@@mementomori7186 😢just came off over a 1 month ban to my channel on my 1st RUclips community strike that's "supposed" to be 1 week or as they say 2 week 1 for a "warning" and 2 for "strike". About misinfo with cov1 nine and embroidery kids that was on a Bryson Topher and Burden song last minute from a modern Strike game uploaded
@@mementomori7186 witch they can makeup whatever they want on the fly because it reads a 1000 word warnings on topics and words you can not say and it ends with a " and this isn't all of them its also what may come up in the future too"
Rob, Thank you! You, Sir are so far down the rabbit hole. My hat is off to you for all your work and efforts. I can vouch for you with this through personal experience with AT&T. Been running a phone that is allegedly Not compatible (i.e. "Not on their list of approved devices"). However, in reality, the device has all the necessary antennas and works great on their network. The problem is that I just didn't buy it from them, so they pretend (LIE!) And claim it will not work on their network. Disgusting how they take advantage of consumers like this. God damned snake oil salesmen! Where the hell is some young eager attorney to start a class action suit and bring these lying bastard down! Fight the power!
The company I work for has been flashing IMEIs for some time - this has been done by a buddy of the Boss. This video has provided answers to several questions we minions had. Thank you. Another item that appears to use the IMEI is OS upgrades.
Rob I’ve been watching for several years now. I work for ATT as a sales rep you are one of my favorite RUclipsrs. Appreciate you shedding light all the time
Small Tip: on Mint Mobile app there is an option to "skip phone IMEI" check. If you use this (with sim card in), you should be able to activate a phone not on the list. Tested this last month with a phone that listed as not compatible. Saves flashing IMEI if they aren't comfortable doing so (but companies could become more aggressive on this front in the future).
Question, if you flash the IMEI, wouldn't you have to re-start your data plan every time? I recently bought a walmart phone for a friend in an abusive situation. I registered it for a 1 mo data plan. If it is registered by (total wireless) w the imei + Sim card number, then it seems like changing the IMEI a lot would not be a workable solution. I would love to change mine all the time though, tbh.
@@AF_1892 One thing phone users do is activate sim on "whitelisted" android, then move the sim into their phone (Linux phones for ex: which otherwise carriers may give them trouble for, this is common practice). I mention this because it is the same thing as changing IMEI (both phones have their own unique IMEI). So no, I don't believe you would need to, if you have a physical, already activated (and working) sim card. But some carriers (like Verizon), can be trickier about phones and codes.
@@RTPTechTips Unfortunately, the phone I got her was smart talk, carrier is trash Verizon. Anyways I was able to return the cheap phone. My friend was too scared to even take it home, bc her husband monitors all pings on the house business router. She is so brainwashed. I tried.
Thanks for putting all the information in one video. Its almost impossible trying to keep up, even as someone who lives and breathes computers but hate the phone industry. This kind of business practice should be illegal as is. ofc Schumer out of NY would be the one to wanna revoke our IMEI freedom even more. Ugh
Where i live, the carriers that i am aware of are (excluding MVNOs) EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone (The phone which i use to check for signals picks up networks for those 4) Some MVNOs don’t even hide which network they piggy back off of (for example, when i was with Tesco, my phone indicated that it was using O2) I did notice that when i moved a SIM card from a cheap EE phone into another phone, the EE site, which previously showed the exact model, no longer showed the model, however, the SIM worked fine in the new phone
Rob, if that IMEI business and phone rejections is mainly a lie, the FTC should be informed. That's fraud, and the FTC can fine them heavily AND force them to cease and decist.
Well that is not my expertise. All I know is that phones in the Mint and Cricket list for example is a tiny representation of what's allowed by the main carrier.
@@johng.4959 In weasel words, if they choose not to support it, it is not supported. I don't agree with the way they do business but suspect a lot of carriers choose to "not support" simply because they can have a smaller support staff if they only support a limited number of phones. Too many businesses make whores and thieves sound like exemplary citizens.
@@johng.4959 It's doesn't have the software,so it won't load the IMS settings.I have dealt with devices for years.I see what they did after the shutdown.The One Plus would have worked if it was branded for that carrier.AT&T/Cricket the same.T-MOBILE/Mint/Hello Mobile the same.
@@SurgemanX How can I get my casio Gzone phone to be allowed to use the play store. I bought them years ago to use as security cameras and when I tried to log into the play store it wasn't allowed due to the age, my Google account is on the phone. It's not used for calls naturally
wow dude...your info and knowledge on these phones is awesome ...thanks for sharing .....thanks for caring ......you rock bro..... keep taking the power back from the man ......
There are plenty of Non-MVNO CSPs in the United States. Yes there are many MVNOs but there are independent CSPs who operate their own independent networks. Changing your IMEI can cause efficiency issues on networks since networks can be tuned based on the IMEI of the user. Any carrier can always know the IMEI of a device. When the device registers on the network it sends it's IMEI as part of the AAA. This allows carriers to verify a device will work based on LTE Bands, DSS capabilities and more.
From my testing, the carrier knows the IMEI. But does the MVNO know it in real time? The carrier is limiting based on TAC codes but differently based on MVNO it seems. At least that's my data from thousands of users. And it seems like this changes too. Something that I'd like to learn too is why a TAC code is restricted in some areas but not in others, even in the same city. It's almost at the tower level. Could this be based on leased towers? Information on this would be helpful. Thanks.
@@robbraxmantech very possible for you question on TAC restrictions. Any time a device established a session on the network it sends it's IMEISV. Carriers know the model and the software version a device is on. Combine that with the GSMA database of TAC codes and carriers know everything about a device they need to determine it's capabilities. The lift comes after that, how to sift and automate that data. It's an expensive development procedure but one I've helped work out with a smaller rural carrier
lol I can certainly say that none of that is the reason.. The reason is restriction = new purchase = increase sales = increase profit = less freedom for the consumer.
The US carriers also almost always omit the same couple of lines from the Android code base, which prevents most call recording software from working. On the exact same models in the EU the default code is intact, and direct call recording works. The phone makers claim the carriers require this, and the carriers claim the manufacturers are to blame.
I worked for a phone company for 2 years and the IMEI checks to see if the phone is compatible with the network, the other factors are if the phone is unlocked by the provider of the service the phone is currently on to go to another carrier. If the phone is blacklisted it will show up on the check and we don't notify anyone about it we usually say it can't be put on the network and we would tell you to go to your carrier and sort out that issue with them.
You're wonderful! You provide the details that, some of them, I kind of sensed what you are talking about without knowing the terminology. So you validate my instincts LOL appreciate that! Thank you so much for all you offer to people. It is really invaluable as well as interesting. Think I'm gonna get your phone for sure. Thanks again.
I've had that experience with a carrier that would tell me about how my phone was no longer supported and that I would need to buy a new phone and a two-year contract. This would happen when the contract was expiring, and the carrier would offer a discount or "free" phone if I signed up with a contract. Sometimes I would get a phone that I liked, and other times the phone being pushed was a step backwards. Now the market is pushing us to buy a new, more expensive phone every year. Phone models are coming out on a schedule like car models, and corporations are incessantly pushing us to "get the app" and allow the phone to store and share all of our personal information.
Hell, here in Greece they "lock" out the phone from the network requiring one to reboot the phone. It happened to me with Cosmote here in Greece during a minor emergency which required me to restart the phone taking time out from the emergency. If this was a life endangering emergency the individual may have lost their life because of this crap. 73 and thanks for the info. BTW both T mobile and Cosmote are owned by the German giant Deuche Telcom. Remember the double billing issue of T Mobile in the early 2000? Well Cosmote tried the same stuff here until several individuals blew the whistle on them.
I had this issue with T-Mobile years ago and talked with them for HOURS and the person on the phone couldn't figure out why the phone wouldn't fully work. It was because of exactly what you are talking about... it wasn't "approved". Even though it was an otherwise acceptable device. It is stupid. They want you on their phones.
