[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] djjohnson:
Hi Techie folks!

All right, hopefully everyone would excuse any blunders made by a noob but this is my dilemma.

This is my first, and most assuredly not my last, post on this quite interesting platform.

I had recently purchased a device (Google Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 Android Smartphone 16Gb) which was supposedly 'unlocked' from an online store (Expansys USA) out here in the US.

I bought it outright for $409.99

Link: http://www.expansys-usa.com/google-nexus-prime-android-smartphone-unlocked-16gb-224148/

I had received that device without any issues and had been using it for over three weeks.

I have the StraightTalk (USA) GSM SIM on it and like I mentioned, no issues whatsoever was faced during daily day-to-day use.

However, yesterday for the first time, I noticed that the network was not connecting and so I rebooted the phone thinking it was some network error.

;)

Now when I did that I received a message after the boot-up which stated 'SIM Network Unlock Pin' and the options were to enter the PIN or dismiss that.

When I dismissed the message notification, I found out that the network was not available.

But the other features of the phone was not affected, as in navigating through the phone and applications (non-internet based) was without an problems.

Just that the network was not connecting although I observed that I could make emergency calls. :rolleyes:

So I tried rebooting it again, by taking out the battery and SIM card as well, the issue still persisted.

So I started to troubleshoot the issue, by inserting in another GSM SIM card into the phone, but found the issue to persisting.

To double-check, I took out my StraightTalk SIM card and put in another phone, the SIM card was working fine! :good:

Just to be on the safe side, I called StraightTalk Customer Support and had asked them for some clarification as to why this SIM Network Unlock PIN was shown.

They suggested that this was the phone issue and needed to be sorted out by the place of purchase/manufacturer.

I even tried entering the SIM card's PUK code but did not reach far in that regard.

On searching the net (which is why I had come here for proper support and answers), I had found quite a lot issues with regard to this problem.

I was under the assumption that this phone was the GSM Unlocked International Version, but after this incident, it so happens that this is not the case.

The solution given online and out here is to root the phone using the Wugfresh method and after rooting, run the device with the application (http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1548210) which would take care of this issue.

However, I am not too keen on voiding my warranty on this account, and also the steps are quite complicated with respect to rooting the device.

Yes I am noob! So please don't roll your eyes! ;)

This is the issue, and now to what I would appreciate this forum's assistance.:o

Being an expensive product, I dont want to buy another one just because of this issue.

I do not know where this phone is purchased from, which means, I have no idea which network provider this is locked to.

I can only provide the IMEI number.

Question 1: Is it possible to find out to which network this phone is locked to?

I have to add that the phone does not have any network branding on it, nor does it show any during the boot-up process.

Question 2: Can the phone be unlocked with online unlocking sites?

Question 3: If so, can someone provide me any good sites that can unlock the device.

Is this site any good? Link: http://www.unlockallcellular.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus-unlock-code-p-196144.html

Like I said, worse case scenario, I would indeed have to root my phone and proceed to install that software which will help me get rid of this issue once and for all.

As you all can see, I'm desperately looking for some solutions/answers and would appreciate it if someone would shed any light to this issue.

PS: I do know that there are threads on this issue, but mine is more or less around finding the invisible network provider that this phone is locked to.

Best Regards,

Reena Johnson