. for the HD7 its the T-Mobile and Windows Phone logo ). Usually this process voids the warranty, however, in some cases like the iPhone, reseting the phone through official provided software will revert back.
I hope this helped
great info. just wanna say thanks.
: )
Someone needs to come up with a better word for "rooting." I hate the term jailbreak but it looks like we might be getting stuck with it. Maybe if we made the difference clear by calling one "SIM unlocking" and the other just "unlocking."
Call it Sideloading
that'd do for me
so using chevron will void my warranty is what your sayin?
Hi to all
I have a Stock AT&T Note 3 on KitKat, And I bought the unlock code from a website and the Code was working fine
I sent my phone to the Samsung repair center in TX to fix the memory card slot problem.
After a week they sent the phone back to me, and Of course the phone is back to the original settings
When I turned on the phone and inserted my T-mobile Sim card, the phone is asking me for the network
unlock code, so I entered the same code that I used before and it is not working ...
Thanks
You probably didn't get the exact phone you sent them. They probably sent a different one. Check for an old receipt, or the original box for the imei code. See if it's different then the new one. It most likely is. If it is, you will need to obtain a new unlock code.
I checked the IMEI number and they matched
I also thought of that it might have to do with the unlock code
so I ordered another Unlock code from a different site
and it turned out to be the SAME Unlock code from the other site !!
Yes there's only 1 unlock code per imei. It doesn't matter where you obtain the code, it will be the same.
I hate to tell you this, but you'll need to contact the warranty dept and probably send the phone back. Again :'(
440bro said:
Yes there's only 1 unlock code per imei. It doesn't matter where you obtain the code, it will be the same.
I hate to tell you this, but you'll need to contact the warranty dept and probably send the phone back. Again :'(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you think this has anything to do with the Region lock restriction ?
No I don't believe it to be related to region lock.
Check one more thing for me please. Verify that the imei of the phone is what you believe it to be. Open settings and in "about phone" check under status and verify the imei is what you think it is. You can also Press * # 0 6 # on your keypad, Press 'Call' or 'Send' as if making a call. Your IMEI number will be retrieved and displayed on your screen.
440bro said:
No I don't believe it to be related to region lock.
Check one more thing for me please. Verify that the imei of the phone is what you believe it to be. Open settings and in "about phone" check under status and verify the imei is what you think it is. You can also Press * # 0 6 # on your keypad, Press 'Call' or 'Send' as if making a call. Your IMEI number will be retrieved and displayed on your screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea.. they are the same.. I still have the original box and they matched !!
I am contacting Samsung right now, let see what they can do about it
Ok, keep us posted please. And good luck!
440bro said:
Ok, keep us posted please. And good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you know anything about this ?
NOTES: If you have a Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, Note 2, Note 3 or your Android version is Android 4.4 (KITKAT): All SAMSUNG devices manufactured after the date of JULY 2013 and Samsung devices running on Android version is Android 4.4 (KITKAT) are subject to REGION LOCKING. If your phone has been used previously with the original carrier, this will not apply to you. However, if your device is BRAND NEW, your must activate it with the original carrier. If your Samsung device becomes Region locked, you will not be able to fully factory Unlock your Samsung devices so it can be used internationally. Even the correct code will not work anymore. In order for your Samsung device NOT to be region locked, you MUST activate (FIRST USE) your S3, S4, NOTE 2, NOTE 3 with your ORIGINAL carrier at least ONCE to take your region lock OFF. After your Region lock is off, you can Sim Unlock your device via Unlock Code. All Canadian Carriers are NOT subject to Region Locking. All USA and European Carriers ARE subject to Region Locking. Region lock is removed automatically after you activate your device with its original carrier. Make some calls before unlocking. (Insert an active original sim card into the device and make a few calls to activate the phone and bypass the region lock. Once you've activated the phone, you can input the unlock code.)
Well after reading that I'm amazed. I believed region lock was based on where you lived and used the phone. Like a person in Europe couldn't use an at&t phone overseas until it was used in the states. I was unaware a person in the U.S. had to do the same if they were using it in the U.S. but with a different carrier. My apologies.
You wouldn't happen to know anyone on at&t would you? Maybe a Samsung rep in bestbuy can help you with borrowing an at&t sim and making a call or 2 on your phone.
440bro said:
Well after reading that I'm amazed. I believed region lock was based on where you lived and used the phone. Like a person in Europe couldn't use an at&t phone overseas until it was used in the states. I was unaware a person in the U.S. had to do the same if they were using it in the U.S. but with a different carrier. My apologies.
You wouldn't happen to know anyone on at&t would you? Maybe a Samsung rep in bestbuy can help you with borrowing an at&t sim and making a call or 2 on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to use someone's ATT sim and it doesnt work
Also Samsung is telling me that "as you have unlocked the device from third party site , and this is not considered as official unlock for the device"
I might bring the phone to bestbuy and let them check it out.. since the phone is still under Warranty
There's defiantly something wrong if an at&t sim doesn't work. Are you the original owner? If not do you know the original purchaser? It could have been blacklisted.
440bro said:
There's defiantly something wrong if an at&t sim doesn't work. Are you the original owner? If not do you know the original purchaser? It could have been blacklisted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is working Fine with an ATT sim card, it has signals
it is just that it is not working after I inserted my tmobile sim card
and entered in the unlock code... So the imei should be fine !
