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Failed to recognize foreign SIM card

I took my Incredible2 to Tanzania with the understanding that I could purchase a prepaid SIM card, thus allowing me to send texts back to the US. Prior to leaving home I got the Unlock code from Verizon and a quick rundown of the unlock procedure.

In Tanzania I went to a local AirTel store (the most popular cell provider in Tanzania) and tried to get one of the SIM cards to work. Unfortunately the phone failed to recognize the card - I never got the "Foreign SIM card detected" message; instead I got the message "Invalid SM card, only emergency calls are supported."

So I was unable to use the phone in Tanzania.

Has anyone else had a similar problem with foreign SIM cards? Was this a problem unique to an AirTel SIM card? Could I have done something wrong when trying to use the AirTel SIM?

Comments

silver6055

What instructions did you get from Verizon? I did it about a year ago and I remember it was more complex than on some other phones (more than just putting in a foreign SIM and getting prompted for an unlock code).

So it looks like it recognized the SIM as foreign rather than broken (otherwise it wouldn't offer emergency calls). My daughter used hers successfully in the UK two months ago, so the process can work!

Usually if there is a carrier SIM issue, the phone will still unlock, but when you try to make calls or use data, you just don't get a connection. Here it looks like the phone was locked.

rogerrbbit

What I was told by Verizon, and this matches what I found in several Android & Incredible2 forums (including this one) was that after inserting the foreign SIM card and powering the phone one it would display a screen saying something like "Unrecognized SIM card found. Enter Unlock code." After entering the Unlock code I was supposed to go to the Phone settings menu and enable GSM. THis was supposed to get the phone on the local (foreign) network.

Needless to say none of that every happened. So if there is a different procedure to follow I'd love to know what it is, and also why no one else seems to know what it is.

silver6055

From http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-incredible-2/327419-sim-unlock-issue.html

This is something like what I remember.

Note that there seems to be two similar entries, one for a SIM card PIN, and one for the network unlock.

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I was told the same thing -- that an "unlock SIM" screen would pop up the first time I inserted a foreign SIM card while outside of the Verizon network.

Well, I went to my own "foreign" country earlier today -- the machine room in my basement where there is no Verizon service -- and I never saw an "unlock SIM" screen during multiple reboots of the phone.

So I called up Global Customer Support again, and I spoke to a customer rep who actually believed me. He went and rounded up a Dinc2, then tried a third-party SIM in it. He wasn't able to get the illusive "unlock SIM" screen himself. So we both walked through the various menus, and decided to give the Settings:Security a try.

Sure enough, under Settings:Security, there is a menu item for "Disable SIM card lock". Choose that menu item and then type in your MEP code that Verizon gave you. Hit OK, and the phone will reboot.

I just confirmed that my phone works just fine with my Virgin Mobile SIM.

BTW, unlike my VZW Touch Pro 2, which works fine in the US with an AT&T SIM card in it, my Dinc2 will not see a network with the same AT&T SIM inserted in it.

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