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Hi Guys,
I lost my phone one night. I am not in hope of finding it, but I do not want thief to profit from the occasion.
I have the IMEI number still at hand. Is there anything that can be done?
(NB: I did not have a phone/sim lock on the phone and the thief deleted the findmyphone function WP7 has)
Many thanks in advance,
Jason
jasonchiu said:
Hi Guys,
I lost my phone one night. I am not in hope of finding it, but I do not want thief to profit from the occasion.
I have the IMEI number still at hand. Is there anything that can be done?
(NB: I did not have a phone/sim lock on the phone and the thief deleted the findmyphone function WP7 has)
Many thanks in advance,
Jason
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you really want to pursue it, you can ask your cell phone company to try and give you a rough location of where it is through cell triangulation, although that may be difficult to get them to do. Otherwise, you can tell them to Blacklist the IMEI number so that it can't be used on any networks.
Product F(RED) said:
If you really want to pursue it, you can ask your cell phone company to try and give you a rough location of where it is through cell triangulation, although that may be difficult to get them to do. Otherwise, you can tell them to Blacklist the IMEI number so that it can't be used on any networks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tips.
I tried to block the IMEI in Hong Kong, but my service providor (Smartone Vodafone) said they dont provide such service.
When I went back to the UK, I called up T-Mobile and someone from an India call centre said they blocked it for me, but the "reassuringly" told me it can be easily unlocked by someone who knows mobiles well...
Are there any sites or places I can submit the IMEI number to?
Many thanks,
Jason
jasonchiu said:
Thanks for the tips.
I tried to block the IMEI in Hong Kong, but my service providor (Smartone Vodafone) said they dont provide such service.
When I went back to the UK, I called up T-Mobile and someone from an India call centre said they blocked it for me, but the "reassuringly" told me it can be easily unlocked by someone who knows mobiles well...
Are there any sites or places I can submit the IMEI number to?
Many thanks,
Jason
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It can't be "unlocked". The person would have to spoof or change the IMEI number, something which I've been able to ever do on 1 phone (original iPhone). But the reason I did it is not because it was stolen, but because I didn't want a data plan that AT&T was forcing on its customers, so I made the phone appear as another phone. I don't think it can be done easily on most phones.
I don't think there are any websites you can submit the IMEI number to. I believe there's a global IMEI blacklist database that most responsible carriers choose to enforce.
Cheers for the details.
I too was shocked that Smartone Vodafone did not offer IMEI blocking.
I hope t-mobile really did block the IMEI number.
I was a bit sceptic as all the CS Agent did was take note it and that was it. She didnt ask for any details about me either.
Product F(RED) said:
It can't be "unlocked". The person would have to spoof or change the IMEI number, something which I've been able to ever do on 1 phone (original iPhone). But the reason I did it is not because it was stolen, but because I didn't want a data plan that AT&T was forcing on its customers, so I made the phone appear as another phone. I don't think it can be done easily on most phones.
I don't think there are any websites you can submit the IMEI number to. I believe there's a global IMEI blacklist database that most responsible carriers choose to enforce.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm buying a used GSM phone to use on tmobile.
Is their anything I should check for?
I know that non t-mobile phones need to be unlocked. I figure that I check here if it has been rooted then unlock it myself.
But the other things I'm worried that is that I wont be able to activate it, or that it might have network incompatibilities.
So what should I check? ESN? What antennas does it need to have?
.
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freshjr said:
I'm buying a used GSM phone to use on tmobile.
Is their anything I should check for?
I know that non t-mobile phones need to be unlocked. I figure that I check here if it has been rooted then unlock it myself.
But the other things I'm worried that is that I wont be able to activate it, or that it might have network incompatibilities.
So what should I check? ESN? What antennas does it need to have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ESN refers to CDMA phones, not GSM. If you're purchasing a T-Mobile phone, I'd check the IMEI number since T-Mobile is starting to block stolen/lost/etc phones like Sprint and Verizon. If you're purchasing a phone from another country or something, make sure the frequency is the same as T-Mobile as they are AWS. Any GSM phone thats not AWS will work with T-Mobile once unlocked but your data speeds will be slower.
PakAttack1994 said:
ESN refers to CDMA phones, not GSM. If you're purchasing a T-Mobile phone, I'd check the IMEI number since T-Mobile is starting to block stolen/lost/etc phones like Sprint and Verizon. If you're purchasing a phone from another country or something, make sure the frequency is the same as T-Mobile as they are AWS. Any GSM phone thats not AWS will work with T-Mobile once unlocked but your data speeds will be slower.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If a phone has a bad IMEI on ATT, would you know if it would still be good on T-mobile?
I might be able to save some money if this loophole exists.