I believe you need approximately 5 to 15 minutes of use on an at&t sim card from my previous readings of other user experiences.
440bro said:
I believe you need approximately 5 to 15 minutes of use on an at&t sim card from my previous readings of other user experiences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will try that out.. I am running out of solutions !!
There are other threads about this but rather than pollute them with my post I figured I'd create a new thread to share my experience. READ THE WHOLE THREAD BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU SCREW UP YOUR PHONE. Feel free to comment and I will make adjustments to the op.
Pre-requisites
- LG G4 T-Mobile Variant (H811).
- The Phone must be paid in full.
- The account the phone is/was attached to needs to be in good standing.
- Proof of your purchase of the phone (eBay or paypal receipt)
- The phone must not be reported lost, or stolen.
- Try the T-Mobile Device Unlock and select permanent unlock (if it works skip to the section on retaining SIM Unlock)
- Persistence, patience and politeness.
History
I purchased a used LG G4 (H811) on eBay, then called T-Mobile to request the device unlock. I was told by two Customer Service representatives and two supervisors the same thing:
- I either had to get a T-Mobile account and register the device on their network for 40 days and request the device unlock.
- Or the original owner had to request the unlock.
T-Mobile would not budge, but you can make them give it to you. The CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service (http://www.ctia.org/policy-initiatives/voluntary-guidelines/consumer-code-for-wireless-service) is a Voluntary document drafted by the FCC and administered by CTIA that T-Mobile is a signer on. In section 12 it states that wireless providers will unlock eligible phones for customers, former customers and individual owners. That third category is the one that most of us fall into. Principle 2 of that section says that for post paid phones the provider will unlock them upon request for phones from accounts in good standing that have been paid off again for customers, former customers and individual owners. CAVEAT: The Code does allow them to charge you a "reasonable fee", but I was never asked to pay a fee.
Penalty for T-Mobile not complying is revocation of their status of meeting this code and they cannot display the seal which means other providers will harp on that and T-Mobile doesn't want that. After sharing this information with the supervisor they told me that I could write a letter to their legal department which I did not want to do.
Getting the SIM unlock code
1- Contact T-Mobile to request the device be unlocked. Unless they change their policy they will likely tell you the same thing they told me.
2- Go to FCC.gov and filed a complaint online stating that you are an individual owner of an eligible phone (T-Mobile never disputed that) and that T-Mobile was refusing to unlock it and therefore in violation of the CTIA code.
3- Go to CTIA.org and use the contact us link to send them a very similar email.
4- Finally go to bbb.org and filed a complaint online against T-Mobile USA (Make sure that you select the head office in Washington State).
In all three I provided my IMEI number for reference (#*06#) and THE SAME DAY I got an email from the Office of the President of T-Mobile requesting contact information to verify eligibility of the phone. I responded back and answered their questions. They needed the IMEI, make, model and receipt showing purchase. She then sent me an email telling me that she removed the block on their server from the app working and allowing a permanent unlock.
SIM Unlock procedure
1- If you are already running any flavor of the stock firmware that still has the T-Mobile unlock app then skip to step 6. If you are on a custom ROM reboot into TWRP and do a complete backup of everything EXCEPT your efs partition. If you later restore your efs partition after unlocking the phone it becomes locked again.
2- In TWRP wipe the device with the default settings.
3- Install a stock flavor ROM that still has the T-Mobile Unlock App.
4- (Optional) Install SuperSU to keep root.
5- (Optional) For good measure flash TWRP recovery in case the ROM you installed replaced the recovery.
6- Boot the T-Mobile Stock ROM and run the T-Mobile Unlock App. Request a permanent unlock and it should successfully unlock the phone.
7- Reboot and test with a non-T-mobile sim.
If you are satisfied with running the stock T-Mobile firmware then you're done. If you, like me want to run a custom ROM, then follow below. The steps below assume you have a custom recovery and unlocked bootloader already, but if not you can look at the threads on this forum on how to unlock your bootloader permanently, root, install custom recovery and install a custom ROM.
1- Turn off the phone.
2- Hold the volume down + power button.
3- When you see the LG logo release the power button for 1 second and then hold it again.
4- You will get a white screen asking if you want to factory reset the device. Select Yes, then Yes again and it will boot you into TWRP.
5- Back up your device (especially the EFS partition), but you need all of it. Use the file manager to move that backup to your external SD card.
6- Perform a standard wipe in TWRP.
7- Restore your backup of your custom firmware but DO NOT restore the efs partition or your device will again be SIM locked.
8- Restart.
objecttothis said:
There are other threads about this but rather than pollute them with my post I figured I'd create a new thread to share my experience. READ THE WHOLE THREAD BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU SCREW UP YOUR PHONE. Feel free to comment and I will make adjustments to the op.
Pre-requisites
- LG G4 T-Mobile Variant (H811).
- The Phone must be paid in full.
- The account the phone is/was attached to needs to be in good standing.
- Proof of your purchase of the phone (eBay or paypal receipt)
- The phone must not be reported lost, or stolen.
- Try the T-Mobile Device Unlock and select permanent unlock (if it works skip to the section on retaining SIM Unlock)
- Persistence, patience and politeness.
