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"Unknown SIM Error" on MDA Pro on T-Mobile

Hi,
I just bought an MDA Pro direct from T-Mobile's website and it was delivered today. Unfortunately, while the PDA side of things works perfectly, it won't connect to T-Mobile at all.
On the 'T-Mobile' start up screen it displays the text 'No GSM' above what I think must be version information.
It reports 'no service' in the phone status bubble, and SIM Manager says: "Only emergency service calls can be made without a PIN" When I enter the PIN I was given, nothing happens. I think it goes into 'change PIN mode' because then I can put two more 4-digit numbers in (it doesn't matter which!) and then it says "Unknown PIN Status. Unknown PIN Error"
Unfortunately it isn't just a SIM problem as the SIM works in my O2 P800.
I've spoken with T-Mobile and they want to swap the handset, which would be fine if they had any in stock! I'm wondering if anyone here had any advice on ways I could try fixing this short of waiting for them to get in touch and tell me they have another handset I can try.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Hi,
what is your local provider ? Is it T-Mobile, Vodafone, E-plus or O2 ?
The mda pro only works with a t-mobile sim !
- Superbowl

Try to clean the sim before putting it back in the MDA Pro,
Generally works for me!

i had the same problem with my jasjar here is Australia......my sim works on any other pda and phones but not the jasjar.....apparently the sim that i have or some of the new sims have a little higher voltage than normal.......and the jasjar dont like it.....so what i did was replace the sim with another one and that worked......al they had to do was port my number to the new sim......but before it did that tried to put the sim in first and it started to look for a network so i knew this was gonna work......becoz before when i put my old sim in it just says invalid sim or no sim........so try replacing ur sim with another one......perhaps try and get an old sim maybe the sim has some in stock.....i bet ya that will wrok....good luck

Thanks guys ... I'm trying to find an older T-Mobile SIM to try. It's just frustrating! I've tried giving the SIM a wipe, to no avail. If it is that the SIM is slightly incompatible, T-Mobile sending out another unit won't really help, right?
How annoying!
If anyone else has any great ideas I'd love to hear them!

try using someone elses sim and put it in the device and give it a try to check if its definitely the unit and not the sim......when i rang the tech support for optus thats what i was advised.....and they were right....sim voltage was the problem......anyways try getting another sim.

Contact customer services.
The problem sounds like you SIM is too old.
They should ask for your SIM serial number, if its too old they'll offer to send you a new SIM or something else to make it work straight away??? :wink:

The MDA PRO as its a 3G type phone with WCDMA it needs a diffrent sim card that is usaly known as a 3V USIM.
Its the same on Three in the UK, the sims from their phones will only work in 3G phones not standard GSM ones and vica-versa.

Old SIMs (from about 5 years ago) are rated at 5 volts. Newer ones are 3 volts (not just for 3G). Trust me, I work for a certain mobile phone company who sponser West Brom. ;-)
The problem will be fixed in a future software upgrade. But for now you need a new SIM or your phone unlocked.

Trouble is, this *is* a new SIM... I'm moving back to the 'hardware fault' diagnosis I think.
I went to a friendly carphone warehouse shop in Oxford and tried a new (and definately working) T-Mobile PAYG SIM and that gave exactly the same error.
Maybe T-Mobile need to send me a 3G SIM. I guess I'm probably just going to have to wait until they can send me a new handset to see what happens.
Ho hum!

There's no such thing as a 3G SIM. The 3G gigery pokery happens on the phone. There is no need for a different SIM. The MDA Pro has a problem with SIMs with certain serial numbers (Don't know which coz I'm not at work). You need either a SIM that the phone likes or your phone unlocked. Call customer services if you still have your phone.

Had the same problem allready twice in 2 weeks.
One time a soft reset made the device working again - another time I had to take out the sim card and put it in again, then it worked. But all email accounts were gone and had to be installed again.
Chris

Slave1 said:
There's no such thing as a 3G SIM. The 3G gigery pokery happens on the phone. There is no need for a different SIM. The MDA Pro has a problem with SIMs with certain serial numbers (Don't know which coz I'm not at work). You need either a SIM that the phone likes or your phone unlocked. Call customer services if you still have your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for that reply... it seems very useful! If you could post/pm me the numbers of those SIMs that the MDA Pro is unlikely to like I'd really appreciate it... customer services aren't striking me as very helpful (and certainly not knowledgable) and I can tell that if I call them they're still going to say: Wait until we have another handset in stock and we'll see what happens then. Which doesn't help me much as who knows when that will be?
Thanks!

