I would like to take my Moto G (or ANY phone under 5") and make it look like a tablet to T-Mobile. Is that possible?
I like to use a small phone when I'm working out -- because I want Pocket Casts and music and Endomondo (which needs a tiny bit of data). I got an AirVoice plan, which is cheap, but AirVoice is annoying, because it constantly gives you popup messages saying how much data you just used.
I have a T-Mobile tablet SIM which gives me 200mb free per month, and it'd be awesome if I could use that. But it doesn't work in a phone. When I plug it in I get a voicemail saying my access is restricted. And it's about the same with an AT&T tablet SIM.
I'm surprised I can't find any other threads about this, seeing a T-Mobile gives free tablet data, and AT&T has much cheaper tablet plans...
Any help is appreciated. I'd also be happy if I could find a tablet under 5" that takes a SIM. But I don't see any modern Galaxy Player, and certainly nothing that takes a SIM.
tostada said:
I would like to take my Moto G (or ANY phone under 5") and make it look like a tablet to T-Mobile. Is that possible?
I like to use a small phone when I'm working out -- because I want Pocket Casts and music and Endomondo (which needs a tiny bit of data). I got an AirVoice plan, which is cheap, but AirVoice is annoying, because it constantly gives you popup messages saying how much data you just used.
I have a T-Mobile tablet SIM which gives me 200mb free per month, and it'd be awesome if I could use that. But it doesn't work in a phone. When I plug it in I get a voicemail saying my access is restricted. And it's about the same with an AT&T tablet SIM.
I'm surprised I can't find any other threads about this, seeing a T-Mobile gives free tablet data, and AT&T has much cheaper tablet plans...
Any help is appreciated. I'd also be happy if I could find a tablet under 5" that takes a SIM. But I don't see any modern Galaxy Player, and certainly nothing that takes a SIM.
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Click to collapse
I have no idea if what you're trying to do is possible at all, but I can tell you that it's unlikely having root will give you any solution. Regarding things like SIMs, carrier locks/unlocking, and your plans, it's all separate from Android. When you put your SIM in your device, they know what kind of device it's in. And if the SIM is made only for tablets, they can program that into the SIM too.
---------- Post added at 11:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:50 PM ----------
I've been thinking about this, and I thought of a possible solution, but I honestly have no idea id this'll work.
When Samsung came out with their Milk music streaming app, someone figured out how to make it work on any device. Technically speaking, Milk is only available for a few (high end) phones. However, you can side-load it to any Samsung phone and it'll work. You can also use it on any phone brand, but you have to do 2 things:
1. Be rooted.
2. Edit your build.prop to change what Android recognizes your device as being.
If you're already rooted, try doing something like this. My recommendation would be to change your device's ID/name to a Nexus 7, since changing it to something like the Samsung Tab could cause compatibility issues with other apps. Changing it to anything could cause compatibility issues, but I'd expect less trouble with the Nexus 7.
From what I can gather, these are the names/lines you should try editing. MAKE A BACK-UP FIRST.
ro.product.model=Nexus 7
ro.product.brand=google
But again, I have no idea if this will actually work. I don't know if the SIM or T-Mobile detects your device from the build.prop or from something in the firmware.
Thanks... Sounds like a good idea to try.
But apparently Motorola's unlocker web app is down... I emailed them to ask about not being able to unlock my bootloader and got:
The "your device does not qualify for unlocking" issue is due to a back-end outage we are currently experiencing, We are working on restoring this. I will post an update when the server is back online in this thread in the Motorola Owner's Forums Developer Community:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Blah.
Just thought I'd follow up.
I got my Moto G unlocked.
My AT&T sim that I use in my Nexus 7 LTE doesn't work in the Moto G. I get a voicemail notification, but internet access doesn't work. My T-Mobile tablet sim works, though. So I can get my free 200MB per month.
But it still pops up a voicemail notification about restricted access or something every single time I reboot the phone, and I can't delete it so the icon just stays there. But I was able to setup Tasker to clear the cache of the Phone process every time I reboot, which makes the little icon go away.
So now I'm happy. I can use my Moto G as an iPod, and the 200MB of data per month is plenty for just using Endomondo and syncinc the position of my podcasts in Pocket Casts (since I'm only actually downloading new content while I'm on Wi-Fi).
Related
I currently use the iPhone 4 and never owned any android devices. I have been researching on Google but could not find anyone with the same questions:
1. If I get the Streak unlocked from Dell, can I swap my sim card between the two devices without AT&T locking me out or discontinuing my unlimited plan? Will I get 3G on the Dell?
2. I heard that the 2.2 update has flash working... I only want flash on the Streak to allow me to access my Marvel unlimited subscription (which does not work on my iPhone). Will the Streak successfully be able to display and navigate through digital comics without crashing or being too slow?