History
I purchased a used LG G4 (H811) on eBay, then called T-Mobile to request the device unlock. I was told by two Customer Service representatives and two supervisors the same thing:
- I either had to get a T-Mobile account and register the device on their network for 40 days and request the device unlock.
- Or the original owner had to request the unlock.
T-Mobile would not budge, but you can make them give it to you. The CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service (http://www.ctia.org/policy-initiatives/voluntary-guidelines/consumer-code-for-wireless-service) is a Voluntary document drafted by the FCC and administered by CTIA that T-Mobile is a signer on. In section 12 it states that wireless providers will unlock eligible phones for customers, former customers and individual owners. That third category is the one that most of us fall into. Principle 2 of that section says that for post paid phones the provider will unlock them upon request for phones from accounts in good standing that have been paid off again for customers, former customers and individual owners. CAVEAT: The Code does allow them to charge you a "reasonable fee", but I was never asked to pay a fee.
Penalty for T-Mobile not complying is revocation of their status of meeting this code and they cannot display the seal which means other providers will harp on that and T-Mobile doesn't want that. After sharing this information with the supervisor they told me that I could write a letter to their legal department which I did not want to do.
Getting the SIM unlock code
1- Go to FCC.gov and filed a complaint online stating that you are an individual owner of an eligible phone (T-Mobile never disputed that) and that T-Mobile was refusing to unlock it and therefore in violation of the CTIA code.
2- Go to CTIA.org and use the contact us link to send them a very similar email.
3- Finally go to bbb.org and filed a complaint online against T-Mobile USA (Make sure that you select the head office in Washington State).
In all three I provided my IMEI number for reference (#*06#) and THE SAME DAY I got an email from the Office of the President of T-Mobile requesting contact information to verify eligibility of the phone. I responded back and answered their questions. They needed the IMEI, make, model and receipt showing purchase. She then sent me an email telling me that she removed the block on their server from the app working and allowing a permanent unlock.
SIM Unlock procedure
1- If you are already running any flavor of the stock firmware that still has the T-Mobile unlock app then skip to step 6. If you are on a custom ROM reboot into TWRP and do a complete backup of everything EXCEPT your efs partition. If you later restore your efs partition after unlocking the phone it becomes locked again.
2- In TWRP wipe the device with the default settings.
3- Install a stock flavor ROM that still has the T-Mobile Unlock App.
4- (Optional) Install SuperSU too keep root.
5- (Optional) For good measure flash TWRP recovery in case the ROM you installed replaced the recovery.
6- Boot the T-Mobile Stock ROM and run the T-Mobile Unlock App. Request a permanent unlock and it should successfully unlock the phone.
7- Reboot and test with a non-T-mobile sim.
If you are satisfied with running the stock T-Mobile firmware then you're done. If you, like me want to run a custom ROM, then follow below. The steps below assume you have a custom recovery and unlocked bootloader already, but if not you can look at the threads on this forum on how to unlock your bootloader permanently, root, install custom recovery and install a custom ROM.
1- Turn off the phone.
2- Hold the volume down + power button.
3- When you see the LG logo release the power button for 1 second and then hold it again.
4- You will get a white screen asking if you want to factory reset the device. Select Yes, then Yes again and it will boot you into TWRP.
5- Back up your device (especially the EFS partition), but you need all of it. Use the file manager to move that backup to your external SD card.
6- Perform a standard wipe in TWRP.
7- Restore your backup of your custom firmware but DO NOT restore the efs partition or your device will again be SIM locked.
8- Restart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you explain EXACTLY how to preserve the EFS partition? I back it up and restore it to custom ROMS I install?
mrbox23 said:
Can you explain EXACTLY how to preserve the EFS partition? I back it up and restore it to custom ROMS I install?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In your recovery, go to backup and you will see it listed among other things....
mrbox23 said:
Can you explain EXACTLY how to preserve the EFS partition? I back it up and restore it to custom ROMS I install?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In TWRP:
1- Backup
Tap Backup
Tap the box next to EFS
Tap all the other boxes
Tap Select Storage
Tap your external SD card (if you don't have one just make sure you copy the backup to your computer for safe keeping after the backup completes).
Tap OK
Swipe to backup
2- Wipe
Tap Wipe
Swipe to wipe (Default options will not erase your EFS partition)
If you found that you somehow wiped your EFS partition, then restore your unlocked backup and make sure to restore everything. You could try just restoring the EFS but I don't know if it will work.
kuda nado pisat T-mobile?
objecttothis said:
In TWRP:
1- Backup
Tap Backup
Tap the box next to EFS
Tap all the other boxes
Tap Select Storage
Tap your external SD card (if you don't have one just make sure you copy the backup to your computer for safe keeping after the backup completes).
Tap OK
Swipe to backup
2- Wipe
Tap Wipe
Swipe to wipe (Default options will not erase your EFS partition)
If you found that you somehow wiped your EFS partition, then restore your unlocked backup and make sure to restore everything. You could try just restoring the EFS but I don't know if it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kuda nado pisat T-mobile?
Hi, I have a generic question.
I am using T-Mobile phone and I was not eligible for the T-Mobile Unlock App, so I decided to use unlock services online. The one I used was unlockbase they have a software that unlocks the phone on-the-go using their software and it requires internet connection. I got my phone unlocked and international SIM working. The question is that if I backup my EFS and MODEM now using TWRP and later restore it will it break the UNLOCK?.
