Unlocked AT&T LG V10 Service State "Radio Off" after reset

[nmaloff]

Hello everyone,

Recently purchased unlocked V10 from Amazon (AT&T Unlocked Phone compatible with GSM SIM cards in U.S. and worldwide) and put my PM sim card in when I received it. Immediately I saw it connect to the PM network and could use it. However, I had trouble with the battery so I performed a hard reset and since then, I have not been able to connect to any network (error while searching for networks). I tried the *#*#4636#*#* code but got a message that the application does not work with this device. However, I could see behind the message that GSM service: Radio off. 

What I've tried:

-contacted seller to ask if it was factory unlocked, which I think would mean it wouldn't revert back to "locked" after a reset - he said it was "fully unlocked", whatever that means.

-sim card works in all other telus-locked phones

-tried my friend's telus sim card in the V10 and had same issue

-imei is valid

-factory reset twice, once through menu and once using buttons

-checked my account in good standing

I would really appreciate some advice in this matter before I give up and return it.

Any suggestions from this wonderful community?

Thanks!

[freakqnc]

Looking for a solution I landed on this forum and before I could use any of the suggestions I got my LG-V20 H910 Android 7.0 to work again... hopefully on a permanent way.

When I lost cell network connection for no apparent reason and withot having done nothing out of the ordinary (I had been using the phone for standard call/text/data) I tried a hardreset and restored to factory settings. That meant losing all data and logs, but since I was at wits' end I went for it. 

That didn't help as after the reset and reconfiguring all apps (from google account backup) via working wifi, I was still left with no carrier signal.

In Settings the entry Mobile Networks was grayed out as if Android wasn't even detecting a cell radio hardware. Awful. 

More looking for info got me to a page with instructions on how to set the phone in Service Mode by typing the string *#*#4636#*#* as a phone number. The last character woudl bring up a list of 4 option with the first on being "Phone Information" as shown here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rX-5Hw0HME

But instead of having that working as shown in the video at the link above I only got a warning stating that this application doesn't work on this phone with an "OK" action to close warning which made all the info flash for a split second and disappear... hence could not do any of what is shown in the video, like checking if the cell radio was turned off and therefore turn it back on.

By chance I though "What if starting in safe mode will reset the radio state which may have been triggered by heavens know what? " So I tried... and guess what? Thankfully enough IT WORKED! So I now have my beloved phone back.

I hope this will help others looking for info on how to fix the LG V20 no mobile network issue which I've found googling "LG V20 Mobile Network grayed out", "LG V20 Mobile Network not working", "LG V20 APN disappeared", "LG V20 can't save new APN" since it was also the issue I got where I would put in a new APN only to have it disappear and reappear briefly when I added a new on which latr showed as a sort of duplicate until it disappeared again with the phone showing "No Service". BTW I also looked for a fix for "LG V20 No Service problem". I hope these terms here will help those with similar issues to land on this reply so that perhaps they too will be able to solve the issue by doing what I did.

Incidentally to put the phone in Safe Mode:
- Restart the phone

- When the LG logo comes on screen press immediately the Volume Down button

- I kept it pressed until the AT&T animation (I have an H910 model) came on screen
- The phone started in safe mode and got the cell Radio working again!
At this point I pressed the button reading "Turn Off Safe Mode" and the phon briefly closed with out full restart, played the AT&T startup animation (not th LG one) and got back to a phone that was once again working as it should.

....
On a separate ranting not: the LG V20 is still far from perfect since to GPS is terrible as often loses signal and takes a few minutes to lock on satellites makeing it very annoying to use maps when you are in a rush since for the first few min. nothing will work... or when you need to know where to exit a highway you'll have lost the signal... and with it the exit as well 😞 That's the only major issue I have with this phone in addition to the infrared not working at all to the point that might as well not be something that comes with the phone since is not working at all... only got to turn on an HDTV after manually "training" the phone app using the TV's remote... but is a hit or miss at best and no other function would work... so. But I while I could live with that the bad GPS a way worse issue. It's really too bad this model has problems that don't get resolved by LG because they seem too busy pumping out newer models which usually come with their own new set of issues... so sham on LG for the poor QA and support.

[Wexyl]

Hello,

Thanks for your reply.

