On a couple threads I’ve been asked how I got my N5 to work on a Nougat romon a CDMA network. I’m posting this in the hope that more people try it, and we can figure out a reproducible way to make it work for anyone. I can’t figure out why it’s working for me, or what exactly did it (that’s why this post is so long).
Since N5 didn’t get the official update to Nougat, there are supposedly some blobs needed for CDMA networks that never got upgraded. My understanding is that this is the reason it doesn’t work automatically. GSM networks work fine.
I’ve been running LineageOS14.1caf and it’s been stable, always connected to Sprint (via RingPlus, an MVNO). Data and everything else stays connected through reboots and updates. Others have been able to connect N5/CDMA on Nougat, so that’s not a big deal, but they don't seem able to stay connected. It’s lost on reboots, and you have to do things to get it back. Or you can connect, but only have phone and texting, no data.
Most of the time if you flash a custom Nougat rom on N5 and you’re on a CDMA network (like Sprint), you’ll get a message at the startup screen that says ‘no sim card detected’. The data icon on the status bar will be a grayed out icon with a slash through it.
What I’ve tried to get a stable connection is like throwing spaghetti against a wall and hoping some of it sticks. I just kept trying different things until it worked. It’s not automatic. You have to try a lot of different things. On 14.1caf, something I did stuck. On other roms I’ve tried I’ve been able to connect to Sprint, sometimes get data, but it doesn’t stick for long.
At the bottom are links to some zips I’ve used that seem to make a difference.
The first step is to get a connection, but that’s just the beginning. There are a couple ways I’ve gotten this to work on different roms.
When you flash the rom, also flash the second and third zips below if you're on an MVNO. The first one is an aroma installer that lets you choose your MVNO provider and installs an apn that may work, the second supposedly does something to update the prl (I’m not sure if it makes a difference, but spaghetti).
This may get you a connection, either at the startup screen, or once you pop out and reinsert the sim card. The grayed out icon w/slash will become bars, assuming you’re in range of a tower. If this doesn't work, maybe try another rom, or try the other zip.
Alternately, you can flash the other zip (sprint.zip) from the post below, I’d try the other ones first, unless you’re on Sprint directly, not through an MVNO. You may come back to this one later.
When I flashed the sprint.zip first on one rom, I got a connection but it wouldn’t initialize until I flashed the other zip with the aroma installer. However, if you’re on Sprint and not an MVNO that uses Sprint, you may only need this one.
From there, once you have a connection, go through the google setup, and if you still have a connection check to see if it includes data. I have a couple ways to confirm this. 1) Turn off wifi, and you should see 3g or LTE appear next to the bars. 2) Use an app like Internet Connectivity Test to confirm connection. Or open a browser.
If you have data connection, reboot and see if it sticks. If yes, use as is for a while and see if it keeps sticking.
If a reboot loses data, or loses the connection, you can sometimes get it back by removing and reinserting the sim. When this happened to me, I then worked on finding an apn that would keep it stable. When I first was using 14.1caf, it wasn’t stable, I got it stable doing the following.
Flash the sprint.zip. Reboot and go to Settings/Wireless & networks/More/Cellular Networks/Access Point Names. You want to end up with only one apn on the list. If you flashed the sprint.zip, one in the list should just be named ‘Sprint’.
Open the other apn’s one by one, hit the three dot menu, and Delete APN, until only the Sprint one is left. Or, you could create a new apn with all the following settings, just be sure it’s the only apn when you’re finished.
Either create a new apn or open the Sprint apn and use the following settings. You may only to change the two protocol settings.
Name: Sprint
APN: Sprint
Proxy: Not set
Port: Not set
Username: Sprint
Password: *
Server: *
MMSC: http://mms.sprintpcs.com
MMS proxy: 68.28.31.7
MMS port: 80
MCC: 310
MNC: 120
Authentication type: PAP or CHAP
APN type: mms
APN protocol: IPv4/IPv6
APN roaming protocol: IPv4/IPv6
APN enable/disable: (grayed out, or APN enabled)
Bearer: Unspecified
MVNO value: Not set (grayed out)
Hit Save in the three dot menu.
Back out.
Is ‘Sprint’ the only apn in the list? If yes, hit + In APN settings, then back out. This seems strange, but more than once it was like turning on a switch, and I got data connection instantly after hitting + and backing out.
Other things that worked for me at different times early on to restore a lost data connection: Reset Network Settings. Reflash the zips below. Update prl, if it works. Repeat all the above. Spaghetti.