Because the unlock they do is of course by altering the EFS and stuff like that and in that case backing up EFS and MODEM is a safe way to UNLOCK my phone again in future if it somehow gets LOCK again, right?
objecttothis said:
There are other threads about this but rather than pollute them with my post I figured I'd create a new thread to share my experience. READ THE WHOLE THREAD BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU SCREW UP YOUR PHONE. Feel free to comment and I will make adjustments to the op.
Pre-requisites
- LG G4 T-Mobile Variant (H811).
- The Phone must be paid in full.
- The account the phone is/was attached to needs to be in good standing.
- Proof of your purchase of the phone (eBay or paypal receipt)
- The phone must not be reported lost, or stolen.
- Try the T-Mobile Device Unlock and select permanent unlock (if it works skip to the section on retaining SIM Unlock)
- Persistence, patience and politeness.
History
I purchased a used LG G4 (H811) on eBay, then called T-Mobile to request the device unlock. I was told by two Customer Service representatives and two supervisors the same thing:
- I either had to get a T-Mobile account and register the device on their network for 40 days and request the device unlock.
- Or the original owner had to request the unlock.
T-Mobile would not budge, but you can make them give it to you. The CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service (http://www.ctia.org/policy-initiatives/voluntary-guidelines/consumer-code-for-wireless-service) is a Voluntary document drafted by the FCC and administered by CTIA that T-Mobile is a signer on. In section 12 it states that wireless providers will unlock eligible phones for customers, former customers and individual owners. That third category is the one that most of us fall into. Principle 2 of that section says that for post paid phones the provider will unlock them upon request for phones from accounts in good standing that have been paid off again for customers, former customers and individual owners. CAVEAT: The Code does allow them to charge you a "reasonable fee", but I was never asked to pay a fee.
Penalty for T-Mobile not complying is revocation of their status of meeting this code and they cannot display the seal which means other providers will harp on that and T-Mobile doesn't want that. After sharing this information with the supervisor they told me that I could write a letter to their legal department which I did not want to do.
Getting the SIM unlock code
1- Contact T-Mobile to request the device be unlocked. Unless they change their policy they will likely tell you the same thing they told me.
2- Go to FCC.gov and filed a complaint online stating that you are an individual owner of an eligible phone (T-Mobile never disputed that) and that T-Mobile was refusing to unlock it and therefore in violation of the CTIA code.
3- Go to CTIA.org and use the contact us link to send them a very similar email.
4- Finally go to bbb.org and filed a complaint online against T-Mobile USA (Make sure that you select the head office in Washington State).
In all three I provided my IMEI number for reference (#*06#) and THE SAME DAY I got an email from the Office of the President of T-Mobile requesting contact information to verify eligibility of the phone. I responded back and answered their questions. They needed the IMEI, make, model and receipt showing purchase. She then sent me an email telling me that she removed the block on their server from the app working and allowing a permanent unlock.
SIM Unlock procedure
1- If you are already running any flavor of the stock firmware that still has the T-Mobile unlock app then skip to step 6. If you are on a custom ROM reboot into TWRP and do a complete backup of everything EXCEPT your efs partition. If you later restore your efs partition after unlocking the phone it becomes locked again.
2- In TWRP wipe the device with the default settings.
3- Install a stock flavor ROM that still has the T-Mobile Unlock App.
4- (Optional) Install SuperSU to keep root.
5- (Optional) For good measure flash TWRP recovery in case the ROM you installed replaced the recovery.
6- Boot the T-Mobile Stock ROM and run the T-Mobile Unlock App. Request a permanent unlock and it should successfully unlock the phone.
7- Reboot and test with a non-T-mobile sim.
If you are satisfied with running the stock T-Mobile firmware then you're done. If you, like me want to run a custom ROM, then follow below. The steps below assume you have a custom recovery and unlocked bootloader already, but if not you can look at the threads on this forum on how to unlock your bootloader permanently, root, install custom recovery and install a custom ROM.
1- Turn off the phone.
2- Hold the volume down + power button.
3- When you see the LG logo release the power button for 1 second and then hold it again.
4- You will get a white screen asking if you want to factory reset the device. Select Yes, then Yes again and it will boot you into TWRP.
5- Back up your device (especially the EFS partition), but you need all of it. Use the file manager to move that backup to your external SD card.
6- Perform a standard wipe in TWRP.
7- Restore your backup of your custom firmware but DO NOT restore the efs partition or your device will again be SIM locked.
8- Restart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey got a question for you.how did you get the app to work after rooting.i keep getting device not recognized by your service provider please call customer care.well ive done that and have been going round and round with them over sim unlocking.they said it cant be done because they show in their system it is rooted.so i flashed stock 20o kdz tried the app again same error.got back in touch with tmobile and still the same runaround it cant be unlocked because the phone was rooted
My Experience with T-Mobile
Complaints posted today to fcc.gov, ctia.org, and bbb.org:
"I purchased a phone through a local sale via craigslist.org, after verifying that the phone's IMEI is clean and that all obligations have been paid in full. I purchased the phone because I travel frequently and have upcoming European travel and want a GSM phone capable of multiple networks. Within hours of the purchase I called T-Mobile support to get the phone unlocked. After two hours on the phone they continued to refuse, stating that they would not unlock it because I don't have an account with them. T-Mobile does not dispute that the IMEI is "clean" and that there are no outstanding obligations. They seem to want to get the a minimum of two months of service and payments before they will unlock the phone. I don't want their service. I just want my fully eligible phone unlocked!
