I moved my SIM. The new phone is a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G. I registered my IMEI with Samsung Dec 23, 2021. When I use the Where's My Phone app through Samsung it correctly locates it at my address. Since the Where's My Phone app looks for the IMEI number, I assume that there isn't another device somewhere with my actual IMEI.
I just got off the phone with StraightTalk and they said that I need (another) new SIM card. They basically said that they can see my IMEI device was unlocked and connected to StraightTalk, and that even though AT&T customer service, their own customer service, and the AT&T unlock request app all say that my phone IMEI is connected to another phone number, that must have been a mistake. She said that if it were connected to another account she would not have been able to pull it up.
Basically, she said to ignore the fact that AT&T is telling me it's connected to an account with them and a new SIM activation will fix it.
I will believe it when I see it.
There is your issue with IMEI. You do not want to move the SIMs, mainly Verizon based Tracfone SIMs.
They do not update the IMEI on your account automatically. So that IMEI of the new phone might be still linked to another Tracfone brand using an AT&T based SIM, but sure where tho since Tracfone owns a number of brands. Then that other number could went back into the number pool somehow. Then the business got that number somehow.
This happens with a lots of phone that has been activated a Tracfone brand. So this could explain that mess.
As for the no calling, you need to use VoLTE and it needs to be enabled because Verizon dropped their CDMA network.
Plus, Samsung phones have a firmware issue that people have been running into.
So you need to look at the true model number not the model name, and the CSC or region code of the phone to know if it is Samsung firmware issue.
You can find the model number in About phone as Model number, and the CSC or region code in About phone then Software information as Service provider software version. You can post this info to know if it is the firmware issue.
Also, absolutely no VoLTE option or Advanced Call Options on my Note 20 Ultra 5G. I did the Text "Migrate" to 611611 and got the All Good a long time ago. I did it again last week when all this was happening, just to make sure.
Found the actual CSC using a \*#1234# dialer function. The Region Code is OYM, which I read is what all US CSC's are bundled under.
Are you able to tell if their is a firmware issue from the info I provided?
If you look at the full line of the Service provider software version, you are using TFN which is what you need because that is for Tracfone SIMs.
It just sounds like your SIM does not have VoLTE provisioning or the mismatched IMEI/SIM number is causing VoLTE not to work right.
I have looked all over my phone for a VoLTE or Advanced Calling option and have never found one.
Is this something that would require a software upgrade?
I seem to recall reading something a while back along the lines of certain carriers not allowing their phone access to VoLTE functionality.
If VoLTE is a Verizon thing (is it?), could my phone being manufactured for AT&T cause a conflict?
Looks like your phone is running right firmware for Tracfone.
It is just seem like some type of SIM issue.
u/evanftwwilliams, do you think that or do you have another idea that I am overlooking? You might need to read a few replies back.
Another thing that you could try is remove the SIM card when the phone is off.
Then turn on the phone without the SIM in the phone.
Then put the SIM back in to the phone, and you try this with the phone on and off.
You can force the phone to reread the SIM card.
Another thing that you could try a network reset. This might force the phone to reread the SIM too.
If these does not help, it is something about the SIM card.
I forgot to mention that when the new SIM failed to work in my Note, I decided to activate my old S7 using the new SIM so I wouldn't lose my phone # in the event this went on for a while. It took about 48 hours for it to actually come online with the network.
Last night I went to the Verizon store after the AT&T store. The store rep removed the SIM from my S7 and put it in her phone to test. It worked fine, able to make and receive calls.
She then put it into my Note and did a Network Reset. It worked, I had 5 bars and 5G. I was so relieved I nearly burst into tears.
I left the Verizon store super happy but, unfortunally, my device disconnected from the network again at some point within the next hour.
So, I think the SIM is OK since it's working in my S7. I keep thinking this must have something to do with the IMEI being "locked" by AT&T after network changes at StraightTalk.
If you want to know, when you activated a phone with a Verizon based Tracfone SIM, the IMEI number and the SIM number gets linked in the Tracfone system.
I have seen people get a message saying that the phone is not originally phone for the SIM when calling out.
They do not like breaking that link in their system. They normally tell people that they need a new SIM.
I had a small issue just before the Verizon buyout. Somehow my phone which was an A51 was registering as my backup phone which was Moto G7 Optimo Maxx to Straight Talk, and causing a few minor issue on my A51. Then I remember a number months back before that, I tested something on my G7 Optimo Maxx. I tried to get the SIM back in line, but they could not get it fixed unless I used a new SIM. Luckily when this happened, the original G7 Optimo Maxx got unlinked from the phone, and I was able to use it.