If anyone can please help me with answers, that would seriously help me become a convert from the iPhone to Android! I really hope it works!
gman901 said:
I currently use the iPhone 4 and never owned any android devices. I have been researching on Google but could not find anyone with the same questions:
1. If I get the Streak unlocked from Dell, can I swap my sim card between the two devices without AT&T locking me out or discontinuing my unlimited plan? Will I get 3G on the Dell?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The iPhone4 uses a micro SIM and the Streak uses a mini SIM. You would have to use an adapter to use your current SIM in the Streak. Yes you will get 3G on the Streak.
The Streak does not have the N band for WiFi.
As long as you go from smart phone to smart phone the unlimited data is supposed to stay on your account. I do not know if the iPhone has a 'special' data plan (like the Blackberries). AFAIK there is no reson for it to, unlike the BBs which use the RIM servers.
Someone may be able to help with your flash question if you can point them to a sample video for them to test.
Edit: SIM info based on reading from the web. I have no actual experience with an iPhone.
As stated above, you'll need a sim adapter to use your iPhone's microsim in the Streak - about $2 on ebay. Once you have the adapter, the iPhone's microsim works fine in the Streak.
I use my iPhone's unlimited data plan with my Streak with no problems. (I switch back and forth between the two phones pretty often - no issues with AT&T.)
I'll give you a relatively uninformed answer to your Marvel question -- I am not a comics' guy and my sole experience with the Marvel site was over the past three minutes as I looked at a sample comic to answer your question.
It didn't really have a problem loading the Flash content, but I'm not sure it would be an enjoyable experience to try to use it to regularly read comics. The 5" screen is huge for a phone, but tiny for a comic book - it seemed really hard to read the text.
Again - that's my novice opinion.
Good luck!
Thanks for both of your answers!! I had an ipad but gave it to my wife - it was pretty good overall, but lacks flash. I just tried to access a free digital comic from the Marvel.com digital subscription site on someones Sprint Evo 4G, and it seemed to work, but it was a little slow to respond to my screen taps, and it ultimately went to a grey screen with an exclamation point in the middle. I do not mind the screen size, especially compared to my iphone 4, a 5" screen is a great compromise between an ipad and an iphone, but still pocketable. I think I may go for it.
You may be able to try one in person at a Best Buy store to see if the site you are interested in works for you.
I will probably do that tonight. I wonder if most switchers from the iphone 4 to the Streak are satisfied in the long run? I really like the iphone ease of use and the gaming on it, but also would prefer a larger screen.
I swap my micro sim from iphone 4 to my Dell Streak almost weekly. You do not need an adapter. In fact, it is more difficult to use an adapter. Just line the SIM up correctly and away you go.
I swap when I want to use the Dell's mobile hot spot and google's navigation software.
What's up guys! I got this pretty cool gig in Japan that I will start in mid-May that's going to last a year at the very least (the American working now with the company said they wanted him to come back for another year, but he had other things here he wanted to pursue.) Anyway, I have quite a few questions and concerns regarding my cell phone service here, as well as my future service in Japan.
Here in the US:
I am not one to resist change... hell, I'm moving halfway across the world (Hiroshima) in a couple of months... but if there is one thing I do not like doing it is most definitely getting a new cell phone number! I have a five week (paid) vacation in December, and I would like to come back to my good ol' T-Mobile HD2 for that month and if I am only on the job for a year, I'd like to come back to the same number. But that's not important, and I don't want anyone to focus on that (like I know some will initially), the question is what is the cheapest way I can go about keeping my current number? As I mentioned, I am currently with T-Mobile, so I'm thinking the cheapest and easiest way to go would be to switch to prepaid after my contract expires? Any other suggestions?
Over there in Japan:
This is the more complex situation. I'm still reading up on the wireless phone service in Japan, and it is quite a bit different from the system we have over here in the States, so if someone catches me saying something incorrect, please let me know!
Anyway, I want an Android phone. Keitai are unique and all, but when it comes down to it, I'd like to be able to keep sync my contacts to Google and use SMS (possibly) to communicate with my family and friends here in the US. The next time I'm in contact with the American who works for the company I'll be with, I will ask him what service he and his co-workers use... though I suspect it's SoftBank, because I believe he has an iPhone. If that's the case, the question of my service provider will (reluctantly) be answered as, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, SoftBank users can talk to other SoftBank users free while being charged when talking to people on other providers no matter what time of day? That being said, for those with the experience, how important is it to use the same provider as the majority of the people you talk to? According to subscription numbers, SoftBank greatly trails docomo in number of subscribers, however I have read online that most people I would likely be communicating with will have SoftBank... very confusing.