Mint did this to my mother . Had volte working and wifi calling on that phone. They now disabled the capability on the compatible phone. I had to go to the pawn shop and buy a new phone. I put a smashed up s8 Sprint IMEI on the ulfone power 6 and it works amazing volte and wifi calling is back on mint
Visible (Verizon) has been giving me the runaround (phone is incompatible, phone is reported stolen etc.) And of course I should just buy a new phone from them. It has been ridiculous. There is an obvious push to have all on one system, and in the darkness bind them.
I have 2 phone on Visible. I just checked these phones for compatibility on the website. Both are listed as INCOMPATIBLE. I sent email to Visible. No reply! The have really poor customer service.
got a sonim xp8 (the firstnet flagship phone at that time) from sprint when i was still under my parents, tried to transfer it to firstnet (at&t) and about a month after it stopped getting mms and calls with only sms and data working... a friend loaned me his at&t phone (catS60) so i swapped the sim and it only gets calls and sms. im appalled by their practice with the imei and hope to fix my xp8 with this.. thank you so much! they shouldnt treat emergency service like this!
Thank you for what you do. Making people aware of what is being done/is possible etc is really important to the survival of natural born non "enhanced" humans.
I tuned out as soon as he said phone companies make a profit selling you a new phone... As someone who works in the industry this couldn't be further from the truth. I see the margins on these iPhones for example and you lose money before they are even sold in regards to logistics expenses. In reality phone carriers could be persuading people to get phones for another reason.. to shut down legacy technology on towers. 2G for example was still supported until 2022. It gets expensive for carriers to run multiple generations of technology on the same tower.
Corporate bastards cost me $140 which was all I had for food just to find out that my phone was incompatible thank you for giving me the information I needed or will need to perhaps get the phone working so I'm not sleeping underneath the tarp
Fun fact: no matter what model you have you always get service if your phone sim card identifies the phone as 'tourist phone' (aka, not from a provider inside the country) and no matter the model you can always use 911. So all blocking is purely monetary based.
@@shiZZa69 yes, Australia uses different bands. It might be possible that your phone cannot do those. I sneakily assumed in my comment that the phone fulfils the technical requirements.
@@My_Old_YT_Account No, it doesn't work like that. The network operator's system keeps track of three numbers: IMEI, IMSI and the phone number. You can't just spoof the IMEI number to try to get access to a phone network which is not your home network on which your phone is a subscriber. There are encryption techniques used as well and where the keys are stored, how the derived session keys are generated. What you are suggesting will not work.
I'm watching on Odysee right, now, commenting here. I never get, a, Phone, from a carrier, because they, require a phone in exchange. The only condition where I would turn my phone into them is if I removed, (what substitutes, as), the hard drive, and installed a new one. Hypothetically, If I did that, could the RAM be accessed and database by them?
IMEI checks are also used to block stolen phones from being used so that they have no afternarket resale value. Also to block 3g phones that may work now but may not work in 6 months or less if they dont support the lte channels the carrier broadcasts on.
I've been hit with this IMEI check crap as well! My carrier switched to VoLTE (voice over LTE) last year, and they cancelled my service because they said my phone didn't support VoLTE and I refused to upgrade to a new device. Well, my phone didn't original support VoLTE when it came out, but root mods were released later by the community that fully enabled VoLTE, and I did that to my phone and had already been using VoLTE for quite a while before that, but my stupid carrier said since their system says my phone doesn't support VoLTE, so they had to close my account, even though I explained I had already been using VoLTE with them! They refused to reactivate a new account for me with the same IMEI too, so I was forced to buy the cheapest compatible phone I could find, activate a new account with a new sim card in that phone, and then move the sim card back to my old "unsupported" phone... I'm still using that "unsupported" phone to this day, and VoLTE works great. I've heard Verizon is horrible about this crap as well, and that they won't even activate any phone unless it's a model they sell themselves. Even if a phone is completely compatible with Verizon, if Verizon doesn't sell that exact same model of phone, they refuse to activate it. That really makes me mad too because I'm a Straight Talk user using the AT&T or T-Mobile towers via Straight Talk, and I have been doing so for over a decade, and now Verizon just bought out all of Straight Talk! They have already been sending me emails trying to push me into buying a "Verizon compatible phone", which I have absolutely no interest in doing! I do not WANT to use Verizon's network, as it SUCKS in my area.
Right, I discovered the 'extortion' factor when 3G was dropped. I have a 4G VoLTE phone from Planet computers and since Planet did not buy into the commission to be paid to ATT or Verizon to be included on their 'approved' list I was pegged as incompatible . Calling several different agents of ATT I finally found that I could be exempt from being disconnected from my SIM card. So, there is an opt out luckily and I am still using my Cosmo Communicator with ATT. All that hassle was maddening.
H2O is using IMEI to block fully capable VoLTE phones that are older. They use ATT which doesn’t block the same phones. So H2O are deliberately blocking to sell new phones.
Of course they limit your bandwidth. If you go over your contacted agreed capacity limits that you have paid for, some cell operators will limit your bandwidth and others will reduce it to zero so you can't perform any more data calls.
this exact thing happened to me with tmobile and an asus rog phone. They said that there were different models of that same phone they would support but not the tencent involved version. Had to return a $1200 phone i really wanted. I was actually wondering if there's a way to flash a new IMEI onto the phone and then have them run it through registration with a different tac code. Tmobile dosn't sell the asus rog phone.
Living on a sailboat by yourself makes you more paranoid than you should be. Carriers make device providers go thru an extensive certification process in order to bring a device onto their network. This ensures multiple things among others, network security and network utilization, device safety (so it doesn’t melt in your pocket), etc… much like you would not set sail with a total stranger…
Hello Rob, there are some things regarding the IMEI authenticathion that they are not correct on your video, sugest you to look at 3GPP standard, also VoLTE has some major signaling problems on some phone models that do not comply with the basic Standard but they say on the box they comply, every carrier set tests to homologate phones and see if they really comply with 3GPP standard, it is not a "Game" or at "Lie" just not totally compliant, this User equipments can work as you say but... They have some not compliant traffic flows that affect the KPI due the number of retries that this equipment is making.
Rob! I just got my brax2 and I’m learning the ropes, can you, or have you done any videos explaining the best working safe apps for the basics like calling, messaging, multimedia etc? That would be very helpful for us newbies.
join up on Rob's social network called Brax.me and find the answers to all your questions!! Personally, I prefer "openContacts" for calling (Love their search features and they remain separate from the default calling contact list.) On Brax you can learn XMPP - and get your friends to use a browser to chat with you by making an avatar for it on their phone.
Another thing in Australia carriers aren't aloud to lock any phone on a contract not even iPhones. And if you buy it outright it's never locked either. Prepaid cheapo phones generally are carrier locked but can be unlocked and work on any carrier after you've recharged a few times or for a fee straight away. I do think Australian has better consumer laws to protect us.
I’ve ran into this several times. Oh, the lies I’ve been told by carriers. I should have recorded my calls. Here is another company to add to your list StraightTalk bumped me off their network. They basically wasted a lot of my time but I learned a lot of what you are sharing. I have the BlackView BV5900 and looking to secure it. Would love to know more on how I can do that.
I wish there was something that could be done regarding the blatant elitism regarding what type of phone service plans are acceptable for text message authentication. I know Blizzard, Discord, as well as many more online services refuse people based on what type of provider and phone plan you use. That seems like discrimination because someone who is using a prepaid phone usually doesn't have the credit to get a phone plan like a monthly bill. They HAVE to use these types of plans.
@@robbraxmantech Again, I've been using their service for four years and have used a number of different phones, all of which were unlocked GSM phones. A carrier locked GSM phone will not work.
@@robbraxmantech I have the same experience as SR DJR, I used my Google Pixel to activate the SIM, Once that was done I have successfully used it is in a USCC unlocked flip phone, Unihertz Smart-phone & a Sunbeam wireless flip-phone. So in my experience Mint mobile has no artificial IMEI restrictions once activated.
