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A friend of mine has tasked me to help him as I have some experience with rooting, unlocking etc from other Android phones. Someone sold him a Metro PCS version of the LG Optimus L9 and he has a family plan on T-Mobile. He wants to give this phone to his daughter. Anyways, Since the phone runs on the T-Mobile network, is it possible to flash the phone so that he can put it on his T-Mobile plan? I have looked through the forums and have not found anything of this nature but I do apologize if I have missed it. It is not necessary to go into great detail for this, I jsut want to know if it is possible and a good place to start if it is possible. Thanks for your time!
dstoler said:
A friend of mine has tasked me to help him as I have some experience with rooting, unlocking etc from other Android phones. Someone sold him a Metro PCS version of the LG Optimus L9 and he has a family plan on T-Mobile. He wants to give this phone to his daughter. Anyways, Since the phone runs on the T-Mobile network, is it possible to flash the phone so that he can put it on his T-Mobile plan? I have looked through the forums and have not found anything of this nature but I do apologize if I have missed it. It is not necessary to go into great detail for this, I jsut want to know if it is possible and a good place to start if it is possible. Thanks for your time!
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The only thing I can assume would work is tp buy an unlock code on ebay or amazon and unlock it. t-mobile blows where I am so I unlocked my phone and am now on att
Sent from a Crackhead Donkey
im sure it would work. i have a rooted tmobile branded L9 using a slightly modified metro rom with a tmo sim. it actually shows metro under about phone/network. it is rooted. so if u havent already tried a puting a tmo sim in it and seeing if it worked then rooting might be your answer.
Hello
I'm with ATT, but I want to switch to StraightTalk, since here in Miami, they use ATT anyways.
I also want to upgrade to the LG V10, but I want to get the T-Mobile variant (H901) since that one can be rooted.
So. Can I buy an H901 from ebay, wherever that is unlocked, and use the StraightTalk SIM on it? I will be able to root it, and get a sim card from StraightTalk that will work with ATT. Right?
Thanks
There should be no issue I have unlocked att phones I have use with t-mobile before might check to see what bands of lte att uses most In your area and check what bands the h901 uses
Buy an already unlocked Tmo phone if you can. If not, still OK, just get it unlocked. I would suggest buying from Amazon over eBay, better quality overall, less like to get ripped off, better sellers. As long as the device itself is fully paid they should unlock it. I've gone through major hassles getting my H901 unlocked, but it's done, as of today.
As far as Straight Talk, it should work. Tmo and ATT are mostly compatible with each other as far as networks are concerned. But check first. They both use SIM cards, so does ST. You should be able to switch pretty easily.
At work, we are affiliated with mywit.com, where we can buy refurbished phones in very good condition.
If I buy a T-Mobile phone that is locked to T-Mobile (as it says in the description), how would I use it on ATT until I decide to switch to StraightTalk?
The switch to Straight Talk involves our 3 phones, so it's something that I have to plan out; one of the phones lives in another city. So, I have to remain with ATT for now. How do I get this H901 to work with ATT? Can I do that somehow?
@nabril15: The answer is simple:
You cant use the phones with ATT or ST until they are unlocked from T-Mo's network. You can use T-Mo's Device Unlock app to get a temp unlock, but that only lasts 30 days. On the other hand, you should theoretically have no issues getting unlocks for all devices involved, if they are paid in full.
Unlock terms and conditions:
http://www.t-mobile.com/company/company-info/sim-unlock-policy/unlock-your-mobile-wireless-device.html
AnonVendetta said:
@nabril15: The answer is simple:
On the other hand, you should theoretically have no issues getting unlocks for all devices involved, if they are paid in full.
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And I can get this done by calling TMobile to unlock it even though I am NOT a customer of theirs?
Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA-Developers mobile app
nabril15 said:
And I can get this done by calling TMobile to unlock it even though I am NOT a customer of theirs?
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No, t mobile won't unlock it for you if you're not a customer, feel free to try but i doubt they will
Check Swappa, usually on of the best prices and sellers will say if unlocked - also i believe i saw them on eBay for like 250$ unlocked and refurbished
I recently purchased the H901 unlocked from the guys at Mytecell on Swappa. I'm on att. Had to do some research on entering a new APN to get data and MMS to work, but overall satisfied.
Does anyone know if root or which roms will allow wifi calling on att networks?
To my knowledge you can only use WiFi calling on a Tmo-issued phone if you are on Tmo's network. Doesnt matter if you're rooted or what ROM you use, there is probably a server side check. And you generally can only use Tmo wifi-calling on stock based ROMs, no AOSP/CM.
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.
With the impending 3G network shutdowns by AT&T (on Feburary 2022) and T-Mobile (already done in January 2021; Sprint network will in Janurary 2022), I'm badly in need of another option. My current LG Nexus 5 (International version) won't enable me to survive these shutdowns, as it lacks the full LTE band support for the United States carriers.