The next major question is, of course, which Android phone should I purchase? This is a difficult question because if I am only over there for a year, I would like to be able to bring the phone back to the US and use it. I also would prefer buying a phone that has a decent-sized developer community... Obviously the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S II HD LTE come to mind. The international versions of the phones are able to run on UTMS 2100, which (correct me if I'm wrong) means I should be golden for 3G use with AT&T/T-Mobile AND docomo/SoftBank (I don't really care about LTE at this point of its life.) If all that is correct, then it comes down to which phone to buy... the Galaxy Nexus is sweet and all, but the Galaxy S II HD LTE is better equipped... and I'll be running CyanogenMod 9 on whichever one I buy anyway, so software is not an issue. Decisions...
Last, but certainly the most important question I have (in my opinion), is what will be the cheapest way to communicate with my family and friends in the US while I am away for a year? I haven't done much research into this yet, but what are your opinions... Skype, Google Voice... there are some Internet texting options available on the market that may give me the ability to text back and forth, but some of those apps are proprietary. Does anyone know any apps that will give me the ability to text people who don't use the app or have dumbphones? I have no problem spending a bit of money, but I'd like to find the cheapest way possible to keep in contact with loved ones.
I know this is super long, but I want to be thorough in my research and understanding of the environment I will be moving to within the next couple of months. Thanks for taking the time to read and response!
I think the cheapest way to keep your number would be to buy a dumb phone and get the most minimum plan you can. I would buy a nexus because you can use it on t-mobile when you get back. I am not 100% sure, but i think gosms is free texting that can text anyone, regardless of app use. For people with smartphones, a great voip app is viber.
Get your new number and keep your old one. then quickly blast out the new number via SMS to all your contacts. You can use something like what's app to keep in touch for free. All you need is a 3G phone while you are in Japan.
WhatsApp is great, but it's only really good for sending messages to people that have smartphones and data plans. If someone has a smart phone and data plan, you can easily convince them to install the app, because it's unobtrusive and the messages act like text messages. But it won't help you communicate with everyone.
lowandbehold
I think the cheapest way to keep your number would be to buy a dumb phone and get the most minimum plan you can. I would buy a nexus because you can use it on t-mobile when you get back. I am not 100% sure, but i think gosms is free texting that can text anyone, regardless of app use. For people with smartphones, a great voip app is viber.
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Click to collapse
I use GO SMS right now and they have a proprietary messaging feature called GO Chat that only others with the app can use. Viber sounds almost exactly what I'm looking for, except I won't be able to use it with my mom, as she has a dumbphone.
My gripe with the Galaxy Nexus is the lack of a microSD card, another reason why I'm considering buying the Galaxy S II HD LTE, which apparently AT&T will be bringing to us over here as the Skyrocket HD. That would make purchasing one easier and cheaper than buying from overseas.
androidapk.net
Get your new number and keep your old one. then quickly blast out the new number via SMS to all your contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By new number, do you mean my Japanese phone number?
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Moving to Q&A
Set up a google voice account. That's a simple way to be texting anyone you know. Just make sure they have that number. As far as keeping your stateside number, I believe Tmob has a service where you can have your line lay dormant for some period of time. I don't know how long for or what the cost is or anything like that. I think I remember that being an option when I had them.
Jesushaxyou said:
Set up a google voice account. That's a simple way to be texting anyone you know. Just make sure they have that number. As far as keeping your stateside number, I believe Tmob has a service where you can have your line lay dormant for some period of time. I don't know how long for or what the cost is or anything like that. I think I remember that being an option when I had them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done a ton of reading on Google Voice today and I may have come up with a solution, though I don't know if it will work, as I've never used Google Voice before.
It's my understanding that when a number is ported to Google Voice, it ends the service with whoever the provider is, and I do not have to renew service with another cell phone provider in order to keep my number (correct me on this if I'm wrong.) Ironically, my contract with T-Mobile ends a couple days before I am supposed to fly over to Japan.
So when my contract is up, all I simply need to do is port my current number over to Google Voice and I will have the ability to send and receive texts to and from (and here's an important question) anyone... or... only those who have data plans? Someone with a dumbphone or without Google Voice will be able to text me, right?
As for making and receiving calls, I'm look at GrooVe IP as a way to accomplish this while being able to keeping my current cell phone number. Does anyone have any experience with that app?
You can text anyone with texting on their plan from GVoice. A buddy of mine has a feature phone and he receives them just fine.
Hi
First please pardon my english
I'm new in all these android things, and i'm interested in buying Evo view 4g because of it's price and all it's positive review
but since i live outside us/europe (FYI i live in indonesia) i wont be able to get sprint contract
there's this 1 negative review, i'll paste it here
IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SIGN UP FOR A TWO YEAR SPRINT PLAN READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH !
