After messing with all day, I get the same result. I just get the reception bar with no carrier. The phone never went searching for a network. Here is what I did. Make sure you turn off autolock.

1. Reboot phone and wait 1 minute at the home screen
2. Turn on 3G (yes you read that right)(You might or might not see the "Searching..." on the top)
3. Turn on fly mode and wait 1 minute.
4. Turn off 3G (you should see "Searching... now if you didn't before)
5. Turn off fly mode. You should pick up T-Mobile right away.

This works everytime. You must do these on every reboot. Good Luck

it does not work.