i9100 with Replicant, AT&T guy couldn't get past "error while searching for networks"
Added by Bruno Dantas over 8 years ago
I received my i9100 with unlocked GSM in the mail today. Installed recovery, then Replicant (after some serious adrenaline due to adb sideload "protocol fault" issue), then wifi firmware (the only proprietary code I'll install on this device). Tested wifi at home and it was working, then headed over to the AT&T shop to get it activated.
The AT&T guy put the SIM card in the device, manually entered all the APN settings, then tried to activate the phone but kept getting a little error that said "error while searching for networks." He went around in circles a few times, then gave up. He ended up giving me a cheap phone with stock Android to use for the time being.
Can anybody help me get past the "error while searching for networks" issue? Is there a hidden setting somewhere to turn on the mobile antenna? The guy was truly stumped.
Replies (2)
RE: i9100 with Replicant, AT&T guy couldn't get past "error while searching for networks" - Added by Bruno Dantas over 8 years ago
I did some searching online for possible issues. When I go to Settings -> About phone, I do have an IMEI number and a Baseband version (I9100XXLPQ). So missing IMEI or Baseband is not the issue.
I'm not sure what else to do to troubleshoot. The issue cannot be due to something I did to the phone, because I didn't do anything more to it than what I described above. Please help.
EDIT:
Another thought: Will an unlocked i9100 work on any GSM network? If there is an incompatibility between this device's hardware and AT&T's network, I could go with T-Mobile if one of you gurus tells me that it would work.
RE: i9100 with Replicant, AT&T guy couldn't get past "error while searching for networks" - Added by Greg Farough over 8 years ago
I sympathize with your frustration. After much trial and error I have been able to get an i9100/XXKP8 phone into a reliable enough state to use it daily on AT&T. Here are a few notes.
- I was unable to get the phone to register on the network until formatting everything but the /efs storage, then installing the latest Replicant recovery and 4.2 ROM.
- "Automatic registration" needs to be selected after every boot for the phone to properly register on the network. Even after registration, the phone UI will still display "No Service," but all network functions will work normally. On rare occasions registration won't work at all, and you'll have to boot cycle a few more times. I have verified that no roaming chargers are incurred.
- Storage encryption will currently render the phone completely unable to register the network. Probably related to #849.