Database Info

esn change legality?

Everybody says changing esn is illegal.
1. Does anybody know anybody who got in trouble for changing esn?
2. say i got two devices, if i swap esn's of both of these device. It that illegal ? If yes can anybody point me to the law that states its illegal?
3. I heard some repair centers change esns, are they licensed to do that, do they have any kind of special permit?
thanks

I'm still searching for proof for you at a federal level (I'm 100% sure this is illegal in the USA) but I found something on a state level that shows it.
http://www3.state.id.us/cgi-bin/newidst?sctid=180670013.K
http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/97-98/bill/asm/ab_1101-1150/ab_1127_bill_19970703_amended_sen.html
http://www.romingerlegal.com/new_jersey/appellate/a4869-96.opn.html
http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/olls/sl1997/sl.194.htm
So what's that now, Idaho, California, New Jersey and Colorado? I think the point's been proven, it is completely illegal to alter your ESN without the consent of the manufacturer of the device.

i read those, it doesn't look like it is illegal if you paid for phone service, and you swap the esn to another device, as long as you discontinue using the first device. it isn't as if you are adding a second line of service for no money, you're just putting it on a new phone.
ehow has a page describing how to do it, in fact. i just googled esn switching, and there it was, seems fairly simple

Black93300ZX said:
I think the point's been proven, it is completely illegal to alter your ESN without the consent of the manufacturer of the device.
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LOL, only avoiding payment is against the law. some banned people nowadays

Hmm
Sorry to resurrect but was researching this myself recently.
The controlling federal law seems to be: http://law.onecle.com/uscode/18/1029.html
HOWever, I think the law is DEFINITELY worded vaguely and/or NOT aimed at the use the OP might have in mind (having two phones around the house instead of one--just like how people like to have have 2 landline extensions in a single dwelling).
My apologies if this kind of conversation is frowned upon/not allowed. A warning by any senior member/mod and I'll be sure to not pursue this any further on XDA.
Thanks!
Panamaniac

It's a great way to trick phone company's into giving you cheaper internet plans if you switch the esn from a dumb phone to a smart phone.
That being said don't do it its not worth the trouble you could get into
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

thenotoriouspie said:
It's a great way to trick phone company's into giving you cheaper internet plans if you switch the esn from a dumb phone to a smart phone.
That being said don't do it its not worth the trouble you could get into
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
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Not in every case. Like maybe if you want to use the smartphone without paying for data service (because you don't want data service).
See, with GSM carriers, they can see what phone you're using IF it's in their database. And the phone will only be in their database IF and ONLY IF it is branded by them. So if I'm on T-Mobile and I pop my SIM card into an unlocked AT&T phone/totally unbranded straight-from-manufacturer phone, they don't see what phone I'm using. Want proof? Do that and log in to your account online. Normally, the website will tell you what phone you're using. Instead, this time it'll show you a generic icon/question mark. So if you want to use an iPhone on T-Mobile without a data plan, you can do that. If you want to use a Blackberry on AT&T without a data plan? Also not a problem. As long as they don't know you're using a smartphone, a data plan won't automatically be forced onto your account. GSM gives you choice and freedom.
With CDMA carriers, we have to go through great lengths just so that we can use the phone we want, or just so that we can use a phone we already paid for. If I'm on Verizon with a Blackberry Bold and I want to jump on Sprint, why should I have to pay for the same exact phone AGAIN? It's really not hard to reprovision a CDMA phone to work on another carrier. All you need to do is install the right APN and MMS settings and the carrier's PRL. Then just flash the carrier's ROM onto the phone (I'm simplifying it; it varies by phone).
CHANGING, NOT CLONING, ESNs is ok. It's the equivalent of swapping SIM cards. In the US, the only national CDMA carrier that offers less-than-unlimited plans is Verizon. So what if I want to use my Blackberry Bold with a 150MB data plan? Is that really a crime? I can STILL opt for the unlimited, even if I put a dumbphone's ESN on the Blackberry. Why am I forced to have these plan options on my account? Why can we bring our own phones with GSM carriers, but not CDMA carriers? It IS possible for GSM carriers to block phones not sold from their network from getting service. All they would have to do is block the IMEI numbers not from phones they've sold. But they don't do this. Why can't CDMA carriers just activate these phones? MetroPCS does it in some locations, officially (aka MetroFlash). They warn you that only Calls and SMS will work, but that's fixable on your own, AND you're able to use your own phone from any carrier.
CDMA carriers need to start activating off-network phones. It's just not fair, especially when many of the phones are the same on both networks.

