[fillossofer]

Just so you know, you do NOT have to buy an unlock code from anyone. Federal law says that carriers must unlock all phones that are out of contract. So, if that phone is yours free and clear and you need it unlocked, just call Verizon, they have to do it for free.

Posted via the Android Central App

I know this is an old thread and these are old devices, but what Travo79 says above is exactly correct. The FCC says carriers must leave devices unlocked (or unlock them upon request), so they can be used on any network. I am switching my family to T-Mobile from Verizon and I have three devices that appear to be carrier locked. Yes, the phone works for calls when I put in the T-mobile SIM, but soon after boot I get a "SIM card not from Verizon Wireless message and everything else stops working. I called Verizon and they say that the phones are unlocked, but clearly that is BS, since the message says "SIM card not from Verizon Wireless". Why else would that message appear? This is a violation of federal law. If anyone else is having this issue, please let me know. I have three such devices and I'm not going to use crippled devices, or buy new ones just because Verizon wants to be a ****.

[L0n3N1nja]

I know this is an old thread and these are old devices, but what Travo79 says above is exactly correct. The FCC says carriers must leave devices unlocked (or unlock them upon request), so they can be used on any network. I am switching my family to T-Mobile from Verizon and I have three devices that appear to be carrier locked. Yes, the phone works for calls when I put in the T-mobile SIM, but soon after boot I get a "SIM card not from Verizon Wireless message and everything else stops working. I called Verizon and they say that the phones are unlocked, but clearly that is BS, since the message says "SIM card not from Verizon Wireless". Why else would that message appear? This is a violation of federal law. If anyone else is having this issue, please let me know. I have three such devices and I'm not going to use crippled devices, or buy new ones just because Verizon wants to be a ****.

I was a Verizon rep for 4 years, they never locked their devices, and still don't according to their website.(unless it's prepaid) I've also personally ran my S7 on both Verizon and Tmobile swapping SIM cards back and forth while the phone had an active device payment plan.


Now with that said not all Verizon phones are network capable with Tmobile, it's a hardware limitation from different network technology. You're also required to configure the phone for the different network, which Tmobile should have the information needed.

[fillossofer]

Agreed that Verizon says they don't lock devices, but they certainly optimize them for use on Verizon. So when you pop in a T-Mobile SIM and update the APN settings, the phone takes longer than it should to connect to the network. The "SIM card is not from Verizon" message makes it obvious that some kind of check is happening periodically, and that clearly is not part of the "unlocked" phone's firmware. That was added by Verizon. I suspect that isn't done simply to nag you, but also affects the connectivity of the device each time the check is done. Also, on my Pixel XL, I am unable to set the preferred network type to "GSM", as it always reverts back to WCDMA. So maybe the phone technically works on T-Mobile, in that you can make and receive calls and texts, the data connections are crippled and cannot be modified by the user.