yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hausman:
So in theory if I were to purchase a Note, go into an AT&T store and ask for 450 voice and a 4GB DataPro plan with tethering, they would give me a SIM card and I'd be able to use the device? I'm skeptical, I thought there was at least one person in this thread who had a "proper" smartphone data plan and still got the text. But maybe I am mistaken. I'm not trying to cheat the system or get unlimited data. I actually think AT&T's data plans, which charge a blanket $10/GB over the plan, are fine (for me). This prevents the $50,000 data bills we used to read about now and then.

If this is happening to smartphone data plan subscribers, I could see it being just an unfortunate mistake. My understanding is that AT&T put voice blocks on IMEIs for Galaxy Tabs because those devices contained a cellular radio that US carriers didn't want subscribers to use (I don't know why, but whatever). Since the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note are both Samsung devices in the "Galaxy" product line, it makes sense that IMEIs might fall under a similar batch / range. When AT&T originally put out the voice block on the Galaxy Tab IMEIs, they probably cast too wide a net and when the Galaxy Note came up with similar IMEIs, you're caught by the filter that was set up a year ago when the Galaxy Tab went on the market and before the Galaxy Note was even a rumor.

If AT&T is really only cracking down on people with unlimited data plans (grandfathered or sim-swapped), then I can understand this being intentional. Obviously the industry is moving away from unlimited data, particularly on a device with 1280x800 resolution that can output to a TV in high definition. The potential for abuse here is massive in the carriers' eyes. A device this fast with unlimited data that can tether could easily become a home broadband replacement for very little money on some of these grandfathered plans, which would cut into AT&Ts other business lines (like DSL) in a huge way if it were allowed to continue.

I just wish there was a way to know for certain that if one paid for a legitimate data plan, one could import a Galaxy Note and use it as a smartphone. For everyone that paid $700 for the Note, my fingers are crossed that you'll be able to continue to use the device; it sounds awesome.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Adrian71:
I thought there was as well, hence my concern about this. I'm reluctant to monkey around with anything in the directory, though -- I'd hate to brick this phone after what I paid for it.

EDITED TO ADD: Page 17, post #168. Guy had unlimited data, switched to 2GB metered, and says he still got The Text.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] winterhaven:
Um. Do you know something about returning the phone that I don't? Because my Newegg invoice said nonreturnable, only exchangeable. I'd love to be able to send it back right now.

BTW, Newegg didn't mention the nonreturnable thing until AFTER the purchase. AND they didn't tell me the phone would be arriving in an OPEN BOX which was evident because of the Brainstorm card in the box. When we called Brainstorm they told us they opened the box to put in the US adapter and their card.

---------- Post added at 05:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:38 PM ----------

BTW, the AT&T store had trouble getting the GNote working and so they put in a Skyrocket serial number. Then the phone worked but data didn't. I put in the wap.cingular settings and got it working, but only on edge. Today I put in the settings from this thread forum.xda-developers com/showthread.php?t=1109983 (you'll have to take the spaces out as I cannot yet post links). Now it shows H+/3G in the top right corner sporadically as opposed to E. But the speeds are ridiculously slow (although better than with the previous APN settings). When it was showing H+ the speedtest showed 2.95Mbps download / 1.60Mbps / Ping 131 ms VS 14.46 / 18.24 / 64 on the iPhone as they sat side by side.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dscline:
So, those who have done the EFS hack, is there a way to do this w/o buying Root Explorer? I've already backed up my EFS folder, but now I'm having difficulty deleting or renaming it. So far I've tried the options I know of that are supposed to have root access (ES File Explorer, File Expert, Root Browser Lite), but none have been able to rename it or delete it. The operation fails (or in the case of File Expert, FC).
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Alejandrissimo:
There are free root file explorers

Like ES file manager
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ChodTheWacko:
All I can say is that that is what I did, and I'm running just fine for a good month now. Others have done the same thing. If you look through the threads you will see that the people who are having issues are people trying to get unlimited data plans to work.

'proper' unlimited plans SHOULD work, mind you, and I believe they eventually will. But it's clear that right now, they aren't. At least not reliably.

Make sure you get the phone activated and working before you leave the store - calls and data. Load up my FAQ on one of their ipads and enter the 4G APN info before leaving.

To be honest, I wouldn't screw with the efs yet. If you go in, and and just honestly say, 'I am going to be using this smartphone, and I'd prefer it be on AT&T on the 4G plan', then then I think the employees should be more than willing to help you. Suggest, if you need to, that they use the IMEI of another android smartphone. (or bring one in yourself). If your employee is clueless you may have to escalate to someone who knows what they are doing.

