[Q] Desire 601 International Data Functionality - HTC Desire 601

Hey guys,
I have a pretty unique problem and im not sure there even is a solution, but here goes.
The story is that I had been living in Canada for the last 7 months or so and bought myself a shiny new Desire 601 from Virgin Mobile (its a zara_ul). Since then, I have managed to brick it hardcore style, but i was able to ressurect it after 4 months of fruitless attempts through various odd files, sheer dumb luck, and the RUU from mrplowdans google drive (super props by the way, you saved my phone good sir!). I had to SuperCID the phone in order for the RUU to stick.
So it goes without saying that im now running the Telus version of KK (i updated through the usual OTA once i had returned it to stock 4.2.2) on a VM phone. All good, no issues there. Ive since returned home to Australia, unlocked the phone so it works with an Australian carrier, also all good. Im able to make calls and send texts no issue.
My problem is with mobile data. It seems to be having an issue connecting to my carriers 3g/4g. Initially, there was nothing at all, just the bars in the notification bar telling me that i had a good connection to cellular. No little superscript 3G though, and in settings, although mobile data is 'On', it is showing connection failed. Adding a custom APN appeared to work slightly, the 3G appeared in the notification bar and in settings, mobile data was shown to be 'connected', but still no dice when i try to connect to the web or download an app.
Now i vaguely understand the principles involved here, I get that North american carriers use a different radio frequency to, say, Europe, and that differs again to Australia. My question is, is it on the software side? Would it be possible to find an Australian Radio.img for a desire 601 (i dont even know if they sell them here), flash it, and all will be fine and dandy? Or is it the physical antenna inside the phone that is set to receive only a certain frequency? Im not expecting someone to go and find me a working file or anything, i know most of you live in Canada anyway, but im looking for someone with a greater knowledge of these things to find a theoretical fix.
I know I rant a lot, but in the scheme of things im willing to let this problem slide considering i only just un-bricked it a few days ago AND managed to root 4.4.2 (a significant achievement given my non-existent knowledge of android), but it is a nuicance and if theres something simple i can do of course i will.
Thanks in advance for any help <3
EDIT: Ive since done some googling and discovered that they do sell these phones in Australia, and that the Network specs for it and the canadian model that i have are almost identical, many of the frequencies are the same on both. Leads me to assume that its software sided, the telus radio.img is telling the phone to not see non-canadian frequencies.

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[Q] Samsung SGH-T959 Network Failure