I tried to find a carrier that would accept my son’s Galaxy S21+ , Cricket would not take it. Others wouldn’t take it. they would take my Note 20 Ultra and my husbands Note 10 Plus but not the S21+ which has 5G capability. Makes no sense.. why take older ones but not newer models.
I'm so glad that UK mobile networks haven't gone in the same direction (yet) I still have a ton of pre-smartphones from the early 2000's that still work. Although 2G & 3G is officially going to be switched off in 2033 however starting in 2023 Vodafone & EE (t-mobile & Orange) will be switching off 2G & 3G with only Three hutchinson & O2 Telephonica left with operating 2G & 3G services till 2033.
Yes same here in Norway, and I'm guessing Europe in general. We don't allow burner phones either anymore. And the carrier locks are a thing of the past here too.
Phone Salesmen as bad as Used Car salesmen Rob? Having grown up around the Used Car business, Hollywood, and worked in the Oil business, Talk Radio and politics, I can honestly say I met more honest Car dealers than honest Oilmen, Politicians, Media and Big Tech minions.
When I got my Pixel 5a & 13 mini, I got them directly from the companies (google & apple). so they were unlocked. i wasnt tryin to deal with that locked bs.
Just a little story: A few years ago, I purchased a OnePlus 5 phone to use on the (Cricket/AT&T) phone network. Phone was great and no problems whatsoever. After some time, I changed jobs and the company gave me a new Google Pixel phone as a work phone. I decided to try it out for a day and switched my Sim-card from the OnePlus to the Pixel. Good to go. The company also offered to pay for phone service and went with Verizon. (Different Sim) I still wanted my old OnePlus phone as my personal phone and put “my Sim card” back into the OnePlus. Well….I was surprised to receive a message that said: “We are sorry…put your phone is no longer supported on our Cricket network. Please call us directly for more answers…” HUH? So, my phone was no longer acceptable 24-hours later? I called Cricket asked me about the phone model and IMEI. The rep. said that my phone did not support 4g and VoLTE… (Clearly 100% wrong as it did indeed have these capabilities.) The OnePlus phone wasn’t a cheap phone then and is perfectly capable today! Anyway -I argued with the tech and visited a store. NOTHING could be done! Sorry… but of course… “Would you like to buy one of our featured phones?” they asked?? I walked out of the store. Apparently, just removing the Sim card and replacing with the SAME CARD, had triggered the system to deny service. Makes me think - how long I would have been connected had I never removed the card? Well, I’ve always known this was a underhanded, shady, and despicable way to sell more Cricket phones. Horrible and unethical. Thank you Rob for alerting the masses to these companies’ tactics.
How does network PIN and network PUK work ? I had my IMEI locked on a certain t-mobile provider, and I messed the network pin code by guessing few time (just for fun) and it locked me and asked me for network PUK. So what's does the PUK represents in the network access code? Do the devices come with pin/puk from factory (and the provider know those pair keys) or what?
You've typed in a PIN code too many times so the phone itself has locked the SIM so it can't be used. You have to contact your cell operator and request a PUK code which you then enter into the phone to unlock the SIM card. I don't know for definite how it is generated but I suspect the cell operator generates it and places it against your IMSI number (SIM card number) in the EIR register. The EIR register (a software application) is checked by your phone when it connects to the network. The EIR register is effectively a black list of phones which are prohibited from connecting to the network. So when you enter the PUK on the phone, the phone can check the PUK is valid by interrogating the EIR register. That's my theory based on what I know of mobile phone technology...but I am not an expert on the protocols. The PUK code is not held in the SIM card. It is held in the network itself.
@@deang5622 So the PUK code is not the sim's PUK code? Cause the operator gave me a PUK code, after I complained network code doesn't work cause too many attempts, I don't know whether PUK was for the last functional sim card used by the phone (cause he was a bit pissed when he gave me that code) or the PUK was a network PUK to unlock too many attempts.
@@DamjanDimitrioski There is a network unlock code and a PUK. I am not an expert on this, but what I have read is if you enter an incorrect PUK code 10 times, then you have to replace the SIM card. I guess then the SIM card is permanently blocked from connecting to the network. Obtaining a new SIM should not be a problem. They can migrate the services you had across to it. And they can even assign your original phone number to the new SIM. Don't worry how it is done, but it's done through the HSS (Home Subscriber Server). Each technology, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G has its software/hardware component for storing SIM and subscriber details and each has a different name. The phone number is mapped to the SIM card number (IMSI). So if they say they can't let you keep the old phone number for the new SIM, politely tell them they can and they have to configure it manually in the HSS.
@@deang5622 Oh no, I don't care the old sim card (which wasn't present in the phone), the thing is the phone was old like 4-5 years, and nobody even knows what was the last sim, all I wanted is to have a burner phone for pre paid sims and now I have :). Thanks to social engineering the operator's agents,. even though I legally have rights to unlock it and you have beg them for it, not fair. They should automate the process, by just typing some OTP code in your contract (which will work only after the contract ends or if you buy all your phone early), and you will get the: Network code and Network PUK without the need of those agents.
Optimum Mobile is also terrible, they use t Mobile network yet they only support a few of the latest Samsung and apple, and some other phones, I tried it on my phone that works perfectly with t mobile but it did not work with optimum even though they use t Mobile also
Gotta move over to Linux if you want to get away from M$ spying! I'm sure you clean up your Windows from all the telemetry but Linux is the way. Debian plus Xfce for the window manager is a beautiful thing. Love the energy you bring to mobile security.
@@rebecavillanova7622 Airvpn is hands down the best! Works on anything. Owned by REAL hackers and h@acktivists. I've never found a more configurable VPN. Been with them for years, never had one problem. Really active forums, amazingly helpful devs and cheap! I promise you won't be disappointed. AirvpnDOTorg And no, I don't work for them! 😊 The also make amazing open-source software for just about anything you need, FREE!
I've just bought a headunit called ownice K7.. it has two Sim card slots but one Sim card slot is locked to a Chinese IMEI and the other is open for any Sim.. Is there a way to remove or change the 1st IMEI so I can use my sim card in Australia rather having a locked Sim card slot?
all the carriers have to do is remove the 3g module from the towers (problem solved). why have you enter the imei number when the sim chip can ping the phone for the imei? unless to give you the illusion of privacy (remember the cpu serial number phone home scandal)? just like some web sites use canvas to identify browser despite user agent and incognito mode can a phone have a feature that a carrier could detect even if you change the imei or tac? if they want to sell more phones then make exclusive bundle deals that include features you cant buy separately either as apps or hardware for example buy an iphone 14 and get a free $10000 value thermal camera that is so sensitive it is considered a weapon of mas destruction jut like the power mac g4 was in the 90s and the thermal camera can not be bought from anywhere. or product placement make the iphone 14 do something in the movie that it can not do in reality for example they point the phone at the sun and push a button and a laser beam shoots out and they can then move the sun across the sky changing the time of the day. or the same laser beam can blow up a building . even if changing imei becomes illegal in the united states people could still change it it just means software and devices will be shipped from china or even downloaded over tor. and probably devices could be made with raspberry pi or arduino making it impossible to enforce. though such a law may be great for as a rider just to get some other law or bill passed. since you are the manufacturer of the brax2 phones you may be able to make the imei flashible without a computer by having some secret menu that you can enter the new number like you would do the passcode or swipe. you could also make it so if the phone has a micro sd card slot a fat32 formatted sd card with a text file containing the new imei number would be loaded in the same way that you flash firmware on many devices.
I have an S21 Ultra 5G from Verizon. Tried using it on at&t prepaid. While the device did work on the network I could only access 4g. I took it to a at&t store and he changed the IMEI that I provided during activation to a random at&t device IMEI but changed the last couple digits to something random. After restarting my phone I was able to use their 5g and 5g+. At&t is very bad about using phones not purchased from them. Just a heads up if anyone else has this issue.