I also wonder whether, since the official model # of our phone is GT-N7000,

that it's chunked in with all the other GT-* tablets.

- Frank
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dscline:
I assume you are referring to ES File Explorer? That's one of the three that I tried which didn't work.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Killer Ear Infection:
What about using the IMEI from my soon-to-be-retired iPhone? Would that work?
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Adrian71:
Mine also toggles between 3G and H+. I haven't done a speed test, but I know the speed on mine is comparable to, if not better than, what I had on my Dell Streak. I can live with that. :)

Worth a try. I don't suppose the IMEI has to come from a Skyrocket. I probably could have used the IMEI from my Streak, but I was just following what worked here for a previous poster and figured I'd give that a whirl.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Killer Ear Infection:
As yet another point of comparison, are you one of those who did the EFS thing?
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Adrian71:
Nope, I haven't done that. I'm afraid of bricking my phone. I do know that after the customer service guy took an IMEI from a display phone in the store and set up my data plan, my Note reverted to its original IMEI once I placed a call. If I end up having trouble, I guess I'll try the EFS trick. Otherwise, I'm leaving well enough alone.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Killer Ear Infection:
Any news on this front? I'm thinking of changing my IMEI instead of just plain deleting the EFS folder.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dscline:
He just posted that less than 12hrs ago. He already mentiond he won't even have a Note for two days. You might want to give him a chance to receive his his phone and work on it for a bit before asking for an update.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Killer Ear Infection:
Thanks, it's the nerves talking on my end. :/

SOOO frustrating, AT&T!
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tefloncoated:
Details on the /efs mod

MAKE SURE YOU BACK IT UP! Use Root Explorer, regular File Explorers dont show some of the system folder contents.

You don't have to delete the entire /efs folder. Deleting some of the files does the trick, giving you a generic IMEI.

In fact I couldn't delete or rename the folder - i did it several times and after a reboot the /efs folder was back in place as it was before.

Also, i went to the ATT store and changed my grandfathered iPhone 3G unlimited plan to 4G unlimited plan. All done with the "hacked" efs and generic IMEI. The store rep used a display phone IMEI, registered the new 4G SIM card (free), added the APN and i was on HSPA+ within 5 minutes.

Now i am having a data speed issue - phone toggles between 3G and H+, Speed Test is VERY slow - not even a 1Mb up or down... something to work on.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] GenghisKhent:
4G SIM Card

PMI, but how do you know if your SIM card is "4G"? I took my SIM from my Dell Streak, where it came from somewhere else a while back. Or does it matter if your SIM card is "older", as long as your data plan is correctly provisioned?
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Adrian71:
All I can tell you is that when they upgraded my Note to 4G, they put in a new SIM. The SIM I had in it was 3G from my Dell Streak. My card had "3G" printed on it in the corner, but I've also seen ones that don't specify.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] winterhaven:
I do wish I'd gotten working before leaving the store. Especially as the nearest store is 35 minutes from home.

Um. I went to your FAQ and have some questions. First, am I supposed to create all three? I anticipated the answer to that is yes. But when I tried to enter the info for the second, "ATT PHONE", it wouldn't let me leave the APN field null. So, I entered wap.cingular. Third, for the "ATT WAP" rendition, your instructions say "APN Type: mms,supl". Um. I don't have that option. I have three options: Internet + MMS, Internet, and MMS. So I tried MMS.

After all that, I have data. But not anywhere near the speeds I have with the iPhone. Sigh.

BTW, when I talked with the ATT guy on the phone today who helped me in the store last night and explained I was not getting HSPA+ speeds. He said we should not have used the Skyrocket Serial Number as it is LTE. He said he'd change it to another phone that was HSPA+ compatible.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kuaka:
This is pretty normal. The phone only switches to H+ when the data connection is active and is on 3G when the connection is idle. The slow speeds are definitely location dependent. I've seen everywhere from several hundred kbps to 6Mbps+
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ChodTheWacko:
Sorry, I need to correct it. You can enter all three if you like, but you can only use one so you really only need to enter one.

I use 'Internet+MMS'

And yeah, I haven't gotten the second one working myself, but it's been posted many times so....

- Frank
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jojorios:
What I find weird is that i'm guessing there's a good number of people at Engadget/Gizmodo that have this phone but they haven't written anything about this issue? Maybe if it was brought out AT&T might move on their ass and fix the issue.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Phateless:
Are you rooted? Did you go into es file explorer's settings to enable root mode?
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tefloncoated:
quick update to my previous post (#257).