Any SIM serial not starting with 06 or 07 will be affected by the issue.
eg 90043575, the serial starts with 04.
This will be fixed with a software upgrade in the future, in the mean time you either need new SIM or you handset unlocked. For either call customer services.

I got my MDA Pro a few days ago also, had the same problem as you, basically the handset is network locked, not sure how they managed to lock all UK network, basically give Tmob a call and make sure your stay on the line until they provide with an unlock code, i got mine, now my old sim works and my handset is unlocked

I got my MDA Pro a few days ago also, had the same problem as you, basically the handset is network locked, not sure how they managed to lock all UK network, basically give Tmob a call and make sure your stay on the line until they provide with an unlock code, i got mine, now my old sim works and my handset is unlocked

i had the same problem with my ASUS P535 (here is France) with new SIM card.
seen from :http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20070818011855796&board_id=6&model=P535&page=1&SLanguage=en-us
Thanks.

I had the same problem BUT-
I had the same problem but i had been using the sim card successfully with the exec for a year, after a hard reset it doesnt recognise the sim. will a ROM upgrade fix it or is it a hardware failiure?

My solution
lauriewsmith said:
I had the same problem but i had been using the sim card successfully with the exec for a year, after a hard reset it doesnt recognise the sim. will a ROM upgrade fix it or is it a hardware failiure?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had this happening to me just last week with a card that works all the time. Then followed that I had no sound coming off speakers or bluetooth. In my case it was a third party software problem. Don't ask me which as I install and uninstall too many applications and my Uni gets in a tangle sometimes. A soft reset instantly (in terms!) restored phone activities and sound, so I recommend a reset if you haven't tried it already. Maybe you will need more than one.

Selling hero for £150

I am thinking of selling my hero for round £150 because i can just not sort out the problem it has so maybe some1 with abit more knowledge will be able to sort it. It all works fine apart from the problem with the sim card which is for some reason it does not register any sim cards. The phone is unlocked and i was using a 3 sim card in for about 2 months but then all of a sudden i lost connection and then i could not reconnect with any sim card =/ i have tried different firmwares and radios but nothing seems to help. It certainly isn't barred i know that so i really duno what is up with it but would be a bargin for someone who does know. P/M if your interested

It ssems like phone has been blocked.Did you buy it from previous user? Contact him/her , or the branded supplier with imei number for their explanation.

no it use to be on contract but had a problem and came off but it hadn't been blocked by them i was using it for a while after i had come off use to work fine then it just did this. I have heard there are problems with 3 sim cards sometimes thow so wondering if it was the sim cause other sims just get stuck on the registering bit like the sim unlock hasn't worked

Just curious, but why haven't you contacted whoever you bought the phone off?
Definitely sounds to me like the handset has been barred. If you bought it as part of a contract, but then cancelled the contract early, well it makes sense for the operator to bar the handset if you didn't send it back.
Quick call to 3 (assuming that's who you bought it from) should give you an answer.

no its a tmobile i shall ring them tomorrow see what they say

Wavesecure in ROM, allowing to lock / locate / wipe your device remotely in the event of loss and be notified if the SIM is changed.

that doesn't really solve none working sims though does it ?
iv just paid for an imei check and just waiting for the result now

this phone is blocked by tmobile but not by other networks that is why it registers on tmobile but wont make calls or texts so am wondering if its something to do with the unlock code iv put in =/

SIM network unlock PIN for Samsung Galaxy S

Probably a silly question but I have the following problem:
I have 3 cards (Orange and 2 x T-Mobile). When I put either T-Mobile SIM in my phone, it requests a SIM network unlock PIN. I have the option of entering this in or clicking a dismiss button which will take me pass this screen but doesn't register onto the GSM network. This doesn't happen on my Orange SIM as this registers straight away onto the GSM network.
All 3 SIM cards do not request a PIN when I use them with two other phones that I have (HTC Hero and HTC TyTn 2).
On the SGS I have tried the pins 0000, 12345 and 1234 which are default PINs that I recall. I've checked the manual for the SGS and the literature that came with my T-Mobile SIM card and neither give any hints about a default PIN or about a SIM network unlock PIN.
I'm not sure if the PIN request is coming from the phone or the SIM card. I'm guessing it's coming from the phone but I don't know why it doesn't request this when I use my Orange SIM card.
I purchased the phone SIM free. The Orange SIM is a PAYG and the two T-Mobile SIMs are pay monthly contracts. I know all 3 SIMs work without PINs in my other phone.
Can anyone help? I'm assuming I'm missing something really simple but can't figure out what. I've already tried a dozen google searches with no luck. Please please help. I feel I'm being deprived of my 2 hour old SGS phone

