Question about cloned phones... - General Questions and Answers

I have a friend who thinks her boyfriend may have cloned her phone. She says hes been asking about certain things that have only been talked about between sms. he works in telecommunications so has access to certain resources. Anyway, is there a way to know if the phone has been cloned? And if it has been cloned, should she get a new sim card, new phone, or both?
Thanks

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[Q] Lost My Phone...

I lost my damn G2X the other day while drunk and had just installed a new ROM and no tracking app yet. The guy at Tmobile today told that anyone could put their own SIM card in my phone if found and use it without a problem.
Can TMobile really not associate the IMEI off that phone (that I reported lost) with one that cannot be activated? I don't want to believe that and don't believe the fat slob at the store anyways due to how he bad he messed up my account today and failed to share important information with me
aburn95 said:
I lost my damn G2X the other day while drunk and had just installed a new ROM and no tracking app yet. The guy at Tmobile today told that anyone could put their own SIM card in my phone if found and use it without a problem.
Can TMobile really not associate the IMEI off that phone (that I reported lost) with one that cannot be activated? I don't want to believe that and don't believe the fat slob at the store anyways due to how he bad he messed up my account today and failed to share important information with me
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Any T-Mobile sim card can work with any T-Mobile or Unlocked phone without the need of setting up a IMEI to that sim card. So yes they can just throw in there card and it will work. If you report your phone stolen then T-Mobile might be able to block the use of said IMEI from it's network. That is if you know what that number is and you ask about it over the phone. The first thing you should of done in this situation is called in your phone as stolen. Still it's possible they wont do that. I know I've seen comment for cell phone dealers on ebay who stated that the company sold them a stolen phone that is now deactivated. So best of luck. Also make sure you go to an actual corporate store. Not all T-Mobile stores are owned by T-Mobile. It's very hard to tell the difference between them.
Thanks I have the box it came in I think that has IMEI
its a gsm phone so they can't do anything, if it was a cdma then it won't work!
well crap. someones a lucky ************
If you are fast enough you log onto the Android Market on the internet and install Plan B. If they have not yanked out your sim yet plan b will install, automatically run, send an sms to you with the phone's location and allow you to track it online. You can also lock it and have it put a message on the phone to return it to the owner.
Jboxer is right, most probably the thief doesn't know as much to know that he can throw another sim card in there.
Best of luck though
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
And it is not true that T-Mobile cannot block the IMEI. If you call T-Mobile and report it lost they will definitely block the IMEI from use on their network. Whoever found it or stole it won't be able to use it on T-Mobile but they would still be able to sim unlock it and use it on AT&T or another network.
Thanks everyone. I think it's all too late. I tried installing Wheres my Droid from net the next morning but it either needs to be set up on phone first (can't remember) or the phone had already died. Wish I knew about "Plan B." This succcccks. I really hope something goes wrong with it for the new owner, And sure hope they like a basic ass setup of MIUI!!!

Someone please help???