The data speeds were extremely slow the rest of the afternoon while i was at work (in NYC). In the evening, I went back to the same ATT store and tested my GN side by side with a Galaxy S2 (not skyrocket) on HSPA. It was struggling as badly as the Note! The store rep suggested this is normal for NYC as it is a very congested area.

That gave me some peace of mind, so when i got home to NJ, where i normally have pretty decent 3G speeds on my iPhone, i tested it out... ~500kbs up/down and ping ~150ms on HSPA, with phone toggling between 3G and H+.

I made two phone calls to ATT and actually gave one the generic IMEI number. It was shown in the system as a generic non-ATT phone. The techs are not supposed to provide support for non-ATT phones.

I updated my APN based on this guide:

http://lishutterbug.com/note/#android2

Now my HSPA speeds are just a tad over 1Mbs up and down, with latency ~100. Still not acceptable, iPhone 3G was much better in the same area.

I am really thinking of returning this phone and getting a Galaxy Skyrocket or just staying with the iPhone 4 until the Note is released in the US... Unfortunate since this is indeed a GREAT device.

Could people that got their Notes to work on ATT chime in with speeds they've experienced and in which areas?
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dscline:
Yes, and yes. I can get to the folders in root, I can change the permissions of those folders, and I can attempt to delete or rename the EFS folder, but when I try to apply the change, it fails.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Funk2641:
So, to sum up:

I have a 4G sim card, provisioned for 3G unlimited (DOM - DPPB). If I switch to the 2/4GB plan (the HSPA/+), will that solve the issue?

Or this:

I also have a vivid - If I provision my sim for LTE, will that fix the issue?

My sim is in a Galaxy Nexus at the moment. I haven't put it back in my Note, since I'm scared of what my happen.

Any ideas?
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Siriack:
This worked for me.

Just delete (rename / move)

nv_data.bin

.nv_data.bak

nv_data.bin.md5

.nv_data.bak.md5

Make sure to make a backup of these files before.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] les_garten:
You've already answered your own question. You said the Skyrocket was as slow as the note didn't you.

ATT is very oversubscribed on their network. This shouldn't be news to you. NYC in particular sux. That's the result of all that rotten fruit out there with unlimited data plans.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] p51d007:
I think there are a few people that share your opinon. I know I have held off on the Note because of the #$&*@#* things it appears at&t are doing, to prevent this device from working PROPERLY on the at&t network.

It will be interesting, if/when the death star actually picks up this device, if the carrier unlocked versions, the ones that still have the home button, will start being accepted as a "phone" and not a tablet.

IF that happens, I'll get an unlocked one, if for no other reason, it's just that I prefer an unlocked, non carrier branded device, than a bloated, crippled device.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tefloncoated:
Agreed! But that doesnt explain the slow speed in an area that has good 3G speeds (NJ). I'll have a chance to test it out upstate NY this weekend where 3G speeds were pretty darn good. Will post here then.

Meanwhile - would be great to hear from folks that can run a speed test on the ATT enabled G-Notes in NYC/NJ as well as other areas and post results.

---------- Post added at 10:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 AM ----------

Exactly. That will be enough to produce a generic IMEI.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] les_garten:
I thought mine was not setup correctly because I was only getting 800-900 kbps at my house. Used it around different parts of the city I live in and speeds are extremely variable. Best I've seen about 8mbps. ATT is a victim of their own success(rotten fruit vendor), as well as having poor network growth projections and management. We need a ton of folks to churn off to Verizon to fix them.

I'm in Data Engineering. ATT is just about the worse company to deal with for backbone lines. They still act like they are "BELL". They just don't care. I'm glad the TMO deal fell thru. We need a decent GSM competitor in the US. TMO started out well as Voicestream, but screwed the pooch and basically sux now.

IMO, the deal with the note is more incompetence than conspiracy.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Adrian71:
Metro Seattle (south suburbs). Just ran three back-to-back tests:

3.91Mbps down, 1.47Mbps up.

4.80 down, 1.66 up.