If you’re comfortable saving and restoring backups in TWRP, then you’ll be comfortable trying this out on a few roms to see if you can get Nougat on your CDMA network on N5. If it doesn’t work, you can restore your working rom. It’s been worth it for me, I think Nougat’s an improvement over MM.
14.1 Roms I’ve tried this on: LineageOScaf (success). DarkRom (success, but couldn’t get it to stick. Maybe could with more effort). LineageOS noncaf (success, couldn’t get it to stick). PureNexus (no success).
Yeah, this is a complicated workaround. If a developer would figure out a way to get the right CDMA blobs for N5 on Nougat then it would just work out of the box.
Links to xda posts where zips mentioned above are located.
Sprint.zip: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47813564&postcount=1
MVNOBuzbee.zip: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=65917850&postcount=30
PrlProfileFix.zip: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=58118888&postcount=46
An update: I was also able to get this to work on 14.1DarkRom caf version and am now running it with a stable connection to RingPlus/Sprint, everything works fine.
There's one trick I forgot to mention that I learned from another thread: Flash the last stock 6.0 rom, get your network to connect, and save the EFS partition in TWRP. Supposedly some network info is on there. When you flash one of the 14.1 roms, restore that EFS partition at the end before booting.
Someone in a related thread (https://forum.xda-developers.com/go...ix-sprint-data-to-custom-roms-t2541924/page11) used the procedure I posted above including the EFS partition trick and got their phone to connect with Freedompop/Sprint, so it's reproducible after all.
lynnux said:
An update: I was also able to get this to work on 14.1DarkRom caf version and am now running it with a stable connection to RingPlus/Sprint, everything works fine.
There's one trick I forgot to mention that I learned from another thread: Flash the last stock 6.0 rom, get your network to connect, and save the EFS partition in TWRP. Supposedly some network info is on there. When you flash one of the 14.1 roms, restore that EFS partition at the end before booting.
Someone in a related thread (https://forum.xda-developers.com/go...ix-sprint-data-to-custom-roms-t2541924/page11) used the procedure I posted above including the EFS partition trick and got their phone to connect with Freedompop/Sprint, so it's reproducible after all.
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Thanks for working on this. There are probably only 5 people out there who have Sprint and want to use Nougat on the N5. I got data working on PureNexus7.1; however, I have to do the pull sim card trick and then it only shows a "4G" icon instead of LTE. I had similar problems with cyanogenmod on my Galaxy Nexus (N3) back in the day.
Does LineageOS and DarkRom show LTE or 4G? Thanks again!
fubka said:
Thanks for working on this. There are probably only 5 people out there who have Sprint and want to use Nougat on the N5. I got data working on PureNexus7.1; however, I have to do the pull sim card trick and then it only shows a "4G" icon instead of LTE. I had similar problems with cyanogenmod on my Galaxy Nexus (N3) back in the day.
Does LineageOS and DarkRom show LTE or 4G? Thanks again!
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Both Lineage and DarkRom (and the unofficial cm caf) show LTE on my phone, never saw 4G. It may be a carrier thing, not sure.
Yeah, it's surprising there aren't more people wanting to do this. I guess it's a combination of an older phone (Nexus what!!!?), few Sprint users, and honestly it can take some work to get it functioning. Nougat is such an upgrade for our phone, though, it's worth it. Feel free to add anything to this that helped you get it working.
Has anyone gotten this to work on Nexus 5 with a nougat rpm on Freedompop Sprint? I tried the two zips and service connects for a second then drops. The sprint zip won't download. Anyone have another mirror for it?
Most "fixes" don't work.
They either never worked, or addressed something that was broken again in a later build. I went through dozens of wipes, flashes, and system tests to get CDMA working 100% reliably for me... and then a patch was merged that changed something.
You could get CDMA working up to September (?) 2016, but builds after that (CM13, CM14, and LOS14) changed CDMA again, killing previous fixes.
I have FreedonPop, and the best thing to do with that service is trash the Sprint CDMA/LTE SIM and get their AT&T GSM/LTE SIM.
Yeah, you get less free data, but it fixes all SIM and connectivity issues, and even gets GPS fully working (another problem with using Sprint).
I can just flash CM/Lineage and have a working device on first boot. That's such a nice feeling.
BitingChaos said:
Most "fixes" don't work.
They either never worked, or addressed something that was broken again in a later build. I went through dozens of wipes, flashes, and system tests to get CDMA working 100% reliably for me... and then a patch was merged that changed something.
You could get CDMA working up to September (?) 2016, but builds after that (CM13, CM14, and LOS14) changed CDMA again, killing previous fixes.
