yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] onurd:
I just got the refurbished Nexus 5 for freedompop through the stacksocial promo. Very good deal (unlimited talk, text and 500 mb LTE data/month, all free for a year). The device came with a very minimal install of android 5.1. Given the fact that the device has a special dialer and sms program (since everything goes over the data network), I was wondering what the options were for updating to 5.1.1 (stock vs other CM based roms).

Help appreciated.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Daniel_Cronin:
I would be interested in the answer to this too. This sounds like a great way to stay contract free when I return to the States. Maybe look in to how you get the service working on a BYOD phone?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tevil:
this the 199 deal? I was thinking of picking this up and just cancelling the service to have a spare 5 lying around
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ShapesBlue:
Yea I read about this over at slickdeals and it's the same promo

Sent from my Nexus 5
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] onurd:
The phone is a refurbished b stock. Mine was in great shape except a small nick on the right side. So I cannot complain. The bootloader comes unlocked and there is a superuser zip on the phone so all you have to do is flash a custom recovery to flash that zip. Now I have to figure out whether I can put custom roms on this puppy.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ShapesBlue:
Since it's the N5 it shouldn't be a problem for recoveries or anything rom related. They may have filled it with there own bloatware but it will work regardless

Sent from my Nexus 5
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] onurd:
The issue is that since this phone operates solely over voip and data for messaging the normal dialer and messaging app is deleted and it has its own freedom pop dialer and messaging app.. I am not sure how integrated the whole freedom pop stuff into the system is.. I don't want to install a different rom and break the integration.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ShapesBlue:
That's a good point. Didn't think about it that way

Sent from my Nexus 5
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
This is the promo I got for my sister. Is this VOIP the same thing as Freedompop 4G LTE? I thought FreedomPop was piggybacking on Sprint's cell network.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] onurd:
It does run on the sprint's LTE network but the sms and talk goes over the data network rather than the regular sprint network. So for all intents and purposes it is a VOIP phone with sprint reception. If you don't have LTE reception, the voice and sms parts don't work either.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RadRegulus:
I also took advantage of this incredible deal.

However I've had quite a few freezes with the ROM it's running.

It seemed just like Stock, however looking around I've noticed they've tweaked Stock quite a bit.

One of the most significant (and surprising) tweaks was the inclusion of Ambient Display.

I'm about to flash some ROMs and see how it works. Update this later.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] onurd:
Hmm. I had no issues with the rom itself. I think it is running very smoothly. I did root it though
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
Does this mean the 500MB free data will be used up as it's being used for calls and text? Sorry for the noob questions but I've never used VoIP before, like ever. My sister surprisingly isn't into social networking but she only texts with her best friends the most.

I know you probably don't know but if I flash CM12 on it would FreedomPop not work?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rmngorelov:
freedompop zip

I was wondering could someone post the freedompop zip that came on the phone? I foolishly deleted mine but I'd like to experiment with it now.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coilbio:
So I installed a recovery by simply flashing it since its already bootloader unlocked, obtained root and everything works. also made a backup just in case.

I went through the freedom pop rom on the phone and it has the apk files for phone and messaging. you can also pull them from the app store.

Im gonna flash a custom rom and then install the apk's. It should work and I could always set freedompop apps as the default dialer.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RadRegulus:
I flashed both Stock and CM but neither even recognized the Freedompop SIM card.

Guess we have to stay on their ROM if we want to use their service.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] abrahammmmmmm_:
I also got the deal from freedom pop though I'm now regretting it as I'm reading this whole issue about the messaging app.... especially the fact that it's only a voip service being used, might as well use hangouts then!

Besides that, how good is the overall condition of your devices? I got tricked into thinking it was a genuinely "new" nexus 5 by pocketnow, nowhere did it read refurbished or "pre owned" until I got the email from freedompop.

---------- Post added at 05:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:49 AM ----------

Well that's depressing, hopefully someone finds what they did and is able to port the contents from their rom to another. Or we could also contact their support personally? they seem to be pretty dev-friendly. Have you tried messing with the prl? It's been a while since I've dealt with sprint
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RadRegulus:
Just tried every PRL setting, still no dice.

Regarding the phone condition, mine arrived perfectly flawless. It can really pass as a new device. However I've heard that some people receive units with dings and bumps on the sides. Guess I got lucky
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coilbio:
Mine Works!

I installed cataclysm rom as its one of my favorites. just updated the profile and prl as usual in the phone settings.

LTE and wifi working flawless.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-1D2PtniYDCbUh0YXFtc1RNbTQ/ Hope it helps!