I don't think AT&T blocks IMEI's but even if they do, once unlocked it will be good on T-Mobile. Just how if there was a bad IMEI on a T-Mobile phone, you can unlock it and use it with another GSM carrier.
Figure out how to check for water damage for that specific model you're buying. And absolutely check for it.
I've been hosed once because I didn't properly check. Ended up having to replace the motherboard of the phone I bought.
PakAttack1994 said:
I don't think AT&T blocks IMEI's but even if they do, once unlocked it will be good on T-Mobile. Just how if there was a bad IMEI on a T-Mobile phone, you can unlock it and use it with another GSM carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think they (and all cariers) do as part of the insurance agreement.
I think when I person reports a phone stolen and goes through insurance, I thought the IMEI gets blacklisted for life. That and not paying the bill / early termination fee.
Thanks for telling me everything. I just hope I dont buy a phone, and the guy reports it stolen AFTER I buy it.
Yeah I agree with you in regards to T-Mobile since someone can just report it stolen after they've sold it but I'm pretty sure AT&T doesn't do that as of yet. Also, AT&T and T-Mobile don't share IMEI databases so even if its stolen on T-Mobile, AT&T wont know and it will be useable. Like Azure1203 said, check for water damage, any discoloration on a white screen, see if the digitzier works, check for the red water damage indicator on the battery and underneath, etc.
Hey everyone, I have seen someone Samsung Galaxy S3's on craigslist for like $300 and their IMEI is blocked. Meaning either stolen, blocked, or the owner didn't pay a bill.
I honestly can care less, I just want to know if T-Mobile blocks an IMEI if I can still use Simple Mobile on it, or I will have to unlock it to use a AT&T or other GSM carrier. My main concern is for Simple Mobile though since it is my current network.
Also, I have heard of changing the IMEI, can anyone provide information about that?
Thanks.
MasterGGM said:
Hey everyone, I have seen someone Samsung Galaxy S3's on craigslist for like $300 and their IMEI is blocked. Meaning either stolen, blocked, or the owner didn't pay a bill.
I honestly can care less, I just want to know if T-Mobile blocks an IMEI if I can still use Simple Mobile on it, or I will have to unlock it to use a AT&T or other GSM carrier. My main concern is for Simple Mobile though since it is my current network.
Also, I have heard of changing the IMEI, can anyone provide information about that?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would get the ESN and call to see if they would activate it. That's what we used to do when I sold cell phone years ago.
The imei is the gsm equivalent of esn. Anyway, call them before you buy, and simple mobile is a T-Mobile subsidiary so if it's blacklisted on tmo it won't work on simple because the towers refuse to work with you. I say just call tmo and they might help you, but don't tell them you want to use it on simple because they might not.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2
No, it won't work on Simple Mobile, because Simple Mobile runs on T-Mobile. You're not allowed to discuss buying phones not owned by the seller. You don't own the phone if you pay the $200 to buy it and then stop paying the bills.
I have purchased CDMA phones on Craigslist for years now. I bought one phone with a bad ESN and learned the most important lesson with regards to buying a cell phone second hand...activate the phone before handing over any cash. If that means taking it to one of these places or meeting the seller at a place that unlocks phones (unless you have a laptop and the means to unlock it yourself prior to purchasing). Also even with the phone not activate it should still call customer service. Verify that the IMEI is good. If a seller acts shady when you tell them you are going to do this...save your gas.
how??
MasterGGM said:
Hey everyone, I have seen someone Samsung Galaxy S3's on craigslist for like $300 and their IMEI is blocked. Meaning either stolen, blocked, or the owner didn't pay a bill.
I honestly can care less, I just want to know if T-Mobile blocks an IMEI if I can still use Simple Mobile on it, or I will have to unlock it to use a AT&T or other GSM carrier. My main concern is for Simple Mobile though since it is my current network.
Also, I have heard of changing the IMEI, can anyone provide information about that?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can it be blocked when its a gsm? if its stolen you jus pop your sim in it and thats it it still works.
blocked imei i never heard of. can someone please clarify?
intrygue83 said:
How can it be blocked when its a gsm? if its stolen you jus pop your sim in it and thats it it still works.
blocked imei i never heard of. can someone please clarify?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can block an IMEI like you can block an ESN now if the phone is lost, stolen, or has an unpaid balance.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Product F(RED) said:
You can block an IMEI like you can block an ESN now if the phone is lost, stolen, or has an unpaid balance.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a Galaxy S 3 stolen yesterday. There is no way for me to get it back, I can get over that. What I can't get over is someone having my 3 month old phone and being able to use it with no problems.
I contacted T Mobile on 3 separate occasions to see if they could block the IMEI number because I have the original packaging. I was told from 3 different account specialists that T Mobile CANNOT block the IMEI. Whoever stole my phone just has to pop in a new sim card and the stolen phone will work just fine, and there is nothing I can do about it.