Thanks for any help you can provide.
IMEI: 000000000000000
<contact info as appropriate>"
Edit to add result several days later
I had a call from T-Mobile today. Apparently one of the three agencies that I'd sent the email to forwarded it to T-Mobile. The fellow from T-Mobile continued to flatly refuse to unlock the phone.
I explained to him that it was like buying a used car, taking it to a Chevron station, and being told that it could only be filled with Shell because some past owner had a contract, long ago completed, with Shell to provide gas.
The take-away here is that one should NEVER EVER buy a T-Mobile phone that is locked unless one intends to use it solely on the T-Mobile network.
I'd love to take this to court but the legal costs are prohibitive.
This works -- free permanent SIM unlock LG-H811
objecttothis said:
There are other threads about this but rather than pollute them with my post I figured I'd create a new thread to share my experience. READ THE WHOLE THREAD BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU SCREW UP YOUR PHONE. Feel free to comment and I will make adjustments to the op.
Pre-requisites
- LG G4 T-Mobile Variant (H811).
- The Phone must be paid in full.
- The account the phone is/was attached to needs to be in good standing.
- Proof of your purchase of the phone (eBay or paypal receipt)
- The phone must not be reported lost, or stolen.
- Try the T-Mobile Device Unlock and select permanent unlock (if it works skip to the section on retaining SIM Unlock)
- Persistence, patience and politeness.
History
I purchased a used LG G4 (H811) on eBay, then called T-Mobile to request the device unlock. I was told by two Customer Service representatives and two supervisors the same thing:
- I either had to get a T-Mobile account and register the device on their network for 40 days and request the device unlock.
- Or the original owner had to request the unlock.
T-Mobile would not budge, but you can make them give it to you. The CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service (http://www.ctia.org/policy-initiatives/voluntary-guidelines/consumer-code-for-wireless-service) is a Voluntary document drafted by the FCC and administered by CTIA that T-Mobile is a signer on. In section 12 it states that wireless providers will unlock eligible phones for customers, former customers and individual owners. That third category is the one that most of us fall into. Principle 2 of that section says that for post paid phones the provider will unlock them upon request for phones from accounts in good standing that have been paid off again for customers, former customers and individual owners. CAVEAT: The Code does allow them to charge you a "reasonable fee", but I was never asked to pay a fee.
Penalty for T-Mobile not complying is revocation of their status of meeting this code and they cannot display the seal which means other providers will harp on that and T-Mobile doesn't want that. After sharing this information with the supervisor they told me that I could write a letter to their legal department which I did not want to do.
Getting the SIM unlock code
1- Contact T-Mobile to request the device be unlocked. Unless they change their policy they will likely tell you the same thing they told me.
2- Go to FCC.gov and filed a complaint online stating that you are an individual owner of an eligible phone (T-Mobile never disputed that) and that T-Mobile was refusing to unlock it and therefore in violation of the CTIA code.
3- Go to CTIA.org and use the contact us link to send them a very similar email.
4- Finally go to bbb.org and filed a complaint online against T-Mobile USA (Make sure that you select the head office in Washington State).
In all three I provided my IMEI number for reference (#*06#) and THE SAME DAY I got an email from the Office of the President of T-Mobile requesting contact information to verify eligibility of the phone. I responded back and answered their questions. They needed the IMEI, make, model and receipt showing purchase. She then sent me an email telling me that she removed the block on their server from the app working and allowing a permanent unlock.
SIM Unlock procedure
1- If you are already running any flavor of the stock firmware that still has the T-Mobile unlock app then skip to step 6. If you are on a custom ROM reboot into TWRP and do a complete backup of everything EXCEPT your efs partition. If you later restore your efs partition after unlocking the phone it becomes locked again.
2- In TWRP wipe the device with the default settings.
3- Install a stock flavor ROM that still has the T-Mobile Unlock App.
4- (Optional) Install SuperSU to keep root.
5- (Optional) For good measure flash TWRP recovery in case the ROM you installed replaced the recovery.
6- Boot the T-Mobile Stock ROM and run the T-Mobile Unlock App. Request a permanent unlock and it should successfully unlock the phone.
7- Reboot and test with a non-T-mobile sim.
If you are satisfied with running the stock T-Mobile firmware then you're done. If you, like me want to run a custom ROM, then follow below. The steps below assume you have a custom recovery and unlocked bootloader already, but if not you can look at the threads on this forum on how to unlock your bootloader permanently, root, install custom recovery and install a custom ROM.
1- Turn off the phone.
2- Hold the volume down + power button.
3- When you see the LG logo release the power button for 1 second and then hold it again.
4- You will get a white screen asking if you want to factory reset the device. Select Yes, then Yes again and it will boot you into TWRP.
5- Back up your device (especially the EFS partition), but you need all of it. Use the file manager to move that backup to your external SD card.
6- Perform a standard wipe in TWRP.
7- Restore your backup of your custom firmware but DO NOT restore the efs partition or your device will again be SIM locked.
