Droid 2 Global Unlock & foreign SIM?

[inquisitor]

Hello world,

I recently bought a D2G, which is SIMlocked.

Unfortunately both unlock codes provided by UnlockItNow.com don't work (phone keps saying "network unlock unsuccessful"). They said the phone was "hard locked" and that they could send me a special unlock SIM, that would unlock it.
Has anyone heard of such SIM? Could it really unlock the D2G or is it just something like a TurboSIM, which would be put on top of my SIM card?

Also Verizon won't give me the unlock code because the person, from whom I bought the phone, was on a prepaid plan. After being handed over to six Verizon represenatives the last one finally told me, that even if he wanted to give me the unlock code he couldn't because his computer won't even let him request the unlock code for prepaid customers.
The only way to get the unlock code from Verizon would be if a postpaid customer activated the phone on his account. However the phone is in Germany now - even if I found a postpaid Verizon customer, could he flawlessly activate a prepaid customer's phone on his account? If so would he need to take the phone physically to a Verizon store or could he do this by phone allthough the device is outside the US?

Any help is highly appreciated!

regards,

Inquisitor

 

[Gasai Yuno]

The phone can be added to a VZW account at any time, however activation requires that VZW cell network is reachable as you have to place a call to *228 for the phone to get programmed. I am unsure if the phone must be actually activated (besides being on an active VZW account).

“Unlock SIM” sounds like a TurboSIM. I really doubt it is at all possible to remove the SIM lock, which is essentially provided by the radio module, by using some sort of a special SIM card.

 

[ankitmania]

Turbo sim cannot unlock the phone. I have tried using turbo sim on the D2G, it is a small chip which is placed between the SIM card and the SIM card slot.

The turbo sim fools the phone , somehow bypasses the security algorithm (IMO) and changes the IMSI (HLRs see a different IMSI). Now I was able to make and receive calls using the turbo sim but i faced 4 major issues.
1) The phone would loose the network while I travelled across the city. This event would happen precisely at the point when I would change MSCs (Master switching centre). ** extra knowledge about the network as I was working with this GSM operator.
2) My battery consumption shot up by about 250%.
3) Voice clarity was horrible.
4) SMS service wont work. Yes even after changing the SMSC service centre number.

Though I prefer GSM over CDMA, I had no choice but to use the phone on CDMA. Currently I am using D2G over CDMA and all services and data work good. I am still hoping someone would come out with a solution to unlock these D2Gs.

 

[miltonreinaldo]

Turbo Chip

I live in Ecuador so I settle for "Turbo Sim", please could you tell me where I could buy?

 

[Gasai Yuno]

eBay, and multiple other sites.

Google for “buy TurboSIM” or something.

 

[miltonreinaldo]

thanks Yuno Gasai, had already searched ebay but all say they are for iphone, will continue to seek one for me droid 2 G, as currently is the only alternative I have. thanks

 

[Gasai Yuno]

Correct me if I'm wrong but TurboSIMs aren't “for iPhone”, they're for any phone at all.

 

[ss42]

So I have pretty much read the whole thread and googled around as well. Still apologize if you feel like saying RTFM!

I live in India and was visiting US for a week. So I bought an 'unlocked' Droid 2 Global off eBay (I know - in hindsight and after reading this thread - a stupid stupid thing to do!).

I collected the phone in the US and started it there once with my Indian sim card (from Airtel). It asked me for the everpresent 'network unlock pin'. Not knowing the lethal nature of this pin, I just assumed it was because I was not in India and didnt think about it. I have come back to India and ofcourse it still asks me for the pin.

I contacted the seller. He apologized saying that the phone was supposed to be unlocked. Then he also provided me two 8-digit unlock codes after getting my IMEI number. He said that he had bought these from Verizon itself.

However, as Murphy's law would have it, neither of these pins work in India with the Airtel GSM sim card inserted. I tried both the Global and GSM settings. I have recontacted him and he is trying to find a solution. However, I would like to ask the group of experts here the following:

1. Assuming he has 'unlocked' the phone while in the US, shouldn't the unlock pins work for me when I insert them in India?
2. Since he has given me the pins - ostensibly bought from Verizon - I am assuming there's no use in buying pins from sites such as sim-unlock.net. Right?
3. Is there any particular thing that I am missing out here?
4. I read somewhere while googling, that some of the Droid 2s require 16-digit unlock pins. Is that true?
5. Do I have any other course of action left than to ship the phone back to him in the US?
6. Even if he does replace it with another 'unlocked' phone that he says he has personally unlocked, will it still face the same problem?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long mail - an old habit that gets exaggerated when I am sad

 

[mufazzal123]

I am using the global in pune without any issues. This is the fourth global I bought off ebay. The first one was locked but I was able to unlock it successfully for just $8. Some of my friends saw this amazing device and asked me to buy one for them too. So I bought another two. And see I tasted badluck. They could not be activated. I tried everything but in vain. But luckily was able to get a refund and bought a UNLOCKED one. And that's the main thing.
I will try to answer your questions the best I can.
1. The unlock pin is irrespective of carrier. Doesn't matter which country u insert it. U should have understood that in US itself. U should have got a "SIM UNLOCK SUCCESSFUL" message after entering the codes. Any other msg means the codes are incorrect.
2. If want to try, the cheapest codes are available at UNLOCKSHACK and all sites have the same codes. Also they gave a refund when I told them the codes don't work.
3. The seller lied to u. The phone was not unlocked. Maybe the codes were truly given by verizon, but he never unlocked it.
4. That's not true or maybe. Instead I would put it this way, the codes for newer globals (after march 11) are only available with Verizon and no unlock site can provide that for u. I maybe wrong on this one but that's the general opinion.
5. There are some turbo sims that could work. U can try it. They come cheap.
6. No. But I would prefer to buy a phone from a seller who has used it overseas and is then selling it. This way u r 100% sure its unlocked.