The same baloney happens in the window world I have my little camera and then when the new operating system comes out all of a sudden this camera is not compatible I just go in there and make a patch and it works fine they just Wants you to buy the latest and the greatest
Amazing..I had the same problem with trackphone..when they were straighttalk my xiaomi mi note 10 worked fine, now they say that my phone has no volte and will not work..but my phone has volte, is there anything that can be done to make my phone work again?
I have a net gear m5100 from ATT unlocked, I first used it on Verizon. After ATT offered a better deal ,I took it, and when I went back to Verizon they did this same thing. Saidnits not compatible on their network. I told them BULLSHIT!
im getting blocked on straight talk .....i used to be able to move my sim from phone to phone ..i can no longer do this .....do you offer the OS that you have on the phone you sell?
I get a ID message every time I restart...I have had a unlocked phone for quite awhile.There goes Chuck Shumer looking for ways to id/log/ or other nefarious reasons... Thanks Rob
Very soon many carriers will require you to load their 'IMS User Agent' on your phone "in order for them to provide voice services" on 5G. This is a bit of a scam, but also necessary for 5G voice service (which most of us don't really need). It would be nice to be able to opt out of it. Sadly these MNOs want their software on your phone. Privacy phones will be more and more difficult in the future. We must stay ahead of the MNOs. Wait until they start comparing the phone's IMEI/TAC with the [redacted]. That's gonna be hard. I can't wait until Band 66 Brax2 comes out (it's basically Band 4 extended). That's really popular in my area and will help my battery usage.
Your country needs to create some new laws. In the UK they forced mobile phone companies to make it easier for customers to switch from one cell operator to another *and* still keep their original phone number. The phone numbers are assigned by a central authority to each different cell operator. You can identify the cell operator a customer is using from the 4 digit dialling code. What used to happen in the UK, is when you move to a new cell operator, you had to be given a new SIM card and given a new phone number. But that all changed a number of years ago. When a customer wishes to change cell operator, all he does is contact his cell company and ask for a PAC code, which is a 9 digit number. Data is then exchanged between the old and new cell operator and the new cell operator records and maps the original cell phone number into their system. (Software app called Mobile Number Portability). So in the UK it is easy to move from one cell operator to another and keep the same cell/mobile number.
@@robbraxmantech Because changing the IMEI never needs to be done in the UK. We don't have silly restrictions being implemented by our mobile cell operators. We can take a phone from any manufacturer, without it being locked to any single cell network operator and we can plug in any SIM card we like from any cell operator and the phone will work on that network. In the early days it didn't used to be like that, phones were locked to a particular network, and you'd have to take your phone into a special little store and get it unlocked.
@@nicktrader can you swap the esim service between phones purely by yourself. i guess you cant do it without certain degree of permission from the carrier in the old time, swapping locked sim card from phones may got account banned. i dont want to walk the old path again.
@@ysts3452 I can easily swap between carriers, there is an option to select on or off. eSim is related to just that one device. So it wouldn’t be that you would switch your eSim to another device. If you were switching to another phone you would just register that new phone. With esim on iPhone you can have multiple carriers on the same phone
@@nicktrader this is what i concern. bundling one sim to a single device seems like the cellular lock in the old days. i have no interest to multiple sim standby because i use internet call now mainly and dont use cellular call anymore. i know what is more important to me.
Rob: I own, and use, a de-Googled Pixel 3 from you. (And Braxmail.) No problems with Verizon. I am now about to buy a new Brax2, but I have asked tech support whether or not it would make sense for me to wait for the Brax2US (and I have said that I realize it will cost a bit more, but don't care.) Tech support told me that I can buy a Brax2 from your store. I replied that I was asking about whether it would make for me to wait and buy the Brax2US. I got the same answer. (You can buy the Brax2 in the store.) Can you answer?
I don't have BraX2 USA on hand yet. The BraX2 USA has the advantage of Band 4/66 which is the only missing frequency. So yes, if you can wait, we will put a new store item for BraX2 USA likely in mid October
whats really funny to me is that the new iphone isn't "e-sim only" it's "small-plastic-brick glued to the board where the sim tray should be"-only. I'm a firm believer that you, as a company, can sell any product that people are willing to buy, assuming you do so honestly and with transparency, (you cant just lie about what your selling basically) but holy fuck how is this not a massive red flag? They literally replaced functionality, with dead weight. Literally, they put a brick in it's place. They glued, a fucking, plastic, brick, to the motherboard, instead of letting you put a sim in.
Some countries detect the phone is not bought locally and send a text message to pay a fee for registering it in the country Ur in or they block the phone it cannot be used...can u please explain this and if there is a fix for this,thanks Also if I buy one of Ur phones how will that affect me when they can't find an imei number when I get a new sim from that country tx
If I try to move my Sim card from 16S plusto a different 6S plus on the TracFone wireless Verizon Sim card it will not work unless they put in the IMEI number in the system I believe you can have more than one IMEI number in the system you have to give it to them though
Without looking into it, it sounds like the IMEI has a cryptographic weakness. Assuming this "one character check" is a one-byte hash (like crc8), and billions of phones are being produced each year, there should be many thousands of collisions -- IMEI which are basically interchangeable. The only question then would be: how many of these interchangeable IMEI belong to the same carrier? And, how long will it take to generate a table of all collisions??
Imagine getting BANNED for telling people the TRUTH! Thank you Rob.
No need to imagine it. We see that every day.
@@georgitchobanov9299 he got to be the other kind😠
@@lancesudberry209 😲
@@mementomori7186 😢just came off over a 1 month ban to my channel on my 1st RUclips community strike that's "supposed" to be 1 week or as they say 2 week 1 for a "warning" and 2 for "strike". About misinfo with cov1 nine and embroidery kids that was on a Bryson Topher and Burden song last minute from a modern Strike game uploaded
@@mementomori7186 witch they can makeup whatever they want on the fly because it reads a 1000 word warnings on topics and words you can not say and it ends with a " and this isn't all of them its also what may come up in the future too"
Thank you for all you do for privacy Rob!
Thank you!
Rob, Thank you! You, Sir are so far down the rabbit hole. My hat is off to you for all your work and efforts. I can vouch for you with this through personal experience with AT&T. Been running a phone that is allegedly Not compatible (i.e. "Not on their list of approved devices"). However, in reality, the device has all the necessary antennas and works great on their network. The problem is that I just didn't buy it from them, so they pretend (LIE!) And claim it will not work on their network. Disgusting how they take advantage of consumers like this. God damned snake oil salesmen! Where the hell is some young eager attorney to start a class action suit and bring these lying bastard down! Fight the power!
The company I work for has been flashing IMEIs for some time - this has been done by a buddy of the Boss. This video has provided answers to several questions we minions had.
Thank you.
Another item that appears to use the IMEI is OS upgrades.
Rob I’ve been watching for several years now. I work for ATT as a sales rep you are one of my favorite RUclipsrs. Appreciate you shedding light all the time
They are tricky!! I love this guy Rob…keeping us informed in a more and more deceitful world. Thanks Rob!
Small Tip: on Mint Mobile app there is an option to "skip phone IMEI" check. If you use this (with sim card in), you should be able to activate a phone not on the list. Tested this last month with a phone that listed as not compatible. Saves flashing IMEI if they aren't comfortable doing so (but companies could become more aggressive on this front in the future).
Question, if you flash the IMEI, wouldn't you have to re-start your data plan every time? I recently bought a walmart phone for a friend in an abusive situation. I registered it for a 1 mo data plan. If it is registered by (total wireless) w the imei + Sim card number, then it seems like changing the IMEI a lot would not be a workable solution. I would love to change mine all the time though, tbh.
@@AF_1892 One thing phone users do is activate sim on "whitelisted" android, then move the sim into their phone (Linux phones for ex: which otherwise carriers may give them trouble for, this is common practice).
