Receiving/Making Phone Calls Without SIM or WIFI!!!

[feistyrebel]

OK this is my first post and it's a weird one. I've always known phones to be useless without a SIM card except for emergency calls. Well today I purchased an S4 on Craigslist. As I was bringing it home, it started to ring. I didn't answer it and shortly after I received a text. There was no SIM in it so I thought it was weird but left it alone.

When I got home, I did a factory reset, put in my old SIM card and activated it to my number. Everything went well - received texts normally, emails worked great, called my husband's phone and worked great until I looked at his phone and saw that the number that popped up wasn't mine, it was the old number. Tried calling my phone with his and went straight to vmail.

Seems like everything activated correctly except for the phone function. Called Verizon and the rep thought it was odd as well since texts went through, but could not figure it out. The rep said the phone is probably tampered with, but I've never heard of anything that could make phone calls without a SIM or wifi.*

I reactivated my old phone and left the S4 with no SIM and it's still able to make/receive phone calls!! Weird!

All IMEI numbers match, physical and in About Phone even on box. Phone is not rooted according to Root checker.

Please someone tell me what this is so I can just can undo it and activate my number to the new phone.

Thanks

 

[cheeta186]

The other person may need to call and get the phone removed from their line. I'm not positive if that is the solution but it may be a step in the right direction. Also have you called vzw and asked that they activate the phone on your line?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Fred98TJ]

Remember that Verizon is not a GSM network or are their phones (though some have both radios in them, like the iPhones and the Blackberries), they're a CDMA phone network.
The SIM card for their phones is not the same as a SIM card for a GSM type phone on a GSM network.
It's been a few years since I was on Verizon, but if I remember correctly, their "sim" card was to enable LTE. They have to specifically activate and deactivate their phones on their networks.
The Verizon phone that I had a few years ago, when I was with Verizon, didn't need their "sim" card to work. It would work fine without it, just no LTE, only 3G.
So it sounds to me like the person who sold you the phone, never de-activated it by calling Verizon and you also, have not de-activated your old phone and activated the new phone that you just got.
The new phone is still on the other persons plan.


Fred

 

[gazzataff]

if you open the contacts app the very first entry is the number for the phone open this up press the bottom left key to open the menu and edit the number to your phone number and save it should then give out your sim number and all be ok