It's strange that a ROM would be the reason for a SIM to work. Maybe it's using specific modems we're not aware of? The zip file in the phone seems to be the ROM. I had to unlock the bootloader, it didn't come with TWRP as others have claimed, to root it and installed TWRP to make a nandroid backup. I might take a chance with CM12 later today.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coilbio:
flash cm12 then install the freedompop apps from that rom you just uploaded.

that's how it works with BYOD devices on freedompop.

they can also be downloaded from the app store
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
When you tried to update the PRL, was this on CM12? I can't find my way through the settings to do this.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coilbio:
Setting -> more -> cellular network -> carrier settings

You have to be on WiFi first
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
Is that CM12 on the Nexus 5?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coilbio:
Its has the options on this nexus 5, my nexus 4, z Ultra and Moto g on lollipop ROMs.

If cm12 for nexus 5 doesn't have it then that's pretty bad for a ROM.

This nexus 5 is on aosp, I would try other ROMs but I don't have time right now.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
On CM12, it only works for me if I'm connected to WiFi. I installed the apps from the play store, same thing. If my sister is out and about not connected to wifi it doesn't seem to be connecting the "Freedompop G4 LTE"

I'm gonna see if restoring the nandroid brings me back
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] abrahammmmmmm_:
the whole lte connectivity issue is just completely weird, unless freedompop intentionally placed keys on the rom to connect to their network. In theory any rom that works on sprint should work here too. (How else would people who bring their own device get it working?) Man I wish I had my device. I'll try asking freedompop on their forums, let's hope they're nice enough to lend a hand :)
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
I think I can confirm that: I tried updating the PRL and Profile in CM12.1 and it did nothing. I restored the nandriod and it's all back to normal. This is quite disappointing but not surprising. I guess it's a bit obvious that they placed keys on their rom if they had to "kit" these phones. Now, how to find these keys and extract them to be flashed into any rom, that would rock. But it is what it is. Like a great wise man once said, "you can't always get what you want." :rolleyes:

Does anyone know a developer willing to take some time in checking this out? I'd do it but I'm not sure what I would be looking for.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coilbio:
Cm12 itself must not have the support to update the profile and prl.

Other aosp ROMs do.

Just for fun I loaded my T-Mobile sim and used the freedom pop service through its data network. Then put the sprint sim back in and it switches like a charm on cataclysm ROM.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
How did you do that? I loaded my T-Mobile SIM card and it used T-Mobile's LTE network, not FreedomPop's. Did you try this while on FP's ROM or only on cataclysm?

At least this confirms (for me) that it is unlocked and I could move it to T-Mobile after the 1 year of free service.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coilbio:
That's what I meant. I used the freedom pop service on tmobiles data.

I like this setup, having two lines on one sim. But that's beside the point.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RadRegulus:
I'm having really bad Wi-Fi drops on this Nexus 5, while my old' Nexus 4 is chuggin along reliably.

Anyone else having similar experiences?

Also, I just flashed Cataclysm and can confirm everything runs as well as it should, and even better.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
Does the phone connect to FreedomPop 4G LTE without WiFi? This is crucial if one leaves their WiFi like on the road.

UPDATE: I went ahead and installed Cataclysm, updated the PRL and Profile, reboot, and FP's LTE is up and running without WiFi. So now the question is, what is CM12 missing that Cataclysm and FP have? I guess this confirms FP's ROM doesn't have any hidden keys, it just may have the keys CM12 is lacking!
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bryst1:
What you're seeing is a known issue if CM12 and Sprint. Some recent changes in the connection handler are causing a problem with handoff to CDMA 3G. It's frustrating to deal with but you usually can get the phone back online with a bit of playing. Here's my method: 1. set the preferred network to to LTE in the mobile network settings, 2. dial #*#*4636*#*#, go into phone settings and change the network type to the second from the bottom (TD-SCDMA, LTE, ....). It won't actually use that mode, but it resets the network to make it connect to LTE. You'll be fine then until you get into an area where the best it can get is 3G.

The issue is being tracked here: CM JIRA

If you revert the change that broke CDMA using the patch here patch everything works fine (I'm using the patch and phone is working great). Unfortunately the fix has been rejected because it breaks multiple data connections for other phones, not an issue for Sprint though.

---------- Post added at 12:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:26 AM ----------

One more thing, if you're looking for a ROM which is similar to CM which does not have this issue, consider BlissPop. They are based off of CM and their builds already revert the troublesome CDMA patch and Sprint works without tinkering.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
I think I was able to download the patches, but I don't know how I would go about using it or installing it. I have to google it somehow. But thanks. I'll give your method a try first.

I'll try BlissPop. Last night I tried installing Euphoria but I got "error executing updater binary in zip" while trying to flash it via TWRP even though I had the latest TWRP installed. I thought it might also be a modem issue but I don't want to flash a different modem because I don't know which one FP's is using so I wouldn't know how to return to the old modem.