I recently received my G2x back from LG for a faulty sim card reader and now it is still saying "invalid sim" with "MY" simple mobile sim. Now the crazy part is I used a simple mobile sim from a friend and it read it for a good 5 minutes allowed me to make a call and then it said invalid sim again.
When I called T-mobile they stated to me that apparently the phone was purchased on an installment plan and was never payed off and it is permanently blocked on the tmobile network. But as I mentioned before it allowed me to make a couple calls in a span of 5 minutes or so on the simple mobile network. So how can it make calls if it is blocked on the network?
So what can I do to make this work on the Simple Mobile network because it worked for a matter of 5 minutes before it went back to saying invalid sim card.
Would rooting the phone go and circumvent all that and allow me to use???
Please can someone help me figure this out cause everything on the phone works but I cannot seem to access the simple mobile network.
REM152 said:
I recently received my G2x back from LG for a faulty sim card reader and now it is still saying "invalid sim" with "MY" simple mobile sim. Now the crazy part is I used a simple mobile sim from a friend and it read it for a good 5 minutes allowed me to make a call and then it said invalid sim again.
When I called T-mobile they stated to me that apparently the phone was purchased on an installment plan and was never payed off and it is permanently blocked on the tmobile network. But as I mentioned before it allowed me to make a couple calls in a span of 5 minutes or so on the simple mobile network. So how can it make calls if it is blocked on the network?
So what can I do to make this work on the Simple Mobile network because it worked for a matter of 5 minutes before it went back to saying invalid sim card.
Would rooting the phone go and circumvent all that and allow me to use???
Please can someone help me figure this out cause everything on the phone works but I cannot seem to access the simple mobile network.
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Sure based on what you stated. Pay T-Mobile for the phone and lift the restriction.
You need an unlock code. Pm jboxer.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=1710971
The phone is already unlocked.....I spoke to tmobile and they are telling me the phone is "EIP" and the apparently the person who owned the phone cancelled the account and never paid the phone in full they told me that the phone would be able to work if I opened a new account I went into a tmobile store today and attempted to do that and it did not work what so ever.... This has turned into a giant mess and I basically have a paperweight as a phone because no one at the tmobile corp seems to be able to help whatsoever... I've even inquired about speaking to a manager and the reps tell me the supervisor will have to call me back and still I have yet to receive a phone call. Mind you I've been a loyal customer prior for over 5 years and never was late with payments. It truly bothers me as a consumer that something simple like this cannot be resolved and to make matters even worse that no one can give me a solid answer and just a guess and a brush off. I apologize for the rant, but this has got to stop these large cell phone companies treat customers like blind stupid sheep.
REM152 said:
The phone is already unlocked.....I spoke to tmobile and they are telling me the phone is "EIP" and the apparently the person who owned the phone cancelled the account and never paid the phone in full they told me that the phone would be able to work if I opened a new account I went into a tmobile store today and attempted to do that and it did not work what so ever.... This has turned into a giant mess and I basically have a paperweight as a phone because no one at the tmobile corp seems to be able to help whatsoever... I've even inquired about speaking to a manager and the reps tell me the supervisor will have to call me back and still I have yet to receive a phone call. Mind you I've been a loyal customer prior for over 5 years and never was late with payments. It truly bothers me as a consumer that something simple like this cannot be resolved and to make matters even worse that no one can give me a solid answer and just a guess and a brush off. I apologize for the rant, but this has got to stop these large cell phone companies treat customers like blind stupid sheep.
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This is getting confusing. This is not what you stated in your original post.
"I recently received my G2x back from LG for a faulty sim card reader". "When I called T-mobile they stated to me that apparently the phone was purchased on an installment plan and was never payed off and it is permanently blocked." Now if it is a phone received back from LG how did someone else come involved. Pay the balance due on the phone and lift the restriction. Or contact who you purchased the phone from for help.
Okay let me clarify when I first received the phone it stated on the phone "Invalid Sim Card" so everyone I got in contact with told me to send in the phone to LG for repair for having a faulty sim card reader.