If you intend to use this without connecting it to a Sprint Account there are some things you should consider before making this purchase:
1: You will NOT ever be able to update the Profile, Firmware or PRL of this device. This is very bad.
2: The Cellular network radios will always be on. They will create a SIGNIFICANT drain on your battery as they will be in constant scan mode unable to connect. There are ways around this. There is some software available on the Official Android Marketplace called "Network" that can take you to a page where you can modify the radio settings. It is not 100% reliable, and if you read through the comments on that Applications Review page you will see that it is not working for everyone. There are more permanent ways to deal with cell radios if you are willing and able to root your Evo View 4g. That is a complicated process and as of now many of the "fixes" for cell radios are PERMANENT meaning once you disable them , you can never get them back.
3: You are going to get nagged to death. Each time you boot the tablet you will be presented with a Sprint screen that urges you to activate the device. You will not be able to set your own homepage in the default browser, as, until you have activated the phone Sprint spams bloat at you instructing you to contact a Sprint Rep asap. This will happen during use as well, though it seems to happen randomly, and not very often, but it will happen if you do not disable the Radios.
4: Sprint will often interrupt whatever you are doing on the tablet to remind you that you have not activated it yet..........
5: The screen is not as sharp, vivid or responsive as that of the Best Buy Flyer.
This tablet may not "REQUIRE" a Sprint account for "use" but the features and functionality of this tablet are greatly lessened if you do not have a Sprint Account.
If you want to use this as a wifi only device this is a very poor choice of purchase. You are MUCH better off snagging a wifi only Flyer.
Bottom line the View / Flyer are great tablets, but, if you do not plan to sign up for a Sprint account this is NOT the right tablet for you. Sprint has purposefully built in crippling features to those who use it without a Sprint Account.
I am very sorry I purchased this. I really wish I had just gone with another Flyer.
I am pretty ticked off at the merchant too.......... Claiming that this does not "REQUIRE" a Sprint account to use is the same thing as saying that a Honda Civic does not "REQUIRE" headlights to drive.
Think this over very carefully...... The price really isn't that great.......
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Click to collapse
because this 14th of march my friend who lives in US will come to indonesia, it's $100-$200 cheaper to buy in US than in indonesia, so i have less than 2 weeks to decide on what tablets to buy
in indonesia CDMA have better internet quality compared to GSM, that's why i'm considering view to be my 1st android tablet, since i can't use sprint service, i'll have to inject the tablet with indonesian CDMA provider, will i miss a lot of things like the review above stated? especially #1
1: You will NOT ever be able to update the Profile, Firmware or PRL of this device. This is very bad.
Thank you
Wow, that reviewer doesn't know a thing about the tablet. All of that is completely false. Pretty much everyone around here doesn't use the device on Sprint.
1. The firmware updates come from HTC via the internet. While Sprint has a hand in approving them, they don't actually send them out. I had no problems downloading, installing, and using the OTA Honeycomb update without any Sprint service. You don't need any PRL updates if you're not using it on Sprint.
2. You can easily turn the cellular radios off - it's called airplane mode. You can still use WiFi/Bluetooth/GPS in airplane mode. There are also other simple ways to deactivate them discussed in this thread.
3. When you boot up the tablet from being turned completely off, you get a prompt to activate it, which you can quickly dismiss. There are no other Sprint prompts at any time. There's no "nagging" whatsoever. And you can even get rid of that activation prompt with root or without root.
4. There are never any interruptions to activate the tablet after the first one when booting it up.
5. The screen is exactly the same as the screen on the Flyer.
Now, as far as being able to use it on an Indonesian CDMA provider, that's something I can't authoritatively give an answer on. In the U.S., it can be successfully flashed to be used on only one other CDMA carrier - Boost - and that's because Boost uses Sprint's network. I'd say there's a good chance you may not be able to use it with any Indonesian CDMA carrier, but I can't say for sure.
bsweetness said:
Wow, that reviewer doesn't know a thing about the tablet. All of that is completely false. Pretty much everyone around here doesn't use the device on Sprint.
1. The firmware updates come from HTC via the internet. While Sprint has a hand in approving them, they don't actually send them out. I had no problems downloading, installing, and using the OTA Honeycomb update without any Sprint service. You don't need any PRL updates if you're not using it on Sprint.
2. You can easily turn the cellular radios off - it's called airplane mode. You can still use WiFi/Bluetooth/GPS in airplane mode. There are also other simple ways to deactivate them discussed in this thread.
3. When you boot up the tablet from being turned completely off, you get a prompt to activate it, which you can quickly dismiss. There are no other Sprint prompts at any time. There's no "nagging" whatsoever. And you can even get rid of that activation prompt with root or without root.
