Note 2 stuck on EVDO while my wife's GS3 is on HRPD

[Moropo]

Around a week ago I noticed my Note 2 was on EVDO instead of HRPD. I posted about it on the Miami Market thread and some people told me that it has happened to them for 1 or 2 days and so no big deal. However its now roughly a week later and Im still on EVDO instead of HRPD which I found weird. I checked my wife's GS3 and it was HRPD. Today we have driven all over Miami and I have checked that hers is always HRPD and mine is always EVDO (except when we both connect to LTE).

 

Why is this?

 

Also, I cannot do a PRL, Profile, or Firmware update as I get a 6204 error while on the GS3 I can do all 3 just fine.

 

Whats wrong with my Note 2 ??

 

Thanks.

[Toberly]

Is your note 2 rooted?

 

Or you could try the ##72786# reset, seems to help some ppl, tho google it first and use at your own risk.

[Moropo]

It's not rooted.

 

Please see http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/3260-cant-do-prlprofilefirmware-update/ for what happened when I did ##72786#

[digiblur]

Are you set with LTE mode on?

[Moropo]

Yes. I connect to LTE daily. The EVDO is when I'm on 3G.

 

I have also tried to update PRL/Profile etc over both LTE and 3G and same error.

[rjw]

I would call Sprint so that they can re-provision your device or you can try some of these steps:

 

http://support.sprint.com/support/article/Program_your_Samsung_Galaxy_Note_II/7d19d54a-fa2c-43fb-b481-09477c520bec?&INTNAV=SU:DP:HDIB

[Moropo]

Ok so I called Sprint and of course the first thing they had me do is the ##72786# which I told them I had already done but that I was glad to do it again. It rebooted, went into Hands Free Activation (like it should) but the same issue, the Hands Free Activation wasnt successful and kept retrying. Rep told me he would have to transfer me to Advanced Tech Support or something which I was glad. When I got transferred over they had me do the same stuff and the same issue came up. Only way to get rid of the unsuccessful Hands Free Activation was to go to Settings and then the option "Activate this device" and this DOES activate the device and lets me make phone calls, texts etc BUT still got errors when tried to do PRL/Profile update.

 

They had me change the network mode from LTE/CDMA to CDMA and they also had me do ##myMSLcode# and the MDN and MSID entries were both "0000003334" or "0000003433" if I remember correctly. They had me edit both entries putting my phone number into the MDN and a different number into the MSID. Rebooted and still couldnt do PRL/Profile update.

 

So I can make phone calls and texts and internet access but no PRL/Profile updates (error: Connection Error 6204). After several holds to speak to their supervisor they told me that they didnt know what else to do or what it could be and that their only conclusion was that my device is defective. Since Im already out of the 14 days window to return it, they told me to go to a corporate store and through the insurance they would get me a refurbished one. I want to say that's not an option for me...I'm like OCD with my phones and take extreme care of them for me to now get one used and without knowing how it was treated.

 

I mean if the phone was actually physically broken I'd have no choice but for some reason I dont trust their diagnosis of "we don't have anything else to try and dont know what it is, so it must be defective". I mean this is a brand new device that I haven't rooted nor flashed anything and everything works perfectly except the no PRL/Profile updates. For some reason I believe it must be something settings-wise or software-wise, I dont know.

 

Could someone please offer some help ??? :(

[digiblur]

That happened to me on my Evo. The store was able to reprogram it and get it going without swapping it. Stay on it and stand your ground.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[halcyoncmdr]

It's possible it could be a software corruption, something a hard rest may not fix bit a software reflash would. The triage system in the service sites die not yet have the software loaded top reflash to devices. I do not know if Samsung KIES would work to reflash the software.

[digiblur]

It's possible it could be a software corruption, something a hard rest may not fix bit a software reflash would. The triage system in the service sites die not yet have the software loaded top reflash to devices. I do not know if Samsung KIES would work to reflash the software.

 

Nothing Odin and the stock Tar file can't fix though.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[halcyoncmdr]

 

 

Nothing Odin and the stock Tar file can't fix though.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

True. As a retail tech however, I can't recommend that route... :-P

[Moropo]

Thanks for giving me hope guys!

 

Im gonna try flashing the stock ROM and see if that fixes it. Since my Note 2 is completely stock and not rooted, can I just Odin the stock tar file (when I find it, no luck yet on xda) and thats it? I dont need to do anything beforehand?