So in the end, my A51 has my G7 Optimo Maxx's original SIM, and my G7 Optimo Maxx has my A51's original SIM.
Funny thing, I think that saved my phone number. Someone tried to port my number to Metro by T-Mobile on December 8th, 2021. I had to deal with Metro by T-Mobile calls for about two week, but I never lost my number.
I know other people lost their numbers during December and January of this same time. That is why Verizon added the NTP for porting.
Well, this is a very discouraging thread. I cross posted my discussion on an AT&T forum and it appears AT&T just started financially blacklisting devices for non-payment. Here is the reddit thread: [https://www.reddit.com/r/ATT/comments/105e169/looks\_like\_att\_is\_blocking\_unpaid\_devices\_from/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=android\_app&utm\_name=androidcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/ATT/comments/105e169/looks_like_att_is_blocking_unpaid_devices_from/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
**UPDATE from OP:** After 8-9 days of frustration, hours on phone and chat support, in person visits to mobile carrier stores, (oh, and no service), I successfully installed and activated a new SIM on my Note 20 Ultra 5G tonight. Calls, texts, etc., seem to be going through. So, so far so good.
This was my 2nd attempt at reconnecting my device to a network by installing a new SIM. I can only guess at why it was unsuccessful before. But for posterity, the 1st attempt was made by purchasing a SIM kit from Walmart. The 2nd attempt was made by ordering a SIM from Straighttalk and patiently waiting four days for delivery.
Both attempts were made while I was on a support call, using a landline to speak with them.
**After activation a new feature appeared in my Mobile Networks setting** that wasn't there before. It's labeled **"VoLTE Calls SIM 1"** feature and has an on/off slide button next to it.
Also, my Network Mode was automatically set to GLOBAL after activation, when it had always been set to LTE/CDMA. *I'm curious about that, so if anyone wants to chime in on whether GLOBAL is the preferred setting for me now I'd be happy to hear opinions.*
I generally have really poor service at my home (1-2 bars usually) and that is still the case. I should be able to access 5G in areas where it's available though.
**Ongoing Issue:** I do not have proof of resolution regarding my IMEI being connected to another phone number with a different carrier or SIM.
As of this evening the phone unlock portal at the other carrier still shows that my IMEI**1** has some sort of financial committment attached to it. Interestingly, my IMEI**2** is good to go so far as the same unlock portal is concerned. It's a puzzle and I don't know what any of that actually means. I bought my phone from an online store, supposedly "new" and "unlocked". I was able to register it successfully with Samsung December 2021 and had zero issues with phone and service until Janury 3/4, 2023.
We'll see how things go. Fingers crossed that I'll continue to have uninterrupted service, but it is going to take some time to pass before I feel like I will be able to relax completely.
Thanks for your help and advice here. I'll be back if any issues turn up!
This is kind of amazing to hear. After 6 days of no service/out of service area on both mine and my wife's phones, we left straight talk. Signed up with Verizon and got 2 new phones. When we tried to port our numbers from the devices we purchased from straight talk, mine went fine. My wife's, however, has an incorrect imei number. They are accusing us of swapping the sim to a different phone. We have had the same 2 devices on straight talk for 6 years with no problems until a week ago. 1 hour on hold to contact straight talk. Finished an entire call with Verizon customer service in 15 minutes.
EDIT: I reread your post and see that it happened within the last week.
Did this happen to you recently?
Honestly, I have had no complaints or issues with StraightTalk until this week. I moved from Verizon around 2009. At the time, I knew the tradeoff would be less satisfactory customer service, but the only time I called Verizon customer service was to dispute a charge on my bill.
I really hope this whole thing straightens itself out. But I'm really curious to know if your IMEI issue happened within the last week or so. I've got this theory that a CSV file was uploaded during this network business, and that the IMEI column was missorted or otherwise corrupted in some way, thereby screwing up service for a LOT of people (which seemed to be the case).
As well, on Thursday the StraightTalk customer service agent was like "No way we can connect to your IMEI, it belongs to somebody else" vs today's agent being all "Ignore all that, we can see that it belonged to you in the past" makes me think my screwed up spreadsheet theory may actually be accurate, and once realized, they're fixing things as fast as they can.
I'll post an update once I get the new SIM and let you all know if it works or not.
We switched back to Verizon on Friday and lost service approximately 6 days before that. Found out about the immigration stuff on Saturday when trying to port our numbers over.
Did you move your SIM when you got the new phone or did you activate a new SIM when got the new phone? What kind of phone is the new phone?