My Samsung SGH-T959 Will not connect to the T-Mobile GSM network. All other functions appear to work OK. The phone worked well enough until I needed to use it in Britain last week. Until then, it was stock from the store, locked to T-Mobile USA.
I needed connectivity so I unlocked the phone and used it with a Vodaphone (lebaru) pay-as-you-go sim. At first it would not register with the provider, but I gave the phone to the agent (some Arab guy in a small shop...) and after they kept it overnight, it worked. On returning to the US I put the original SIM back in the phone. Now it won't register with T-Mobile. Sometimes it finds ATT towers when I scan for network providers, sometimes it does not. It never sees T-mobile.
I have verified that it is unlocked, and done a hard reboot and washed away the internal Flash storage. The behaviour does not improve. I have tried two known-good SIM cards.
I have read many posts that seem to indicate that others are having similar problems, but I haven't seen any answers (or even explanations).
Can anyone suggest a solution?
Samsung SGH-T959
Unlocked Provider
T-Mobile USA
Stock rom?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Stock rom, 2.1-update1, ECLAIR.UVKA2
--Dave
ODIN back to stock and see what happens then.
TheSneakerWhore said:
ODIN back to stock and see what happens then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I guess that I'll need to use Heimdal, as I don't have windows. But where do I get a 'stock' image to load? If what I have is not stock, how do I know what it is? And if I come to the point of having to load alternate 'ROMs', which do I choose. There seem to be so many caveats.
What I find really perplexing is my phone's sudden inability to lock to the tower corresponding to the sim provider I'm using. With other phones and modules I have used over the years, this was ever an issue. You put in an ATT sim, the device tries to connect to an ATT tower. You put in T-Mobile or Vodaphone, then it tries to connect to the corresponding resource. It almost seems as if there is a small hidden file somewhere in the bowels of the beast that overrides the sim's preference.
Still trying...
Ok, after much wailing, flailing, and gnashing of teeth, I have sorted out more of the vocabulary of this forum, hopefully attached it correctly to the relevant concepts in my head. I feel that I am making progress of a sort. I have also installed Heimdall under Linux, Odin under Windows, Kies and a variety of minor tools. I have tried them cautiously, but avoided any rash actions. I believe that I will make a unbricking cable for good measure.
But my phone still won't connect to the T-Mobile (US) tower. Scanning for 'networks' only shows ATT, and I'm pretty sure that I can't even talk to that using an ATT sim.
My working theory is based on the events that got me to this point (but still far too little knowledge about my phone) and goes as follows:
When I had the phone unlocked, this was done properly, but my T-Mobile (US) 'MODEM' (which I assume to be the signal processor code that controls the physical layer radio interaction) was not able to negotiate a session properly with the Vodaphone (UK) tower. I took the phone back to the person who unlocked it, and he/she/it realized the problem and updated that part of the code, allowing me to connect with the 'network'.
I never mentioned to the phone-unlocker that I only planned to stay in the UK for 10 days. It didn't occur to me that upon returning home, I might encounter the flip side of this problem. And if he/she/it happened to think of this possibility, he/she/it figured I'd be well out of his/her/whatever hair by the time I noticed. Which I am.
So my operating assumption is that I need to reverse the initial modification of my firmware, restoring the initial functionality to the 'MODEM'. I have yet to find a trove of alternative 'MODEM' code, but responses to queries by others seem to imply that one exists. I am reluctant to attempting to flash the device back to the original state, mostly because I am not sure what that state was. I've downloaded a bunch of stuff (i.e. Odin + .pit files) but I'm nervous about whether they are really the right ones for my phone.
Can anyone tell me if I am on the right track?
-- Dave
You should download the AIO Vibrant Toolbox since it have all the instructions and files you need to revert back to stock. Its pretty easy.
Instead of typing so much, odin back to stock. Man I hate fast typers. /crazy.flailing.arm.tube.man
Cheers
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I'm a *lousy*, hunt & peck typer. Once in a while I just bite the bullet and try to say what I mean unambiguously. It is painful, and I do it only rarely.
dave

Wifi Calling?