I've now taken a video of the boot up sequence to show you what it looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D-RvvCK2bM
Can anyone confirm or refute whether this is happening on their SGS too? It seems like it's a Security Code on the handset but I can't find any setting for such a code.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Techno79 said:
Can anyone confirm or refute whether this is happening on their SGS too? It seems like it's a Security Code on the handset but I can't find any setting for such a code.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't think your phone is actually SIM free... no issues here using any SIM I like (purchased from Unlocked Mobiles). Where did you get yours?

n4nick said:
Don't think your phone is actually SIM free... no issues here using any SIM I like (purchased from Unlocked Mobiles). Where did you get yours?
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Click to collapse
I purchases it from handtec. I don't think it is Sim free for the following reasons:
1. It was listed as Sim free
2. The box it came in also seems to indicate it is Sim free
3. There is no carrier logo on the phone or anything it came with
4. Seems to work with my Orange Sim card (which implies the phone came from orange if it was Sim free and this phone hasn't been released on Orange).
I'm guessing by the single thread reply that no one else has come into this issue before? And it's probably not just a simple default security code?

I don't know if this will help, but when I was asked for a sim code on a new Nokia phone, about two years ago, I rang Voda and asked for the pin code. In your case you would need to ask T Mobile.

I have the exact same issue with my Galaxy from Handtec which arrived today. I hope they aren't selling sim-locked phones as sim-free... Time to call Voda...

Ok, apparently it's a known issue. Just spoke to handtec, they say they got a batch of phones from Samsung which are locked to Orange. Call them for a replacement/refund. Don't mess about with the phone support line, it just points you to the website and disconnects you, call them and speak to sales. 01733 298500

mcleancraig said:
Ok, apparently it's a known issue. Just spoke to handtec, they say they got a batch of phones from Samsung which are locked to Orange. Call them for a replacement/refund. Don't mess about with the phone support line, it just points you to the website and disconnects you, call them and speak to sales. 01733 298500
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah ok, that makes sense and which is why my Orange SIM card worked but not T-Mobile. I may have come to this conclusion if I had a Vodafone and O2 SIM knocking about.
Thanks for the info. Will be returning the phone for a replacement.

n4nick said:
Don't think your phone is actually SIM free... no issues here using any SIM I like (purchased from Unlocked Mobiles). Where did you get yours?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@n4nick: It appears as though you were right although the phone doesn't look like an Orange locked phone. Orange are notorious for plastering their big ugly logo on the physical phone and all over the software. They even put their logo on the box, accessories and manuals. This phone really looks like a SIM free version.
I wonder if the Orange locked batch were due to go to Orange for them to do their usual carrier differentiation before they then go out to customers.

Hi!, I've bought Samsung Galaxy S from handtec too and I get the same message: sim network unlock pin. I've just sent request to Handtec support.
What about you? Did you somehow unlock? Or did you change your phone?

Speak to Handtec about it and get a replacement or a refund as the item sent out is the wrong item. As mentioned previously, I believe the mistake was from Samsung as they sent a batch of Orange locked handsets as unlocked handsets which Handtec then sold accordingly. Handtec seem to be handling the whole mixup very well with good customer service so you should be ok.

Yeah I'm experiencing this issue as well. Phone worked fine for 7 days then today out of nowhere I get the SIM network unlock PIN alert upon startup. I contacted Handtec and this is all they had to say.
Thanks for your email,
Unfortunately this is an error with Samsung and we will require all of the items back, postage will be covered once back and confirmed it is an orange locked device but we will require this back to replace it for you.
Please advise,
Kind regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't be bothered with sending it back and being without a phone for atleast a week.

UltimaRB said:
Yeah I'm experiencing this issue as well. Phone worked fine for 7 days then today out of nowhere I get the SIM network unlock PIN alert upon startup. I contacted Handtec and this is all they had to say.
I can't be bothered with sending it back and being without a phone for atleast a week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Legally they have to give you a full refund including the postage cost for both ways. Therefore you could purchase a new handset while you are in the process of getting a refund for the existing one. You'll know if it is an Orange locked phone because there was one or two Orange specific applications pre-installed on the phone.
If it was working before and not now then it's possible it could be a different issue though.

