I've got a slight problem....hopefully someone can help. I moved from Pittsburgh to Youngstown about a year ago and had an LG VX4500. I couldn't get service in my apartment, so I took it to a VZW store and one of the reps there took it and did some programming and it was in Extended Network but worked full strength in my apartment. When I dialed *228, I got an Alltel error message but when I went back to Pittsburgh to visit, I was on Verizon's network and could *228 with no problem. All was fine and I never got charged anything extra. I recently picked up a Motorola Maxx Ve and I'm having the same problem as I used to...crap reception in my area. Although this time, the VZW employees don't seem to know what I'm talking about and the one that fixed me up last time gave me his number on a business card; but the number rings to some girl. My phone does momentarily dip into Extended Network from time to time I've noticed, but nothing like the old phone which stayed in Extended Network basically until I went back to PA, which is Verizon territory. I have the old VX4500 so if someone could tell me how to check the settings on it and apply them to the Maxx I'd be very grateful. Plus, I've got a friend in the same boat, except he has the VX4500...so I could probably help him out - if I only knew what the other guy did to mine. I did some researching and I think that the SID for Alltel in my area is 126. Though I'm not entirely sure what NAM1, NAM2, and all that other stuff means. I guess any info we need can be taken from my old phone, which I still have. If anyone's still reading, I appreciate it. Thanks in advance, and if you need any more information, don't hesitate to ask. P.S. I found this thread, which kinda relates to my situation.
RP, What you have to do is find out how to use NAM2 on both your LG phone and your Moto phone. I am not sure how the Verizon store rep set up your phone to be on Extended Network the entire time, but you have two choices: You can set your NAM1 HOME SID to ALLTEL's SID in your area, then in the network settings chose HOME ONLY. Whenever you leave the area and need to be on a different system, just switch over to AUTOMATIC. The other option you have would be to set up your NAM2, then switch in your network menu between NAM1(normal VZW &roaming partners) and NAM2(ALLTEL in your area). On the LG, pressing Menu, then all 0's will get you to the 'secret menu', then hit 1 for Service Menu and this will bring you to it. Toogle through this menu and you will see NAM1, hit EDIT and copy down all the information, then once you get to NAM2, hit EDIT and enter all the information from NAM1 into NAM2, except for the HOME SID, which you will put ALLTEL's Home SID. Then hit done, your phone will reset and you can go to your normal network settings, hit NAM2 and HOME ONLY. This will make your phone work on ALLTEL. ON the Moto Maxx, I have no idea, but you are looking for something called the "debug mode" or something...I will try to search online, if I find anything I will post it here. I hope this is not too confusing, let me know! ~Andy
Hey, thanks for the reply! I feel fairly confident we (you) can get this figured out...Okay. Where to start? I looked into my LG VX4500 phone (the one that works how I want the new one to work) and here are the settings under Menu/Settings/System: Select System: Automatic (Heading says 'Home is B') Set NAM: NAM1 Auto NAM: Off Serving System: Ch: 384 ; SID: 126 That SID (126) is Alltel's, I believe. Under the "secret menu" the NAM1 Home SID is 32. Basically it worked like this. Anytime I was in the Youngstown area it said Extended Network (SID 126?). when I crossed over into PA to go back home, I hit Verizon (32?). I can get into the secret menu of the Maxx and it has my NAM2 set at 2004. There are also Extended NAM settings and 'SID/NID Pair' settings. Not sure what that means. Does this help?
In the extended NAM 2 menu place the alltel SID as the Home CDMA SID. First look into the nam 1, copy down everything, then put the same thing settings in the nam 2 except change the Home SID to Alltel's. Then exit that. Now go to your settings/other information part on the phone, set the "active line" to the second one in the list. (They will both look the same, your number) Now, your phone will say it is roaming or on extended network. Go into network settings and set it from automatic to "home only". Then dial *228, you should get alltel (even though it may say unsuccessful). Now your phone should act like it is not roaming and you should have signal at your house. Keep in mind it will stay on Alltel's network the whole time, so if you leave your apartment it will not be on vzw in will be on alltel, until you change the active line back to the first selection. You may have to attempt a phone call each time you change it to active line #2, before it will recognize alltel's network and you see the "bars".
Are you sure there's not a way to do it so that I don't have to manually set it, like when I leave the Alltel area it just switches to the Verizon network automatically? That's how my VX4500 was set up. Basically once I crossed into PA or further west in Ohio and was out of the strong Alltel network my banner just switched from "Extended Network" to Verizon Wireless. I still have the old phone, and I am able to check settings on it (I just don't know what any of them mean), I'd like it to be set up the same way, if possible. Perhaps its the "Home Only" and "Automatic" setting? I don't know.
It has to be set to home only for at least the initial first call. Then you can set it back to automatic after that and it should stick on Alltel. But it could revert to vzw (which you will notice if at your apartment.). Especially if it is turned off and back on. Other then that just remember which setting to change and you should fine if it ever happens.
Actually......now that I tried it on my E815, it tends to go right back to Alltel when I force my phone onto verizon and Sprint with automatic/standard scan.....So Home Only may be your only option....
Great, I know that it can work. I am going away for the weekend so I will give it a try when I get back. I'm just a bit confused as to how my VX4500 is set up that I'm on the Alltel towers in Youngstown but when I get back into PA or in a predominantly Verizon zone, it switches back automatically. My home area was/is the VZW PA area, which I guess covers Youngstown too...the signal for Alltel is just greater in this town. From a search i did, there's only one Alltel store in the entire Pittsburgh area. EDIT: I switched back to the VX4500 for the weekend as I'm going away and don't want the chance of doing anything to my phone...as it is now, I'm in Extended Network. Is it okay to *228 (through Alltel; it brings up an their message)? I definitely will on Verizon when I get back into PA.