I mention this because it is the same thing as changing IMEI (both phones have their own unique IMEI).
So no, I don't believe you would need to, if you have a physical, already activated (and working) sim card. But some carriers (like Verizon), can be trickier about phones and codes.
Whoah you're here! I love your channel!
@@RTPTechTips Unfortunately, the phone I got her was smart talk, carrier is trash Verizon. Anyways I was able to return the cheap phone. My friend was too scared to even take it home, bc her husband monitors all pings on the house business router. She is so brainwashed. I tried.
@@Zaptosis Thank you!
Thanks for putting all the information in one video. Its almost impossible trying to keep up, even as someone who lives and breathes computers but hate the phone industry. This kind of business practice should be illegal as is. ofc Schumer out of NY would be the one to wanna revoke our IMEI freedom even more. Ugh
I would also like to point out Schumer still uses a flip phone.
@@mrlithium69 Maybe he is a little smart after all🤔.
😂
Thank you Rob for all your tremendous efforts and teaching.
Where i live, the carriers that i am aware of are (excluding MVNOs) EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone
(The phone which i use to check for signals picks up networks for those 4)
Some MVNOs don’t even hide which network they piggy back off of (for example, when i was with Tesco, my phone indicated that it was using O2)
I did notice that when i moved a SIM card from a cheap EE phone into another phone, the EE site, which previously showed the exact model, no longer showed the model, however, the SIM worked fine in the new phone
Thanks for what you are doing I decided to cancel my moblie service and going with VOIP only service.
Rob, if that IMEI business and phone rejections is mainly a lie, the FTC should be informed. That's fraud, and the FTC can fine them heavily AND force them to cease and decist.
Well that is not my expertise. All I know is that phones in the Mint and Cricket list for example is a tiny representation of what's allowed by the main carrier.
@Steve L I had a OnePlus 5 with VoLTE and 4g.. Cricket lied and said it no longer was supported on their network. BS!!
@@johng.4959 In weasel words, if they choose not to support it, it is not supported. I don't agree with the way they do business but suspect a lot of carriers choose to "not support" simply because they can have a smaller support staff if they only support a limited number of phones. Too many businesses make whores and thieves sound like exemplary citizens.
@@johng.4959 It's doesn't have the software,so it won't load the IMS settings.I have dealt with devices for years.I see what they did after the shutdown.The One Plus would have worked if it was branded for that carrier.AT&T/Cricket the same.T-MOBILE/Mint/Hello Mobile the same.
@@SurgemanX How can I get my casio Gzone phone to be allowed to use the play store. I bought them years ago to use as security cameras and when I tried to log into the play store it wasn't allowed due to the age, my Google account is on the phone. It's not used for calls naturally
wow dude...your info and knowledge on these phones is awesome ...thanks for sharing .....thanks for caring ......you rock bro..... keep taking the power back from the man ......
There are plenty of Non-MVNO CSPs in the United States. Yes there are many MVNOs but there are independent CSPs who operate their own independent networks.
Changing your IMEI can cause efficiency issues on networks since networks can be tuned based on the IMEI of the user.
Any carrier can always know the IMEI of a device. When the device registers on the network it sends it's IMEI as part of the AAA.
This allows carriers to verify a device will work based on LTE Bands, DSS capabilities and more.
From my testing, the carrier knows the IMEI. But does the MVNO know it in real time? The carrier is limiting based on TAC codes but differently based on MVNO it seems. At least that's my data from thousands of users. And it seems like this changes too.
Something that I'd like to learn too is why a TAC code is restricted in some areas but not in others, even in the same city. It's almost at the tower level. Could this be based on leased towers? Information on this would be helpful. Thanks.
@@robbraxmantech very possible for you question on TAC restrictions. Any time a device established a session on the network it sends it's IMEISV. Carriers know the model and the software version a device is on.
Combine that with the GSMA database of TAC codes and carriers know everything about a device they need to determine it's capabilities.
The lift comes after that, how to sift and automate that data. It's an expensive development procedure but one I've helped work out with a smaller rural carrier
lol I can certainly say that none of that is the reason.. The reason is restriction = new purchase = increase sales = increase profit = less freedom for the consumer.
Many thanks Rob, for all the lessons and information you provide us with.
The US carriers also almost always omit the same couple of lines from the Android code base, which prevents most call recording software from working. On the exact same models in the EU the default code is intact, and direct call recording works. The phone makers claim the carriers require this, and the carriers claim the manufacturers are to blame.
Why would they want to ban that though, its not like their the ones consumers are having calls with, most the time.
I worked for a phone company for 2 years and the IMEI checks to see if the phone is compatible with the network, the other factors are if the phone is unlocked by the provider of the service the phone is currently on to go to another carrier. If the phone is blacklisted it will show up on the check and we don't notify anyone about it we usually say it can't be put on the network and we would tell you to go to your carrier and sort out that issue with them.
You're wonderful! You provide the details that, some of them, I kind of sensed what you are talking about without knowing the terminology. So you validate my instincts LOL appreciate that! Thank you so much for all you offer to people. It is really invaluable as well as interesting. Think I'm gonna get your phone for sure. Thanks again.
I've had that experience with a carrier that would tell me about how my phone was no longer supported and that I would need to buy a new phone and a two-year contract. This would happen when the contract was expiring, and the carrier would offer a discount or "free" phone if I signed up with a contract. Sometimes I would get a phone that I liked, and other times the phone being pushed was a step backwards. Now the market is pushing us to buy a new, more expensive phone every year. Phone models are coming out on a schedule like car models, and corporations are incessantly pushing us to "get the app" and allow the phone to store and share all of our personal information.
true - phone carrier people are becoming sort of the same level of "sales liar" as used car salesmen.
Hell, here in Greece they "lock" out the phone from the network requiring one to reboot the phone. It happened to me with Cosmote here in Greece during a minor emergency which required me to restart the phone taking time out from the emergency. If this was a life endangering emergency the individual may have lost their life because of this crap. 73 and thanks for the info.
BTW both T mobile and Cosmote are owned by the German giant Deuche Telcom. Remember the double billing issue of T Mobile in the early 2000? Well Cosmote tried the same stuff here until several individuals blew the whistle on them.
I had this issue with T-Mobile years ago and talked with them for HOURS and the person on the phone couldn't figure out why the phone wouldn't fully work. It was because of exactly what you are talking about... it wasn't "approved". Even though it was an otherwise acceptable device. It is stupid. They want you on their phones.
Thanks Rob, for all your extensive hard work!!! 😃👍
Mint did this to my mother . Had volte working and wifi calling on that phone. They now disabled the capability on the compatible phone. I had to go to the pawn shop and buy a new phone. I put a smashed up s8 Sprint IMEI on the ulfone power 6 and it works amazing volte and wifi calling is back on mint
Visible (Verizon) has been giving me the runaround (phone is incompatible, phone is reported stolen etc.) And of course I should just buy a new phone from them. It has been ridiculous. There is an obvious push to have all on one system, and in the darkness bind them.
I have 2 phone on Visible. I just checked these phones for compatibility on the website. Both are listed as INCOMPATIBLE. I sent email to Visible. No reply! The have really poor customer service.
got a sonim xp8 (the firstnet flagship phone at that time) from sprint when i was still under my parents, tried to transfer it to firstnet (at&t) and about a month after it stopped getting mms and calls with only sms and data working... a friend loaned me his at&t phone (catS60) so i swapped the sim and it only gets calls and sms. im appalled by their practice with the imei and hope to fix my xp8 with this.. thank you so much! they shouldnt treat emergency service like this!
Thank you for what you do. Making people aware of what is being done/is possible etc is really important to the survival of natural born non "enhanced" humans.
I tuned out as soon as he said phone companies make a profit selling you a new phone... As someone who works in the industry this couldn't be further from the truth. I see the margins on these iPhones for example and you lose money before they are even sold in regards to logistics expenses.