After searching for another phone model with the criteria of removable battery, USB-C and unlockable bootloader, I settled on the following listing for a LG G5 (RS988): https://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-G5-RS98...M-Unlocked-Smartphone-8-10-18174/164707426461
The main thing I care about here is whether I can get VoLTE support at all, so that I can continue receiving cellular service beyond 2021. I currently use Cricket, an MVNO which uses AT&T as its network. Unfortunately, AT&T has a whitelist of devices that are allowed to use VoLTE on their network: https://www.att.com/ecms/dam/att/consumer/help/pdf/Devices-Working-on-ATT-Network.pdf. They do list the AT&T version of the LG G5 (H820), but it is bootloader locked. If I cannot use get this phone to work on AT&T, I will have no choice but to switch to T-Mobile or an MVNO using its network, such as MetroPCS. They have already shutdown their main 3G network, and also require VoLTE, but at least they don't have a whitelist that only allows me to use certain devices.
Looking at the custom ROMs, including LineageOS, it seems that none of them have VoLTE support, which is critical for me if I decide to switch to T-Mobile or one of their MNVOs. I could also see if there are any ROMs based on the stock ROM. If all else fails, I can resort to using the stock ROM/OS and then root it. However, this opens up another problem: I cannot tell if there exists a stock Android 8.1 Oreo ROM for the RS988; everything I read so far seems to indicate that I will only get up to Android 7.1 Nougat on this particular model.
As I have accepted an offer for $55 down from $64.99 in the above listing, and cannot decline to buy it, changing to another phone model is no longer an option for me in terms of keeping my cellular service working. Since I will be stuck with this RS988 for the next few years, can someone tell me what is the current situation about VoLTE support, whether for AT&T or T-Mobile, and which ROM I should stick on to gain this support? Losing my cellular service in 2022 is not going to end well for me if it does happen.
Worldblender said:
I will have no choice but to switch to T-Mobile or an MVNO using its network, such as MetroPCS. They have already shutdown their main 3G network, and also require VoLTE, but at least they don't have a whitelist that only allows me to use certain devices.
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DONT use MetroPCS I was with 'em for years but they have changed there policy's not like now. Simplemobile costs the same...
Worldblender said:
Looking at the custom ROMs, including LineageOS, it seems that none of them have VoLTE support, which is critical for me if I decide to switch to T-Mobile or one of their MNVOs. I could also see if there are any ROMs based on the stock ROM.
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I'm up against the same VoLTE wall (had a Blackberry Passport 4 years) and right now only finding VoLTE in Nougat ROM... TBH, I don't want Oreo b/c of that "A-B parition" buisness
Worldblender said:
Losing my cellular service in 2022 is not going to end well for me if it does happen.
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I feel ya bro, right now I'm on a "burner" (LG-Stylo, for big screen) due to this concern. Did you ever find a ROM for RS988 with VoLTE?
virginwidow said:
I feel ya bro, right now I'm on a "burner" (LG-Stylo, for big screen) due to this concern. Did you ever find a ROM for RS988 with VoLTE?
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You came in a tad too late; by now, I ended up getting an entirely newer phone, a Motorola Moto G Power (2020) via Google Fi bill credit. Though its battery is not meant to be user-replaceable, at least it has support for VoLTE out of the box, which is what I care about more.
Can someone help me with understanding this?....or is AT&T making me buy another phone for no reason? I actually left AT&T and went to Cricket wireless because they use the same towers and no other carrier has reception in my rural area. ANYWAY, they made me buy a Samsung A02s because it will work on the network after dropping 3g. The A02s is so slow and junky! I checked the bands that these phones use and the A21s has better specs. WHY CAN'T I USE THE A21S NOW? Can anyone help me with this? Can rooting help me somehow?
Thanks
Depends on the model number.
AT&T has a white list of all compatible phones.
Been using AT&T for 12 years and generally have very little trouble with the network. Reps can be more challenging however I believe you can never get enough assertiveness training. As such I have on occasions been quit the terror for AT&T. Last 3 years though have been calm.
They value long term customers, a plus and reps are given a wide leeway to issue credits. However you need to stay on top of things especially if changing plans. Some reps aren't up to speed.
The model of the A21s is SM-A217F/DS and the model of the slow junky one is SM-A025AZ. I just can't believe the junky SM-A025AZ is more apt to work.
trektech1701 said:
The model of the A21s is SM-A217F/DS and the model of the slow junky one is SM-A025AZ. I just can't believe the junky SM-A025AZ is more apt to work.
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As per the link I provided in my last post it's because it lacks support for band 14. Therefore it's incompatible with AT&T's network. Not sure if this is the cause but if true there's nothing to be done. AT&T supports most popular unlocked models. They will add more models but those will likely be new releases.
This is the stuff that gives me a headache when buying a phone other than through AT&T. Never 100% sure it will work until you slam the sim card it and boot up. With my unlocked N975U1 it went straight online without needing any configuration changes other than the sim card, good as it gets. Before buying a phone always check AT&T's current white list... stay within those parameters.
The good news is the AT&T 4g VoLTE has better bandwidth than ever, no 5G needed. I can stream vids at any time. The implementation of 5G has opened up 4G bandwidth more so it's a win-win for the 4G users.