Problem with Nextel I580 Service

[Zach489]

not sure if this is the right site for this, but maybe someone could help me anyway...

i just bought an I580 off of ebay. I put my Boost Mobile sim card in the phone and when the phone is on, I do not get any service at all. The phone has been on for two days and still no service. I've narrowed the problem down to the phone it self by testing the Sim card in three other nextels, and of course the Boost phone it came with. All get anywhere from 3/4 to full signal where I live. I then tried putting it back in the 580 again, and again... no service. Are there any thoughts? I even tried extending the antenna, etc and still no luck. I don't know how to take apart these phones to check the guts.

maybe theres a function in the phone i dont know about? Dunno if it helps or not but at one point I looked at the phone and it said "Ready" on the screen, but only for about 30 seconds, then "No Service" came up again.

Thanks!

[Tom in D.C.]

Seems pretty obvious that your Boost Mobile SIM card is incompatible with the 1580 phone. Why don't you go to the Nextel store and ask them what the story is? My AT&T store has
transfer programs that will move data from an old SIM card to a new card when necessary;
maybe Nextel can do the same thing for you and save you all the time needed to reload the
SIM card with all of your saved numbers.

[N4KVE]

If the previous owner stiffed Nextel on his bill, they can "sting" the phone so it won't work with any sim until the bill is paid. In general a Nextel phone will work on a Boost sim, but a Boost phone will have to be unlocked to work on a Nextel sim. Take the phone to a Nextel store [not all Sprint stores handle Nextel] & have them run the ESN #. GARY N4KVE

[Zach489]

great. more effin money. lol.. just an update:

i switched the phone to directalk and i tried keying up the phone and it shut off. it received fine, just doesnt transmit. when I turned the phone back on it said "Transmitters Off". I went to make a phone call and it gave me an option to "Turn Transmitters on?" I selected yes, and still did not get any bars. Any other thoughts?

[thebigphish]

Direct talk is just a off-network feature. The "transmitters off" issue is a "feature" that my old i580 would do which was SO F-ING temperamental when you went to turn it on. Apparently if you held the power key for too long, or too short, or with your left index finger on a thursday, the damn thing would jump into "aircraft mode" which essentially disabled the transmit function of the unit, as well as the recieve, so as to be compliant with FAA guidelines. Theres an option in the menu, under advanced or something which re-enables it. That won't be your problem, with the phone not registering with a network, though.

Go to the store, and have the sim copied to a compatible card, and make sure the phone isn't inhibited.

[MTS2000des]

Seems pretty obvious that your Boost Mobile SIM card is incompatible with the 1580 phone. Why don't you go to the Nextel store and ask them what the story is? My AT&T store has
transfer programs that will move data from an old SIM card to a new card when necessary;
maybe Nextel can do the same thing for you and save you all the time needed to reload the
SIM card with all of your saved numbers.

Boost is owned by Nextel, and 90 percent of Nextel branded phones will work fine with Boost SIM cards. Even Blackberry's such as the 8350 can be made into "Boostberries" with the appropriate service books installed.

Your i580 should function fine with Boost. Got one on the 50 dollar unlimited plan right now. Didn't have to to do anything. Did you update your IMEI in your Boost online account manager? Just a long shot. But if the SIM is active and works in other handsets, you may have an issue with it. Did someone do a master clear and master reset? if so this could cause this problem as well.

[motorola_otaku]

Did someone do a master clear and master reset? if so this could cause this problem as well.

A master reset done with his SIM card in the phone might actually clear up the problem. But normally it shouldn't be necessary when dropping a Boost SIM in an otherwise unmolested Nextel phone.

I've seen the random loss of network service on other Boost and Nextel iDen phones before, and my response was always to toss the phone in the junk box and grab another one.

[Zach489]

Now the phone wont even read my SIM card. What a piece of crap! lol!

[com501]

This thread explains why buying any electronics off of eBay is a crap shoot....

[FireCpt809]

Here is an Idea.. Take it to a sprint corporate store. Not some authorized reseller. They dont know their a$$ from a hole in the ground. They can read the card and check the phone. If its a bad phone or if its been blocked they can tell you .

[Zach489]

I just decided to buy another crap 580 and switched the guts. Everything works fine with it now. Now I have to find out how to get my money back. lol