My Epic Struggle to Free a Samsung Phone from Carrier Jail

My husband’s cell phone wasn’t the only thing that needed to be unlocked

“Before I do this factory reset, will this unlock my phone if that ends up being the problem?” I typed into the Samsung chat, nearly three hours after it had started.

“It will unlock the device please try that,” the Samsung Pro typed, ignoring my fears along with proper punctuation.

Noman was the first and fifth such pro to work with me on the call. Between calls to Mint Mobile and this chat experience with the Android experts, I had followed the downslope of the customer service rollercoaster since 6:15 the night before, when my “easy” switch to a new carrier ended in “Unauthorized SIM card detected.”

“This phone is available for use with a Mint Mobile SIM card. To continue using this phone, please insert a Mint Mobile SIM card, or call (800) 683-7392 from another phone for more information.”

It seemed an indication the phone was locked, right? But Mint Mobile suggested otherwise.

Thus began my weekend from cell phone hell.

The back story

I had purchased the Samsung Galaxy A32 for my husband from Mint Mobile the year before, with a buy six, get six months free phone plan. It wasn’t the deal it should have been even before this last episode, but only because the cell towers it used didn’t provide good coverage in our area.

So well before my husband’s plan was ended, I planned to move to a different carrier. I asked Mint if the phone — advertised as unlocked — WAS unlocked. The Mint expert assured me it was.

So I went forward with the move — got the account number and pin from Mint, provided it to the new carrier, and made sure I was home with time to handle any glitches.

But now that I’d moved his cell service from Mint, the phone didn’t work.

The customer service nightmare begins

So as instructed, I called Mint and began the emotional ride down the customer service rollercoaster.

A kind young woman walked me through the steps — some of which I’d walked in our early days with Mint Mobile, trying to get a signal strong enough to text or call while inside our house.

I went along passively until she suggested a “reset” of the network settings and progressed toward a factory reset. Then I asked if I would lose data. To be clear, I would lose my husband’s data. Which seemed worse.

Instead of answering, she tossed me to Samsung, who dropped me into a chat instead of a call.

Samsung indicated it was experiencing “abnormally high volumes” and taking longer than expected to connect me with an agent. When it happened an hour and a half later, I was fast asleep.

The ‘daymare’ takes over

However, the next morning at 7:34, Samsung sent a text saying my case was scheduled to close and to respond if my issue wasn’t resolved. Hopeful, I entered the chat and explained the problem.

The Samsung pro walked me through the same steps as the Mint pro, except he walked me through a backup of the phone — after he admitted I would lose everything when we did a factory reset.

In the process, he also had me remove all my accounts from the phone and then told me how to proceed with the factory reset.

It didn’t work.

“It’s making me verify Gmail and I’ve done it, but it won’t accept it and proceed with the factory reset,” I typed at 9:21 a.m.

But Noman was no longer in the chat. Instead of his helpful reply, I received this text.

“I will be connecting you to a Human who can help.”

In search of that ‘Human’

Samsung Pro Naveen K arrived on the scene at 9:25 a.m.

“Hi. Can you see the entire chat thus far? I don’t want to start over,” I typed.

“I will be connecting you to a Human who can help,” was the only response.

At 9:28, Samsung Pro Veronica S entered the chat. She did a quick look at the chat, saw “Gmail” and insisted they only handled Samsung account problems. She tried to offload me to Google.

“I hope you understand our limitation,” she typed.

“I have an issue with a Samsung phone that won’t accept a SIM card from a carrier,” I replied. “What I don’t understand is why Mint sent me to you and why someone worked with me for 2 hours before I was told this. I am beyond angry.”

“Okay in that case I request you to stay connected while I transfer this chat to you [sic] concern team.”

At 10:06, Glaiza.C took over.

“Upon checking your previous conversation, it seems that your concern is about your Samsung phone. I wanted to let you know that you have reached the technical support of recall for the washer…” she typed.

“I will be connecting you with a Human who can help.”

The human who helped?

At 10:14, Samsung Pro Noman Ali reentered the chat.

“Hi, Ali, it’s still me.”

He didn’t indicate he knew who “me” was, so I asked him to read the chat. This Noman Ali seemed to know how to get around the finicky phone. He had me go into recovery mode and select “wipe data/factory reset.”

Which is when I asked, “Before I do this, will this unlock my phone…?”

To which he said yes.

Thus assured, I went through all the steps, wiping my husband’s phone clean of all data.

But it didn’t fix the problem.

At 10:50, I notified Noman the phone still showed the same message regarding the unauthorized SIM card detection.

“Okay, thank you so much for all the effort you have put in troubleshooting, please help me with the zip code once,” he responded.

The Samsung Pro sent me a link to a Samsung walk-in store and instructed me to get the device fixed.

