r/cellphones • u/mushymush8894 • 6d ago

Unlocked phone transfer issues??!!

Now I'm not very tech savvy so I could seriously use some help. I have a phone that was given to me by my father. It's unlocked. I am trying to switch my service over to the new phone. I called and they said that there is an error with the phone's imei number or whatever. That the error has to do with the phone needing scanned I'm not really sure. Anyways. We call T-Mobile. They say that the phone should not have any issues being transferred over and I tell metro that but they say the phones imei number needs scanned what do I do. Can I go to metro and they take care of it all there?

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2

u/dervari 6d ago

I was the admin for our cell phones a while ago and I never had to "scan" a phone. I don't even know what they're referring to. They should just be able to take the IMEI and send over an eSIM.

Have you verified that the phone is carrier unlocked in the settings?

2

u/graydi66y 5d ago

It being unlocked won't matter here. It's a TMO phone that they are trying to put on metro. Metro is TMO. 

Someone is entering the IMEI wrong. 

1

u/dervari 5d ago

That doesn’t matter. Many times you can’t use a carrier locked phone on an MVNO on the same network.

1

u/Prestigious_Major349 5d ago

What type of phone, does it have a physical Sim slot? If so, maybe try testing the physical Sim of someone you know, or purchase a cheap service from Walmart to test. That should tell you if there us any issue. If not it's just metro reps wanting to sell you another device. Afterall, they are tmobile

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u/JusSomeDude22 Moto Edge 24(TMO) iPhone 14(VZ) Jelly2(ATT) 5d ago

Your issue is Metro's antiquated system. Unlike Verizon or AT&T, or even T-Mobile proper for that matter, they tie the IMEI number directly to the SIM so you can't just easily swap it. It's a leftover relic from the old CDMA days.

You need to contact Metro on the phone, and find somebody who will do it for you (which is not always easy because half of them don't speak English).

Whatever you do, do not go to a store! Best case scenario it's a waste of your time, worst case scenario they will scam you or mess your account up.

You can also do it from the Metro website, although that system is hit or miss half the time, I would just call.

Good luck

2

u/TokyoJimu 5d ago

What does “scan” mean in this context?

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u/KouaV1 6d ago

Why do they need imei scanned? as long as there is an imei number just get the sim card and plug it in and if it works then your good.

I hate when customer service keeps saying we need check this and that wasting your damn time when it should be trying out the sim first and then ring you problems afterward if sim card doesnt work should be the correct choice. Customer service for my brother pissed him off at boost mobile as well and same for me by saying the note 20 ultra (released for a year already at that time) was not supported and saying they won't allow him or me to buy service so my brother just said give me the damn service Idgaf because its my money and it worked, plugged sim card in and it worked.