[X 2014 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] asdfcorp:
I've been meaning to reply back to this thread for everyone but had been putting off a second rant. When I got to the city to do some speed tests something seemed a little off and my 4G LTE wasn't as fast as I remembered it being on my Galaxy S4 previously. I realized that they had set me up with a 3G data plan. The IMEI number was still set to the Moto X (Moto Victara in AT&T's system) so since that registers as a 3G device the data plan they gave me did not have LTE. I had 4G but no LTE.

I stuck to the online AT&T reps this time so that I could multitask and they were also much more helpful. The told the first rep I just wanted to switch back to my old S4 so I wanted to change my IMEI number like many people on this forum seem to have done. This fixed the issue and re-enabled the LTE. Obviously I didn't actually switch the SIM card back to the S4 since its a nano SIM. I also took the opportunity to ask them if there is any issue if I just switch devices again in the future without switching the IMEI number. They told me that although it won't cause problems necessarily it is better to do so that it doesn't affect your data plan. This seems like they just want to be able to track who is using what device and won't actually cause any problems going from one LTE device to another. So anyone who is worried about using a different IMEI number shouldn't be too worried about it. One note though is that you should keep your phone with the IMEI that you are using as explained below.

I also had planned on selling my S4 to Gazelle and was about to ship it when I realized that it may be an issue if there is another phone floating around in the wild with the IMEI number that I am using. If they detect two identical IMEI numbers that is when it can get blacklisted according to some threads I have read about phones being sold on craigslist and stuff like that. That is when I realized that in the long term we do really need AT&T to re-categorize Moto X IMEI numbers to properly reflect that they are 4G LTE devices and not 3G devices. I talked to another rep who put in a request to have the IMEI number re-categorized as a 4G LTE device. They will have to contact the manufacturer, Motorola obviously, and get the information for them about the device and then change the IMEI number to reflect a 4G device. Hopefully this will result in a system wide change for all Moto X IMEI numbers but knowing AT&T I have a feeling that this is something individuals may have to go and request on their own. I was told that this could take anywhere from a couple days to two weeks if it is approved at all.

This is a pretty crazy screw up on AT&T's part. I say AT&T because unless Motorola checked the wrong box when they filled out whatever form classifies devices for AT&T it would have to be AT&T messing this up.

My conspiracy theory is that AT&T doesn't like when unlocked devices enter the marketplace. When Motorola released a relatively affordable device (by unlocked pricing standards) they "accidentally" mislabeled the attributed IMEI numbers for the Moto X Pure Edition as 3G IMEI's. This way on the extreme end of things you will have people getting new SIM cards like myself and having their LTE data plans removed and being forced to get a new one. They would be told, like I was, that "Unlocked devices are not officially supported by AT&T's data network and connectivity can't be guaranteed". The average user who hears this might then blame Motorola, return the phone, and then return to the AT&T store for their nice AT&T branded and bloated device and their fresh 2 year contract.

Another long post that beat my last one... so thank you if you made it this far. I hope this may help someone find out what they need to do to get their Pure edition working. Most people who were able to just switch SIMs should be fine but if you ever do need to switch the IMEI numbers and have issues, you will know why.

TL;DR AT&T has Moto X IMEI numbers listed in their system as a 3G device called the Motorola Victara and if you ever switch IMEI's to that device it may cause problems with your LTE and potentially could remove your data plan entirely without your knowledge or consent.