If anyone knows how I can get my stolen phone blocked, I'd love to hear how.
Adam
boda05 said:
I had a Galaxy S 3 stolen yesterday. There is no way for me to get it back, I can get over that. What I can't get over is someone having my 3 month old phone and being able to use it with no problems.
I contacted T Mobile on 3 separate occasions to see if they could block the IMEI number because I have the original packaging. I was told from 3 different account specialists that T Mobile CANNOT block the IMEI. Whoever stole my phone just has to pop in a new sim card and the stolen phone will work just fine, and there is nothing I can do about it.
If anyone knows how I can get my stolen phone blocked, I'd love to hear how.
Adam
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Escalate it and tell them you need that phone marked lost or stolen. They do it for non-payment, they can do it for lost or stolen phones.
Product F(RED) said:
Escalate it and tell them you need that phone marked lost or stolen. They do it for non-payment, they can do it for lost or stolen phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for the reply. On all three occasions I escalated the matter as high as I could. Have you had an IMEI blocked personally by calling T Mobile?
boda05 said:
Thanks so much for the reply. On all three occasions I escalated the matter as high as I could. Have you had an IMEI blocked personally by calling T Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on Straight Talk AT&T. I've never had experience doing that, but I know it's possible because people have been scammed and end up with lost/stolen/non-payment T-Mobile phones that won't register onto the network.
well..
boda05 said:
Thanks so much for the reply. On all three occasions I escalated the matter as high as I could. Have you had an IMEI blocked personally by calling T Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry your phone was stolen but doing that is not going to stop anything. If it was password protected then they won't has access to it.
until they bring it to someone like myself who can wipe it and reuse it. Its a GSM so all i have to do is wipe it n pop a new sim in it and wola.
That's just how it is
intrygue83 said:
Sorry your phone was stolen but doing that is not going to stop anything. If it was password protected then they won't has access to it.
until they bring it to someone like myself who can wipe it and reuse it. Its a GSM so all i have to do is wipe it n pop a new sim in it and wola.
That's just how it is
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Product F(RED) said:
I'm on Straight Talk AT&T. I've never had experience doing that, but I know it's possible because people have been scammed and end up with lost/stolen/non-payment T-Mobile phones that won't register onto the network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I've read many stories about people buying a used phone from a person and the imei being blocked. I am just confirming/questioning that this isn't possible (whether it's a recent thing or ever) with T Mobile.
This seems like a good way for stolen phones to be blocked, but what about customers that report their phones stolen to t-mobile and then sell it on craigslist (I know a few people that do this)..the poor sucker that bought the phone will have it activated and by the time T-mobile blacklists the number they are left with a worthless phone.
euklid said:
This seems like a good way for stolen phones to be blocked, but what about customers that report their phones stolen to t-mobile and then sell it on craigslist (I know a few people that do this)..the poor sucker that bought the phone will have it activated and by the time T-mobile blacklists the number they are left with a worthless phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People just neeed to do their research and take precautions. If you don't put in the extra time to figure out how to buy a used phone safely, you're going to be taking a chance - and you get what you get.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-develope rs app
Blacklisted
I work for a cell phone buy-back firm. Every since November of last year we have been running into blacklisted imeis. We've got phones coming back because the person who sold us the phone quit paying on a subsidized phone. Considering our agents call people all over the country attempting to buy their used or inactive phones, most people see us as way out. This hasn't been an issue with cdma phones because we can check esn. Two days ago checkesnfree.com added imei blacklisted. But what I don't understand is our audit department can put a live sim card in a blacklisted phone and make a successful test call. But when a customer tries to put it on an account, it can't be done. Can someone explain to me why this is. I understand the calls and text are using a different section of the tower than the data network uses. But any more than that I'm at a loss. Thanks
IMEI blocking is only inner company at the moment. If att black lists an imei it will not work on any carrier that piggy backs att towers. Soon it will become cross company and global.
Wayne Tech S-III
zelendel said:
IMEI blocking is only inner company at the moment. If att black lists an imei it will not work on any carrier that piggy backs att towers. Soon it will become cross company and global.