 

Thanks.

[Moropo]

I found a One-Click Odin for MA7 rooted. Checked MD5 checksum etc and the flashing all went great.

 

However, still same error when trying to update PRL/Profile.

 

I dont know what to do

[koiulpoi]

True. As a retail tech however, I can't recommend that route... :-P

Why not?

 

I mean, besides the whole "end user might brick their phone" problem, I've never seen any issues arise from Odin flashing, and have found it rather useful.

[halcyoncmdr]

 

Why not?

 

I mean, besides the whole "end user might brick their phone" problem, I've never seen any issues arise from Odin flashing, and have found it rather useful.

 

Because of the whole "end user might brick their phone" issue. Then they bring it into the store to get it fixed, angry that they messed it up in the first place and expecting Sprint to fix it... for free... without insurance. I see it at least every other day.

[koiulpoi]

Because of the whole "end user might brick their phone" issue. Then they bring it into the store to get it fixed, angry that they messed it up in the first place and expecting Sprint to fix it... for free... without insurance. I see it at least every other day.

And that right there is why I purchased a Samsung USB jig ($3 was easier than making one) to force 'em in to download mode. It's sitting right next to one of my screwdrivers.

 

That being said, I'd almost rather deal with that than the "I once had a Nextel" crowd's problem of "my phone's buttons don't do the things I want them to" or "I can't make a phone call if my phone has less than four bars. No, I haven't tried it, but I know that's how it is" or "I want all my money refunded and then some. This DuraXT isn't waterproof because there's no rubber seals. No, I haven't tried it, but I know that's how it is." That's my every other day

 

Anyways @OP, it really does sound like your device might be defective. You should still take it in to a store to have it looked at. And don't forget - some "refurbished" devices are ones that get opened in a store, never turned on, and people go "Oh, I actually wanted the other color." Open box, gotta get sent to Reverse Logistics...

[Moropo]

I have tried flashing past releases such MA5 or LCJ etc but still same error. Actually, now its worse and Im getting scared. Whereas before when the Hands Free Activation used to fail and I could cancel it and then do "Settings" --> "Activate this device" and it worked (in the sense of not saying its not activated but still error when PRL/Profile update) now that route is not even working! Now the Hands Free Activation still keeps failing and if I try the "Settings" --> "Activate this device" it will say it has been activated BUT now it will reboot after this (it didnt before) and when it comes back up, the Hands Free Activation on a loop again!

 

Im really scared and dont know what to do.I even flashed CM10.1 but it wouldnt activate and it doesnt have the "activate this device" in the options so it was useless.

 

I guess its getting to a point where I will be forced to take a trip to the Sprint store...but im now worried about the binary counter after all the flashing.

 

I dont know what to do. I even found this:

 

http://community.spr.../message/544631

 

which is EXACTLY my issue, my guess is this issue is quite common on the Note 2's and since the general population never does any PRL/Profile update they havent found out about it?

 

I cant believe Im going through this with a brand new phone.

 

Im very frustrated.

[koiulpoi]

I guess its getting to a point where I will be forced to take a trip to the Sprint store...but im now worried about the binary counter after all the flashing.

Sprint doesn't care that your device is rooted/flashed. Really, we don't. (I'm a tech at a Preferred Retailer; halcyoncmdr is at a Corporate Retail store)

 

That being said, if it worries you,

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1494114

there are ways to reset your flash counter.

 

I cant believe Im going through this with a brand new phone.

 

Im very frustrated.

It's more than likely defective. There is a percentage of all electronics created that don't work right. You just got unlucky. It happens.

[Moropo]

Hello.

 

Thanks for your inputs, I will be taking it to the store as soon as university load lets me.

 

However, I have been poking around xda and have found people with the exact issue I had of Hands Free Activation failing and looping on every reboot etc. For example in this page:

 

http://forum.xda-dev...=2152556&page=5

 

I quote some:

 

"It also kept trying to activate every reboot which said it failed"

 

"I'm getting the hands free activation screen after boot running all MA7 rom/modem etc.. is there fix for this on MA7?"

 

"I flashed the stock no data and now my device wont activate. any suggestions?" (this is on page 6)

 

The same issues I have had! Im not completely sure but I will be willing to bet that if those people were to try to update PRL or Profile they will also get the 6204 error. Mimicking my exact problems!