Hi folks,
I'm looking to possibly switch to T-Mobile, but I know that coverage is spotty in my home town. (I don't go home often... Maybe once or twice a month for a weekend)
Because of the spotty coverage, wifi calling is a feature of T-Mobile that is very appealing to me, but I've been hearing rumors that their wifi calling feature doesn't work unless you purchase the phone directly from T-Mobile (which obviously cannot be done).
However, I do remember seeing a screenshot of the Xperia Z5 Compact's wifi calling settings and there was a tab listed for T-Mobile. Now why would a phone include wifi calling options for a specific carrier if that carrier refuses to support that phone?
Now let's say there is no way to trick the Z5 into letting me use wifi calling on T-Mobile... I read an article stating that CM13 will support T-Mobile's wifi calling. If CM13 was developed for the Z5C, would that do the trick?
Praying that someone with some more experience can shed some light on this matter. Is there any hope for me?
T-mobile announced that they'll be giving mini towers to customers for free (that's not wifi calling but an actual LTE tower for your house that uses your internet connection) so you can just call them up and ask when they'll start sending them out.
Does it just generate an LTE signal? That works well if the phone had working T-Mobile voice over LTE; which i'm not sure it would if I purchased an unlocked model. That router would be great for my home, but I'm concerned for other areas of my hometown, where I actually would need service (for example: car accident). If I could connect to a local coffee shop's wifi connection to make calls; that would make my life so much easier. I would hate to only have service in my home because that would make me feel bound to my house.
JGoldz75 said:
Does it just generate an LTE signal? That works well if the phone had working T-Mobile voice over LTE; which i'm not sure it would if I purchased an unlocked model. That router would be great for my home, but I'm concerned for other areas of my hometown, where I actually would need service (for example: car accident). If I could connect to a local coffee shop's wifi connection to make calls; that would make my life so much easier. I would hate to only have service in my home because that would make me feel bound to my house.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's only phone based: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-24269
FYI, I did use T-Mobile on an unlocked, unsupported phone last year for few months and I don't recall ever not having phone signal. Data is another story but calls were always available and I do travel a lot across the world. Their international data is pure BS - it just doesn't work.
And finally, the T-Mobile WiFi calling menu you saw is for the old T-Mobile in the UK that has now been merged into EE. You can flash that firmware but it probably won't work with the USA version depending on what moron wrote the integration and how much configuration data they hardcoded in the app or if it works it might be connecting to a UK gateway.
weasal said:
It's only phone based: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-24269
FYI, I did use T-Mobile on an unlocked, unsupported phone last year for few months and I don't recall ever not having phone signal. Data is another story but calls were always available and I do travel a lot across the world. Their international data is pure BS - it just doesn't work.
And finally, the T-Mobile WiFi calling menu you saw is for the old T-Mobile in the UK that has now been merged into EE. You can flash that firmware but it probably won't work with the USA version depending on what moron wrote the integration and how much configuration data they hardcoded in the app or if it works it might be connecting to a UK gateway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that I think the phone will not have service because it's unlocked. T-Mobile just doesn't have great coverage in my hometown area at all. I did the Test-Drive a couple months back and remember getting 0-1 bars at all times... never holding on to a signal long enough to make a single phone call or send a text message. Thanks for the insight into the T-Mobile - EE thing. I didn't realize that. It would be lovely if it did work in the USA but I doubt it The T-Mobile Nexus 5 (arguably one of the most modded phones out there) never got t-mo wifi calling so I doubt this will.
Thank you!
Just so you know, I flashed to EE (even though technically I'm on MetroPCS which is a T-Mobile subsidiary), and I couldn't find that screenshot in any of the settings menus, nor could I locate it via "settings, under device, call. UK EE" as someone suggested in that thread. I do have a "Device Connection" menu and a "Call" menu, but they're separate menus not nested in one another. And I can't find any menu or option that says "UK EE".
So, it sounds like no one can find any Wifi calling toggle in any settings menu, correct?
nnotis said:
So, it sounds like no one can find any Wifi calling toggle in any settings menu, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A couple people have mentioned seeing it...someplace. One person said he saw it under the pencil looking icon in the drop down shade, but I've never been able to locate it up there no matter what firmware I've flashed too. It appears to be pretty elusive.
Adrift98 said:
A couple people have mentioned seeing it...someplace. One person said he saw it under the pencil looking icon in the drop down shade, but I've never been able to locate it up there no matter what firmware I've flashed too. It appears to be pretty elusive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's probably checking for some condition to show the menu.
If you extract the EE firmware you would probable be able to do a text search for T-Mobile and find the apps that have that then decompile the one that sounds like the most likely to have the functionality (probably one with the word customization in the name) and check the logic which enables the functionality and even change and re-compile it. You would also be able to see if it connects to a specific gateway for the wifi calling and if so try to change that too..
Theoretically a company won't spend the money to develop different Wifi calling mechanisms for different countries and thus it should work but then again...
weasal said:
It's probably checking for some condition to show the menu.
If you extract the EE firmware you would probable be able to do a text search for T-Mobile and find the apps that have that then decompile the one that sounds like the most likely to have the functionality (probably one with the word customization in the name) and check the logic which enables the functionality and even change and re-compile it. You would also be able to see if it connects to a specific gateway for the wifi calling and if so try to change that too..
Theoretically a company won't spend the money to develop different Wifi calling mechanisms for different countries and thus it should work but then again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't know how to begin to do all of that.
Adrift98 said:
I wouldn't know how to begin to do all of that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can follow this to extract the system partition (system.sln) and get it's contents to your hard drive: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1723284
Then you can use your file explorer (on Windows or whatever your OS is) to search for a text string (make sure you tell it to look only inside *.apk to avoid getting too many results). Once you find the apk files that could be what you need you can then use this: http://www.decompileandroid.com/ to decompile the apps so you get source code.
From then on it's a bit trickier, you'll need to make your way trough the configuration and maybe even the code to figure out where they store the connection info or what exactly do they connect to (it looks like the app uses your sim card to authenticate so that shouldn't require any tweaking).
Or you can just wait and hope this is true: https://support.t-mobile.com/thread/81359 or maybe it's already in M : http://www.phone-probe.com/android-m-features-native-wifi-calling/
Oh is that all? Simple.
It might be easier to just locate the apps needed for US T-Mobile wifi calling from another phone and install them on a z5c with EE firmware since the core OS code needed would be provided by the EE firmware and the US specific stuff will come from the apps.
This has a list that might actually be complete: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2302313 and you can ignore any jar files that are listed since that should come with the EE firmware.
The fact that there is a z5c firmware that supports Wifi calling is what's important here - you have all the proprietary and OS stuff baked in, you just need the US specific bits/configuration.