UPDATE: BlissPop is also giving me error executing updater binary in zip

Those codes never worked for me on CM12, not even on my G2. It's looking like this Nexus is staying with Euphoria.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bryst1:
The error you're getting is probably because your bootloader/radio are not recent enough. Update to the LMY47D radio and HHZ12f bootloader using the zip available here. Then reboot and try flashing again.

If you're interested in the vanilla CM12.1 build with the CDMA patch reverted, I have posted that over here.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
I really appreciate all the help you've provided :) I installed the radio+bootloader, I was able to flash BlissPop but now I'm stuck at "Checking connection - This can take a while" and it's been like that for about an hour. I'll try CM12.1 w/ xtra cherries but I think I'm going to return the N5. I still have 15 days to return it. The main reason is because of the battery, it just drains way too fast. Unless I buy a slightly higher mAh, there's one on ebay it's only 2450 mAh but any extra would help. I'm just waiting for the price to drop. Or I could attempt the 3000 mAh mod but I haven't touched a powertool like ever. Idk if it's worth the hassle. I'll see if I can get my money back within this 30day return.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] msrnexus:
freedompop activation required error

Hi,

I bought the same freedom pop nexus phone. I was able to receive and make calls with freedompop sim. but signal was weak in my work area so I contacted their customer care to get it unlocked. when they unlocked the phone I was able to receive calls with my ATT sim but cant make calls.

I factory reset the device. when I reboot it is displaying Freedompop home page and asking to activate their service. it is not going inside.

always showing " Activation required" - this device is ready for activation. please press the Activate button to continue or visit freedompop.

Please guide me what steps should i follow to unlock the device. I ma a newbie here. any help would be highly appriciated

Thanks,

msr
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] abrahammmmmmm_:
Obviously with their rom there will always be that pesky notification telling you to activate since the rom is tied to their network and just sees it as a new device. Really all you could do here is flash a stock rom and have the nexus 5 operating as a clean vanilla phone straight from google, though i'd recommend just going with a custom rom while you're at it (like optipop). To do this all you'll have to do is download the rom and flash from twrp recovery, there are plenty of tutorials here to do that so just make your pick, enjoy! do ask if you have any questions
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] threetwentyfizzle:
Greetings,

I too took advantage of the stack social deal, just for the sake of the phone, lol. The service sounds a little bit unreliable, and more trouble than its worth. Not to derail or talk bad about the carrier, but I just play on popping in my T-Mobile SIM and using it as a secondary or backup phone. Is it that easy, or do I have to call freedom pop and actually have them carried unlock the device (confused as its advertised as unlocked).

Second question, how long did it take you guys who went in on this deal too, to receive your phone? I played my order nearly 3 weeks ago and still no shipping confirmation.. still on "allocating" stage on the website. And how is the overall condition of your devices been upon receiving them, being refurbs? Almost new condition, cosmetically?

Thanks for sharing your experience(s) with me!
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coilbio:
Its still an unlocked nexus device, it will work with any gsm service out of the box. I got mine a week after placing the order and the phone looks brand new.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
It is unlocked. I popped in my T-Mobile SIM and it worked with no hassle. No need to call anyone.

It took 2 weeks to arrive. What some people forget to do is that once you place the order you also have to activate the account. You'll receive an email from Stack Social titled "StackSocial Redemption Instructions..." and they give you a license code you use to activate the one year free. When you click on the green "download" button it takes you to a site. When you finish with that, they start the process of "kitting" your Nexus.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] best1968:
For flashing stock did you just flash the Nexus 5 (hammerhead) 5.1.1 (LMY48B) image from here?

https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/hammerhead-lmy48b-factory-596bb9c1.tgz

Thanks, Paul
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] nosmokingbandit:
I just grabbed one of these deals. I plan on using it with my existing att service. I should be able to go from the FP rom straight to Cataclysm 5.1.1 with no worries, right?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] franallas:
I swapped SIM cards but can't call out or text on tmobile. Did you have this problem?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
Calls were no problem, I didn't try texting and I would imagine it wouldn't because I believe you have to change the APN settings (but I might be wrong). I'll try it again later and report back.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] franallas:
Hi onurd,

I got the nexus 5 and was wondering what a superuser zip is. I've never done customizing on phones but am willing to try since I can't get the phone to work swapping out with our tmobile sim card. Tried a couple of ways with APN settings etc but it didn't work. Freedompop even told me that it is a CDMA phone only or use on sprint network. I've heard many times that you can use it on GSM. Could use some help to make it work. Have any links that I can follow or some directions (dumb it down please) so I can use the phone. I really love the N5 feel and smoothness. Thx

Fran
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ShapesBlue:
Superuser has to do with rooting the device/phone hence gaining administrator rights to it

Sent from my N5
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] franallas:
Can you help me with the remainder of my original question??
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ShapesBlue:
I'll surely try to. This phone can indeed be used on both GSM and CDMA networks. I'm using it on a GSM network right now in fact. Not the freedompop one but this is the same phone

As far as setting the APN settings there's not much to it really. For my carrier straight talk we have an app for it. What else didn't I cover?