4. There are never any interruptions to activate the tablet after the first one when booting it up.
5. The screen is exactly the same as the screen on the Flyer.
Now, as far as being able to use it on an Indonesian CDMA provider, that's something I can't authoritatively give an answer on. In the U.S., it can be successfully flashed to be used on only one other CDMA carrier - Boost - and that's because Boost uses Sprint's network. I'd say there's a good chance you may not be able to use it with any Indonesian CDMA carrier, but I can't say for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow thank you for the answer, i think i'll get this baby then
is the offer from amazon $289 the best offer atm in US? i'm planning on buying the stylus and screen guard also
when i tried to search in google about where to buy, all i got is reviews with no store that sells this product except for amazon, and yes i have no knowledge about international stores
One thing that kept me away from the view was the updates such as possible ICS will have to be pushed by sprint. I would assume just like a phone that the updates are controlled by the carrier and if they want you to have it. This alone makes the flyer a better deal in my opinion. This is am assumption of course. Also with out having a sim slot this becomes very limited on what carriers it can be used on. I know the flyer comes without sim access but the view is locked to sprint. The 32gb model looked very appealing at 250 but the negatives out weigh the positives.
Jjday7 said:
One thing that kept me away from the view was the updates such as possible ICS will have to be pushed by sprint. I would assume just like a phone that the updates are controlled by the carrier and if they want you to have it. This alone makes the flyer a better deal in my opinion. This is am assumption of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I mentioned in my post, this isn't true. While Sprint does approve the updates, the updates are actually built and sent out by HTC. This is the case with Android phones as well - the manufacturers build and send out the updates with the carrier's approval. The carrier does not push them out. My View has never been activated on Sprint, and I received the OTA update to Honeycomb shortly after I purchased it. It all works via the internet and has nothing to do with cellular connectivity. You'll still get any and all official updates on the View even if it's never been activated with Sprint.
---------- Post added at 12:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:59 AM ----------
callmeanoob said:
wow thank you for the answer, i think i'll get this baby then
is the offer from amazon $289 the best offer atm in US? i'm planning on buying the stylus and screen guard also
when i tried to search in google about where to buy, all i got is reviews with no store that sells this product except for amazon, and yes i have no knowledge about international stores
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lowest I can find for current prices via a quick search is $274.94 on eBay. It's been down as low as $239 brand new a few times over the past three months, so it will probably drop again. But if you're operating in a specific time frame for the purchase, that range seems to be what they're currently going for.
My wife bought me the international version of the Samsung Gear S (SM-R750W). She said that she researched and from her understanding it should work on the T mobile network. From what I've found though the consensus seemed to be it would not work, or if it did it would be spotty at best depending on the specific towers/area you were in because Tmobile utilizes different network types in different areas.
I decide to give it a shot anyway and went to the T-Mobile store where I signed up for the wearable plan and got a new nano sim card. I was crossing my fingers but as soon as they put the sim card in the watch it came to life. It looked to be working fine but as I left the store I received a text from T-Mobile stating " the SIM for your wearable devices is in an ineligible device. Services to the SIM are locked until it returned to your eligible wearable device".
I pessimistically started thinking well great, there goes that idea. But as I got into my vehicle I shut my phone down and tried to see if the watch can work on its own as a phone when unencumbered from my Note 4 bluetooth/WiFi data connections. It worked perfectly-I started calling my friends and they couldn't believe I was talking on a watch phone. Several I actually felt the call sound quality was better on the watch speaker phone compared to normally speaking on the Note 4. I called customer service but they told me they couldn't see anything and if it was working fine not to worry about it.
For the next eight or 9 hours it worked perfectly and I was using it a lot. I drove around large swaths of town and neither data nor call experienced even the slightest issue - for once I was happy to be wrong.
Eventually, as I am oft to do, I fell asleep. When I awoke this morning the watch was no longer connected to the network. It gave me a message saying it was unable to connect and did I want to scan for additional networks. I selected yes and it was able to find the T-Mobile and ATT networks. T-Mobile was selected and a "registering" notification was displayed. It took awhile but eventually said it was unable to register with the network.
I call T-Mobile and they said pretty much exactly what I expected them to say -that because it was not a T mobile device they could not ensure proper operation. But he said (and he characterized this as "good news", "light at the end of a tunnel" and "viable solution” Seriously said all 3 things.) I could either forget all about the cellular connection and just use this as a companion device OR go and buy a new Gear S from T Mobile if I really wanted that feature.
I’m truly and utterly baffled that he believed his suggestions merited the positive sayings from above. Never in my lifetime has my head been closer to exploding.