Data Connection Partially Lost on Unlocked Sprint M9 after Official Nougat Update

Hi all, sim unlocked s-off sprint m9 used to work well on android 6 with official rom. But until the phone was upgraded to Android 7. Data connection stopped working for one operator (NOS in Portugal). However Vodafone works well.
Tried different roms and apn settings, same at all. Data connection does not work on NOS operator.
Does anyone have similar issue and of course any advices?
Thank you all.
redoano said:
Hi all, sim unlocked s-off sprint m9 used to work well on android 6 with official rom. But until the phone was upgraded to Android 7. Data connection stopped working for one operator (NOS in Portugal). However Vodafone works well.
Tried different roms and apn settings, same at all. Data connection does not work on NOS operator.
Does anyone have similar issue and of course any advices?
Thank you all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why sim unlock a Sprint variant and not an AT&T or T-Mobile which already support GSM?
did you find a solution?
i have exact same issue.
bought one m9 from ebay with sprint (651) firmware on.
lte was working fine in israel (1800 2100).
after nougat im only getting 3g.
it makes sense that i cant use those bands (1 and 3 i think) on a sprint device.. but it did work with marshmallow
Same problem in the USA
I have (nearly) the same problem in the United States with a Sprint CDMA version of the One M9. The main difference is that my data speed is even worse than 3G, around 10-20 Kbps. Occasionally, I get faster speeds, but I haven't been able to figure out if it is location-specific (but always away from home and work) or due to some other characteristic.
The phone came brand new in a retail box from an eBay seller. It worked as expected for 1.7 years. The OTA update which installed Android 7 (aka Nougat) in early 2017 resulted in the very slow data speeds. WiFi is unaffected, but data is so slow that I cannot reliably send or receive MMS; Google Maps says that I do not even have a data connection for traffic info.
EcoMobile (my MVNO provider; I still have a sprint email address, so I know who is actually providing service) could only suggest resetting my phone; did this twice with no change in operation (but several of the programs which automatically re-installed themselves operated differently, including GMail no longer providing auto-complete for addresses).
After literally 2 hours in chat with htc, they told me that my MEID indicates my phone was "made in Taiwan". I took this to mean that: 1) the person I was chatting with had poor English skills (because aren't they all made in Taiwan?), and 2) my phone is gray market (meaning it was not imported into the country via official channels, even though the manual was in the American version of English).
I came to XDA looking for an answer, too. I was mildly surprised to see that this topic was at the top of the list for the One M9.
The best solution for my situation would be the proper ROM for my phone, but I don't know how to figure that out from the MEID. htc USA says they cannot help me with this.
I could even go back to Android 6, but I do rather like the new features in Nougat.
Alternatively, I could root the phone and install a 3rd party ROM, but I still need to know how to choose the proper one for my phone.
I hope this info finds its way to a helpful expert.
Regards,
Jeff

Unable to enable VoLTE/Wifi Calling on Ting (T-Mobile MVNO) (LG G8X)