Sent from my N5
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] farangutan:
Fran, I bet if you go to settings, factory reset your phone and when I boots up, turn phone off and insert SIM card, reboot, it might connect on its own.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dalex7777:
Yeah, the Ambient Display was a pleasant surprise. Whoever makes FreedomPop's corporate images is probably a ROMhead like us.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RadRegulus:
I also have this problem. Went personally to the MetroPCS store and the phone couldn't connect, so they assumed it was a CDMA only phone. It's currently running Stock Android, as I flashed it replacing the Freedompop ROM. I've tried with a T-Mobile and a MetroPCS SIM, and it detects there is in fact a SIM, but I get "No Service" and "Emergency Calls Only" interchangeably.

Right now I'm Factory Resetting the device, as someone suggested, hopefully this solves the problem.

Edit: This did not solve the problem. Still No Service.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Powered_By_Linux:
I thought I'd also share my experience with this phone.

After I got my nexus (in very good condition, it looked new), I tried to change the default messaging app, only to see that I couldn't. This is when I started learning more about how freedompop operates.

I went overseas, intending to hop off the plane and pop in a local prepaid SIM. However, this was not the case. It could pick up a signal, but not connect to it. I had previously talked to freedompop support over Twitter, and they told me that I could use the phone with another carrier as long as I deactivated it from freedompop first. This was also stated on the page where I bought the phone. Turns out that's not true. I hadn't done this because I thought it would only affect the CDMA Sprint network, so I decided to contact them (this is while I'm overseas) and deactivate it.

After waiting on hold for over an hour, I finally got to talk to a human. After I explained the situation, he said he could deactivate my phone, but it probably won't help because they use their own ROM. I then asked him if it would work if I put a custom ROM on it, and he said yes and that some customers do that. He deactivated my phone anyways, and sure enough, the other SIM still didn't work.

I spent a night rooting my phone and putting AICP on it. The phone came with an unlocked bootloader, but no TWRP. I also found a folder on the internal storage called "!ReadyToFlash" that had a supersu and busybox zip in it, and I found the ROM zip made by freedompop.

Once I had a custom ROM on the phone, it worked fine. Once I get back to the States I'm gonna put back on the freedompop ROM, but I sure can tell you, once my year of free service is up, I'm dumping freedompop and getting Ting or Cricket Wireless. While their actual employees are great and dev-friendly, I haven't had a great experience overall.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ellisreppo:
Can you post instructions on how to make the freedompop N5 usable overseas?

Hello, can you please post what I need to do to make the N5 usable overseas? Also, I though that I could simply install the freedompop app and use it that way. Is that not correct? Thank you
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ellisreppo:
Thanks

Thanks for reply. I appreciate it!
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] scottsdca:
Metro pcs or verizon

Has anyone had any luck using the Nexus 5 with Metro PCS or with Verizon? Was it a difficult process? Thanks for any information.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] abrahammmmmmm_:
It'sas easy as flashing a differnt rom since "stock" will want you to register with freedompop. For any gsm carrier such as MetroPCS it's as easy as popping in the sim, however it might be different with verizon since you'll probably have to register the imei.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Powered_By_Linux:
Yes, you should be able to pop it in and go after flashing the stock Google image out a different ROM with a gsm carrier, but you'll want to deactivate the phone from FreedomPop service before you do (especially when using the phone with another cdma carrier) just to be safe.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ShapesBlue:
The nexus 5 will not work on verizons network. I wouldn't even bother to try

Sent from my Nexus 5
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] farangutan:
It works on Sprint att and tmo not Verizon
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deathbytalkshow:
Done with FreedomPoop

It's cool that they offered a great phone and a year free but customer service was difficult to get, connection was horrible, sometimes my sister wouldn't receive my texts, we would hear each other's echo, call quality was so poor it was frustrating.

I rooted her phone and flashed CM12 then went with Cricket. I'll rather pay an easy $35/m than have crappy and unreliable service.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] farangutan:
They updated the app or released a new one and now it won't work at all. Lucky for me this is just a secondary phone not my primary line.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Powered_By_Linux:
Ditto. Their service was terrible. I'm on Ting now after restoring to Google factory images, and I'm just happy to have a fully operational n5 for $200.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] farangutan:
I flashed the factory images for marshmallow and just downloaded the freedom pop apps, updated the PRL and everything is working fine now on the latest. In case anyone was wondering.