Product F(RED) said:
CDMA carriers need to start activating off-network phones. It's just not fair, especially when many of the phones are the same on both networks.
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Wow. It does not work this way over there in US? You can use whatever CDMA device here, you just tell the ESN to the carrier so that it gets activated on their network. You guys are weird there.

Money hungry politicians and corporations.
however I have yet to see a court case setting precedence. Until that day, I will consider ESN repair and or swapping a completely legitimate practice.

Well ESN swaps are one thing--but what I'd really like is to clone onto an old handset simply so I can have TWO IN THE HOUSE--nothing illicit here, it's just a pain in the ass to have to go find the thing, since I don't own a landline. In that connection, people have multiple receivers on landlines for this very purpose--because cell phones work great as cell phones, but not so great as HOUSE phones....
But given the 10-year prison sentence (though I don't think I'd be prosecuted) methinks I'll steer clear of actually trying to clone...

People tend to make the VIN comparison.
Although you CAN (and I have) apply for a new vin in certain circumstances.
It's like wanting to have multiple honda accords with the same vin.
Even if you don't want to defraud an insurance company, you technically could if you wrecked one.
Now, though I agree with you and thing you SHOULD be able to clone your own esn. The FCC is very clear about cloneing.
What they aren't clear about is swapping without cloning.
The bulk of the argument resides around the words "intent to defraud"

willpower102 said:
Money hungry politicians and corporations.
however I have yet to see a court case setting precedence. Until that day, I will consider ESN repair and or swapping a completely legitimate practice.
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http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2008/06/carterfone-40-years.ars
Happy reading.
(If you want the actual decision, then here you are: http://www.uiowa.edu/~cyberlaw/FCCOps/1968/13F2-420.html)
Old? You bet. Applicable? I'd argue it

Product F(RED) said:
Not in every case. Like maybe if you want to use the smartphone without paying for data service (because you don't want data service).
See, with GSM carriers, they can see what phone you're using IF it's in their database. And the phone will only be in their database IF and ONLY IF it is branded by them. So if I'm on T-Mobile and I pop my SIM card into an unlocked AT&T phone/totally unbranded straight-from-manufacturer phone, they don't see what phone I'm using. Want proof? Do that and log in to your account online. Normally, the website will tell you what phone you're using. Instead, this time it'll show you a generic icon/question mark. So if you want to use an iPhone on T-Mobile without a data plan, you can do that. If you want to use a Blackberry on AT&T without a data plan? Also not a problem. As long as they don't know you're using a smartphone, a data plan won't automatically be forced onto your account. GSM gives you choice and freedom.
With CDMA carriers, we have to go through great lengths just so that we can use the phone we want, or just so that we can use a phone we already paid for. If I'm on Verizon with a Blackberry Bold and I want to jump on Sprint, why should I have to pay for the same exact phone AGAIN? It's really not hard to reprovision a CDMA phone to work on another carrier. All you need to do is install the right APN and MMS settings and the carrier's PRL. Then just flash the carrier's ROM onto the phone (I'm simplifying it; it varies by phone).
CHANGING, NOT CLONING, ESNs is ok. It's the equivalent of swapping SIM cards. In the US, the only national CDMA carrier that offers less-than-unlimited plans is Verizon. So what if I want to use my Blackberry Bold with a 150MB data plan? Is that really a crime? I can STILL opt for the unlimited, even if I put a dumbphone's ESN on the Blackberry. Why am I forced to have these plan options on my account? Why can we bring our own phones with GSM carriers, but not CDMA carriers? It IS possible for GSM carriers to block phones not sold from their network from getting service. All they would have to do is block the IMEI numbers not from phones they've sold. But they don't do this. Why can't CDMA carriers just activate these phones? MetroPCS does it in some locations, officially (aka MetroFlash). They warn you that only Calls and SMS will work, but that's fixable on your own, AND you're able to use your own phone from any carrier.
CDMA carriers need to start activating off-network phones. It's just not fair, especially when many of the phones are the same on both networks.
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Maybe with Verizon but try to do that with sprint and see what happens if you get caught.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

Haha, bad news I'm guessing!
It's ok, I just scored a free Airave anyway (which is apparently immediately eligible for a $150 discount on an "upgrade" to a phone?!? Lolz).