I have FreedonPop, and the best thing to do with that service is trash the Sprint CDMA/LTE SIM and get their AT&T GSM/LTE SIM.
Yeah, you get less free data, but it fixes all SIM and connectivity issues, and even gets GPS fully working (another problem with using Sprint).
I can just flash CM/Lineage and have a working device on first boot. That's such a nice feeling.
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Yeah, I think I may have to switch to their ATT or T-Mobile GSM/LTE SIM.... I'm not too surprised that CDMA isn't working properly, I've always hated CDMA service to begin with, haha. I only went with this originally because it was 500mb for free . Time to go order a GSM SIM card from FreedomPop. Any good deals on those right now? I'm not trying to spend $20 on one, if I can avoid it...
EDIT: I found this website (great info for FreedomPop! http://www.cranialborborygmus.com/FreedomPop-LTE-gsm-sim-review.htm Within that site is a link (http://www.cranialborborygmus.com/buy/FreedomPop-LTE-GSM-sim) to get the ATT LTE FreedomPop SIM for $1.99 w/free shipping +1 extra GB of data on top of the first month's 1GB. You just have to remember to switch your service to the free plan before the first month is up, else it will auto-renew at $27.99/month)
With Ringplus folding I'll be going to Mintsim, which uses T-Mobile, a GSM network. No more CDMA for me, for now.
I've been running this on Sprint without a hiccup for weeks now, never had to scramble to fix things even once. Everything comes to an end.
It doesn't work for mine, maybe I'm doing something wrong?
Sprint.zip
Hi, I am brand new to xda. I have been trying to download the sprint.zip file. Is there any way I can get it from an alternate location?
computerninja said:
Hi, I am brand new to xda. I have been trying to download the sprint.zip file. Is there any way I can get it from an alternate location?
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Have you been able to find it?
I'm experiencing issues with VOLTE on T-Mobile. My phone switches immediately from an LTE+ DATA connection to HSPA the moment a call is placed. Of course, VOLTE is enabled on the settings side. I'm running an unmodified system, upgraded to PIE.
I've been on the phone with T-Mo to make sure the APN is correct (nothing special to mention here). I've also tried different connection combinations using the *#*#4636#*#* with different results but, even though the phone connects really fast to DATA (LTE+), I cannot get VOLTE to function in any case. On the other hand, WiFi calling works just fine.
On a chat with Razer, they just told me that VOLTE is unstable with T-Mobile and, to disable the function altogether from settings.
Before I give up, I'm asking the geniuses here for ideas or experiences? Any ideas anyone?
cabegol said:
I'm experiencing issues with VOLTE on T-Mobile. My phone switches immediately from an LTE+ DATA connection to HSPA the moment a call is placed. Of course, VOLTE is enabled on the settings side. I'm running an unmodified system, upgraded to PIE.
I've been on the phone with T-Mo to make sure the APN is correct (nothing special to mention here). I've also tried different connection combinations using the *#*#4636#*#* with different results but, even though the phone connects really fast to DATA (LTE+), I cannot get VOLTE to function in any case. On the other hand, WiFi calling works just fine.
On a chat with Razer, they just told me that VOLTE is unstable with T-Mobile and, to disable the function altogether from settings.
Before I give up, I'm asking the geniuses here for ideas or experiences? Any ideas anyone?
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Click to collapse
I hope this can be figured out. Im waiting for my Razer 2 phone delivery and also on T-Mobile. What OS are you running? Android Pie?
Yes, I'm on Pie.
Good news! with today's update (3-20-2019), my phone is using VOLTE technologies to connect audio calls. Phone calls sound immensely better now (the "HD" icon shows up during the call and the "LTE+" connection indicator in the status bar remains through the call).
I recently signed up to Verizon prepaid with my Moto X4 Retail (XT1900-1) And I cannot get LTE on any custom rom that I have tried how do you get Verizon LTE?
I've tried LineageOS and Havoc OS, I seem to get 3G with Lineage and Nothing with Havoc OS.
Every time I pick the Verizon Internet APN and set it to LTE/CDMA it deselects the little dot by Verizon Internet on the APN screen and Nothing but 3G.
Sarth69 said:
I recently signed up to Verizon prepaid with my Moto X4 Retail (XT1900-1) And I cannot get LTE on any custom rom that I have tried how do you get Verizon LTE?
I've tried LineageOS and Havoc OS, I seem to get 3G with Lineage and Nothing with Havoc OS.
Every time I pick the Verizon Internet APN and set it to LTE/CDMA it deselects the little dot by Verizon Internet on the APN screen and Nothing but 3G.