8- Restart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks -- this works, fast and free. Note that the FCC and CTIA complaints are basically unnecessary (even if gratifying). The key is the BBB complaint to the Washington state T-mobile headquarters. The office of the president team member called me back within a day, saying he was specifically responding to the BBB complaint. I emailed him my ebay receipt and gave him the IMEI right during the phone call, and he had me permanently unlocked within 5 minutes with the device unlock app, no charge. They just want to see that you paid for the phone in full. I'm running android 6 v20p on an LG-H811 rooted with Imperium kernel 4.8. I happily closed the BBB complaint saying I was satisfied. If only their front line reps would do this, they could save us all a lot of hassle! Anyway YMMV, best of luck. This beats paying the $30+ for unlocking.
theprof7 said:
Thanks -- this works, fast and free. Note that the FCC and CTIA complaints are basically unnecessary (even if gratifying). The key is the BBB complaint to the Washington state T-mobile headquarters. The office of the president team member called me back within a day, saying he was specifically responding to the BBB complaint. I emailed him my ebay receipt and gave him the IMEI right during the phone call, and he had me permanently unlocked within 5 minutes with the device unlock app, no charge. They just want to see that you paid for the phone in full. I'm running android 6 v20p on an LG-H811 rooted with Imperium kernel 4.8. I happily closed the BBB complaint saying I was satisfied. If only their front line reps would do this, they could save us all a lot of hassle! Anyway YMMV, best of luck. This beats paying the $30+ for unlocking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes… the bbb complaint will be what gets the ball rolling on your phone, but if the ctia and fcc get enough of these complaints they will put pressure on TMobile to change their policy of not being in compliance to an agreement they made.
Gabriel_x said:
kuda nado pisat T-mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Надо на ихни веб-сайте нажимать "Contact Us"
unlock will even works if you restore your back up efs partition only from your stock rom to the custom rom Im on turbo rom latest version and it works and i only restored the stock efs partition where i used the app to unlock my lg g4 i back up first in twrp. unlock worked on crickiet sim for me i borrow from my friend to test it.
This works for me ! Thank you so much.
I followed your steps, and it did work. I bought this on eBay like you did. Then I found that this phone isn't unlocked. I asked the seller to make the phone call and the seller already changed his carrier. So I began to search for the solutions and saw yours.
I unlocked the boot loader and rooted the phone, flashed custom rom the moment I got the phone. So as you wrote, I flashed the phone back to stock rom, tried the unlock device app , it said the phone is not eligible for unlock. After calling t-mobile service, I filed complaint like you did, t-mobile contacted me a day after, and asked me my IMEI number , my eBay receipt, then helped me unlock the phone today. It took me like a week, t-mobile agent is slow but it's OK. I'm now using AT&T and it's working on 4G/3G.
i have trouble to fel the complaint im not good at englis i couldnt find Washington State hedwuarter any helpplease ?
Network Locked
Hi guys,
My Phone network is locked, after updating to Marshmellow 6.0 Software version 20r.
it was working fine on lollipop.
phone is clean from T-mobile.
I paid online to unlock the phone, and after 2 days they email me that your phone is unlocked.
But my Unlocked Device app is giving me this error "failure in processing the request. please reboot device and try again Tmobile app" i tried every possible way, reboot the device, uninstalled the apps, factory reset the device but still same error.
any help!!!
I'd just like to say thanks, the guide worked for me. T-mobile didn't like the BBB complaint and it took back and forth about 3 times before they gave in. They kept trying to close the complaint, I kept it open and asked that all i wanted was the IMEI to be whitelisted and finally they gave in. It took forever though, I don't remember maybe a month but I wasn't able to get through on the phone and they didn't respond to my email reply for a long time.
Too bad though because right now the phone doesn't start at all. So it will either get sold on ebay or if I'm super lucky I will get something out of LG due to the big lawsuit they have right now. Lg Should let us trade in the G4 or V10 for a G6 and pay just $200, I think that would be fair!
objecttothis said:
There are other threads about this but rather than pollute them with my post I figured I'd create a new thread to share my experience. READ THE WHOLE THREAD BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU SCREW UP YOUR PHONE. Feel free to comment and I will make adjustments to the op.
Pre-requisites
- LG G4 T-Mobile Variant (H811).
- The Phone must be paid in full.
- The account the phone is/was attached to needs to be in good standing.
- Proof of your purchase of the phone (eBay or paypal receipt)
- The phone must not be reported lost, or stolen.
- Try the T-Mobile Device Unlock and select permanent unlock (if it works skip to the section on retaining SIM Unlock)
- Persistence, patience and politeness.
History
I purchased a used LG G4 (H811) on eBay, then called T-Mobile to request the device unlock. I was told by two Customer Service representatives and two supervisors the same thing:
- I either had to get a T-Mobile account and register the device on their network for 40 days and request the device unlock.
- Or the original owner had to request the unlock.
T-Mobile would not budge, but you can make them give it to you. The CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service (http://www.ctia.org/policy-initiatives/voluntary-guidelines/consumer-code-for-wireless-service) is a Voluntary document drafted by the FCC and administered by CTIA that T-Mobile is a signer on. In section 12 it states that wireless providers will unlock eligible phones for customers, former customers and individual owners. That third category is the one that most of us fall into. Principle 2 of that section says that for post paid phones the provider will unlock them upon request for phones from accounts in good standing that have been paid off again for customers, former customers and individual owners. CAVEAT: The Code does allow them to charge you a "reasonable fee", but I was never asked to pay a fee.