What may have been done to your LG phone is that your NAM1 HOME SID was changed to ALLTEL's HOME SID, and your phone has no problem using that SID since it's officially marked as "Extended Network" by the VZW PRL, so what you could try on your Moto is set ALLTEL SID 126 as your HOME SID in NAM1, then set your phone to HOME ONLY- this will make sure that your phone is on ALLTEL while in the area around your house, and whenever you cross into PA, just switch the phone to Automatic. ~Andy
Alltel doesn't have a license from the FCC to build a network in PA right now, that's why you won't find anything for them there.... I wouldn't worry about damaging your phone. A NAM edit is very easy to correct if anything happens to it...
On my V3m Razr it gives me options under system select for automatic a and automatic b anyone have a clue what this is im lost lol
Okay, when I take the Maxx and go into the #SETUP* Menu, I see Extended NAM. The settings (there are a lot) under NAM1 and NAM2 are the same with the exception of the CDMA Sys ID and the MID & MDN. Should I change the SID (to 126) and the MID & MDN (to my 10 digit number)?
In NAM 2 change your HOME/CDMA SID to ALLTEL's SID, so 126, and for the MID and MDN put exactly what appears in your NAM1.
Thanks a million for all your help guys...It still didn't seem to hold that Extended Network. I think I'm going to take it back and just keep using my VX4500. It gets top reception all over and when I cross back into PA it automatically snags a Verizon signal. I'll save my NE2 credit for a rainy day. If I could find out exactly what that guy did to my phone, maybe I'd be able to hook another one up just like it. I can't seem to find anyone that will help me uncover what settings he originally changed.
...That is unless I could perhaps do to the 8700 what I had done to the 4500. Just a thought. I don't have a home phone so reception is very important to me, if I don't want to have to go outside to use the phone.
HELLO RP33 Your problem should be easy to fix, provided that the phone has the settings available for configuration. Not sure what the guy were trying to do previously, but making any changes to your NAM2 is not going to do it. NAM1 and NAM2 are for people that one to program more than one phone number into one cellphone, which means you can have to numbers active on one device. They will not be active at the same time it'd be a thing where u have to swich nams to use the other. Not a lot of people know that (from the looks of it), and may be not a lot of poeple will want to either So there making any changes to your NAM2 will not do anything because you probably don't even have NAM2 active. As far as your problem, I know exactly what you mean, my PPC6700 has an option that is "roam only" IT'S FREAKEN GREAT. anytime where I have bad signal I just switch to roam and the phone starts using other carriers towers first than that of the providers. This is all driven by the PRL, prl has a list of towers; home, extended and roaming (i somewhat confident that this is how it's devided, but it is the right idea) To fix your problem you have to set your phone to only use the towers listed as roaming or to simply make it so it'll use any CDMA tower. how it's be nice if I could have the programing for your phone, I am do tech support for vzw so I'll look into this for you.
HELLO RP33 Your problem should be easy to fix, provided that the phone has the settings available for configuration. Not sure what the guy were trying to do previously, but making any changes to your NAM2 is not going to do it. NAM1 and NAM2 are for people that one to program more than one phone number into one cellphone, which means you can have to numbers active on one device. They will not be active at the same time it'd be a thing where u have to swich nams to use the other. Not a lot of people know that (from the looks of it), and may be not a lot of poeple will want to either So there making any changes to your NAM2 will not do anything because you probably don't even have NAM2 active. As far as your problem, I know exactly what you mean, my PPC6700 has an option that is "roam only" IT'S FREAKEN GREAT. anytime where I have bad signal I just switch to roam and the phone starts using other carriers towers first than that of the providers. This is all driven by the PRL, prl has a list of towers; home, extended and roaming (I'm fairly somewhat confident that this is how it's devided, but it is the right idea) To fix your problem you have to set your phone to only use the towers listed as roaming or to simply make it so it'll use any CDMA tower. how it's be nice if I could have the programing for your phone, I do tech support for vzw so I'll look into this for you. Be sure to get back to me.
HELLO RP33 Your problem should be easy to fix, provided that the phone has the settings available for configuration. Not sure what the guy were trying to do previously, but making any changes to your NAM2 is not going to do it. NAM1 and NAM2 are for people that one to program more than one phone number into one cellphone, which means you can have to numbers active on one device. They will not be active at the same time it'd be a thing where u have to swich nams to use the other. Not a lot of people know that (from the looks of it), and may be not a lot of poeple will want to either So there making any changes to your NAM2 will not do anything because you probably don't even have NAM2 active. As far as your problem, I know exactly what you mean, my PPC6700 has an option that is "roam only" IT'S FREAKEN GREAT. anytime where I have bad signal I just switch to roam and the phone starts using other carriers towers first than that of the providers. This is all driven by the PRL, prl has a list of towers; home, extended and roaming (i somewhat confident that this is how it's devided, but it is the right idea) To fix your problem you have to set your phone to only use the towers listed as roaming or to simply make it so it'll use any CDMA tower. how it's be nice if I could have the programing for your phone, I am do tech support for vzw so I'll look into this for you.
Wirelessly posted (MOT-24.0_/00.62 UP.Browser/6.2.3.4.c.1.123 (GUI) MMP/2.0) Actually the nam editting can force roam, as a tech you should know this.
All you have to do is select the second active line on the phone and set it to home only. Sorry if the first post sounded blunt, i was posting from wap
Actually, I was given the answer in another thread. For my VX4500, the guy went into the system menu and under "Force Mode" he chose "cell only". No editing NAM or changing SID. As far as I've heard, this only works for LG phones, so I will have to get possibly the 8700 or the 8300, as I took back the Maxx.