I did this and received the phone back and documentation from LG stating that they fixed the sim card reader and that it was fully functioning with a tmobile sim card.
Now when I inserted my sim card from simple mobile it was still reading "invalid sim card" so I contacted Tmobile and they stated to me doing some research that the account was being blocked due to the device being purchased on an installment plan or "EIP" as they call it and never being paid off in full.
So I asked them what can I do as far as lifting the restriction off the account and removing the IMEI block so the phone will function.. And they told me I could do nothing because the phone is listed under another persons account and they have to pay it off before the block will come off...
So, my question is what can I do am actually stuck with a paperweight... Cause this was bought for me as a gift from craigslist... Can rooting the phone bypass or can I use this on another network other than tmobile/simple mobile???
REM152 said:
Okay let me clarify when I first received the phone it stated on the phone "Invalid Sim Card" so everyone I got in contact with told me to send in the phone to LG for repair for having a faulty sim card reader.
I did this and received the phone back and documentation from LG stating that they fixed the sim card reader and that it was fully functioning with a tmobile sim card.
Now when I inserted my sim card from simple mobile it was still reading "invalid sim card" so I contacted Tmobile and they stated to me doing some research that the account was being blocked due to the device being purchased on an installment plan or "EIP" as they call it and never being paid off in full.
So I asked them what can I do as far as lifting the restriction off the account and removing the IMEI block so the phone will function.. And they told me I could do nothing because the phone is listed under another persons account and they have to pay it off before the block will come off...
So, my question is what can I do am actually stuck with a paperweight... Cause this was bought for me as a gift from craigslist... Can rooting the phone bypass or can I use this on another network other than tmobile/simple mobile???
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If it is blocked using the IMEI number there is nothing that you can do to get around it, unless you can get in contact with the original owner. I have found Craglist is not the best place to purchase electronics for this very reason. Wish I had better news for you. Sorry.
Did you call LG and report the problem? It sounds like they didn't fix anything. If the phone quits reading the SIM after 5 minutes that could be a short circuit.
I do agree with others who say you won't be able to use the phone with T-mobile again. The guy on Craigslist screwed you on that. But you should be able to use it with Simple Mobile with no problem.
One thing: try and find a friend who has an AT&T phone. Put his sim card in your phone and see what happens. (You could even go to an AT&T store and tell them you want an account but only if your phone works, so you need to test a Sim card in it first. See if they'll let you test one.)
I PM'd you with a bunch of troubleshooting steps for Simple Mobile. However, you really need to talk to both LG and Simple Mobile customer service to get their opinion on what is going on.
gggirlgeek said:
Did you call LG and report the problem? It sounds like they didn't fix anything. If the phone quits reading the SIM after 5 minutes that could be a short circuit.
I do agree with others who say you won't be able to use the phone with T-mobile again. The guy on Craigslist screwed you on that. But you should be able to use it with Simple Mobile with no problem.
One thing: try and find a friend who has an AT&T phone. Put his sim card in your phone and see what happens. (You could even go to an AT&T store and tell them you want an account but only if your phone works, so you need to test a Sim card in it first. See if they'll let you test one.)
I PM'd you with a bunch of troubleshooting steps for Simple Mobile. However, you really need to talk to both LG and Simple Mobile customer service to get their opinion on what is going on.
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Doesn't Simple Mobile run off of TMobile? I'm not in the US but that was my assumption. If so, the IMEI is blocked with both carriers.
I would recomend staying away from custom kernels. Some swear by them, but it adds another variable when trouble shooting. If the phone is operating correctly (no defective hardware) and you follow the instructions many of the Rom's available should eliminate your issue. I do not recomend to batch reinstall your apps from TI. One at a time and test. Trouble shooting is a pain but you should be able to get beyond your current issue if your phone is not defective. We are seeing the second and third round of defective phones being sold to others as working phone. Same small number of phones passed off to some poor guy. Unfortunate but true.