Penalty for T-Mobile not complying is revocation of their status of meeting this code and they cannot display the seal which means other providers will harp on that and T-Mobile doesn't want that. After sharing this information with the supervisor they told me that I could write a letter to their legal department which I did not want to do.
Getting the SIM unlock code
1- Contact T-Mobile to request the device be unlocked. Unless they change their policy they will likely tell you the same thing they told me.
2- Go to FCC.gov and filed a complaint online stating that you are an individual owner of an eligible phone (T-Mobile never disputed that) and that T-Mobile was refusing to unlock it and therefore in violation of the CTIA code.
3- Go to CTIA.org and use the contact us link to send them a very similar email.
4- Finally go to bbb.org and filed a complaint online against T-Mobile USA (Make sure that you select the head office in Washington State).
In all three I provided my IMEI number for reference (#*06#) and THE SAME DAY I got an email from the Office of the President of T-Mobile requesting contact information to verify eligibility of the phone. I responded back and answered their questions. They needed the IMEI, make, model and receipt showing purchase. She then sent me an email telling me that she removed the block on their server from the app working and allowing a permanent unlock.
SIM Unlock procedure
1- If you are already running any flavor of the stock firmware that still has the T-Mobile unlock app then skip to step 6. If you are on a custom ROM reboot into TWRP and do a complete backup of everything EXCEPT your efs partition. If you later restore your efs partition after unlocking the phone it becomes locked again.
2- In TWRP wipe the device with the default settings.
3- Install a stock flavor ROM that still has the T-Mobile Unlock App.
4- (Optional) Install SuperSU to keep root.
5- (Optional) For good measure flash TWRP recovery in case the ROM you installed replaced the recovery.
6- Boot the T-Mobile Stock ROM and run the T-Mobile Unlock App. Request a permanent unlock and it should successfully unlock the phone.
7- Reboot and test with a non-T-mobile sim.
If you are satisfied with running the stock T-Mobile firmware then you're done. If you, like me want to run a custom ROM, then follow below. The steps below assume you have a custom recovery and unlocked bootloader already, but if not you can look at the threads on this forum on how to unlock your bootloader permanently, root, install custom recovery and install a custom ROM.
1- Turn off the phone.
2- Hold the volume down + power button.
3- When you see the LG logo release the power button for 1 second and then hold it again.
4- You will get a white screen asking if you want to factory reset the device. Select Yes, then Yes again and it will boot you into TWRP.
5- Back up your device (especially the EFS partition), but you need all of it. Use the file manager to move that backup to your external SD card.
6- Perform a standard wipe in TWRP.
7- Restore your backup of your custom firmware but DO NOT restore the efs partition or your device will again be SIM locked.
8- Restart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got mine unlocked in 5 days. I heard back from T-Mobile President's office and though they appeared to be reluctant on doing it, they ended up doing it. My device was paid in full by previous owner tho. I ended up buying it as the seller has it listed as unlocked while he didn't understand what unlocked means. lol.
Thanks for this useful post!
12
I took a chance on this about 5 days ago (basically last Monday, May 29th) and filled out the BBB complaint - for the record I did not contact T-Mobile or do the other complaints, I went straight to the BBB site and just did it through them. About 3 days ago I got an email and a phone call (didn't answer it) from someone in the "Executive Response Team" saying they'd like more info so I fired off another email with basically the same info presented in the BBB complaint, the fact that I bought the phone from a third party, that I was not the original owner, that it had no attachments to T-Mobile anymore (was paid off fully in their system and no longer tied to anything related to them), and because I would be classified as an individual owner per the CTIA document they had no reason to not honor my request.
Got another email and phone call (and I still didn't answer it) yesterday afternoon (Friday June 2nd) saying the device was now unblocked on their servers and that the permanent unlock should go through without any issues by using the Device Unlock app.
Well...
Made about 10 attempts so far and still no go, sent off another email within 30 minutes of him contacting me to say it was unblocked (which was about 1PM Pacific time) and he didn't get back to me before leaving the office so of course now I'll probably be waiting till sometime on Monday (June 5th) to hear anything more but I'll make more attempts as the weekend passes. Could actually be unblocked and it's just taking time for the confirmation to propagate through their system, who knows.
It'll get unblocked at some point and permanently unlocked. The temporary unlock works fine, of course, and I am running the pure stock 20v and I don't even have the bootloader unlocked presently so, the issue lies on T-Mobile's side of things now and they'll have to fix it or I'll just keep sending 'em emails.
YMMV, of course, but that's my current situation.
LG G4 H811 T-Mobile Unlock
rektbloodcells said:
Hi, I have a generic question.
I am using T-Mobile phone and I was not eligible for the T-Mobile Unlock App, so I decided to use unlock services online. The one I used was unlockbase they have a software that unlocks the phone on-the-go using their software and it requires internet connection. I got my phone unlocked and international SIM working. The question is that if I backup my EFS and MODEM now using TWRP and later restore it will it break the UNLOCK?.