In reality phone carriers could be persuading people to get phones for another reason.. to shut down legacy technology on towers. 2G for example was still supported until 2022. It gets expensive for carriers to run multiple generations of technology on the same tower.
I agree this guy has a lot of false information
Corporate bastards cost me $140 which was all I had for food just to find out that my phone was incompatible thank you for giving me the information I needed or will need to perhaps get the phone working so I'm not sleeping underneath the tarp
Fun fact: no matter what model you have you always get service if your phone sim card identifies the phone as 'tourist phone' (aka, not from a provider inside the country) and no matter the model you can always use 911. So all blocking is purely monetary based.
Im in Australia, I bought a Palm phone from Amazon US and I can only get text msg and cannot receive or make phone calls
@@shiZZa69 yes, Australia uses different bands. It might be possible that your phone cannot do those. I sneakily assumed in my comment that the phone fulfils the technical requirements.
how about factory unlocked ones? If they're not blocked than it's the clear choice for a spoofed IMEI
@@My_Old_YT_Account No, it doesn't work like that.
The network operator's system keeps track of three numbers: IMEI, IMSI and the phone number.
You can't just spoof the IMEI number to try to get access to a phone network which is not your home network on which your phone is a subscriber.
There are encryption techniques used as well and where the keys are stored, how the derived session keys are generated.
What you are suggesting will not work.
yes Yes YES .. sick of ‘em .. ..
i’m w U Rob .. getting Brax phone💖 💫
I'm watching on Odysee right, now, commenting here. I never get, a, Phone, from a carrier, because they, require a phone in exchange.
The only condition where I would turn my phone into them is if I removed, (what substitutes, as), the hard drive, and installed a new one.
Hypothetically, If I did that, could the RAM be accessed and database by them?
You have many mobile carriers, and all of them are beholden to Swedish Ericson. Like all carriers in 184 countries.
IMEI checks are also used to block stolen phones from being used so that they have no afternarket resale value. Also to block 3g phones that may work now but may not work in 6 months or less if they dont support the lte channels the carrier broadcasts on.
Great info to know. I'm not a a techy and I understand your content. Thanks!
Cool!
I've been hit with this IMEI check crap as well! My carrier switched to VoLTE (voice over LTE) last year, and they cancelled my service because they said my phone didn't support VoLTE and I refused to upgrade to a new device. Well, my phone didn't original support VoLTE when it came out, but root mods were released later by the community that fully enabled VoLTE, and I did that to my phone and had already been using VoLTE for quite a while before that, but my stupid carrier said since their system says my phone doesn't support VoLTE, so they had to close my account, even though I explained I had already been using VoLTE with them! They refused to reactivate a new account for me with the same IMEI too, so I was forced to buy the cheapest compatible phone I could find, activate a new account with a new sim card in that phone, and then move the sim card back to my old "unsupported" phone... I'm still using that "unsupported" phone to this day, and VoLTE works great. I've heard Verizon is horrible about this crap as well, and that they won't even activate any phone unless it's a model they sell themselves. Even if a phone is completely compatible with Verizon, if Verizon doesn't sell that exact same model of phone, they refuse to activate it. That really makes me mad too because I'm a Straight Talk user using the AT&T or T-Mobile towers via Straight Talk, and I have been doing so for over a decade, and now Verizon just bought out all of Straight Talk! They have already been sending me emails trying to push me into buying a "Verizon compatible phone", which I have absolutely no interest in doing! I do not WANT to use Verizon's network, as it SUCKS in my area.
Right, I discovered the 'extortion' factor when 3G was dropped. I have a 4G VoLTE phone from Planet computers and since Planet did not buy into the commission to be paid to ATT or Verizon to be included on their 'approved' list I was pegged as incompatible . Calling several different agents of ATT I finally found that I could be exempt from being disconnected from my SIM card. So, there is an opt out luckily and I am still using my Cosmo Communicator with ATT. All that hassle was maddening.
H2O is using IMEI to block fully capable VoLTE phones that are older. They use ATT which doesn’t block the same phones. So H2O are deliberately blocking to sell new phones.
Great word, thank you Rob! Hope Verizon will change their policy as they kept blocking the phone I bought from you
Thanks i had suspicions. Great vid
If i was a betting man they limit your bandwidth as well.
Of course they limit your bandwidth.
If you go over your contacted agreed capacity limits that you have paid for, some cell operators will limit your bandwidth and others will reduce it to zero so you can't perform any more data calls.
this exact thing happened to me with tmobile and an asus rog phone. They said that there were different models of that same phone they would support but not the tencent involved version. Had to return a $1200 phone i really wanted. I was actually wondering if there's a way to flash a new IMEI onto the phone and then have them run it through registration with a different tac code. Tmobile dosn't sell the asus rog phone.
Living on a sailboat by yourself makes you more paranoid than you should be. Carriers make device providers go thru an extensive certification process in order to bring a device onto their network. This ensures multiple things among others, network security and network utilization, device safety (so it doesn’t melt in your pocket), etc… much like you would not set sail with a total stranger…
Hello Rob, there are some things regarding the IMEI authenticathion that they are not correct on your video, sugest you to look at 3GPP standard, also VoLTE has some major signaling problems on some phone models that do not comply with the basic Standard but they say on the box they comply, every carrier set tests to homologate phones and see if they really comply with 3GPP standard, it is not a "Game" or at "Lie" just not totally compliant, this User equipments can work as you say but... They have some not compliant traffic flows that affect the KPI due the number of retries that this equipment is making.
Rob! I just got my brax2 and I’m learning the ropes, can you, or have you done any videos explaining the best working safe apps for the basics like calling, messaging, multimedia etc? That would be very helpful for us newbies.
join up on Rob's social network called Brax.me and find the answers to all your questions!! Personally, I prefer "openContacts" for calling (Love their search features and they remain separate from the default calling contact list.) On Brax you can learn XMPP - and get your friends to use a browser to chat with you by making an avatar for it on their phone.
Another awesome video Rob!
Another thing in Australia carriers aren't aloud to lock any phone on a contract not even iPhones. And if you buy it outright it's never locked either. Prepaid cheapo phones generally are carrier locked but can be unlocked and work on any carrier after you've recharged a few times or for a fee straight away. I do think Australian has better consumer laws to protect us.
Great... Something to look forward to...
I’ve ran into this several times. Oh, the lies I’ve been told by carriers. I should have recorded my calls. Here is another company to add to your list StraightTalk bumped me off their network. They basically wasted a lot of my time but I learned a lot of what you are sharing. I have the BlackView BV5900 and looking to secure it. Would love to know more on how I can do that.
Actually, my MetroPCS somehow checks for IMEI. I cannot just switch the cellphone. I have 2 identical and even cannot swap SIMs
That sounds pretty s..t. You need to ditch your cell provider.
MicoG Lineage does spoofing as well.
USB 2.0 can be white sometimes, and it has the same pinout as black, so it works
I wish there was something that could be done regarding the blatant elitism regarding what type of phone service plans are acceptable for text message authentication. I know Blizzard, Discord, as well as many more online services refuse people based on what type of provider and phone plan you use. That seems like discrimination because someone who is using a prepaid phone usually doesn't have the credit to get a phone plan like a monthly bill. They HAVE to use these types of plans.
You can use any unlocked, 5G or 4G/LTE compatible GSM phone with Mint. I've been using Mint for four years.
nope
@@robbraxmantech Again, I've been using their service for four years and have used a number of different phones, all of which were unlocked GSM phones. A carrier locked GSM phone will not work.
@@robbraxmantech I have the same experience as SR DJR, I used my Google Pixel to activate the SIM, Once that was done I have successfully used it is in a USCC unlocked flip phone, Unihertz Smart-phone & a Sunbeam wireless flip-phone.
So in my experience Mint mobile has no artificial IMEI restrictions once activated.
