The Samsung Galaxy S24
cjekanem's profile

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Wednesday, April 26th, 2017 9:49 AM

Can't make calls on unlocked at&t tablet

I am a non at&t customer and recently purchased a new s galaxy e on eBay and it came with unlock codes which I have used successfully. On inserting my Airtel SIM card, I cannot make calls because the number sync page pops up asking for my user Id and password. I live in Nigeria.

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Community Support

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230.7K Messages

7 years ago

Hello @cjekanem,

 

Welcome to the Community Forums! Tablets are great devices, and ones with cell service can keep you connected to the internet in more places. I would like to offer my assistance.

 

Tablets are data only devices.  They do not have independent calling and texting abilities.  With AT&T you can link a Tablet to your phone number via NumberSync, this is why that page is popping up. 

 

If you would like to use your tablet for phone calls and messaging, you can always download a third party app.   You can find these in the Google Play store. 

 

I hope this information helps and please have a great rest of your week!

 

Jessica, AT&T Community Specialist

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ACE - Sage

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116.6K Messages

6 years ago

@1of7627


@1of7627 wrote:

Though I can't authoritatively prove this since I don't have the Samsung, I believe the answer is "No."  The common tablets that have native LTE connectivity which are branded for the major carriers aren't intended to be used as "phablets" with full phone capabilities. 

Correct! 

My belief is that all unlocked AT&T branded tablet variants will function in the same way, regardless of manufacturer.  That is, if you insert a SIM from any carrier (including one from AT&T), you'll get a data connection only.   Bingo!   

If you happen to have an AT&T SIM from a valid mobile phone account, you should be able to create a "NumberSync" account and use that proprietary app for calls utilizing the data connection. 

Signing up for Number Sync requires compatible ATT phone and tablet, postpaid account, and advanced calling feature capable.

If you want to use pure android, you'll likely have to go with a "phablet" being careful to get one that supports the LTE bands that your carrier supports.  There are a few by Huewai and a couple of other manufacturers, but beware of inexpensive "generic" devices unless you've confirmed their LTE compatibility.  I've bought a couple that provided phone capabilities (2G), but didn't have data connections due to LTE band incompatibility and were therefore useless, at least in the US.


Many are trying to duck the $20/25 a month phone access charge for the lower cost $10 tablet plan.  That’s fine, but there is no way to make calls on a tablet without using data.  Mobile data or Wifi, either works.  So one might save on the line fee, but would need a larger data plan to cover the usage.

 

Employee

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3.5K Messages

7 years ago

You can't make calls with this tablet. It's not a phone. The phone app is AT&T NumberSync only.

Tutor

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5 Messages

6 years ago

This post mentions that third party apps from the Google Play store will enable calls and texts from this tablet.  Which apps will do this?  I've not found any that work since the necessary services aren't running due to NumberSync being installed.  Thanks in advance for your consideration. - Mark

Contributor

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2 Messages

6 years ago

 I can't get lte network on my unlocked attached tablet

ACE - Sage

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116.6K Messages

6 years ago

@1of7627  Skype, Viber, google voice. They use data, and a lot of it, not conventional calling.

 

@Oneluck213   If your network has different bands than the tablet, you won’t get LTE.  Contact your current carrier for help.  Nothing ATT can do.  

Contributor

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1 Message

6 years ago

Hi , what was your exactly solution for this problem? I have the same problem and i don't know what to do.

Tutor

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5 Messages

6 years ago

I have purchased a couple of other (unbranded) unlocked Android tablets over the last couple of years that had cell network capabilities (radios) installed.  If a tablet supports the LTE bands your carrier uses and doesn't have proprietary software that prevents it, then calls are possible just like they are from an Android cell phone.  The problem is that the LTE bands used in the US by the major carriers are not be the same as international carriers and therefore network compatibility in the US is not a given.  Two tablets I tried could make calls using 2G, but they had no data connection since the LTE bands they supported were not supported by my carrier (Ting, who told me they utilized bands 1, 2, and 17 in the US depending on location).  The only tablet I could find easily that supported these bands was the LG Pad X V930 which is an AT&T branded device that supports bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 17 and 29 according to a spec sheet I found.  This is a great tablet and I'm very pleased with it. 

Unfortunately, AT&T branded tablets have proprietary software installed called "NumberSync" that allows you to "share" an AT&T phone number from your AT&T cell phone (if  you have one), thereby all calls made on either your phone or tablet will appear on the same AT&T account and prevents you from needing a separate phone number and account for your tablet.  While this works well for AT&T, it prevents you from using a SIM card from any other carrier and making calls on this tablet using the stock Android system as it's disabled by "NumberSync".  For example, I have a SIM card from my carrier (Ting) with an assigned number inserted in my tablet.  The tablet has acquired the number and recognizes it, but I can't make calls using stock Android because the AT&T software has disabled it.  However, since the tablet supports the LTE bands my carrier uses (which apparently coincide with AT&T), I DO have a data connection to my carrier and can access the internet.  There is no elegant solution to the call problem as "NumberSync" can't be uninstalled and I don't plan to try rooting the tablet.  My preference would be to use it with it's own phone number and be able to text between it and my cell phone, but that's not possible with "NumberSync".  So, I don't (can't) use the tablet for calls though I am grateful to have a data connection and internet access where WiFi isn't available.  If I find a non-AT&T branded version of this tablet (or some other) that doesn't have proprietary call software on it that also supports the LTE bands I need, I may try it down the road.  Your method may vary.  Thanks for reading and hopefully some will benefit from my experience.  -  Mark

Tutor

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5 Messages

6 years ago

I've been told by several knowledgeable people that "NumberSync" is not the reason the LG tablet can't make calls.  I stand corrected and apologize for my error.  I recommend that if people want tablets that can make calls that they Google for information on models by various manufacturers that do have this capability.  Sorry.

Contributor

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1 Message

6 years ago

Question if i get an At&t sim card and phone number in US and insert it in the Unlocked Galaxy tab E could i make calls from it without useing a third party app? I currently have tried another sim from a GSM carrier and it works for the mobile data but not for calls and i can not get passed the At&t sync log in everytime i try the phone button to call.

thanks for you help

 

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