Unlocked s21 Ultra showing as "Unknown Device" and not supporting 5G or Extended Range LTE on My Mobile account

Thank you. I think I just needed to hear that bit about “...just to get people off their back”. 

They owe me four hours of my life back.

Voidyourwarranty wrote:

This is not a manufacturing problem or a samsung problem its a t-mobile problem.  If you can look up your own imei number and get the model, so can t-mobile.  They just don't do it. Why they don't I can't comment on but be sure it would take about 60 seconds to manually look up your imei number and if they had someone put in a couple hours of work they could build the automation in easily so I have to believe its intentional.

Probably because it serves no purpose!  Whether your device shows up as what it is or an unknown device has absolutely zero impact on whether your device works or not with the service.  

Exactly the same issue here with the two S21 Ultras we bought directly from Samsung. I have spent countless hours of the phone with all levels of their tech support. Each time I’ve been told at the end of the VERY long call that 1) they had figured out what the issue was, 2) had submitted the necessary hoodoo to get it fixed, 3) they asked me to be patient and give it 48 to 72 hours for the changes to show in my account, and 4) that they would call be back on a specific date to make sure everything was fixed.

Not one time has anyone called me back. None of the ‘fixes’ ever happened.

I’m beyond furious about this, most of all because I feel like I’ve been fed a ration of crapola on every call. It’s ridiculous and disrespectful.

I am extremely unhappy about this, and after years as a faithful customer who has consistently over the years promoted T-Mobile to friends and family, I no longer feel that way.

fireguy_6364 wrote:

syaoran wrote:

It won't, unless it is a device purchased from T-Mobile.  The device showing in your account doesn't matter.  Samsung's U1 devices work exceptionally well with T-Mobile. 

this goes for all BYOD correct? not just Samsung phones brought in as a BYOD?

That’s correct!  In some cases, it’s due to the devices IMEI not being in T-Mobile’s system.  Other reasons can be international devices not sold in the US, like my Xiaomi Mi MIX 3, and so on.  

So why does customer support keep leading me to believe this is a “glitch” and a “fixable” thing. And that I should expect it to be remedied within 48 to 72 hours?

Gamegrrl wrote:

So why does customer support keep leading me to believe this is a “glitch” and a “fixable” thing. And that I should expect it to be remedied within 48 to 72 hours?

I wish I knew.  Support and Customer Care sometimes say things just to get people off of the phone without being more annoyed than when they called.  Your device showing as an unknown device does not restrict it in any way.  If the device is capable of using T-Mobile's implementation of it, it will work as long as the appropriate settings are correct. 

T-Mobile doesn’t have the IMEI in their system so they don’t know what the device is.  That’s why it says unknown device.  Even unlocked iPhones not in their system will say the same thing.  Everything will work even if it says unknown device.  Been that way for all carriers when buying unlocked.

I bought from t-mobile store 

I guess I'll go to store and ck

Brow wrote:

All seems to be working 

I was just curious why it says that

My wife has note 20 and hers doesn't say that. 

Their database has been updated which is just a basic database and nothing that actually affects the network itself.  Often forgotten, or delayed effort into them because it doesn’t generate any real revenue as a full working network ever will.

BYOD devices don't usually work for domestic roaming on T-Mobile due to the device not being a T-Mobile or US Cellular device in the case of West Virginia.  The device showing as an unknown device is normal for any device not sold to you by T-Mobile.