I work for t-mobile and samsung sent us some unbranded phones that were locked to orange by mistake. That chances are we wernt the only ones to receive them
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

had this problem myself on O2
went to store to use their phone to ring around (they were sorry)
after time on the line with O2 support they had no answers, so i rang samsung
samsung took literally seconds on the phone, i said about the 'sim network unlock pin' and he simply turned round and said its dead, a dead chipset thats in every phone they sent out in the last week, i was told this on friday 11th
samsung then spoke to the staff at the O2 store and advised them to mark all other galaxys they had as 'dead on arrival' and return them and for others to do the same
looks like a big batch issue so best thing u can do is send your dodgy one back like i have done, hopefully this replacement will work

I just got the Network Unlock PIN Message myself randomly after a reboot 7 days after purchase.
Has anyone tried using a TurboSIM to see if it works?
Sad thing is it was working one day and then broke the next.
Pretty bad that we have to pay postage to get their doa replaced. ( Specially considering that's about $50 for me. )
EDIT: Does anyone know what the STOCK firmware was when you got your handtec handset? ( From what I can tell it could be XXJF3. )
EDIT2: Success! After contacting Handtec they sent me a code to use, it seems to have permanently network unlocked my phone.

After a few emails with Handtec they were able to provide me with an unlock code after giving them my IMEI number. All is good again

I have a similar problem with T959 from TMobile USA. The phone was obviously locked to TMobile but I got the code from TMobile, entered it and phone was unlocked. My customer took home, used it for about a week and now the phone is network lock again and ask for network pin. So I enter the same code that was used to unlock it but now it DOES NOT work. So strange. But this happened before on other android phone and it worked, just re-enter the code. Anyone has a solution yet on this problem?

aaarrrggghhhh!
I have same problem but.... the unlock code Handtec sent me does not work
I have tried every method I can find on the internet to enter the unlock code (eg #0111*code#, #7465625*638*code# and even #7465625*638*# which pops up with a seperate box to enter the unlock code) and each time it fails. I've even done this after various full hardware resets.
Hantec have said the phone might be faulty with a software problem and to send it back to them.
I am in Cyprus and its going to cost me 50 euro to send it back. If I had paid an extra 50 euro on the Handtec price I could have bought it locally! Doh!
Mark.

newtonthecat said:
aaarrrggghhhh!
I have same problem but.... the unlock code Handtec sent me does not work
I have tried every method I can find on the internet to enter the unlock code (eg #0111*code#, #7465625*638*code# and even #7465625*638*# which pops up with a seperate box to enter the unlock code) and each time it fails. I've even done this after various full hardware resets.
Hantec have said the phone might be faulty with a software problem and to send it back to them.
I am in Cyprus and its going to cost me 50 euro to send it back. If I had paid an extra 50 euro on the Handtec price I could have bought it locally! Doh!
Mark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To enter the code you should put a SIM in, and start the phone, it will ask you straight away...
If you attempted to enter wrong codes too many times it will stop asking you and your phone is permanently locked until you return it to the manufacturer.
Oh noes, mine better not relock... :\
Just out of curiosity, how many 5's does your code have?

Unlocked HTC Aria SIM problems

Howdy folks,
New to the Aria family - bought an unlocked Aria on eBay to use in Manitoba on MTS' new "4G" network. Brought it in today to get a new SIM card, but when we put the SIM card in... it got no service. They claimed it must not have been unlocked, so I brought it home with me and tried it with my wife's Rogers' SIM card from her iPhone... and a minute after plugging in the card - voila - it had signal and I could make calls. Head back to MTS, and try again - no love.
Any idea what might be causing this? Rogers and MTS both use 850/1900 frequencies, so it isn't that... the phone is running 2.1 stock as far as I can tell.

I don't see any reason why the Aria would not work for you. Is it an AT&T branded device? (i.e., has an AT&T logo on the front of the phone)

drumist said:
I don't see any reason why the Aria would not work for you. Is it an AT&T branded device? (i.e., has an AT&T logo on the front of the phone)
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Click to collapse
Yes, it is - and there are AT&T apps and a "splash" screen on start-up... but one non-AT&T carrier SIM works (Rogers)...
Would it have anything to do with using a mini-SIM (like, not punched out from the normal size card)?