I plan to keep updating this XDA forum thread with what I find out about this problem, potential solutions, and hopefully what solves it. Hopefully this will be useful to those with the same or similar problem.
Please excuse typos...
The Solution
The reality is, prevention is the best solution here, do a bunch of research to make sure you don't encounter this problem. Read the rest of the post to better understand.
Original
Thank you in advance for reading this and helping me. (I also posted this in r/LGG8X, and am posting it here because some people don't have accounts with both. The more people that see it, the better, if by chance someone has ideas, wants to help, and has time to post the ideas)
It seems like a lot of people are having this issue, so maybe someone might have an idea.
I bought this phone to replace my Xiaomi Mi 9 (which was on the fritz, turning itself off randomly), about 1.5 weeks ago. I did my research and reasonably concluded that this phone has LTE band 12 and VoLTE; also it would be foolish of LG to not to have that. I could not find the VoLTE or Wifi Calling switches anywhere in the settings app, or in the phone app. I then dialed " *#*#4636#*#* " which opened up the "Testing Settings" (as usual). I click on the "Phone Information" tab, scroll down and find both the VoLTE and Wifi Calling switches, which are, to my dismay, greyed out.
I called Ting and they said, (after getting the IMEI), that this doesn't have LTE band 12, therefore no VoLTE. That confused me, because like I said, my research before buying had already concluded that it has band 12. The Ting rep said that's all he could do for me, so we ended the call. I did another 30 mins of research, again concluded it has band 12 with VoLTE. I also called LG themselves, and the rep there confirmed that this phone has band 12 with VoLTE, they also said "we would be more than happy to verify that the phone works with you carrier through phone conferencing". I asked the rep about about the previously mentioned VoLTE and Wifi Calling switches being greyed out, and they said that's because the phone has those 2 capabilities, but the carrier has to enable them.
I really love this phone, especially in comparison to the Mi 9 (even tho the Mi 9 is a good phone). I love the software better (even with the weird quirks that it has), and the value proposition is quite good. I really don't want to have to get a 3rd new phone in one year. If anyone has any ideas/help that would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
[Edit]: P.S. I think this is partly a problem with LG, and partly with the carriers. I suspect that LG messed up with the IMEI/etc and other important identifiers as to what the device is, what exact version (i.e. LM-G850UM, etc) of a particular model (i.e. LG G8X Thinq Dual Screen, etc). This leads to the cell carrier's infrastructure seeing this phone as incompatible (doesn't see LTE Band 12, when it really is. The cell carriers, (from my own experience with 2 Ting Reps, and from what others have said on other forum threads), can't or won't solve this problem, even tho it may be solvable. From what I have seen on other forums, some got it solved by the cell carrier entering codes on the phone and doing something on their side. If LG and the all the networks would talk to each about this problem and get it solved if possible that would be awesome...
Update - 11/04/2020:
It seems I unintentionally bought a G8X with the Canadian rom LMG850UM20e. I am doubtful, but is the hardware the same or similar enough to flash the USA unlocked rom LMG850QM? Or is there something else I can do to make the Ting network allow VoLTE? As far as I can tell, the Canadian model still supports VoLTE LTE Band 12, but correct me if I'm wrong.
Update - 11/05/2020:
Ting says that my phone has LTE Band 12 and therefore VoLTE, but that will only work on ATT. A bit confusing because (like I said) the particular rom on my phone is Canadian (LMG850UM20e), so why ATT? The explanation for that, it seems is that ATT, (and Sprint), and the unlocked Canadian version have the same sub-model: LMG850UM. The USA unlocked version has a different sub-model (LMG850QM), the rest of the world has yet another sub-model (LMQ850EMW). There are around 15 different versions it seems; see this reddit post on the different models: (can't post the link yet) title: "Hey G8X owner, what is the submodel number and regional code of your unit? And where did you buy it from? I am trying to complete this list, also relating to timing of security updates and Android 10 release." posted in r/LG G8X
It seems like all the versions (LMG850......) have the same hardware, the only difference are the roms, which seem artificially disable certain capabilities of the phone. I am pretty sure my phone would do VoLTE just fine on Ting (or most other carriers). The thing wrong here, I think, is that the IMEI and other specific identifiers of the phone artificially show that the phone does not have the functionality, so the networks don't enable it. It also seems like LG made an agreement or something with ATT as well as Sprint (separately), to release carrier-specific version (as most brands seem to do), and that the phone would fully work on their respective networks and MVNOs, at least the versions in the LMG850UM sub model group, and the USA unlocked sub-model group. LG and T-Mobile seem to have come to no such *official* agreement, unfortunately. I am wondering any of the versions work with T-Mobile and it's MVNOs out of the box, some *modifications* may have to be done in order to get it working on TM towers. There may also be unintentional bugs in some or all roms that are possibly causing, or more likely, adding on to the problem.
Obviously, I am still trying to find my around this problem. I'm considering flashing a USA unlocked rom (LMG850QM sub-model), though not sure if that's possible, or if it'll change what the IMEI and the other specific identifiers tell the cell carrier about compatibility. I also wonder if carriers have the ability to override the artificial restrictions. There is also one report of T-Mobile supposedly fixing the same/similar problem with Sprint for a customer, see u/Veshtarii's comments on this reddit post: (can't post link yet) title: "LG G8X unlocked models having issues with US carriers." Posted in r/LGG8X. Another reddit user used a cheap Tracfone sim card to make his phone work on T-Mobile: (can't post link yet) title: "Tutorial: How to Update eBay Unlocked ATT / AT&T LG G8x" Posted in r/LGG8X. I am unsure if he also has VoLTE working.
Update - 11/06/2020
I'm done with this... It is pretty much impossible. I commented on the "Tutorial: How to Update eBay Unlocked ATT / AT&T LG G8x" post, and the OP responded and said he can't get VoLTE working, even with doing that update. The only thing that could possibly work, is flashing the USA unlocked sub-model onto it. However I probably don't know enough to do it right, but the bigger reason is that it'll probably brick it. I've realized, and should realized when I was doing the research for a new phone, that ATT and TMO's VoLTE/Wifi Calling work differently. They both use propriety coding, which they license to each brand to use in the models they both come to agreement on, and a similar agreement with each MVNO under their towers. LG and TMO seem to have made no such agreement for the G8X, therefore in all practicality, no G8X will work on any of their towers. Also, I called H2O Wireless just to see if my phone works with them, but they said my IMEI is not compatible; so I'm not the Canadian model that I have works in the US at all, that makes me think that not even the versions inside each sub-model aren't even compatible with each other. There is that one situation I mentioned, where the person who was having problems with Sprint before the merger, took it to TMO after the merger and the TMO tech fixed it for him. But I think he must've been having a different problem, because his phone is probably still technically running on Sprint towers. Sprint made the agreement with LG, so VoLTE would work in that instance. Flashing is practically not a solution for most people.
I should've done more research than I did before buying the phone. That is the moral of this story; make sure you do all your "homework" before buying any phone anywhere but the shop of the carrier you are using (or plan to use). That leads me to my number one complaint with phone brands and especially cell carriers as whole: they make it incredibly annoying, often difficult, and confusing to find a compatible phone that isn't on the carrier store. And the problem with that is that everything in any carriers' stores is everything is stupidly overpriced, and then they get you hooked with pricey deals you don't want. If you're reading this, you're most likely like me, you know better than to spend more than you have to on a phone and plan in the carrier store, you know (or at least kinda know) how to get past that. I get that cell carriers want to make money, but I tell you, this is too far. Anyways, the point is, there is no immediate solution, in other words, your only worthwhile solution is prevention, doing a bunch of research. I'm done with this... I'm returning this phone and getting the vanilla G8...
I have the LMG850QM. It has no VOLTE icons while in call even if on band 12. It uses HD+ and that will be shown in dialer during call. Internet does work while in call so believe that it is working. The switches are on like yours but greyed out. Wi-fi calling does work. By turning on airplane mode and then turning back on wifi the dialer will show that calls are being made over Wifi. The OnePlus 6T has VoWifi icons in status bar and this phone doesn't. I will say that this phone gets service in buildings where neither of my 6t's would have service.

