[Galaxy Note II N7105 Android Development] Metaknigth:
SIM Card problem even after update

Hello everyone,

Sorry if this is not the way to post, its my first time here.

My problem is I have a galaxy note 2, t0lte I believe, and I still can't resolve the SIM card unlock looping problem. I've updated it multiple time hoping an update would fix it but it hasn't. I'm currently on the 14.1-20171208-NIGHTLY-t0lte build. Baseband version N7105XXUFNG1 . No matter what sim card i put in (I have 2, a Bulgarian Vivacom one and a UK Giffgaff one) it will ask me for a PIN on boot where i can only enter the correct one, then it will unlock but immediately asks for a PIN code again with only a tiny textbox to enter it and 2 buttons with "unlock" and "dismiss". I've noticed it doesn't matter what I enter here it will accept anything and seemingly unlock but still pop back up immediately forever until I dismiss it.

If just updating to the latest version, like someone in the thread recently mentioned should fix it, did I do something wrong? I downloaded it from about > update, exporting to external storage (which actually puts it in internal /LineageOS updates for some reason but whatever) and then going into TWRP and installing the rom, clearing dalvik and cache and rebooting. Its how I updated for the previous version and they didn't fix it either.

I'm looking to try and fix it but I would like to avoid having to reinstall completely, re-download everything and set up stuff again and loose data, etc.

Do I have to wipe everything, install 4.1.1. just to do an unlock according to this thread, install a 4.4.2 cause the firmware would be downgraded so just to update it, and THEN reinstall lineageOS and HOPE this SIM card problem doesn't happen again?

Do I need to delete everything associated to Knox like [MENTION=4513676]br54[/MENTION] mentioned might be the cause of this issue? Would this fix it? If so how can I do that? I don't have root on my phone since I forgot to install it back in October when I installed the 20171027 build for the first time. Where is it found? I can't find anything through TWRP. Is it really the cause?

If I were to go down the re-installing route and if I made a backup of my phone as it is now and restored that, would the problem persist/reoccur? Can I prevent that from happening/fix it and still keep my data/setups/etc ?

I got the phone some years ago 2nd hand from someone who got it originally from Hungary I believe, unlocked to any carrier. I stuck with the stock rom it had for a while, a T-mobile one, version 4.4.2. Unfortunately the SIM card reader broke and I had to have it replaced and the repair shop reinstalled it completely twice without me having made a backup so before I don't quite sure which stock roms they used. A friend convinced me its a good point to just update to a custom OS/ROM and recommended Lineage so I just went for it since I had nothing to lose. It was working fine except for some battery problems like some people mentioned here which seem to correlate to weird network connectivity and a few restarts in the beginning as other have also mentioned. Otherwise it was working perfectly fine and even some apps (like the imgur app which I use a lot and had stopped working on 4.4.2) started working fine. I downloaded a bunch of apps/game/etc and set them up and was using it fine for a little over 3 weeks I believe and then while I was having a call it just dropped and asked me for a my PIN code and that was it.

I apologise for the long post, I try to give as much info as possible and I just have a lot of questions. I though this would be a better thread to post in rather than starting a new one although, but if that is the case please delete my post and notify me and I shall start one.