After I was finally able to speak again, I explained that it seemed unlikely to be an issue with the watch. If my Gear S was working perfectly yesterday and can still detect Tmobile & ATT networks, then something on your end seems to be preventing registration. He agree to file a ticket with the engineering team and tomorrow I should hear from them hopefully. He also told me to go and try another nano-SIM, gratis, at the Tmobile store. So today I went and as soon as I put the new card in all systems were go. I assumed that I somehow had received a bad card because here again now, data and voice are connected.
This time I didn’t even make it out of the parking lot before it notified me that that it was again unable to register with the network. There is conflicting information regarding the radio frequencies and bands that the different Gear S models have and I didn’t have high hopes. But then it actually did work, WELL, so any ideas as to what is going wrong?
Imei not recognized as a wearable device by tmo
I am also getting very discouraged with the gear s on tmo.
But I think I finally got a tech person who may have found the problem ,
He said my gear s is no longer registering because the tmo system did not recognize the Imei as a wearable, that's why when I swapped sim with a friends iPhone sim, the gear worked. Because the wearable plan will only work with that device. The rep is asking engineering to add my Imei as wearable, but it has happen yet, he did not know if they could....
perdikoylis said:
I am also getting very discouraged with the gear s on tmo.
But I think I finally got a tech person who may have found the problem ,
He said my gear s is no longer registering because the tmo system did not recognize the Imei as a wearable, that's why when I swapped sim with a friends iPhone sim, the gear worked. Because the wearable plan will only work with that device. The rep is asking engineering to add my Imei as wearable, but it has happen yet, he did not know if they could....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that makes total sense, and answers my question if I could just get an Android watch phone at some point and use the same nano SIM that they gave me for my Gear S.
Could you post here if/when they added your IMEI? They were super unresponsive to my request to unlock my original Gear S (which I replaced with an ATT Gear S that ATT kindly unlocked for me), so I have little faith that Tmo are even willing to help their customers, but since I have my plan with them, I'd love to be wrong this time.
Tmo problem
Well I wish I had better news, but it is still not working, I called them back, they say they requested the engineering to add my IMEI , but who's knows if they did, they seem to have very little experience with gear s, it's very frustrating because it did work the first 2 months until I tried the sim in my iPhone. I think I have reached the end of the line ,
I might try closing acct and opening new again...
So can either buy new tmo gear s. And sell my unlocked att gear, or put mine on att,
But. I really liked the Tmo plan, and would probably had switched my other (family) lines to Tmo.
anyone have more ideas?
perdikoylis said:
Well I wish I had better news, but it is still not working, I called them back, they say they requested the engineering to add my IMEI , but who's knows if they did, they seem to have very little experience with gear s, it's very frustrating because it did work the first 2 months until I tried the sim in my iPhone. I think I have reached the end of the line ,
I might try closing acct and opening new again...
So can either buy new tmo gear s. And sell my unlocked att gear, or put mine on att,
But. I really liked the Tmo plan, and would probably had switched my other (family) lines to Tmo.
anyone have more ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe try to cancel your wearbales plan, then get one again, with a new SIM and new number?
I would not buy a tmo gear S: they won't unlock it and it costs $50 more. I use an unlocked ATT Gear S on T-mo without issues, but if putting the SIM in another device caused this for you, and the SIM itself is not the problem, they must have some kind of hold/notice on your wearables plan in your account, I think?
I will be going out of my voice/data area.
I was unknowingly under the impression that everything was fine with my new U.S. Cellular's best 3Mbps Uncapped Unlimited 25GB Plus plan; nothing hidden, everything disclosed ["...and no hidden charges..." (right!? LoL)].
But, what I am finding out quickly is that not even all of CS Reps really know what's going on, and even they are not up-to-date on the details.
"The dickens is in the details!".
Unfortunately, U.S. Cellular's roaming is limited to 400MB per month, no matter what plan you are on, even if you are on their top-of-the-line plan.
Additional GB have to be purchased.
I am located in the States and on a U.S. Cellular 30-month contract.
KevinAuralee said:
I will be going out of my voice/data area.
I am located in the States and on a U.S. Cellular 30-month contract.
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I would like to know:
I have a 'locked' Galaxy S9+ (SM-G965U). Would it be cheaper to buy a Sim and use my phone with another carrier instead of roaming?
Is it even possible on a 'locked' phone to temporarily use a different carrier?
I'm mostly concerned about my internet data (or, really my lack thereof), and how much it would cost to buy 'roaming' data.
1.5GB or 3.5GB roaming data will cost extra; $15 or $35 respectively.
I have the choice of Global, LTE/CDMA, LTE/GSM/UMTS under Mobile Networks => Network mode.
It would seem that I could use Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T for a month and not have roaming charges through the nose.