 

Doesnt this lead you to believe this problem is more widespread than a single defective device (mine) ??

[JohnHovah]

Ok so I called Sprint and of course the first thing they had me do is the ##72786# which I told them I had already done but that I was glad to do it again. It rebooted, went into Hands Free Activation (like it should) but the same issue, the Hands Free Activation wasnt successful and kept retrying. Rep told me he would have to transfer me to Advanced Tech Support or something which I was glad. When I got transferred over they had me do the same stuff and the same issue came up. Only way to get rid of the unsuccessful Hands Free Activation was to go to Settings and then the option "Activate this device" and this DOES activate the device and lets me make phone calls, texts etc BUT still got errors when tried to do PRL/Profile update.

 

They had me change the network mode from LTE/CDMA to CDMA and they also had me do ##myMSLcode# and the MDN and MSID entries were both "0000003334" or "0000003433" if I remember correctly. They had me edit both entries putting my phone number into the MDN and a different number into the MSID. Rebooted and still couldnt do PRL/Profile update.

 

So I can make phone calls and texts and internet access but no PRL/Profile updates (error: Connection Error 6204). After several holds to speak to their supervisor they told me that they didnt know what else to do or what it could be and that their only conclusion was that my device is defective. Since Im already out of the 14 days window to return it, they told me to go to a corporate store and through the insurance they would get me a refurbished one. I want to say that's not an option for me...I'm like OCD with my phones and take extreme care of them for me to now get one used and without knowing how it was treated.

 

I mean if the phone was actually physically broken I'd have no choice but for some reason I dont trust their diagnosis of "we don't have anything else to try and dont know what it is, so it must be defective". I mean this is a brand new device that I haven't rooted nor flashed anything and everything works perfectly except the no PRL/Profile updates. For some reason I believe it must be something settings-wise or software-wise, I dont know.

 

Could someone please offer some help ??? :(

 

I have seen this happen several times in the past when I have purchased a new device and swapped an old device over to another line.

 

The last time was slightly more complicated, in addition to moving the device to another line, they changed the number for me (I gave the phone to my goddaughters so they could have a reliable way to call mommy and daddy and of course uncle John!) and I didn't need people pestering them on one of my tertiary numbers.

 

In any event, it was a long drawn out process and these 2 things had to happen in order to properly configure the phone.

 

1. They had to verify that the proper MDN/MSID was loaded into the phone (and make the necessary changes) which they did in both your case and mine.

 

2. They had to reprovision the phone from their end (their server lags and it may take up to 20 minutes) for it to properly hit your account/phone/device. you will be restarting the device multiple times hoping that the forced OTA will come through properly. You may want to verify with them several times to ensure that what you see is what they see and vice versa.

 

 

----------------------------------AND A SAD ASIDE----------------------------------------

 

Hopefully you don't also have google voice attached to your device/account, because that brought an entire different complication to the matter. In order to get the phone fully functional (started having call in /call out problems/wouldn't update/ring/etc), they had to completely remove Google Voice from the phone (on the server end) and it could never work again (cringe) since the terms of marriage between el goog/sprint are not as tight as they once were. Obviously that wasn't much of a concern for a phone used by a 9 and 11 year old, but some of us power users love our Google Voice.

 

 

 

 

9 times out of 10 you can go to a corporate store (with a repair center, make sure it has a repair center!) and they will reprogram the device as @digiblur stated above free of charge. It is possible you have a lemon of course.

 

 

 

I will continue trying to find a fully stock (working) ODIN flashable rom/kernel/modem (all in one) for you. In the meantime, get a tech on the phone have them confirm your MDN/MSID settings (make changes if necessary) and once thats good have them reprovision(force OTA) the device from their end.

[Moropo]

I have seen this happen several times in the past when I have purchased a new device and swapped an old device over to another line.

I did this since it was my wife's line which was available for an upgrade. I got the Note 2 through her line, switched it over to mine and gave my wife my GS3.

 

I will continue trying to find a fully stock (working) ODIN flashable rom/kernel/modem (all in one) for you

 

Yes I would like a completely fully stock ODIN flashable rom/kernel/modem. As I told you over the chat, but I wanted to put it here, the closest I have found is this:

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2152556 (SPH-L900 MA7 (MA7 Modem/Kernel/ROM - Stock) BUT it doesnt include the MA7 modem because the dev said the file would be too big to flash through ODIN etc.

