Starting January 19th Cricket will stop activating non-VoLTE phones

**J Wireless** · 01-21-2021, 01:05 PM

I just rechecked my OnePlus 7 Pro that Cricket said was compatible with their network 5 days ago, and now it says that it is not compatible. I also checked an original Google Pixel XL and was told that it is not compatible also. Both phones have VoLTE capabilities, so it's clearly not that or the fact that 3G is being shut off. It's clear that they want to push people to buy 5G phones from them, but there is nothing that states if these phones will get similar 5G speeds to what other services offer or a faux 5G. That would be a good thing to know before spending the money to get a phone with Cricket.

**mn1968** · 01-21-2021, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by charlesfinley

Can't speak to that particular eBay listing. But I do know that the term "unlocked" is floated around a bit erratically on eBay and other seller sites.

Unlocked can mean that the phone was once locked to a specific network but has since been unlocked.

OR

Unlocked can mean that the phone was never locked to a specific network. I tend to refer to these phones as unbranded - but that doesn't mean everyone follows this naming syntax.

Not to belabor the point but per GSM Arena the LM-G710ULM is USA Unlocked, or as you describe "Unbranded". Sprint, Verizon, and other countries have their own unique version of the code. So Cricket says that LM-G710ULM will work after Feb 2022. But per my quick imei check, it can't even be activated now.

**charlesfinley** · 01-21-2021, 01:38 PM

I wouldn't put a ton of stock into what "USA Unlocked" means.

I may be wrong - certainly don't mistake me for preaching the gospel - but I've never known a phone model number to signify what the lock status or Android-carrier-branded-OS is for a phone. A model number would just mean that it matches "these" physical specs... what carriers do with them once they receive those phones can be anything, and often that means reprovisioning them (or maybe they come shipped already provisioned) with their own Android variant OS.

The best way I've found to determine if a phone is unbranded or not is to watch the boot process and see if any carrier logo is presented on boot up. If one does, then it's branded to that specific carrier.

Sometimes "unlocked" means that the phone doesn't present this carrier logo.

Sometimes "unlocked" means that the individual had the phone unlocked for use on other networks.

This is what happens when a word ("unlocked") has ambiguous meanings.

**charlesfinley** · 01-21-2021, 01:44 PM

According to someone over on Reddit - Cricket will be updating their BYOD VoLTE eligible phones sometime next week (the week of January 27, 2021).

I'd caution to put any real factual truth to this - because right now it's just hearsay and not official. But... it's something. I'm really not planning on making any changes for the next little while anyway, so I'll just wait until the end of January or first of February and see if any changes happen.

**GPz1100** · 01-21-2021, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by J Wireless

I just rechecked my OnePlus 7 Pro that Cricket said was compatible with their network 5 days ago, and now it says that it is not compatible. I also checked an original Google Pixel XL and was told that it is not compatible also. Both phones have VoLTE capabilities, so it's clearly not that or the fact that 3G is being shut off. It's clear that they want to push people to buy 5G phones from them, but there is nothing that states if these phones will get similar 5G speeds to what other services offer or a faux 5G. That would be a good thing to know before spending the money to get a phone with Cricket.

Both imei's from my 7t come back valid in the cricket checker. According to the pdf, the 7 pro (GM1917) should be good too. Is the 7 pro dual sim? Run both imeis?

**mn1968** · 01-21-2021, 06:10 PM

@e.mote
I appreciate the explanation. While I'm no stranger to rooting and flashing ROMs I suppose I was naive to think flashing different firmware was out of the question. As I wasn't actually looking to purchase the phone I also did not bother to read the reviews of the seller. But your answer makes perfect sense.

**Fishx65** · 01-21-2021, 07:19 PM

My new unlocked Verizon S9+ is now getting WiFi calling and VoltE on At&t Prepaid after getting the newer white sim. Still not passing the device checker but I think I'm good to go for a few years. Wish I would have tried the white sim 4 months ago

**mbellot** · 01-22-2021, 12:45 PM

So I have an S7 (T-mo, but SIM unlocked), that the IMEI checker says will not work (presumably for new activation because it is not an AT&T IMEI).

Anyone have any idea if I were to flash it with AT&T firmware and then swap an already activated SIM into it what would happen?

Would the SIM/line get suspended because the IMEI is for T-mo, or would it work to get VoLTE and WiFi calling since the firmware should be able to negotiate those features?

**GPz1100** · 01-22-2021, 03:44 PM

Cricket says my tmo s7 edge is also incompatible. At prepaid offers to sell me a sim saying device is not esim compatible.

Is there another place to check imei on att's site?

For now, device is flashed with att firmware and volte works (as does wifi calling).

**Fishx65** · 01-22-2021, 07:17 PM

Just sold my favorite unlocked phone today because of this crap At&t is pulling

It was a Huawei Mate SE that got the best voice reception of any phone I've ever used. Ran it on the T-Mobile phone checker for the guy that purchased it and it qualified for full service including WiFi calling and VoltE. Makes me want to switch to T-Mobile but I need At&t's voice coverage. My most recent T-Mobile experiment was a complete fail. At least it looks like my Verizon S9+ will be OK next year.