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I'm on Tmobile and using LineageOS on my moto x4 xt1900-1. In settings under mobile neywork there is a toggle for advanced 4G LTE. Might want to see if thus is turned on. Wish I could help more. Good luck
That option is not there on Verizon with Lineage unfortunately, it is there with the stock Rom however.
The stock rom shows LTE. And i get about 9 mbps. I get 1.5 mbps and it says 3G on Lineage.
Im on Total Wireless, which is a Verizon MVNO, and can generally get LTE on nearly all custom ROMs. I have not tried LineageOS specifically, but have used ROMs based off of it.
If you are having issues you might want to try a full stock ROM with Magisk for Root, it's guaranteed to work better than Lineage and give much less issues. BTW, your LTE speeds seem rather low, unless Verizon Prepaid speeds are lower than a typical MVNO? I get 30-50Mbps Down and 10-20 Up.
I got LTE working on LineageOS but I had to install the stock rom first. Installing the stock rom and updating to the latest OTA and then installing Lineage seems to do something to allow LTE. However with Lineage there is an issue where the Carrier text is displayed as "Roaming Indicator Off" instead of "Verizon" if you switch preferred network type from Global to LTE / GSM / UMTS it says "Verizon" and LTE+ But doing this disables CDMA. Something to do with "ERI". I don't know much about it this is just what I found digging through some issues posted on the Lineage Gitlab. Someone posted a solution but I don't know if its going to get merged into the LOS main builds.
My speeds still suck. I get about 30mbps if i go outside but anywhere inside voice and text work fine but data is 1 mbps or less.
Edit: funny enough when my download speeds suck sometimes download is like 800 kbps but upload is 20 mbps+
I'm on Havoc 2.8 and my settings are as follows.
Mobile Date: ON
Roaming: ON
4G LTE MODE: ON
Preferred Network: LTE/GSM/UTMS
Wi-fi Calling/Video Calling: OFF (don't know why they are listed if it's not compatible w/ this phone)
Choose Network: Choose Auto is set to ON and there are no other values here
APN: Verizon - VZWinternet
CDMA Roaming mode: Audo
CDMA Sub: RUM/SIM
I'm not sure which are useful but with it I have both VVM and VOLTE working to my knowledge. I'm on Verizon post-paid.
So on Monday ATT decided to deactivate my sim card because they believe my phone is incompatible with their network now. All my bars went to 0 with an x on it and I couldn't do anything on the phone. I went to an ATT store, got them to give me a new activated sim and I put it in my phone and all my bars came back.
My phone says VoLTE again too by the signal bar area. I also tested a text and it went through fine. I received a phone call and while it works fine, it sounds like junk now. Like it is no longer actually using VoLTE like it always has. My phone doesnt seem to have any data however, when it should have LTE just fine. I also cannot make any calls, even though it says VoLTE on the phone, it just re-routes to ATT customer service instead of going through with the call.
When I go into the network area in settings it says no IP address either. I looked and my APN is set to nxtgenphone, Preferred Network Type selected on LTE. Before ATT deactivated my sim card LTE has always worked fine, and LTE should still work fine. It is only the 3G network being shut down. Also given the fact I have the VoLTE icon the phone is apparently connecting somewhat to an LTE network.
So does anyone know how to fix settings to get data working again? Is it just an APN that needs to change? What is everyone else doing with the network shutdown and has anyone else had issues like this?
I had the exact same issue, your issue is in fact APN settings I'm having them as well. Try deleting your current APN and putting in a new one. Once I got a new sim my APN reset I could call but no data and no text. I have half of the APN information in place and have data and basic text, but once I input the MMS port the APN data disappears still trying to figure that out. Not sure if anything I typed is helpful but at least you know your not alone with a mi11 on ATT and it can work
EniGmA1987 said:
So on Monday ATT decided to deactivate my sim card because they believe my phone is incompatible with their network now. All my bars went to 0 with an x on it and I couldn't do anything on the phone. I went to an ATT store, got them to give me a new activated sim and I put it in my phone and all my bars came back.
My phone says VoLTE again too by the signal bar area. I also tested a text and it went through fine. However, my phone doesnt seem to have any data, when it should have LTE just fine. I also cannot make any calls, even though it says VoLTE on the phone, it just re-routes to ATT customer service instead of going through with the call.
When I go into the network area in settings it says no IP address either. I looked and my APN is set to nxtgenphone, Preferred Network Type selected on LTE. Before ATT deactivated my sim card LTE has always worked fine, and LTE should still work fine. It is only the 3G network being shut down. Also given the fact I have the VoLTE icon the phone is apparently connecting somewhat to an LTE network.