 

I want to go completely stock again before I call Sprint again and ask them the stuff you just told me: (1) check the MDN/MSID settings (which I believe are correct now) and (2) to re-provision my phone from their end like you said. I wonder if the tech I spoke to did this??

[JohnHovah]

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I did this since it was my wife's line which was available for an upgrade. I got the Note 2 through her line, switched it over to mine and gave my wife my GS3.

 

[/font][/color]

 

Yes I would like a completely fully stock ODIN flashable rom/kernel/modem. As I told you over the chat, but I wanted to put it here, the closest I have found is this:

 

http://forum.xda-dev...d.php?t=2152556 (SPH-L900 MA7 (MA7 Modem/Kernel/ROM - Stock) BUT it doesnt include the MA7 modem because the dev said the file would be too big to flash through ODIN etc.

 

I want to go completely stock again before I call Sprint again and ask them the stuff you just told me: (1) check the MDN/MSID settings (which I believe are correct now) and (2) to re-provision my phone from their end like you said. I wonder if the tech I spoke to did this??

 

Probably not. it is a rarity that they have to push files to the phone and most of the techs do not know how or are not authorized with those privileges

[Moropo]

So how would I go about asking for it to be done? And how do I justify the fact that that needs to be done?

[JohnHovah]

So how would I go about asking for it to be done? And how do I justify the fact that that needs to be done?

 

In your case, I would just tell them that a friend had a similar issue wherein the only and final resolution to getting the phone working properly was to have them reprovision it OTA

[Moropo]

I thought I would provide an update. It has been a month and I just haven't posted since I got frustrated by this issue and decided to leave it as it is.

 

A month ago I went to a corporate store with a repair center just as I was advised here as well as by sprint tier 2 tech support. What I encountered was two "techs" who were so uninformed I couldn't believe it. I briefly told them about my issue that I was getting errors whenever I tried to update PRL/Profile. They asked to see my phone, I saw them go into the "network mode" and the lady uttered a demeaning in-between-lips laughter telling me "of course you're getting errors, you are on CDMA/LTE mode". I asked "so?" and she stupidly explained "the phone is stuck looking for 4G towers and thats why the updates fail". This made no sense and I hate people with attitudes so I grabbed my wife's S3, went into "network mode", showed her and said "CDMA/LTE mode right? now watch as it updates successfully" which it did. Embarrassed (I believe) she left the repair section and another guy who watched everything took over.

 

This guy was nice but also clueless. He tried to do the updates and they all failed and he said he was going to call tech support. I stopped him and told him "what are you going to call for? I have spoken with them more than once and all they have me do is the ##72786# which initiates the looping Hands Free Activation which always fails and then they have me do ##myMSLcode# and make sure the MDN/MSID are correct etc" he tells me he has to call them as it's part of protocol, I say OK and he makes the call and I watch him as he is directed to do every single thing I told him. When he finishes I tell him the only reason I went there was because I had already talked to tech support and had tried everything he just did and I was told that at the repair center they will be able to do other stuff and hopefully get it working. So I went to the repair center to watch him call tech support and do all over again what I have done many times. Anyways, he says there's nothing he can do to fix it and since I have the insurance all he could do is replace it for a refurbished one but that if except the update PRL/Profile everything else was working, that if he was me he wouldn't do it as he knows the quality of the refurbished phones. I dont know if he benefits from not giving me a refurbished phone, but this coupled with my initial doubts, I decided to keep mine.

 

Of course now my phone was looping Hands Free Activation and it wouldnt make a call or send a text etc. I had to go home and flash a stock ROM around 3-4 times as the first times the activation wouldn't go through. I guess I got lucky on the 4th time. When I had it without the looping activation thing I tried to update PRL/Profile again and got the same error. I was very mad at the repair center experience and decided that now that I got the activation thing working I was going to forget about the issue and just use the phone regularly, which is why I never posted an update to this thread.

 

It has now been a month and today out of nowhere I decide to update PRL and it successfully completes. I check the PRL and it has changed to 55013 from 55012. I try to update Profile and it also completes. For a month I didnt do anything to the phone so I guess it sort of fixed itself. This is the reason for which I decided to provide an update. What could have happened? This has me perplexed but happy that I kept my pristine phone and now everything works.