[Q]Transferring text messages from a non-android phone to an android.

Is it possible to transfer text messages from a non-android phone, specifically the Lg rumour 2 to my samsung galaxy s2 skyrocket? I'd like to keep the texts for nostalgic reasons. Also, my mother plans on using the lg phone for everyday use.
Put them on the sim card or microSD
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA
Transfer is not likely to happen, now if you want to save them somewhere else, why don't you just forward them to an email address, or another phone directly from the phone itself? Unfortunately there isn't any software out there that can pull them off the Rumour afaik seeing as you do not have a sim card.
If you worked in a cell phone store, yeah there's a machine that does it between two phones of any model. Depending on the models, it can move over different things. Most cell phone stores should have one. I know Best Buy does.
Try installing this pc suite http://algmcdn.lgmobile.com/dn/downloader.dev?fileKey=PW01020110909 usually it has an option to back them up as chosen file types which you may be able to import to your new cell.
Wasn't sure if its the right model, if its not just go to lg site.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll try them out and see what happen

[Q] ROM to make smartphone into basic (dumb) phone?

Not even sure how to search for this and tried Google and some other forums, but settled on asking the question here when I couldn't find an answer.
To be specific: I have a Droid Incredible that is left over once a member of family plan upgraded to iPhone. We are on Verizon. Another member of the family plan has a basic phone (enV3) which is breaking so we need a non-data replacement. Since I have this extra Droid, I am trying to understand why we can't use it...
I know that Verizon requires a data package with any smart phone. My understanding of the magic you all do here is limited, but I have a vague thought that it has to do with ESN or MEID that tells Verizon what make & model phone you have, alerting them to the fact that you activated a smartphone on the line, and giving them the signal to slam some charges on the account for monthly data.
My question (finally) is why can't I just flash a ROM on the phone that disables the 3G antenna thing and makes the phone look like a basic phone to Verizon? Ideally I'd like to still have the ability to get on WiFi and use the phone features, just not the 3G data side of it. We already use it as an "iPod" like device. Even though it isn't activated, I can connect to Google Play and Amazon App Store over Wifi and install apps. I can check email. I can play games. I can even dial and get the operator where they say I can make a call if I enter a credit card. Why cant I keep all that functionality I already have and just hook it up to my family plan to make calls with it too? Maybe the answer is that it IS possible, but nobody is interested in creating such a ROM. Maybe there is some technical problem making it not feasible. Or maybe it does exist, but searching couldn't find it cause people rarely want to do such a thing...
I just want to learn why this cant be done, so someone enlighten me. If it actually can be done, all the better. Again, specific details are Droid Incredible on Verizon Wireless family plan.
jmb.filter said:
Not even sure how to search for this and tried Google and some other forums, but settled on asking the question here when I couldn't find an answer.
To be specific: I have a Droid Incredible that is left over once a member of family plan upgraded to iPhone. We are on Verizon. Another member of the family plan has a basic phone (enV3) which is breaking so we need a non-data replacement. Since I have this extra Droid, I am trying to understand why we can't use it...
I know that Verizon requires a data package with any smart phone. My understanding of the magic you all do here is limited, but I have a vague thought that it has to do with ESN or MEID that tells Verizon what make & model phone you have, alerting them to the fact that you activated a smartphone on the line, and giving them the signal to slam some charges on the account for monthly data.
My question (finally) is why can't I just flash a ROM on the phone that disables the 3G antenna thing and makes the phone look like a basic phone to Verizon? Ideally I'd like to still have the ability to get on WiFi and use the phone features, just not the 3G data side of it. We already use it as an "iPod" like device. Even though it isn't activated, I can connect to Google Play and Amazon App Store over Wifi and install apps. I can check email. I can play games. I can even dial and get the operator where they say I can make a call if I enter a credit card. Why cant I keep all that functionality I already have and just hook it up to my family plan to make calls with it too? Maybe the answer is that it IS possible, but nobody is interested in creating such a ROM. Maybe there is some technical problem making it not feasible. Or maybe it does exist, but searching couldn't find it cause people rarely want to do such a thing...
I just want to learn why this cant be done, so someone enlighten me. If it actually can be done, all the better. Again, specific details are Droid Incredible on Verizon Wireless family plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simple answer is that changing the ESN of a phone is illegal and will not be talked about on XDA. Can it be done. Maybe but you won't any info here on it. A search for change ESN would have told you this.
Thread closed

[Q] AT&T: How do they recognize IMEI of smartphones?

I'm hoping to get a smartphone (either a Moto-G or Nexus 5) without having to pay for a data plan. Yes, I know there are dozens of topics asking whether or not this can be done; I've read everyone--that's why I'm making this new thread.
There are a lot of different things I see stated on ways to get around AT&T automatic application of expensive data-plans when they detect that you're using a smartphone. Some people have said that all you have to do is turn off 3G Data Use from the menu of the new phone BEFORE inserting a new SIM card, and then insert the old dumphone sim card and everything will work. Some people make vague allusions to changing the IMIE--to which some people claim that's illegal, and others claim AT&T or random clerks at Radio Shack will do this for you upon request. Still others claim that all you need to do is install a "data blocker" program onto the smartphone before switching SIM cards, and it will do the trick.
The basic goal seems to be "hiding" the IMEI number from AT&T.
So, my question: how does AT&T recognize the IMEI number? Will they see it only if the phone is active on their 3G/4G/LTE networks? Or do they see it "through" the normal dumbphone calling networks?
My apologies if this is a stupid question. I really don't know anything about phones are anything about non-PC electronics or software in general. Basically, I'd like a smartphone but refuse to pay an exhorbitant monthly fee for a feature I'd never use (wifi is everywhere I go), and am not in a position where I can switch carriers, and it's like I'm part of a(n evidently sizable) demographic that no one wants to market to.
If times haven't changed too much from when I tried the same thing 2 years ago, you should just be able to request that all data on your line be blocked. I would try calling them before you switch the SIM to the smartphone and ask for all data to be disabled to your line, then swap the SIM. I would also leave the data turned off on the smartphone for good measure. This is basically how I got around your same issue with AT&T, and it doesn't have to necessarily come down to illegally changing the IMEI or "hiding" the IMEI from the carrier. Eventually they'll cross-check your device and figure out it's a smartphone and add your data. But to my knowledge, the adding of the data is all automatically done by computers; so if the system sees that all data is disabled for you, it shouldn't attempt to add anything.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

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