Need help changing PLBL bit to SPCS

[sshcc2k5]

Hi

I have a pair of Sprint phones that have previously been used on a Sprint MVNO, Tello. I now need to have the PLBL bit set back to SPCS for use on the Sprint postpaid network. Tello claims that they are unable to do this and that I need to contact Sprint tier 2 technical support. Well I spent about an hour on the phone this morning getting ping-ponged among and between various Sprint customer service agents, none of whom (even the supposedly very technical ones) seemed to now what I was talking about. Can someone (who knows what I'm talking about) please reach out to me to get these phones ready to activate on Sprint postpaid?

Thanks

[Sprint_Carlos]

Hi there @Syriel! We're here to assist you. Are you trying to bring a device to Sprint? If so, where are you switching from? Have you tried checking the eligibility in our BYOD website ?

[Syriel]

Yes. It was a device that was taken to a MVNO that no longer exists. The PLBL setting (which is normally reset by MVNOs when you leave) doesn't seem to have been reset, so trying to bring it back to any Sprint owned brand throws a PLBL error. 

Just need someone who is familiar with the system to reset it.

[Sprint_Carlos]

@Syriel, we may need to create a ticket to change that, but checking the eligibility online would add the device immediately if eligible. Please give it a try and let us know if you get an error. 

[Syriel]

@Sprint_Carlos I tried that before posting here. The Sprint website returns a message saying that the phone cannot be activated on line, and would have to be brought into a store. I also tried it on the Boost website since that doesn't hide the error messages and it specifically calls out the PLBL value as the issue. I couldn't test at the Virgin website since that Sprint brand no longer accepts new activations online.

[ryuji]

Can someone who knows how to change the phone flag from PLBL to SPCS please contact me? I'm not having luck after days contacting the support chat. Thanks.

[Sprint_Khoury]

Does this mean you're trying to unlock the device? 

[Syriel]

@Sprint_Khoury It has nothing to do with unlocking and everything to do with activating the device on Sprint.

When you take a Sprint device and activate it on a Sprint MVNO, the PLBL bit is set to indicate this. This tells the auto-activation system to NOT activate the device on Sprint because it's meant for MVNO use. To bring the device back to Sprint, the bit has to be set to SPCS. This can only be done on the back end. Once the bit is set to SPCS, the Sprint auto-activation system will recognize it, allow the PRL to be updated, and the device to be activated on a Sprint account.

For an agent who knows where to look in the system, setting the SPCS bit only takes a minute. It is NOT an account setting. It is a device specific setting.

[Syriel]

BTW, @Sprint_Khoury, I still need help with this as well, since @Sprint_Carlos was not able to help before the forums were shut down for COVID-19. If either one of you can do this, please let me know and I will PM you the IMEI of the device that I need set to SPCS.

TIA!

[Sprint_Khoury]

So more or less if the device would work on our system? 

[Syriel]

The device works on the Sprint network right now. It's just that it was last used with a Sprint MVNO that no longer exists, so it cannot be activated on a Sprint account. It still has the MVNO PRL on it.

If you, or another Sprint CS person, opens up the device in your tools, and resets the flag to SPCS, the device will then be able to be activated on a Sprint account.

[Sprint_Khoury]

DM us! 

[Syriel]

@Sprint_Khoury DM sent. 🙂