I tried to find a carrier that would accept my son’s Galaxy S21+ , Cricket would not take it. Others wouldn’t take it. they would take my Note 20 Ultra and my husbands Note 10 Plus but not the S21+ which has 5G capability. Makes no sense.. why take older ones but not newer models.
I'm so glad that UK mobile networks haven't gone in the same direction (yet) I still have a ton of pre-smartphones from the early 2000's that still work. Although 2G & 3G is officially going to be switched off in 2033 however starting in 2023 Vodafone & EE (t-mobile & Orange) will be switching off 2G & 3G with only Three hutchinson & O2 Telephonica left with operating 2G & 3G services till 2033.
Yes same here in Norway, and I'm guessing Europe in general. We don't allow burner phones either anymore.
And the carrier locks are a thing of the past here too.
No. There is no deadline for disconnecting 2G. And 3G being turned off is 2023.
Phone Salesmen as bad as Used Car salesmen Rob? Having grown up around the Used Car business, Hollywood, and worked in the Oil business, Talk Radio and politics, I can honestly say I met more honest Car dealers than honest Oilmen, Politicians, Media and Big Tech minions.
So if one wants to change the IMEI on another VOLTE Android phone, one is up that creek with no paddle?
Awesome as usual
When I got my Pixel 5a & 13 mini, I got them directly from the companies (google & apple). so they were unlocked. i wasnt tryin to deal with that locked bs.
Just a little story:
A few years ago, I purchased a OnePlus 5 phone to use on the (Cricket/AT&T) phone network.
Phone was great and no problems whatsoever. After some time, I changed jobs and the company gave me a new Google Pixel phone as a work phone. I decided to try it out for a day and switched my Sim-card from the OnePlus to the Pixel.
Good to go. The company also offered to pay for phone service and went with Verizon. (Different Sim) I still wanted my old OnePlus phone as my personal phone and put “my Sim card” back into the OnePlus. Well….I was surprised to receive a message that said: “We are sorry…put your phone is no longer supported on our Cricket network. Please call us directly for more answers…” HUH? So, my phone was no longer acceptable 24-hours later?
I called Cricket asked me about the phone model and IMEI. The rep. said that my phone did not support 4g and VoLTE… (Clearly 100% wrong as it did indeed have these capabilities.) The OnePlus phone wasn’t a cheap phone then and is perfectly capable today! Anyway -I argued with the tech and visited a store. NOTHING could be done! Sorry… but of course…
“Would you like to buy one of our featured phones?” they asked?? I walked out of the store.
Apparently, just removing the Sim card and replacing with the SAME CARD, had triggered the system to deny service. Makes me think - how long I would have been connected had I never removed the card? Well, I’ve always known this was a underhanded, shady, and despicable way to sell more Cricket phones. Horrible and unethical.
Thank you Rob for alerting the masses to these companies’ tactics.
T-mobile did a sim swap on my sprint phone. After Multiple Sim swaps I got hacked. Run from T-Mobile.
How does network PIN and network PUK work ?
I had my IMEI locked on a certain t-mobile provider, and I messed the network pin code by guessing few time (just for fun) and it locked me and asked me for network PUK. So what's does the PUK represents in the network access code?
Do the devices come with pin/puk from factory (and the provider know those pair keys) or what?
You've typed in a PIN code too many times so the phone itself has locked the SIM so it can't be used.
You have to contact your cell operator and request a PUK code which you then enter into the phone to unlock the SIM card.
I don't know for definite how it is generated but I suspect the cell operator generates it and places it against your IMSI number (SIM card number) in the EIR register.
The EIR register (a software application) is checked by your phone when it connects to the network. The EIR register is effectively a black list of phones which are prohibited from connecting to the network.
So when you enter the PUK on the phone, the phone can check the PUK is valid by interrogating the EIR register.
That's my theory based on what I know of mobile phone technology...but I am not an expert on the protocols.
The PUK code is not held in the SIM card. It is held in the network itself.
@@deang5622 So the PUK code is not the sim's PUK code?
Cause the operator gave me a PUK code, after I complained network code doesn't work cause too many attempts, I don't know whether PUK was for the last functional sim card used by the phone (cause he was a bit pissed when he gave me that code) or the PUK was a network PUK to unlock too many attempts.
@@DamjanDimitrioski There is a network unlock code and a PUK.
I am not an expert on this, but what I have read is if you enter an incorrect PUK code 10 times, then you have to replace the SIM card.
I guess then the SIM card is permanently blocked from connecting to the network.
Obtaining a new SIM should not be a problem. They can migrate the services you had across to it. And they can even assign your original phone number to the new SIM.
Don't worry how it is done, but it's done through the HSS (Home Subscriber Server). Each technology, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G has its software/hardware component for storing SIM and subscriber details and each has a different name.
The phone number is mapped to the SIM card number (IMSI).
So if they say they can't let you keep the old phone number for the new SIM, politely tell them they can and they have to configure it manually in the HSS.
@@deang5622 Oh no, I don't care the old sim card (which wasn't present in the phone), the thing is the phone was old like 4-5 years, and nobody even knows what was the last sim, all I wanted is to have a burner phone for pre paid sims and now I have :).
Thanks to social engineering the operator's agents,. even though I legally have rights to unlock it and you have beg them for it, not fair.
They should automate the process, by just typing some OTP code in your contract (which will work only after the contract ends or if you buy all your phone early), and you will get the:
Network code and Network PUK without the need of those agents.
In Qc Canada we have a law that force carrier to unlock every phone they sell.
Optimum Mobile is also terrible, they use t Mobile network yet they only support a few of the latest Samsung and apple, and some other phones,
I tried it on my phone that works perfectly with t mobile but it did not work with optimum even though they use t Mobile also
Gotta move over to Linux if you want to get away from M$ spying! I'm sure you clean up your Windows from all the telemetry but Linux is the way. Debian plus Xfce for the window manager is a beautiful thing. Love the energy you bring to mobile security.
I'm a Linux user. But I do development so I have other machines with Windows and MacOS available too. Linux is my daily driver.
@@robbraxmantech fair enough! I'm not surprised. Have a great day.
@@robbraxmantech can you do a video about different hardware VPN comparisons?
@@rebecavillanova7622 Airvpn is hands down the best! Works on anything. Owned by REAL hackers and h@acktivists. I've never found a more configurable VPN. Been with them for years, never had one problem. Really active forums, amazingly helpful devs and cheap! I promise you won't be disappointed. AirvpnDOTorg And no, I don't work for them! 😊 The also make amazing open-source software for just about anything you need, FREE!
I've just bought a headunit called ownice K7.. it has two Sim card slots but one Sim card slot is locked to a Chinese IMEI and the other is open for any Sim..
Is there a way to remove or change the 1st IMEI so I can use my sim card in Australia rather having a locked Sim card slot?
all the carriers have to do is remove the 3g module from the towers (problem solved).
why have you enter the imei number when the sim chip can ping the phone for the imei?
unless to give you the illusion of privacy (remember the cpu serial number phone home scandal)?
just like some web sites use canvas to identify browser despite user agent and incognito mode can a phone have a feature that a carrier could detect even if you change the imei or tac?
if they want to sell more phones then make exclusive bundle deals that include features you cant buy separately either as apps or hardware for example buy an iphone 14 and get a free $10000 value thermal camera that is so sensitive it is considered a weapon of mas destruction jut like the power mac g4 was in the 90s and the thermal camera can not be bought from anywhere.
or product placement make the iphone 14 do something in the movie that it can not do in reality for example they point the phone at the sun and push a button and a laser beam shoots out and they can then move the sun across the sky changing the time of the day.
or the same laser beam can blow up a building .
even if changing imei becomes illegal in the united states people could still change it it just means software and devices will be shipped from china or even downloaded over tor. and probably devices could be made with raspberry pi or arduino making it impossible to enforce.
though such a law may be great for as a rider just to get some other law or bill passed.
since you are the manufacturer of the brax2 phones you may be able to make the imei flashible without a computer by having some secret menu that you can enter the new number like you would do the passcode or swipe.
you could also make it so if the phone has a micro sd card slot a fat32 formatted sd card with a text file containing the new imei number would be loaded in the same way that you flash firmware on many devices.