It shouldn't matter. I'd probably go back and try again with a different SIM. Maybe it was just bad or something.
Even if the phone is locked, it should tell you "Network locked" and ask for a PIN instead of saying there is no signal. Also make sure you are reattaching the back of the phone when trying it because otherwise your reception will be bad.
Edit: Here's a random video showing what it looks like if your phone is SIM locked. (This is not the Aria but it looks the same.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UV2ALQxUnI#t=44s

Yeah - then I would say my phone is NOT locked... as I had suspected.
I'd like to try a fresh SIM rather than using an already active one, perhaps.

Would the fact that Rogers uses 850/1900, and MTS only uses 850 be an issue here? I'm pretty sure the phone supports both...?

drumist said:
Also make sure you are reattaching the back of the phone when trying it because otherwise your reception will be bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much! That was the answer for me. Duh, didn't realize the antenna was part of the back.

one Samsung Galaxy S4 EE sim says 'invalid sim other OK

I have 2 Galaxy S4 i9505 phones.
Phone 1. Bought as used phone on Ebay and was previously locked to the 'Three' network, I had it unlocked by 'Three'. This phone has always, and still does work without problem with my EE 4G (pay monthly) sim. The only remarkable thing about this phone is that it failed/froze/bricked whilst installing the Lollipop upgrade. It was repaired - new boards - under warranty in April 2015.
Phone 2 was also bought as used on Ebay. This phone had been used on O2 network. I discovered that it had never been locked to any network. I bought a pay monthly 30 day rolling contract thinking that it had been locked to O2. When I put my EE 4G sim in I got the message 'no sim, insert sim'. Baffled. The only thing I thought could be the problem was the sim itself, EE gave me a new sim. The only physical difference this sim had was that it had the Nano option. When I put this sim in phone 1 it worked perfectly, I put it into phone 2 and it worked! I needed to put the sim back into phone 1 to set it up to transfer data. When I put it back into phone 2 the message 'invalid sim' came up and that is where things stand.
As I have two phones I was hoping someone could guide me through the necessary steps to find out where the problem lies by comparing the two, and hopefully find a solution. I have read another thread from tomedwards93 posted in April 2015 and see no solution was found by him so maybe this could help him too.
Can someone please help?

I didn't understand a single of what is written,the description is long and read this thread twice,still can't a understand this thread
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

Grimble1950 said:
I have 2 Galaxy S4 i9505 phones.
Phone 1. Bought as used phone on Ebay and was previously locked to the 'Three' network, I had it unlocked by 'Three'. This phone has always, and still does work without problem with my EE 4G (pay monthly) sim. The only remarkable thing about this phone is that it failed/froze/bricked whilst installing the Lollipop upgrade. It was repaired - new boards - under warranty in April 2015.
Phone 2 was also bought as used on Ebay. This phone had been used on O2 network. I discovered that it had never been locked to any network. I bought a pay monthly 30 day rolling contract thinking that it had been locked to O2. When I put my EE 4G sim in I got the message 'no sim, insert sim'. Baffled. The only thing I thought could be the problem was the sim itself, EE gave me a new sim. The only physical difference this sim had was that it had the Nano option. When I put this sim in phone 1 it worked perfectly, I put it into phone 2 and it worked! I needed to put the sim back into phone 1 to set it up to transfer data. When I put it back into phone 2 the message 'invalid sim' came up and that is where things stand.
As I have two phones I was hoping someone could guide me through the necessary steps to find out where the problem lies by comparing the two, and hopefully find a solution. I have read another thread from tomedwards93 posted in April 2015 and see no solution was found by him so maybe this could help him too.
Can someone please help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It it worked and now it doesn't then replace the sim slot on phone 2.

Lennyz1988 said:
It it worked and now it doesn't then replace the sim slot on phone 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've replaced the sim card slot and done a factory reset, it worked for about half an hour then the 'No sim ' message returned. It still works with a PAYG '3 network' sim, with intermittent 'sim removed restart phone' message I no longer have the O2 account.
I have another fully functioning S4. Can anyone guide me through comparing the Android settings on the 2 phones.
I've never attempted either flashing or rooting and don't understand how to go about doing this.
Just to say thanks for the suggestions, the phone has now corrupted my SD card and I've had enough, I'm defeated. I'll keep this phone as a Sonos controller and go to Lumia 950 on Win phone 10 when it arrives.:good:

Sim not detected
I have a samsung S4 i 9505 and I often receive a message "insert cart sim". After rebooting it works normally