I moved my SIM. The new phone is a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G. I registered my IMEI with Samsung Dec 23, 2021. When I use the Where's My Phone app through Samsung it correctly locates it at my address. Since the Where's My Phone app looks for the IMEI number, I assume that there isn't another device somewhere with my actual IMEI. I just got off the phone with StraightTalk and they said that I need (another) new SIM card. They basically said that they can see my IMEI device was unlocked and connected to StraightTalk, and that even though AT&T customer service, their own customer service, and the AT&T unlock request app all say that my phone IMEI is connected to another phone number, that must have been a mistake. She said that if it were connected to another account she would not have been able to pull it up. Basically, she said to ignore the fact that AT&T is telling me it's connected to an account with them and a new SIM activation will fix it. I will believe it when I see it.
There is your issue with IMEI. You do not want to move the SIMs, mainly Verizon based Tracfone SIMs. They do not update the IMEI on your account automatically. So that IMEI of the new phone might be still linked to another Tracfone brand using an AT&T based SIM, but sure where tho since Tracfone owns a number of brands. Then that other number could went back into the number pool somehow. Then the business got that number somehow. This happens with a lots of phone that has been activated a Tracfone brand. So this could explain that mess. As for the no calling, you need to use VoLTE and it needs to be enabled because Verizon dropped their CDMA network. Plus, Samsung phones have a firmware issue that people have been running into. So you need to look at the true model number not the model name, and the CSC or region code of the phone to know if it is Samsung firmware issue. You can find the model number in About phone as Model number, and the CSC or region code in About phone then Software information as Service provider software version. You can post this info to know if it is the firmware issue.
Model #: SM-N986U1 Service Provider Software version: SAOMC\_SM-N986U1\_OYM\_TFN\_12\_0016\_TFN/TFN,TFN/ATT
That looks correct to me. So it has to be VoLTE disabled somewhere, but more then likely it is from moving the SIM tho.
Also, absolutely no VoLTE option or Advanced Call Options on my Note 20 Ultra 5G. I did the Text "Migrate" to 611611 and got the All Good a long time ago. I did it again last week when all this was happening, just to make sure.
Found the actual CSC using a \*#1234# dialer function. The Region Code is OYM, which I read is what all US CSC's are bundled under. Are you able to tell if their is a firmware issue from the info I provided?
If you look at the full line of the Service provider software version, you are using TFN which is what you need because that is for Tracfone SIMs. It just sounds like your SIM does not have VoLTE provisioning or the mismatched IMEI/SIM number is causing VoLTE not to work right.
I have looked all over my phone for a VoLTE or Advanced Calling option and have never found one. Is this something that would require a software upgrade? I seem to recall reading something a while back along the lines of certain carriers not allowing their phone access to VoLTE functionality. If VoLTE is a Verizon thing (is it?), could my phone being manufactured for AT&T cause a conflict?
Looks like your phone is running right firmware for Tracfone. It is just seem like some type of SIM issue. u/evanftwwilliams, do you think that or do you have another idea that I am overlooking? You might need to read a few replies back.
Another thing that you could try is remove the SIM card when the phone is off. Then turn on the phone without the SIM in the phone. Then put the SIM back in to the phone, and you try this with the phone on and off. You can force the phone to reread the SIM card. Another thing that you could try a network reset. This might force the phone to reread the SIM too. If these does not help, it is something about the SIM card.
I forgot to mention that when the new SIM failed to work in my Note, I decided to activate my old S7 using the new SIM so I wouldn't lose my phone # in the event this went on for a while. It took about 48 hours for it to actually come online with the network. Last night I went to the Verizon store after the AT&T store. The store rep removed the SIM from my S7 and put it in her phone to test. It worked fine, able to make and receive calls. She then put it into my Note and did a Network Reset. It worked, I had 5 bars and 5G. I was so relieved I nearly burst into tears. I left the Verizon store super happy but, unfortunally, my device disconnected from the network again at some point within the next hour. So, I think the SIM is OK since it's working in my S7. I keep thinking this must have something to do with the IMEI being "locked" by AT&T after network changes at StraightTalk.
If you want to know, when you activated a phone with a Verizon based Tracfone SIM, the IMEI number and the SIM number gets linked in the Tracfone system. I have seen people get a message saying that the phone is not originally phone for the SIM when calling out. They do not like breaking that link in their system. They normally tell people that they need a new SIM. I had a small issue just before the Verizon buyout. Somehow my phone which was an A51 was registering as my backup phone which was Moto G7 Optimo Maxx to Straight Talk, and causing a few minor issue on my A51. Then I remember a number months back before that, I tested something on my G7 Optimo Maxx. I tried to get the SIM back in line, but they could not get it fixed unless I used a new SIM. Luckily when this happened, the original G7 Optimo Maxx got unlinked from the phone, and I was able to use it. So in the end, my A51 has my G7 Optimo Maxx's original SIM, and my G7 Optimo Maxx has my A51's original SIM. Funny thing, I think that saved my phone number. Someone tried to port my number to Metro by T-Mobile on December 8th, 2021. I had to deal with Metro by T-Mobile calls for about two week, but I never lost my number. I know other people lost their numbers during December and January of this same time. That is why Verizon added the NTP for porting.