I have an S21 Ultra 5G from Verizon. Tried using it on at&t prepaid. While the device did work on the network I could only access 4g. I took it to a at&t store and he changed the IMEI that I provided during activation to a random at&t device IMEI but changed the last couple digits to something random. After restarting my phone I was able to use their 5g and 5g+. At&t is very bad about using phones not purchased from them. Just a heads up if anyone else has this issue.
What Boat Moves? Steering Wheel Where??
No esim only in Australia yet even on iPhone. Eww Apple are grubs
Great video!!
The same baloney happens in the window world I have my little camera and then when the new operating system comes out all of a sudden this camera is not compatible I just go in there and make a patch and it works fine they just Wants you to buy the latest and the greatest
Changing your imei, now I'm waiting for rob to get a visit from the alphabet boys
Amazing..I had the same problem with trackphone..when they were straighttalk my xiaomi mi note 10 worked fine, now they say that my phone has no volte and will not work..but my phone has volte, is there anything that can be done to make my phone work again?
I have a net gear m5100 from ATT unlocked, I first used it on Verizon. After ATT offered a better deal ,I took it, and when I went back to Verizon they did this same thing. Saidnits not compatible on their network. I told them BULLSHIT!
Which old BlackBerry do you recommend and where can I purchase it? Thank you for your valuable information ☺️.
im getting blocked on straight talk .....i used to be able to move my sim from phone to phone ..i can no longer do this .....do you offer the OS that you have on the phone you sell?
Unfortunately it only works on BraX2. Some future version might work on other phones with some work.
I get a ID message every time I restart...I have had a unlocked phone for quite awhile.There goes Chuck Shumer looking for ways to id/log/ or other nefarious reasons... Thanks Rob
Very soon many carriers will require you to load their 'IMS User Agent' on your phone "in order for them to provide voice services" on 5G. This is a bit of a scam, but also necessary for 5G voice service (which most of us don't really need). It would be nice to be able to opt out of it. Sadly these MNOs want their software on your phone. Privacy phones will be more and more difficult in the future. We must stay ahead of the MNOs. Wait until they start comparing the phone's IMEI/TAC with the [redacted]. That's gonna be hard. I can't wait until Band 66 Brax2 comes out (it's basically Band 4 extended). That's really popular in my area and will help my battery usage.
Your country needs to create some new laws.
In the UK they forced mobile phone companies to make it easier for customers to switch from one cell operator to another *and* still keep their original phone number.
The phone numbers are assigned by a central authority to each different cell operator. You can identify the cell operator a customer is using from the 4 digit dialling code.
What used to happen in the UK, is when you move to a new cell operator, you had to be given a new SIM card and given a new phone number.
But that all changed a number of years ago. When a customer wishes to change cell operator, all he does is contact his cell company and ask for a PAC code, which is a 9 digit number. Data is then exchanged between the old and new cell operator and the new cell operator records and maps the original cell phone number into their system.
(Software app called Mobile Number Portability).
So in the UK it is easy to move from one cell operator to another and keep the same cell/mobile number.
But UK bans IMEI changes
@@robbraxmantech Because changing the IMEI never needs to be done in the UK.
We don't have silly restrictions being implemented by our mobile cell operators.
We can take a phone from any manufacturer, without it being locked to any single cell network operator and we can plug in any SIM card we like from any cell operator and the phone will work on that network.
In the early days it didn't used to be like that, phones were locked to a particular network, and you'd have to take your phone into a special little store and get it unlocked.
Thank you you have been very informative 👍
In Brazil if you IMEI is not Brazilian registered your phone doesn't even work.
That just means they check TAC code like in the USA. It doesn't mean there's a registry of every single IMEI
if esim cant be interchangeable freely between phones then i wont consider it
the right that should be kept by our own shouldnt be controlled by them
eSIM will definitely limit us in a big way
I currently use eSim across 3 carriers haven’t had an issue
@@nicktrader can you swap the esim service between phones purely by yourself. i guess you cant do it without certain degree of permission from the carrier
in the old time, swapping locked sim card from phones may got account banned. i dont want to walk the old path again.
@@ysts3452 I can easily swap between carriers, there is an option to select on or off. eSim is related to just that one device. So it wouldn’t be that you would switch your eSim to another device. If you were switching to another phone you would just register that new phone. With esim on iPhone you can have multiple carriers on the same phone
@@nicktrader this is what i concern. bundling one sim to a single device seems like the cellular lock in the old days. i have no interest to multiple sim standby because i use internet call now mainly and dont use cellular call anymore. i know what is more important to me.
Never had this problem
Turkey is worse, it mandates IMEI whitelisting. Unregistered individual phones cannot be used in Turkey for more than a month.
Probably to prevent terrorism.
Love your vids
Rob: I own, and use, a de-Googled Pixel 3 from you. (And Braxmail.) No problems with Verizon. I am now about to buy a new Brax2, but I have asked tech support whether or not it would make sense for me to wait for the Brax2US (and I have said that I realize it will cost a bit more, but don't care.) Tech support told me that I can buy a Brax2 from your store. I replied that I was asking about whether it would make for me to wait and buy the Brax2US. I got the same answer. (You can buy the Brax2 in the store.) Can you answer?
I don't have BraX2 USA on hand yet. The BraX2 USA has the advantage of Band 4/66 which is the only missing frequency. So yes, if you can wait, we will put a new store item for BraX2 USA likely in mid October
@@robbraxmantech Thank you, Sir. I will wait.
Is it possible to pre-order the BraX2 USA?
Interesting information 🤔
Could you please tell me which SIM card I could use for my 4G modem with unlimited data for my RV thanks Rob stay well
SIM cards come from carrier so select your carrier and they supply it
Mr. H ™© approved ! 💌
Dont forget assurance wireless, and their extended malware and hardware taps
I already knew sooner or later T-Mobile will come up with a stunt like this. Then the punch line is they offer a cheap free phone! 🖕
whats really funny to me is that the new iphone isn't "e-sim only" it's "small-plastic-brick glued to the board where the sim tray should be"-only.
I'm a firm believer that you, as a company, can sell any product that people are willing to buy, assuming you do so honestly and with transparency, (you cant just lie about what your selling basically) but holy fuck how is this not a massive red flag? They literally replaced functionality, with dead weight. Literally, they put a brick in it's place. They glued, a fucking, plastic, brick, to the motherboard, instead of letting you put a sim in.
it's funny that it's also the exact same phone as the previous one other than that, so you'd be better off buying the old version
I agree DONOT buy a phone from a carrier. Ever.
Could I use for some of the sim enabled routers?
So it doesn t work in Qualcomm models . I can't changr the emei with this?
Some countries detect the phone is not bought locally and send a text message to pay a fee for registering it in the country Ur in or they block the phone it cannot be used...can u please explain this and if there is a fix for this,thanks
Also if I buy one of Ur phones how will that affect me when they can't find an imei number when I get a new sim from that country tx
Hi, I saw your video with David. I have something I’d like to share with you with BLE and wardriving.
If I try to move my Sim card from 16S plusto a different 6S plus on the TracFone wireless Verizon Sim card it will not work unless they put in the IMEI number in the system I believe you can have more than one IMEI number in the system you have to give it to them though
Without looking into it, it sounds like the IMEI has a cryptographic weakness. Assuming this "one character check" is a one-byte hash (like crc8), and billions of phones are being produced each year, there should be many thousands of collisions -- IMEI which are basically interchangeable. The only question then would be: how many of these interchangeable IMEI belong to the same carrier? And, how long will it take to generate a table of all collisions??
That is not how IMEI works.
IMEI's don't belong to a carrier. IMEIs belong to the manufacturer of the phones.
Thanks Rob. ..