How can I make an unlocked phone (previously Verizon) work with Cricket Wireless?

[Garrison Stephens]

Hello, I just bought a third party unlocked Note 3 from Groupon. It was originally a Verizon phone. That being said, it is not allowing me to update my software to the latest version of Android. It says the service is temporarily unavailable, I suppose it's because it needs the Verizon towers to update. How can I update my phone? Also, because of it's Verizon history, it can only receive 3G speeds on my carrier, Cricket Wireless. Can you help please? I love this phone and don't want to return it (I have 30 days to return) Thanks in advance!

 

[Rukbat]

1) To over-the-air update a branded phone it has to be currently connected to an active account on that carrier. You're going to have to go to Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3 - XDA Forums to look for update files. If the file is a zip file install, follow the directions in the thread. If it's an Odin install, we have a guide with screen shots at [Samsung] How to flash Stock ROM via ODIN. (It says stock ROMs, but you use it to install anything that's Odin-installable.)

2) The phone doesn't have radios for the frequencies Cricket (AT&T) uses for 4G, so it can't do 4G on Cricket. An AT&T phone can (and probably one locked to AT&T can, but I don't have a Cricket SIM to make sure).