Also, I believe U.S. Cellular's biggest roaming package is 3.5GB (vs the 25GB [Unlimited Plus] plan that I have gotten used to).
I talked to U.S. Cellular's technical support, and they said... Because there is a balance on the phone, it is locked... And because it is locked, another carrier cannot be used.
I understand, also, from reading this forum, that unlocking a Stateside S9+ is not a good idea, because it will trip Knox and void the warranty.
Unless someone knows something else, looks like I'm sunk.
Can anyone please verify my latest fears?
KevinAuralee said:
I talked to U.S. Cellular's technical support, and they said... Because there is a balance on the phone, it is locked... And because it is locked, another carrier cannot be used.
I understand, also, from reading this forum, that unlocking a Stateside S9+ is not a good idea, because it will trip Knox and void the warranty.
Unless someone knows something else, looks like I'm sunk.
Can anyone please verify my latest fears?
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3 posts and I have no idea what your question really is. The Snapdragon models can't be rooted. At best, you could manage to brick your device trying. I'm also not sure what it would accomplish, given your problem.
CrazyApe18 said:
3 posts and I have no idea what your question really is. The Snapdragon models can't be rooted. At best, you could manage to brick your device trying. I'm also not sure what it would accomplish, given your problem.
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I have returned from my trip to no-service (roaming) PA. I had to use local wifi while roaming. It was a very bad phone data experience. I was talking about hidden fees with US Cellular to be able to even use my phone for internet access.
I have 1-1/2 years left and will unlock this phone. I really do like the camera and the speed of the apps, etc. But since Snapdragon models cannot be rooted, what is the point of my owning this phone?
Obviously, I should probably ditch this phone or upgrade... probably selling it would be the best way to put money towards a new phone that can be rooted.
What are your suggestions?
Carriers have pro's and con's... If you are worried about having high roaming use then perhaps pick up an unlocked phone that will work on a different provider (with applicable plan through the provider) and use it as a mobile hotspot. Then connect your S9+ to the mobile hotspot and you should be ok.
TBH one of the things you should consider when your buying service through a carrier is the coverage the carrier provides as well as if/what limitations may exist. In your case if you roam a lot and the price of roaming is to much then perhaps consider a different provider when your contract is up.
KevinAuralee said:
I have a 'locked' Galaxy S9+ (SM-G965U). Would it be cheaper to buy a Sim and use my phone with another carrier instead of roaming?
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The phone is carrier/network locked which means it can only be used on the carrier you got it from. Because the phone is carrier locked you can not use any other sim card other then what is provided by the carrier.
KevinAuralee said:
Is it even possible on a 'locked' phone to temporarily use a different carrier?
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Nope
KevinAuralee said:
I have 1-1/2 years left and will unlock this phone. I really do like the camera and the speed of the apps, etc. But since Snapdragon models cannot be rooted, what is the point of my owning this phone?
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To be honest you just gave 2 pro's and only 1 con over the device, which would kinda answer your question for you... But again that is the kind of question only you can answer..
IMHO if your sole purpose on having that phone is that you must have it rooted, then this phone is not the one for you. If your only trying to root the phone so you can get cheaper roaming data by using other sim cards then you probably shouldn't be trying to root the phone anyways (not that root is even possible cuz it's not... It's just better to get it carrier/network unlocked by paying it off).
On the other hand for the most part even if it was possible the device could be rooted it won't give you much outside of what you already have. Granted I have had phone(s) being samsung and other where rooting the device allowed me to get better performance and battery life. With this phone it is the first Samsung I have had that is quite snappy, battery life is surprisingly good and overall it works quite well with just the stock firmware.
About the only thing I would root the phone for (if it were possible, it's not obviously) is for nandroid backups. Still even from factory data reset to back up and running doesn't take that long anymore. Outside of that I myself have no reason to root the phone.
KevinAuralee said:
Obviously, I should probably ditch this phone or upgrade... probably selling it would be the best way to put money towards a new phone that can be rooted.
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I would strongly suggest you entertain/consider those notions after you paid the phone off. But just as an FYI once you get the phone unlocked (after paying it off) you can use it on T-Moble, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T... The G965U and G965U1 whether bought from samsung or the carriers themselves have the same internal hardware. The software determines what bands and carrier compatible features are active... Should be noted that carriers may have additional requirements (like AT&T not letting non AT&T S9+ use VoLTE) for specific services/features.
So if anything pay the phone off faster so you can get it carrier/network unlocked.. The phone or the fact the model isn't rootable isn't the real problem here, it's the data roaming charges your carrier has.
KevinAuralee said:
What are your suggestions?