Wayne Tech S-III
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Click to collapse
ok every one i have you this solved !!!! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS UNLOCK THE PHONE BAD ESN/IMEI ALL YOU GOT TO DO IS UNLOCK THE PHONE i have gotten 2 Samsung Galaxy S III and a s4 off ebay with "BAD ESN/IMEI" unlocked them and working fine on simple mobile !!
juggalo818 said:
ok every one i have you this solved !!!! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS UNLOCK THE PHONE BAD ESN/IMEI ALL YOU GOT TO DO IS UNLOCK THE PHONE i have gotten 2 Samsung Galaxy S III and a s4 off ebay with "BAD ESN/IMEI" unlocked them and working fine on simple mobile !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How would I unlock it, please share, I have a galaxy s3
Put in a sim from another provider and then search for an unlock code and your done its about $15-$20 normally
Sent from my SGH-T679 using xda app-developers app
I bought my droid ultra for $150 off of craigslist, I checked the serial and IMEI and everything was fine. now after this morning, the phone all of sudden says out of service, and when i go online to check out the IMEI it says it is blacklisted..
Is there a IMEI unlocker for this phone? or anything i can do? I might just throw it on Ebay and call it a day...
Sounds like someone sold it then called it in as stolen or lost, if you can contact the seller it's worth finding out although they'll more than likely avoid you like the plague. Don't use the contact info you did when you reached them, use a different email/phone number if possible, you might get lucky.
Aside from that and maybe getting somewhere in that respect (probably not going to happen but there's always a chance) the phone is effectively dead to you in terms of being used but it depends on the carrier.
If you're checking it against Verizon (which calls it the ESN) and it shows as blacklisted that doesn't mean it can't be used with GSM carriers since the Ultra/MAXX/Mini are all GSM unlocked. The IMEI (which is what GSM carriers refer to it as) could still be potentially "open" and not blacklisted.
Worth checking out. There is still no one single "blacklist" that every cellular carrier in the world checks or reports their ESN/IMEI numbers to or with - it's a crap shoot but worth finding out.
Other than those possibilities, if you can't get anywhere then dump it. Changing the ESN/IMEI is possible but requires pretty specific hardware (JTAG stuff iirc) to get it done and even then it's basically flat out illegal to do it so, it's always possible that you could go through all the crap to make it work on a network and then get popped for it just the same.
Good luck...
Hi everybody at xda thanks for all the hard work you guys do over the last few years you have taught me a great deal.
I need help with one subject.
I have a samsung s7 g930f that is blacklisted.
Now im quite familiar with odin and flashing firmware and frp unlocking i have done a few things here and there so i have an idea of whats going on.
Iv tryd just about everything to get this bloody phone working on networks normaly again.
The reason this is so important to me as it was my dead fathers phone i turnd it on recently to find its blacklisted.
I dont no why its blacklisted but i must find away to fix this ?
Any solutions or advice would help alot thanks xda
l300skid said:
Hi everybody at xda thanks for all the hard work you guys do over the last few years you have taught me a great deal.
I need help with one subject.
I have a samsung s7 g930f that is blacklisted.
Now im quite familiar with odin and flashing firmware and frp unlocking i have done a few things here and there so i have an idea of whats going on.
Iv tryd just about everything to get this bloody phone working on networks normaly again.
The reason this is so important to me as it was my dead fathers phone i turnd it on recently to find its blacklisted.
I dont no why its blacklisted but i must find away to fix this [emoji848]
Any solutions or advice would help alot thanks xda
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's blacklisted, it's because someone didn't pay the bill or because the IMEI was blocked for legal reasons such as it being reported as a lost/stolen device or perhaps someone stole the IMEI from that device and used it on another which raised red flags on the network, resulting in the network blacklisting the device or maybe the IMEI was stolen from another device and used on your device, resulting in red flag on the network and blacklisting by the network. Regardless of which network blacklisted the device, it goes into a database somewhere that tells all the other networks that the device is blacklisted and the other networks won't allow the device to be activated on any network as long as the device is blacklisted.
Basically, there is no way around this issue other than paying the bill if that is why it was blacklisted, even if you aren't the one that owes the bill. Blacklisting is something that is done on the network providers end, it is not something in your device. There is nothing you can add to or remove from your device to remove the block.
If it was blacklisted because it was reported lost or stolen, you're out of luck period.
If it was lost and you found it or if you stole it, you're really out of luck here then.
If you bought the device and it was blacklisted when you received it, then that person didn't pay the bill and when it got blacklisted they sold it, in this case, you've been scammed and there is nothing you can legally do about it.
There is nothing anyone at XDA can do to help you because trying to bypass/hack this issue is illegal in most places.
Long story short, your only hope is that it got blacklisted due to an unpaid bill. If this is what happened, you'll have to get whoever owes the bill to make the payment so that the block is removed, you can't pay it yourself unless you're the one that owes the bill, if someone else owes the bill you can provide the money to make the payment but that person will have to be the one to actually make the payment for you, then and only then will the network that implemented the blacklisting remove the block, sometimes there is a waiting period(1 week to 1 month) after that before the device can be reactivated again on a network. If it was blacklisted for any other reason then you're screwed.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
Thanks
Thanks for clearing this up for me cheers.