The aftermath (and the saga continues)

At 11:37, I received a customer survey. I responded with ratings from 1 to 5 as matched my experience. For the one question that allowed me to type words, I typed:

“It was a disaster, and I still don’t have a phone that will work.”

I don’t think Pro means what Samsung intends it to mean.

When I tried to reinstall the contacts, conversations, and photos I had backed up I got nothing. I am no Pro, either.

But I was an emotional wreck. And I was beyond angry with Mint Mobile, too. Ultimately, it was a Mint Mobile issue, not Samsung’s.

By this time, I had a headache from my wailing.  I had erased all my husband’s data, which was now lost, and he still had a phone he couldn’t use.

However, he was so engrossed in rebuilding the back deck with one of our sons he didn’t have time to use a phone.

Mint Mobile to the rescue?

I decided not to pursue help from a Samsung store and instead tried Mint Mobile again. A different pro indicated he would request the phone be unlocked, but it would take 24 to 72 hours.

So, I had nothing to do but wait. And hope. That the pro was underpromising and would over-deliver. But nothing changed on Saturday. Or Sunday.

On Monday, I took Steve’s phone to work with me, in case Mint notified me the phone had been unlocked. Nothing. I finally reached out to Mint.

“Oh,” the pro indicated, “that case is closed. It says it’s been resolved.”

“The phone is still locked,” I said, exasperated. I explained how the issue presented itself on Friday and summarized all that had been done — to no avail — since then.

The pro said she understood and would request it be unlocked — within 24 to 72 hours.

“Ridiculous! I still have to wait?”

She indicated she would expedite the request, and I should see it sooner.

I went to the bathroom at work and bawled. (I have the unfortunate tendency to cry when angry.)

My colleague Melissa made the mistake of using the bathroom and scolded me when she heard my tale of woe.

“Why don’t you just buy a new phone?”

Why, indeed? When I purchased the plan for my husband, I could have bought a similar phone for $50. Surely my time was worth far more than that amount. But I hadn’t made the purchase because — one — this should have been an easy switch and — two — he hates getting used to new phones.

(Although the factory reset would make it awfully close to having a new phone…)

But by now I was so close to getting his phone up and running…

Or so I thought.

So close and yet so far

A little later, I received an email from Mint indicating the phone had been unlocked. I turned Steve’s phone off and restarted it.

The screen warned:

“This phone is available for use with a Mint Mobile SIM card…”

I reached out to Mint. Again. The pro suggested I walk through the entire factory reset process again. (I’d already restored the contacts by transferring data from an older phone. I did not want to go through the process again.)

Instead, I took out the SIM, shut off the phone, waited a minute, then replaced the SIM card, and turned on the phone.

And prayed, “Please, God.”

Success!

But had it been worth the cost?

The aftermath

When I arrived home from work, the son helping Steve with the deck was there, and we chatted privately. The stooping, bending, and lifting had taken its toll on both men.

“Dad said he was getting too old to do this kind of work anymore,” AJ confided. “He said next time he’s hiring someone.”

I am, too. Or springing for a new phone. Or paying a phone carrier to handle the transfer for me.

My husband and I have spent our lives stretching our dollars and saving our pennies as much as possible — and we often live as if we’re poor. If we can do something ourselves, we do it. Why pay for someone else?

Um. Maybe to avoid wasting a perfect weekend boohooing with the “pros”?

Or maybe to avoid suffering for weeks with severe back pain and having to pay to see a doctor for meds and X-rays?

After working on the deck, Steve was hobbled by a bad back for over a month. Complete misery. (For both of us, I might add.)

The moral of the story…

So maybe we’ve learned our lesson. We don’t have to live as if we’re poor anymore. In fact, we could live as if we were royalty! Why?

Because we are!

Years ago, when I went into a Home Depot to make a return, the woman at the service desk reminded me of that without saying a word. Her name badge said it all.

Where her name should have been, it said, “Daughter of the King.”

I wanted to ask if her name was Sara. My name means “princess.” My parents named me “daughter of the king” before I even knew my royal Father.

I was writing my prayers to Him yesterday when He reminded me of that identity. I am the daughter of the King of Kings.

“What if I lived as if I were?” I asked myself.

No matter what I faced, I would be aware of my position and privilege as the child of the King and seek to behave as an obedient, trusting daughter would.

When I encountered trouble, I would know my Father could save me — or provide every resource in the kingdom to come to my aid.

And when it was time for a new phone plan (or a new phone, as that hasn’t gone well in the past either), I’d know I could pay the price for good service. (And my husband could afford to hire someone to save his back.)

Next time!

Because my real takeaway from this prolonged saga is this: It’s time to do a factory reset in how I think — and unlock the reality of life as a child of the King.

(In case you are wondering, my husband’s phone works just fine now.)

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And, of course, I’d love comments on the cell phone saga and my life lesson, too! Thanks for reading!