Hope I answered ur queries. U can PM me if u want any more information.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk

 

[miltonreinaldo]

there "Universal unlock turbo sim card", which is supposed to unlock the following models:
Z9, RAZR2, V8, RAZR, V3xx, Z6w, W490, RIZR, Z3, Z6c, W395, KRZR, K1, W181, W380, W375, W161, W360, W209, W270, W218, W208, W230, RIZR, Z8, MOTOFONE F3, U9, KRZR, K3, W220, RIZR, Z10, SLVR L9, V195, ROKR E8, Q 9h, V191, W377, Q 8, ROKR, E2, W213, W510, RAZR, V3i, W180, W215, ROKR, E1, W160, W205, A910, V1100, ROKR Z6, A1200, PEBL U3, ROKR E6, A728, Sidekick Slide SLVR L7e, A732, RAZR2, V9, RAZR maxx V6, E895
Could recommend one

 

[Gasai Yuno]

1. Assuming he has 'unlocked' the phone while in the US, shouldn't the unlock pins work for me when I insert them in India?
2. Since he has given me the pins - ostensibly bought from Verizon - I am assuming there's no use in buying pins from sites such as sim-unlock.net. Right?
3. Is there any particular thing that I am missing out here?
4. I read somewhere while googling, that some of the Droid 2s require 16-digit unlock pins. Is that true?
5. Do I have any other course of action left than to ship the phone back to him in the US?
6. Even if he does replace it with another 'unlocked' phone that he says he has personally unlocked, will it still face the same problem?

1. Unlock codes work in any country unless they were changed over the air.
2. You cannot buy unlock codes from Verizon Wireless. They don't sell them; they provide the unlock code for free.
4. No. That isn't true at all. Every unlock code is 8 digits.
5. You could try using a TurboSIM (personally, I wouldn't at all recommend that). Otherwise, you could try unlock code vendors; however, I'm guessing the seller bought those codes he sent you somewhere on such a site. And almost all unlock code vendors sell the same codes.
6. There is no real way to check if the phone was unlocked without a video proof of him inserting a non-Verizon SIM, powering the phone on, switching it to GSM mode, and demonstrating that the phone does not request the unlock code.

However, if he returns you the money you spent on your purchase, there are a few “trusted” sellers of unlocked Globals on eBay.

For example: NEW MOTOROLA DROID 2 GLOBAL A956 VERIZON UNLOCKED +GIFT | eBay

You should only look for listings that explicitly state that the phone was unlocked for usage outside the USA; it's also advised to contact the seller to make sure they didn't make a mistake when making the listing.

 

[ss42]

Thanks a lot guys.

I did try UnlockShack but they gave me the same unlock pins as the seller. They also gave me a 16 digit code as well - but that didnt work either.

I will just wait for a day to hear back from the seller - he has said he will call the suppliers and see if he can do anything about it - otherwise I will just ship it back and maybe buy one that you have recommended, GY.

Thanks!

 

[miltonreinaldo]

1. Assuming he has 'unlocked' the phone while in the US, shouldn't the unlock pins work for me when I insert them in India?
2. Since he has given me the pins - ostensibly bought from Verizon - I am assuming there's no use in buying pins from sites such as sim-unlock.net. Right?
3. Is there any particular thing that I am missing out here?
4. I read somewhere while googling, that some of the Droid 2s require 16-digit unlock pins. Is that true?
5. Do I have any other course of action left than to ship the phone back to him in the US?
6. Even if he does replace it with another 'unlocked' phone that he says he has personally unlocked, will it still face the same problem?

1. Unlock codes work in any country unless they were changed over the air.
2. You cannot buy unlock codes from Verizon Wireless. They don't sell them; they provide the unlock code for free.
4. No. That isn't true at all. Every unlock code is 8 digits.
5. You could try using a TurboSIM (personally, I wouldn't at all recommend that). Otherwise, you could try unlock code vendors; however, I'm guessing the seller bought those codes he sent you somewhere on such a site. And almost all unlock code vendors sell the same codes.
6. There is no real way to check if the phone was unlocked without a video proof of him inserting a non-Verizon SIM, powering the phone on, switching it to GSM mode, and demonstrating that the phone does not request the unlock code.

However, if he returns you the money you spent on your purchase, there are a few “trusted” sellers of unlocked Globals on eBay.

For example: NEW MOTOROLA DROID 2 GLOBAL A956 VERIZON UNLOCKED +GIFT | eBay

You should only look for listings that explicitly state that the phone was unlocked for usage outside the USA; it's also advised to contact the seller to make sure they didn't make a mistake when making the listing.

Thanks Yuno, your explanation was complete

 

[ss42]

So, just to close the matter, the vendor has agreed to pay back the money once I ship it back. Will be doing that.

Thanks for all your help! Also, Yuno, the listing you mentioned seems to be sold out. Tried finding another decent one, but couldn't in a similar price range and trust.

 

[Gasai Yuno]

ss42, I just checked ebay, and there are at least 3 more lots like that.
NEW UNLOCKED MOTOROLA DROID 2 GLOBAL VERIZON for an example.