Verizon Note 5 switched to Metro, can't make/receive calls, but data & text work

[Equestrianista]

I bought a Verizon Galaxy Note 5 from a local cellular pawn shop, sold as unlocked.

Went to MetroPCS and got a new account and sim card (got unlimited everything plan+hotspot)

At the store, after the lady was done setting up my phone she made a test call to the store's phone and it worked fine.

I get home however and find I am unable to make or receive calls, it just says dialing and dialing then call ends, never rings... UNLESS I keep retrying and retrying and after like 6+ times sometimes I can make a call and when this does happen the service bars change from 4g LTE to either E or G or just bars and then it will make the call, but if it says 4G LTE it will not make the call. I know I get metro service in my home as I had a metro phone about 5 months ago and had no issues with service.

I get internet/data that is fast and can text and receive texts, including sending and receiving photos.

I love this phone and got it for a great price and want so badly for this phone to work out.

Does anyone know what exactly is going on and can try to explain it to me and if possible is there any way to fix this?

Also, there is a notification that says "sim card is not from Verizon wireless"

Any help/ideas, anything at all, is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[prestigiouswireless]

I bought a Verizon Galaxy Note 5 from a local cellular pawn shop, sold as unlocked.

Went to MetroPCS and got a new account and sim card (got unlimited everything plan+hotspot)

At the store, after the lady was done setting up my phone she made a test call to the store's phone and it worked fine.

I get home however and find I am unable to make or receive calls, it just says dialing and dialing then call ends, never rings... UNLESS I keep retrying and retrying and after like 6+ times sometimes I can make a call and when this does happen the service bars change from 4g LTE to either E or G or just bars and then it will make the call, but if it says 4G LTE it will not make the call. I know I get metro service in my home as I had a metro phone about 5 months ago and had no issues with service.

I get internet/data that is fast and can text and receive texts, including sending and receiving photos.

I love this phone and got it for a great price and want so badly for this phone to work out.

Does anyone know what exactly is going on and can try to explain it to me and if possible is there any way to fix this?

Also, there is a notification that says "sim card is not from Verizon wireless"

Any help/ideas, anything at all, is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Make sure you go into settings and mobile network and change it to Global.

Also check to make sure the phone isn’t blacklisted.

 

[Equestrianista]

it is set on global and metro said it was good to go, and when checking the imei online, every website I checked it on says it is not blacklisted.

 

[Equestrianista]

anyone? PLEASE?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Go to Settings>Mobile Networks>Network Operators. Is MetroPCS selected?

Also, look for the Advanced Calling option (probably also in Settings>Mobile Networks). If it's on, turn it off. Advanced Calling is Verizon's name for VoLTE, and since you're not on Verizon, that setting might be causing issues. On the other hand, if it's off, turn it on and see if that does anything.

 

[Equestrianista]

Thank you for the response!

Metro is selected as network operator, and I have turned the advanced calling on and off several times, including restarting the phone each time after turning it on and off, and it has made no difference.

why is it when the signal drops from 4glte to E or G I can then make calls? And it's odd that it will actually switch from 4glte to E or G after I try and make a call numerous times...like after trying and trying the signal will randomly drop to G or E and then make a (bad quality) call...so it's kind of like trying numerous times to make a call will "force" the signal to drop from 4glte to E or G for a few seconds (allowing me to make a call IF I can make the call fast enough, before it returns to 4glte, usually only about a 3 second "window")

 

[B. Diddy]

Did you also check to make sure the APN settings are correct? https://www.androidcentral.com/change-apn-metropcs

As an aside, be aware that if we can get everything working, I don't think you'll be able to use simultaneous voice and data (i.e., accessing the web while making a call), because that requires VoLTE (Advanced Calling, as mentioned previously).

 

[Equestrianista]

everything for the apn was set correctly except the MNC is 260 and not 16 but when I change it to 16 and press save it does not save, instead it deletes the entire MetroPCS apn and I have to re-create the entire thing again and it does the same thing every time I put 16, it will only save at 260.

I don't mind if I can't use voice and internet at the same time, I just want to be able to make calls.

Also, I am able to make calls a bit more consistently any time I am not home. Like in my car, driving, a few blocks away at the gas station, ect...

 

[Rukbat]

The correct MNC for MetroPCS is 260 - the network is T-Mobile. (MNCs are 3 digits.)

As for the difference between home and elsewhere, check the mobile signal strength (Settings/Battery/Battery Usage/ then tap the graph and look at the bottom for Mobile network signal. If you notice a difference between home and elsewhere [green in one place, yellow or red in another], that's the reason. [You'll have to sit there for a couple of minutes until there's enough of a line of the new color to see it.])

 

[Equestrianista]

Thank you so the reply. My galaxy note 5 doesn't seem to have the option to show the Mobil network signal. clicking on the battery usage graph does nothing/it's not clickable.

I read somewhere that some Verizon phones work on different radio bands than what Metro supports, or something like that, my apologies if I'm not making sense lol.

I want so badly for this phone to work out.

Also, I live in a tri-plex and my neighbors have Verizon and they get great signal (and as I already said, I did have metro until about 3 months ago and had great voice service here)

 

[B. Diddy]

I see the MNC listed as 16 in other sources as well:

https://help.whistleout.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014912648-Metro-PCS-APN-Settings
MetroPCS APN Settings – Step by Step Configuration

But I also see it listed as 260 in other sources. And it sounds like neither of them work for you.:-\