Overview
Our Blackview devices have been tested and confirmed to work with the major US carriers - AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and all the sub carriers under the same frequency bands(Cricket, Straighttalk, MetroPCS, Mint, etc). Our consumers have had no trouble activating their Blackview devices on these carriers, up until recently.
We have received reports from some of our consumers that they are having difficulties activating their rugged phones. The issue mostly comes with the activation from CDMA carriers like Verizon, Sprint, and Cricket Wireless. This is likely partly because the US carriers are now starting to phase out the 2G/3G connectivity.
So before buying a Blackview device, you need to make sure that you are using a sim card from a GSM carrier, or a 4G/LTE capable sim card from a CDMA network.
Carriers that are highly recommended right now: AT&T, T-mobile, GSM straight talk, GSM tracfone, GSM Pix, H20, ting, Mint, Lycamobile, Walmart Familial, FreedomPop, Net10, Consumer Cellular, GSM Republic, MetroPCS, and other SIM cards runs on GSM networks..
Carriers that are not recommended right now but will still likely work through 4G network: Verizon, Sprint, Cricket Wireless, CDMA Straight Talk, CDMA Tracfone, CDMA NET10, Boost Mobile, Q Link, Total Wireless, xfinity, Republic Wireless, Hello Mobile, and other SIM cards runs on CDMA networks.
Another very important thing to note is that you need to use a 4G/LTE-ready sim card. It's recommended that you use a newer sim and not 3 years or older. You can always have your sim card swapped at your carrier's physical store and you should be able to retain your same phone number.
AT&T ACTIVATION UPDATE
Please be warned that AT&T and Verizon will be phasing out 2G and 3G connectivity in a couple of years. Because of this, they have made some big adjustments with activations. Some of the tier 1 reps from ATT or Verizon might tell you that your phone will only run 3G - which is completely not true.
A few of our ATT and Verizon users reported having the same experience but they were able to resolve the issue eventually. Some of these reps just either don't know what to do, or they are mandated to not activate unlocked phones, for some reason. But one thing's certain - Our phones DO WORK GREAT on the ATT 4G networks.
VERIZON ACTIVATION UPDATE
Verizon is not recommended right now due to some key features being restricted by the network even after successful activation. Like proper voicemail usage, WiFi Calling, etc..Here are a few things you can do: (not in any particular order)
Here are a few things you can do: (not in any particular order)
1.) IMEI Change. You can change the IMEI Number of your Blackview device and trick AT&T or Verizon's system into thinking you're using a phone that they carry.
Illustrated instructions on this can be downloaded here:
Password to document will be given after purchase. Please make sure to provide carrier choice during checkout. Additional note: Step#1 has the highest chance of AT&T and Verizon activation. But if you do not want to go through all the trouble, you can try the next other steps as well.
2.) Call ATT/Verizon and seek Tier 2 help. If the rep can't or won't activate your phone, please ask to speak to a TIER 2 representative.
3.) Ask to speak to a Supervisor. Some of our customers said they even had to threaten to leave and switch carriers if the rep didn't send proper activation signals.
4.) Activate sim in a different phone. The least hassle way of bypassing it right now is to just have your ATT/Verizon sim card activated inside a different phone. Preferably from a known brand like an iPhone or a Samsung as these brands are being cradled by US big carriers and are easily activated. Just insert your sim into that other phone and once activated, just pop it out and put it back into your Blackview device.
5.) Manually set up APN. You can also try to manually set up 4G APN settings on your phone.
See settings in the image below:
Success rate of activation for Carriers and Blackview Phone models (BV9900PRO, BV9900E, BV9800 Pro, BV4900, BV5900, BV5100) Over the last 3 months:
T-Mobile - 100% Success Rate (No activation issues reported by customers)
AT&T - 100% Success Rate (No activation issues reported by customers)
Verizon - 85.7% Success Rate (With customer(s) returning their device for a refund after failing to activate)
Results are compiled from Sales and Customer returns/refunds from purchases in https://us.blackview.store.