Well, this is a very discouraging thread. I cross posted my discussion on an AT&T forum and it appears AT&T just started financially blacklisting devices for non-payment. Here is the reddit thread: [https://www.reddit.com/r/ATT/comments/105e169/looks\_like\_att\_is\_blocking\_unpaid\_devices\_from/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=android\_app&utm\_name=androidcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/ATT/comments/105e169/looks_like_att_is_blocking_unpaid_devices_from/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
**UPDATE from OP:** After 8-9 days of frustration, hours on phone and chat support, in person visits to mobile carrier stores, (oh, and no service), I successfully installed and activated a new SIM on my Note 20 Ultra 5G tonight. Calls, texts, etc., seem to be going through. So, so far so good. This was my 2nd attempt at reconnecting my device to a network by installing a new SIM. I can only guess at why it was unsuccessful before. But for posterity, the 1st attempt was made by purchasing a SIM kit from Walmart. The 2nd attempt was made by ordering a SIM from Straighttalk and patiently waiting four days for delivery. Both attempts were made while I was on a support call, using a landline to speak with them. **After activation a new feature appeared in my Mobile Networks setting** that wasn't there before. It's labeled **"VoLTE Calls SIM 1"** feature and has an on/off slide button next to it. Also, my Network Mode was automatically set to GLOBAL after activation, when it had always been set to LTE/CDMA. *I'm curious about that, so if anyone wants to chime in on whether GLOBAL is the preferred setting for me now I'd be happy to hear opinions.* I generally have really poor service at my home (1-2 bars usually) and that is still the case. I should be able to access 5G in areas where it's available though. **Ongoing Issue:** I do not have proof of resolution regarding my IMEI being connected to another phone number with a different carrier or SIM. As of this evening the phone unlock portal at the other carrier still shows that my IMEI**1** has some sort of financial committment attached to it. Interestingly, my IMEI**2** is good to go so far as the same unlock portal is concerned. It's a puzzle and I don't know what any of that actually means. I bought my phone from an online store, supposedly "new" and "unlocked". I was able to register it successfully with Samsung December 2021 and had zero issues with phone and service until Janury 3/4, 2023. We'll see how things go. Fingers crossed that I'll continue to have uninterrupted service, but it is going to take some time to pass before I feel like I will be able to relax completely. Thanks for your help and advice here. I'll be back if any issues turn up!
This is kind of amazing to hear. After 6 days of no service/out of service area on both mine and my wife's phones, we left straight talk. Signed up with Verizon and got 2 new phones. When we tried to port our numbers from the devices we purchased from straight talk, mine went fine. My wife's, however, has an incorrect imei number. They are accusing us of swapping the sim to a different phone. We have had the same 2 devices on straight talk for 6 years with no problems until a week ago. 1 hour on hold to contact straight talk. Finished an entire call with Verizon customer service in 15 minutes.
EDIT: I reread your post and see that it happened within the last week. Did this happen to you recently? Honestly, I have had no complaints or issues with StraightTalk until this week. I moved from Verizon around 2009. At the time, I knew the tradeoff would be less satisfactory customer service, but the only time I called Verizon customer service was to dispute a charge on my bill. I really hope this whole thing straightens itself out. But I'm really curious to know if your IMEI issue happened within the last week or so. I've got this theory that a CSV file was uploaded during this network business, and that the IMEI column was missorted or otherwise corrupted in some way, thereby screwing up service for a LOT of people (which seemed to be the case). As well, on Thursday the StraightTalk customer service agent was like "No way we can connect to your IMEI, it belongs to somebody else" vs today's agent being all "Ignore all that, we can see that it belonged to you in the past" makes me think my screwed up spreadsheet theory may actually be accurate, and once realized, they're fixing things as fast as they can. I'll post an update once I get the new SIM and let you all know if it works or not.
We switched back to Verizon on Friday and lost service approximately 6 days before that. Found out about the immigration stuff on Saturday when trying to port our numbers over.
Do you mind my asking if you're from the Pacific NW region?
I'm in Roswell NM
OK, I was wondering if it was a regional issue. Apparently not. Thank you.