**e.mote** · 01-22-2021, 07:39 PM

http://reddit.com/r/CricketWireless/...own_volte_info

Posted by alope879
According to our corporate rep (District MGR), Cricket will expand BYOD VoLTE-eligibility and will be providing an update next wk (1/27/21).

UPDATE: JANUARY 21, 2021
Today at my store, it was a busy day dealing with non-VoLTE acct suspensions. If you have a non-VoLTE device, customer service (through chat) may be able to "override" the system and provide service to those devices that are not "VoLTE-compatible".

Cricket's probable VoLTE validation flow:

1. New acct activation: IMEI is validated against VoLTE whitelist.

2. Once acct activated, carrier software (among carrier bloatware) takes over to validate phone on a per-power-on or per-specified-interval basis. If validated as such, phone gets full carrier functionality.

3. If phone doesn't have software validator, ie not carrier-branded, validation falls back to IMEI check:

a) Current IMEI is checked against IMEI VoLTE whitelist. If it passes, phone gets functionality (VoLTE and maybe wifi calling). If it fails,

b) current IMEI is checked against original IMEI recorded at acct activation. If it matches, phone gets 3G voice call functionality. If it fails,

c) account suspended.

>Anyone have any idea if I were to flash [S7 T-Mo] with AT&T firmware and then swap an already activated SIM into it what would happen?

It'll be treated as an AT&T-branded phone, ie with full functionality (VoLTE, wifi calling, 5G if applicable). You just can't use it to create a new account, as it can't pass IMEI check.

IOW, you can still use SIM swap: Use any eligible phone to create acct, then switch to S7. The only thing that changed is that all swapped phones need to qualify for AT&T VoLTE.

For Samsung Galaxy phones, you may not have to reflash to AT&T firmware. If the phone already has a multi-CSC (country-specific code) ROM, you can manually switch to desired carrier's CSC (ATT in this case) without need for root or reflash. (Caveat: changing CSC will factory reset, so back up first.) See below for more info,

https://samsungfirmware.net/change-c...galaxy-phones/

If the first change-CSC method doesn't work, or you don't see the ATT CSC, you'll need to flash, preferably to an OXM multi-CSC firmware rather than AT&T-specific firmware, as this allows you to change CSC later w/o reflashing. (Not sure if S7 is recent enough to have OXM version. I think OXM started at S8 and later.) Read below for more info,

http://google.com/search?q=galaxy+odin+giude (overview)

https://technastic.com/csc-home-csc-samsung-odin

https://technastic.com/frija-samsung...-download-tool

http://google.com/search?q=oxm+firmware

If you're new to ROM flashing, don't try it on your daily driver. Read as much as possible. Back up everything. At your own risk, yada yada.

Disclaimer: I don't have a Samsung phone. All above are from idle look-ups.

**mbellot** · 01-23-2021, 12:33 AM

Originally Posted by e.mote

>Anyone have any idea if I were to flash [S7 T-Mo] with AT&T firmware and then swap an already activated SIM into it what would happen?

It'll be treated as an AT&T-branded phone, ie with full functionality (VoLTE, wifi calling, 5G if applicable). You just can't use it to create a new account, as it can't pass IMEI check.

IOW, you can still use SIM swap: Use any eligible phone to create acct, then switch to S7. The only thing that changed is that all swapped phones need to qualify for AT&T VoLTE.

...

If you're new to ROM flashing, don't try it on your daily driver. Read as much as possible. Back up everything. At your own risk, yada yada.

Disclaimer: I don't have a Samsung phone. All above are from idle look-ups.

Thanks for the detailed info. The S7 I have is not used and currently on Nougat (7.0). I was going to put my wife on it before all this VoLTE SHTF, so I guess it's for the best that I procrastinated. All the methods shown in your linked guide start at Oreo (8.0).

Just for grins I tried the *#272...# command in the dialer and nothing happened (pretty much expected).

Not new to flashing, been doing it since my original Galaxy S (Sprint Epic 4G), and before that I was into modding Nextel codeplugs.

Digging through XDA it does look like I need to flash a carrier specific firmware, unless the "unlocked" variant is also whitelisted.

I'll try converting the phone to AT&T firmware. If that goes well, and I get brave enough to stick a (currently functional) SIM into it I will report back to confirm (or refute) your description of the validation flow.

**KevinMCombes** · 01-25-2021, 02:52 PM

An update from me... I have a Galaxy Z Fold2 (SM-F916U1) which passed the IMEI check as of the update last week, but was not provisioned for VoLTE. Today I got the OneUI 3.0 update, and as soon as the update was done my phone was provisioned for VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling. Tested both and they are working.

This is without changing CSC or flashing to carrier-branded firmware. I've heard a few other Samsung phones finally got VoLTE on Cricket as of OneUI 3 (aka Android 11), so it seems like Samsung is including the Cricket IMS profile in this update.

**sinnedone** · 01-27-2021, 12:45 AM

Doesn't violate some sort of laws?

Some along the lines of being able to use your device and whatever network you choose without being forced into one network?

**Wilddroid17** · 01-27-2021, 02:19 AM

Wow, looking through this thread, there are a surprising number of moto x4 users, myself included, in this situation.

Also, for what it's worth, my line was suspended on the first day of this policy for accidentally sim-swapping between devices, although a few hours later it was automatically reinstated and I can still move my sim between my two devices.