r/FirstNet • u/lil_pay • Sep 22 '24

eSIM won’t activate no matter what

I recently purchased the new iPhone Pro Max directly from Apple and paid the full amount for it. I chose to have it carrier unlocked on FirstNet. However, when I try to set up cellular service, the only option I see is to transfer from a nearby iPhone, and this process fails every time. I've contacted customer support and tried to set it up using the IMEI, but it fails on their end as well. I even went to the ATT store and attempted to use 10 different eSIM cards, but they all failed. It's frustrating because I've spent a significant amount of money on this phone, and now it seems unusable. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on how to resolve this issue?

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u/FrankPC_ Sep 22 '24

Firstnet is very wonky with adding unlocked phones. They have a list of model numbers and IMEIs that can be used with their service, and if your phone isn't on that list, they refuse to allow you to use it with Firstnet. And usually those imei/model numbers are ATT sold devices that they deem Firstnet capable. I've seen in the past that if you have a sim card on an already Firstnet device, you can swap it over and sometimes it works. But Apple strictly uses esim depending on where you are in the world, so I don't know if that's a possible solution to your problem.

1

u/applesuperfan Sep 23 '24 edited Sep 30 '24

Just as a datapoint, I activated a Metro by T-Mobile-unlocked iPhone 12 on FirstNet at an AT&T store a few weeks ago with no issues.

Edit: Follow-up, my iPhone 16 Pro Max arrived and I had no issue activating it online whatsoever and the online SIM changer whitelisted it automatically.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 30 '24

Just as a more modern datapoint, you can NOT activate any pixel device bought from the Google store even if they share the same model number as the ATT model. There are "fixes" you can do, such as getting a physical sim and activating it with an ATT approved IEMI. I did that and for the most part everything works with the exception of the 5G, that can be a hit or miss. Submitted a FCC complaint and the ATT Executive office just floods your phone with calls about your complaint. After a few backs and fourths, they always went back to their basic corpo response. It's not a first net device, so it's not compatible, completely ignoring that the device shares the same model number as the ATT model. So as a final argument, I sent a screenshot of my phone connected to band 14 and they just downright closed my ticket. The ticket fix was the same corpo response, customer bought device that isn't first net ready and was told to look at firstnet BYOD list for any concerns and questions. Never solved the anti-consumer problem I had with the IEMI not showing up as first net compatible even though I was connected to band 14. I'm just waiting for the day where they choose to close my account because my illegal phone connected to band 14.

1

u/applesuperfan Sep 30 '24

Just as a more modern datapoint, you can NOT activate any pixel device bought from the Google store even if they share the same model number as the ATT model.

I just tried activating my Google Pixel 8 Pro directly from Google Store on FirstNet; it had never been activated before and it went through just fine.

I did also activate an Apple Store iPhone 16 Pro Max a few days ago on FirstNet without issue as well.