Because the unlock they do is of course by altering the EFS and stuff like that and in that case backing up EFS and MODEM is a safe way to UNLOCK my phone again in future if it somehow gets LOCK again, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Friend. I have same problem Can't unlock my phone by T-Mobile Unlock app. I saw unlockbase.com is web page and they have phone unlock service. After some searching i found that in the unlockable device list they do not have LG G4 H811. How you was able to unlock your phone with their software? Are you sure they can unlock h811? How much it costs?
Hi everyone.
First of all, apologies if this is a duplicate thread. I did try searching the forums before posting but couldn't seem to find the information I am looking for.
I have a Galaxy Note 9 (SM-960U on the Spectrum network in the USA, running Android 9) which use to belong to my step sister in law who has passed away. I purchased the phone off my in laws while they were wrapping up her affairs to help pay the device out of the contract it was under.
Before they gave me the phone they carried out a factory reset on the device. We are now trying to set the phone up for me but cannot get past the Factory Reset Protection, as we do not know the password to her Google account. (none of us knew about this security feature until after we tried setting up the phone).
So far we have tried:
* Trying all known or possibly known passwords to her Google account
* Attempting to reset the password on her Google account via PC so we can enter the new password on the phone when prompted
* Contacting Samsung Australia (the in laws moved to Australia to be closer to us) but apparently they can't assist as it's a US model.
* Contacting Samsung USA, who just pointed me to a Youtube video which didn't work
* Attempting to contact Google to see if we could get her account unlocked (we have her Death Certificate and a Stat Dec stating we own the phone), but they are near on impossible to get any help out of..... although we are still trying.
* Flashing the phone with the generic US firmware to see if that clears her account off the phone
*Multiple different How To and Youtube videos we've found online.
We have been working on this phone for weeks now and are running out of ideas. Has anyone successfully bypassed the FRP on this model or this version of Android that could assist?
Thanks to anyone who can help or point me in the right direction.
Cheers.
DeeMan2020 said:
Hi everyone.
First of all, apologies if this is a duplicate thread. I did try searching the forums before posting but couldn't seem to find the information I am looking for.
I have a Galaxy Note 9 (SM-960U on the Spectrum network in the USA, running Android 9) which use to belong to my step sister in law who has passed away. I purchased the phone off my in laws while they were wrapping up her affairs to help pay the device out of the contract it was under.
Before they gave me the phone they carried out a factory reset on the device. We are now trying to set the phone up for me but cannot get past the Factory Reset Protection, as we do not know the password to her Google account. (none of us knew about this security feature until after we tried setting up the phone).
So far we have tried:
* Trying all known or possibly known passwords to her Google account
* Attempting to reset the password on her Google account via PC so we can enter the new password on the phone when prompted
* Contacting Samsung Australia (the in laws moved to Australia to be closer to us) but apparently they can't assist as it's a US model.
* Contacting Samsung USA, who just pointed me to a Youtube video which didn't work
* Attempting to contact Google to see if we could get her account unlocked (we have her Death Certificate and a Stat Dec stating we own the phone), but they are near on impossible to get any help out of..... although we are still trying.
* Flashing the phone with the generic US firmware to see if that clears her account off the phone
*Multiple different How To and Youtube videos we've found online.
We have been working on this phone for weeks now and are running out of ideas. Has anyone successfully bypassed the FRP on this model or this version of Android that could assist?
Thanks to anyone who can help or point me in the right direction.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, I am sorry for your loss.
Discussions about bypassing FRP are not allowed on XDA as the information could be used by people who buy stolen phones and then remove FRP to re-sell them at a higher price.
Google Account password reset should be fairly easy if a phone number was linked to the account, as that will send a text to the phone number and allow you to reset the password.
However, if that doesn't work, Samsung should be able to remove it, if you provide them with the necessary documentation (Purchase receipt, death certificate etc). Although this will be tricky seeing as though you are in Australia and it is a US variant device.
I bought a device from ebay and shipped abroad (outside US), the IMEI and serial number states that the device is unlocked on Google's website , but when I received the device and inserted SIM it says that the device is locked under Xfinity and I need to contact the customer service to unlock it, contacted the live chat support after lot of tries in different days one of the agents told me that he check the IMEI and the device is not locked, and adviced me to try to call the customer support, after a lot of international calls, couldn't reach to anything cause I don't have account.
There's no return policy
IMEI: 358116101231886
Serial: 0A051JECB14767
Is there anything I can do?
I have a Verizon pixel 4a 5g beginning with IMEI numbers 53 as well, except I bought it new and never paid it off. A few days ago on the latest Android 13 update, I used the app hail to freeze all of my carrier apps, as I typically do this to remove any bloat, and since I couldn't use a SIM in the phone anyway since I stopped paying for it it didn't matter if I affected any apps related to service. It must be specific to the latest update, but I disabled every Verizon branded app and every app with the name carrier on it, but I did not disable or freeze the device setup / work config app because it is responsible for several things, such as the OEM unlock switch which is expected to always be grayed out. Well for some reason, this time and I'm convinced it's related to the latest update.... After freezing those apps, not even rebooting the phone, OEM unlock was suddenly able to be toggled and now I am rooted and using a T-Mobile esim on an unpaid off, Verizon pixel. This is the only advice I can give you, download shizuku and set it up because unless you have root you cannot freeze apps with hail. You have to run it using Shizuku. It can't hurt and it's worth a shot
Thank you, I will give it a try, can you share with me please the list of the apps you froze, if u have it saved.
Sadly It didn't work