Xperia 1 J8810 not working in USA

Hi everyone. Last month, I bought a network unlocked Xperia 1 J8110 from a UK vendor for use here in the US. It arrived in excellent physical condition and is from a reputable seller with thousands of phone sales, so not just some random person. I checked behind them, and this phone is for sure network unlocked (see attachment) and from what I've read online, it should work in the US. I've owned plenty of UK phones from other brands and they worked fine here.
The trouble is, I have not been able to get this thing to work with any carrier! I’ve now tried Ultra Mobile (T-Mobile’s network), AT&T, and now US Mobile (Verizon’s network). When I plug in a SIM card, the phone recognizes it and reboots. However, after going through the activation process, I never get any 3G, 4G, or SMS functionality. This is ironic as I have Verizon and T-Mobile towers literally behind my house.
The furthest I got was with AT&T, which received the welcome SMS and showed full bars on network signal. However, the phone kept asking me to “Sign in to network” like it does with WiFi but there was no way to do that. This was after doing the full activation with AT&T, giving them my IMEI, receiving a phone number, a confirmation email and everything. With Ultra, I got the welcome SMS from them but was never able to send my own or do calls in either direction. With US Mobile, it does literally nothing. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work fine, and I’ve checked for obvious stuff like airplane mode being on.
I then figured I’d see if maybe flashing a version of the J8170 firmware would help. I used NewFlasher to flash the “J8170_Customized US_55.2.E.0.165-R7C” as downloaded off of XperiFirm, which was successful. But it’s made no difference. The only issue I’ve seen others report online is that VoLTE might not work with international phones, but I can’t make calls or send texts period.
Can anybody think of what the root of this problem might be? I’ve tried to figure this out for myself, but I’ve reached a dead end in my searching online, maybe I’m just not choosing the correct keywords. Please let me know which other screenshots or other information is required and I’ll post them. I will be so thankful for any input at all. I appreciate it.

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