3.50 down, 1.61 up.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] maxh:
I haven't had any speed problems; in some places of Austin, TX I get 7 Mbps down and 2 or 3 up, while at home I get 1.5 down and 1 up.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] 3_D:
Very North Dallas in McKinney,TX
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] scarfacecjm:
Yes that is happening here to me here in Puerto Rico. I called them so they can add the IMEI so my network "works better" and they say the phone is not in their system... Its always something wrong with At&t and their data plan... Its like they want you to dont have Unlimited Data no more... Too bad for them.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dscline:
Thanks, I may give that a try. Though the longer I go w/o getting "the txt", I wonder if I should just wait and see. My trip for next week just got cancelled, so I'm less concerned about having data cut off while I'm away.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Adrian71:
That's what I'm doing at this point. The phone works, so I'm just leaving well enough alone. If I get The Text, then I figure it'll be time to start monkeying around in the folders.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netboy:
How long have you guys been going on ATT so far without the dreaded text? I am going on 1 week so far. I have a 4g/lte sim from my skyrocket and am using the PTA apn.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Adrian71:
Just about a week for me now.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hausman:
I'm up to page 17 re-reading this thread carefully. So far, no one who is on "Data Plus 200MB" or "DataPro 2GB or "Datapro 4GB with tethering" has complained about being booted. So far everybody who has been booted is either on an iphone unlimited plan or some older grandfathered unlimited (or non-smartphone) plan. If anyone was on a *current* smartphone (tiered) data plan with voice and has gotten booted, that would be good to know (I know I still have 15 pages or so to get through but time is short today).

Apple made special arrangements with AT&T for iPhone users to have unlimited data. (Apparently the following is incorrect) Unlimited data has never been offered to any other smartphone users, whether they used Windows Mobile, Blackberry, or Android (to my knowledge). I suspect this crackdown has a lot to do with that, unfortunately combined with the fact that once your IMEI is flagged, the rate codes for legitimate smartphone plans are simply unavailable.

Which leads me to believe that if you're not an AT&T customer and you bring a Note into a store, they will pull the IMEI off your device and they won't be able to put you on a legitimate smartphone plan. Has anyone here done that as a completely new customer (instead of pulling your SIM from an existing device)?
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dscline:
I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one or two people claim they had this issue on a current tiered plan. They're difficult to find in all the noise, particularly since there's more than one thread on this issue.

There have been unlimited data plans for smartphones (besides iPhones) previous to the current tiered plans.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hausman:
Thanks - I didn't know that. I guess this will remain a dream then. Even if AT&T offers their own version of the Note, I suspect they'll only whitelist their own IMEIs and everyone else who buys a non-branded version could eventually lose out. For those of you who have it working here in the States (well, faster than EDGE anyway), I'm envious. :)
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] maxh:
Before the fairly recent move to tiered data plans (200MB, 2GB, 4GB) only unlimited was offered. There was:

$15 Medianet (unlimited for dumbphones)($10 if you had unlimited family sms)

$30 Smartphone Unlimited

$30 Iphone Unlimited

For the most part it does look like AT&T's trying to push people off of grandfathered unlimited plans, but I do think I've seen at least one person on a tiered plan receive The Text. Read some of my other posts on this topic in this thread and others to see why I find it rather unlikely AT&T will release the Note (with phone functionality included.)
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dscline:
There is another story today about AT&T releasing an LTE version of the Note. That doesn't mean they won't release it with the intention of it being a tablet only, but that just seems very unlikely to me. Why would someone want a tablet this small w/o phone functionality? If device of this size can serve both purposes (and is already being produced with that funcitonality), why would someone want two separtae devices? I can't imagine them selling very many of these if they strip phone functionality out of it.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kdel:
I posted a reply similar to this earlier, but will let you all know again. I should get my Note tomorrow afternoon from newegg. I am a completely new AT&t customer. I have never had a cell plan with them before.

If I have the guts to gamble $700 (which I am building up to), I plan to go into an AT&T store here is SW Michigan and try to set up a brand new, 2 gig plan. I will post back with my results as quickly as I can. And then, I guess I still have to wait and see if it "takes", and they don't boot me in a month.

On a sort of side note: I was hoping to go non-contract with AT&T. Is that possible when getting the 2 gig or 4 gig plus tethering plan? My guess is no. And I did browse their website, but the answer to my question was not readily apparent.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dscline:
While I don't know the answer to your question, if you CAN'T sign up as a new customer with a data plan w/o a contract, then you may as well sign up as a new customer with an iphone. You'll pay $200 for it, and you can sell it on ebay for $500. Use the difference to help offset the cost of the Note. Of course, if you CAN get in w/o a contract, then the $300 profit may not be with the commitment to you. I was due an upgrade from them, so that's what I did. So far my 2GB "iphone plan" has been working fine on the Note w/o any Txts (since Monday).
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kdel:
Yeah, I have heard about buying, then selling the iphone. I may do that if there is a good chance the iphone plan will work on my Note like it has worked for you (so far). :) Thanks for the tip.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Adrian71:
Page 17, post #168. Guy originally had unlimited data but switched to 2GB metered and says he still got The Text. That's the only one I've seen, and even he started out with unlimited.