So does anyone know how to fix settings to get data working again? Is it just an APN that needs to change? What is everyone else doing with the network shutdown and has anyone else had issues like this?
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moswen said:
I had the exact same issue, your issue is in fact APN settings I'm having them as well. Try deleting your current APN and putting in a new one. Once I got a new sim my APN reset I could call but no data and no text. I have half of the APN information in place and have data and basic text, but once I input the MMS port the APN data disappears still trying to figure that out. Not sure if anything I typed is helpful but at least you know your not alone with a mi11 on ATT and it can work
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I tried deleting the MMS port and also the proxy just now and data didnt come back. I will try searching around for more APN info for how phones are supposed to connect now and see if I can find anything.
It looks like from what I could find that it is due to an IMEI whitelist ATT has, blocking data connection on any device not in their whitelist. The solution seems to be to root the phone and change your IMEI to a whitelisted model.
While my phone is rooted my IMEI is not cloned I definitely would not share my IMEI with ATT. When I got my sim card yesterday I had the attendant activate but I did not provide my phone so he did not get the IMEI from my phone. If you got a sim and they input your IMEI that could be a problem possibly. Just a suggestion to try and get a sim activated at a store without your phone.
I had also heard that most ATT MVNOs were not having the device whitelist forced on them yet, so I went and tried 2 different ones yesterday. Both failed to get the phone working on their network with their sims.
Before I went through the hassle of rooting (and most likely losing payments) I tried ATT again anyway. I used their online customer service chat and the first person I chatted with said he could help me with the lte data problem and the IMEI issue. I was skeptical, but he actually did fix it all up. He just needed my sim ICCID and my phones IMEI1 and he submitted the info to their backend people for adding to their system. It took almost an hour and a half for it to get added, but overall it was a pretty painless process and I was browing the web most of the time while waiting in chat. I now have LTE data again, VoLTE again, and "5G" too (which ATT 5G is really just one or two more features than normal LTE and is no faster in speed and uses LTE data bands). I attached a screenshot showing the data and VoLTE working on my phone. The first signal is ATT, the second is TMobile (which has always worked and never had an issue, their 3G network shutdown is going on for another 4-5 months)
EniGmA1987 said:
I had also heard that most ATt MVNOs were not having the device whitelist forced on them yet, so I went and tried 2 different ones yesterday. Both failed to get the phone working on their network with their sims.
Before I went through the hassle of rotting (and most likely losing payments) I tried ATT again anyway. I used their online customer service chat and the first person I chatted with said he could help me with the lte data problem and the IMEI issue. I was skeptical, but he actually did fix it all up. He just needed my sim ICCID and my phones IMEI1 and he submitted the info to their backend people for adding to their system. It took almost an hour and a half for it to get added, but overall it was a pretty painless process and I was browing the web most of the time while waiting in chat. I now have LTE data again, VoLTE again, and "5G" too (which ATT 5G is really just one or two more features than normal LTE and is no faster in speed and uses LTE data bands). I attached a screenshot showing the data and VoLTE working on my phone. The first signal is ATT, the second is TMobile (which has always worked and never had an issue, their 3G network shutdown is going on for another 4-5 months)
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Happy you are back up and running and I'm glad that you found someone at ATT to do the fairly easy work of getting your IMEI cleared. Lots of people have been worried about devices not working on ATT because of this whitelist issue glad to see there are workarounds just wish ATT didn't make it so convoluted.
Anyone else here on an MVNO like Mint and very recently have their pixel lose its network settings?
I'd been mostly on WiFi this week and didn't look at my phone much when out on errands. When I did, it showed 5G or LTE and good signal, but with an exclamation point in the signal status indicator. And apps would report no internet service.
At first, I thought maybe it was just congestion/deprioritization as others have warned about. But I eventually found the network settings only showing one default APN with fast.t-mobile.com. I manually entered an APN for Mint, following the config listed on the mintmobile support site, and it restored normal service.
Edit: I forgot to mention that my phone still shows the October 2022 patch level, so I don't think there has been a system update this week yet.
I've also discovered that the visual voicemail feature of the regular Phone app has stopped working again. I think it started around the same time it lost the APN settings, but now it still won't reactivate even though data service is working again.
It is stuck in the often reported state: "Visual voicemail isn't working" and "Call voicemail to finish setting it up". Calling voicemail will let me hear messages the old way, but there isn't any extra setup step I can identify...