Already tried to access this hidden menu, but the phone information menu seem locked, as I am getting a "this application does not work on this device " error message.

The seller insist this is an unlocked phone.

I checked the EMEI online, seems OK, not blacklisted...

I don't know if there is a way to get around this?

Thanks for the help

[Wafik]

@Wexyl Seems to be a common problem with the LG V20 where the radio just automatically turns off.  You may want to go to this link and try the troubleshooting steps listed.

https://recomhub.com/blog/fix-signal-problem-in-lg-v20/

[Wexyl]

Hello,

I have the same exact problem with a ... Lg v20

Freaking lg phones...

[Wafik]

Glad to hear it.  The V20 will probably serve you better in the long run anyways.

[nmaloff]

@Wafik and @sheytoon yes I did return the phone because it just wouldn't work.
I bought a used LG V20 from B&H and it's such a great phone!
Easy - just put my sim card in and works like a charm.

Thanks for all your help!

[sheytoon]

Good luck @nmaloff!

[Wafik · Accepted solution]

Are you able to return the phone to the person you purchased it from?  Can they sell you another one?

You could always root the phone, although depending on your tech experience that would not be my first recommendation.  Get your money back if you can and get another V10!

[nmaloff]

@sheytoon This last reset did not fix the issue unfortunately. Must be the firm/hardware causing the problem, imho.
Might just be the time to tap out of this fight, as they say.😄
Appreciate all the help from all those who know so much more than I do (I knew right off the bat this was not a carrier issue).
Hope I can be of some help down the line...
n.

[nmaloff]

@Wafik That's okay and thanks...
I already installed that app and was unable to access the phone info (which I could see grey-ed out in the background: gsm radio was off and if AT&T hadn't messed w the phone, i could've turned it on).
Wish I knew of some way to bypass all that and just switch it on manually... that's clearly what the problem is

[Wafik]

Oh, my bad, for some reason I was thinking you were trying to access data.

Does your phone work with wifi?  If so, you could always try downloading the LG V10 Hidden Settings No Root app and see if maybe something is switched off that you need on?

Shot in the dark.

[nmaloff]

Thanks for your input..
@sheytoon I believe you are correct about the APN settings.
I contacted the seller again and he said out of the 200 phones he's sold, mine is the only one to have had this issue. Figures!! Just frustrating that it worked perfectly initially. I can return for refund if needed, but I am now on a mission to make this work! Lol.... I'm a stubborn girl.
Will reset one more time and see if somehow the cell radio gets switched on.
I so appreciate everyone's feedback here btw 💕

[sheytoon]

@nmaloff
That's really weird. Some kind of software/firmware issue with the phone. Just for completeness, can you factory reset again?

@Wafik
He has an Android device and APN has no impact on voice calls.

[Wafik]

From a quick search on AndroidCentral forms, it looks like you may have an APN issue, which could have been caused by reseting your phone I suppose.

Visit http://www.unlockit.co.nz/mobilesettings/ and search for (CA – Public Mobile)

Directions for Android are along the bottom. See if that works for you.

[nmaloff]

Hi Sheytoon,
Thank you for chiming in...
No I'm not able to make any calls - the phone will not "turn on" the cellular radio at all. 😔
So no data either of course. But Wi-Fi is fine.
N.

[sheytoon]

Can you make any voice calls? If yes, then phone is unlocked.

Are you just having data connectivity issues?

[Samianauman]

If you just unlocked it then unlocking stays permanent if won't get effected by resetting or software upgrade.

[nmaloff]

Thank you Ludite...that's what I was thinking.  The only thing perplexing me though, is that in my experience, whenever a locked phone detects a different carrier's sim card, I would get some indication that it wouldn't accept the sim because of the carrier.  This time there is no error message.

And thank you for the link to unlock...would you happen to know if the same issue would arise if I reset the phone again in the future? Seems strange to me.

[Luddite]

Given your tests I'm pretty sure it has relocked. Here's a post I found: https://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-lg-v10/help/t-mobile-locked-phone-please-help-t3305637

You could also try getting a new unlock code. Othershave reported this site is good: https://www.mobifree.net/unlock.

Sorry can't be more help. Wait a bit for some of our Android buffs to chime in.