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Keep the phone and use it until it's paid off.. Then get it carrier/network unlocked would be my suggestion. At that point you can use a sim card with a different provider for cheaper data roaming.. Or after it's paid off and network unlocked you can just sell it (you could probably get more for it since it would be unlocked to work for any carrier).
scottusa2008 said:
IMHO if your sole purpose on having that phone is that you must have it rooted, then this phone is not the one for you.
With this phone it is the first Samsung I have had that is quite snappy, battery life is surprisingly good and overall it works quite well with just the stock firmware.
About the only thing I would root the phone for (if it were possible, it's not obviously) is for nandroid backups. Still even from factory data reset to back up and running doesn't take that long anymore. Outside of that I myself have no reason to root the phone.
I would strongly suggest you entertain/consider those notions after you paid the phone off...
...The phone or the fact the model isn't rootable isn't the real problem here, it's the data roaming charges your carrier has.
Keep the phone and use it until it's paid off.. Then get it carrier/network unlocked would be my suggestion.
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I don't like a lot of things that deal with not having root.
Google and Samsung push are trying to take over my phone, even though I have a lot of stuff disabled. I just found out my location is full on, and I always have it turned off or set to minimal.
I even had some data usage and never turned data on... am 100% running on wi-fi. And now Samsung's keyboard is active and can't be disabled.
Seems to me that I would like to stock load what I originally had when I first received the phone. I have never taken any updates and get nagged a lot.
But, like you said it isn't mine to root yet! But gimminies, I mean give me a break... I can't even side-load anymore. And that's gonna smart quite a bit.
I have entertained the idea of upgrading to a newer phone, but that would probably result in digging my hole deeper and even harder to get out of. I have 1-1/2 years left to go on my phone, or just flat buy it out while it is still worth something.
Oh, and I have never been able to back up my phone without spilling all of my information to Google or Samsung -- that's the way they like it!
So I have been running without a backup for a year now, and I don't like it. Sure, I have almost everything pics & stuff on hard drive, but my apps, text messages, phone book, etc. I don't.
I'm thinking I would like to take screen pics of my apps & contacts, etc. and start all over. If only I knew of a sure way of gaining 100% control over my phone, I would do it!
But like you say, it might make more sense to just pay it off and then sell it and be rid of it.
KevinAuralee said:
I don't like a lot of things that deal with not having root.
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Your not the only one... but if that is the case then it would seem that samsung has pretty much gotten on the ball and took care of the exploits that would allow root. While in one sense it's a bummer for those who want to root, but in the other they are making devices that aren't as exploitable (which is actually a good thing).
KevinAuralee said:
I even had some data usage and never turned data on... am 100% running on wi-fi. And now Samsung's keyboard is active and can't be disabled.
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Did you turn off roaming data? If you did then it would not have connected to the roaming data.. Mine never does unless I have it turned on. Also if your sending and recieving MMS messages this would use mobile data, so check your MMS settings for roaming auto retrieve.
KevinAuralee said:
Oh, and I have never been able to back up my phone without spilling all of my information to Google or Samsung -- that's the way they like it!
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This whole cloud backup thing has been around for a long time and is not a Samsung or Google thing. Microsoft Windows, Apple devices, Amazon devices all do the same thing. It's convenient for many and for those who are paranoid (or just don't want to use cloud backup) you don't have to use cloud backup services.
You can use smartswitch and make a backup of what is on the phone on your computer. You can save your contacts to the device only and you can export those contacts to a .vcf file... so you can later import them if you get a different phone (or factory data reset).
KevinAuralee said:
So I have been running without a backup for a year now, and I don't like it. Sure, I have almost everything pics & stuff on hard drive, but my apps, text messages, phone book, etc. I don't.
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Check out Smartswitch
https://account.samsung.com/membership/terms/privacypolicy
I just did... their privacy policy is that I have no privacy. So I am back to square one and I feel better off NOT backing anything up both by their services and/or their software.
I have no active accounts with the goog, or samsung.
I plan on keeping it this way.
I guess my only question would be if I did a hard reset, and because I have never allowed any updates, would I be able to get back to day one when I first got the phone and be able to start from scratch?
KevinAuralee said:
I guess my only question would be if I did a hard reset, and because I have never allowed any updates, would I be able to get back to day one when I first got the phone and be able to start from scratch?
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If you did a factory data reset your phone would erase all your data and apps from the phone and all settings restored to factory defaults. You would have to go through the setup process again and restore your data (and make what ever changes, disable what apps you need too, misc customizations) which ever way you are going to do so.
I only mention this because I do not know what firmware your running or what was on the phone when you originally bought it. This part may or may not apply in your case, but in case it does... The only thing about a factory data reset is it does not change what firmware is installed on the phone. If you have the latest android pie installed then that is what will be on the phone once the factory data reset is completed.