SoberGuy said:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2008/06/carterfone-40-years.ars
Happy reading.
(If you want the actual decision, then here you are: http://www.uiowa.edu/~cyberlaw/FCCOps/1968/13F2-420.html)
Old? You bet. Applicable? I'd argue it
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Thanks! This is not what I was expecting... In fact this gives even more credence to the practice.
If I had enough money, I would try to indite myself just to fight it. But I don't have the sort of money to fight that legal battle.

willpower102 said:
Thanks! This is not what I was expecting... In fact this gives even more credence to the practice.
If I had enough money, I would try to indite myself just to fight it. But I don't have the sort of money to fight that legal battle.
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I think from that perspective it's a losing battle. Saying "Judge, the big TelCo is doing something illegal, so I had to do something the FCC deems illegal" is not exactly the best idea. Having that same TelCo refuse you service with a different phone, being forced to buy one of theirs, and then suing them to recover the costs....different story all together.
I'm really, really surprised that this hasn't been challenged at all. I came across that Carterfone decision several years ago (most likely by chance) and immediately thought of the CDMA carriers here. But, I rock GSM, so it doesn't matter too much to me

T-Mobile offers phones without data plans
I recently purchased a Samsung Vibrant on craigslist walked into a T-Mobile store bought a sim card, signed up for a month to month plan for $29.00 and have a smart phone with out paying for data or texting. I wish the other carriers were decent enough to allow this. What scares me most about the T-mobile and Att Merger talk is this consumer friendly company may be shut down.

It's interesting because the federal statutes (i.e., passed by Congress) are vague enough for wiggle room, but the FCC regulations don't seem to be. Following the Chevron decision, courts would be very likely to give the FCC reading of the federal statute deference---i.e., you'd likely lose the case and spend 10 years in jail (IF prosecution ever happened, which for the private in-home purposes of cloning I've been discussing is IMHO a big IF).

panamaniac said:
It's interesting because the federal statutes (i.e., passed by Congress) are vague enough for wiggle room, but the FCC regulations don't seem to be. Following the Chevron decision, courts would be very likely to give the FCC reading of the federal statute deference---i.e., you'd likely lose the case and spend 10 years in jail (IF prosecution ever happened, which for the private in-home purposes of cloning I've been discussing is IMHO a big IF).
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Chevron implements a two-step analysis. Neither, in this scenario, would allow for deference to the FCC on the SOLE issue of a CDMA carrier refusing to activate a CDMA device not purchased from said carrier. Would deference be given to changing or cloning ESNs? Quite possibly, but if the case even remotely touched on the aforementioned "ban", the court would address that matter in favor of the consumer.

For the last time, we're talking about
SWAPPING

Premium handset protection... Lost phone?

what does Tmobile do with the lost phone in question? do they disable it ? I'm wondering how they prevent people from selling their phones and getting a replacement under warranty for a profit..?

Not sure but they know. Put your sim in another phone, call them, they will be able to tell you exactly what phone you have.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Let's say my friend, Swim, has a Tmobile phone that he has insured through their PHP plan. He knows that if it were stolen or he lost it, it would cost him $130 to replace. He also knows that he could easily get $250-350 if he decided to sell his phone. So he is thinking about selling his phone and then just telling Tmobile that he lost it, so that he not only gets a newish replacement phone (possibly even an upgrade), but also pockets over 120 bones. Question is, does Tmobile deactivate his first phone somehow, so that whoever bought his original phone is essentially screwed?

frescoraja said:
Let's say my friend, Swim, has a Tmobile phone that he has insured through their PHP plan. He knows that if it were stolen or he lost it, it would cost him $130 to replace. He also knows that he could easily get $250-350 if he decided to sell his phone. So he is thinking about selling his phone and then just telling Tmobile that he lost it, so that he not only gets a newish replacement phone (possibly even an upgrade), but also pockets over 120 bones. Question is, does Tmobile deactivate his first phone somehow, so that whoever bought his original phone is essentially screwed?
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Nope the person may not beable to use it!!!!it's a 50/50 chance long as the other person does not try n give Tmobile the imei # they should be gd
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

I have 2 things to say, and they're contradictory.
1. Official T-Mobile PHP Handset Protection FAQ (http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1722) : Says phone will be disabled. Specifically:
All lost or stolen devices will be blocked from access to the T-Mobile network. Devices claimed as lost and stolen will no longer function on the T-Mobile network.
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2. I used to be a tier 2 T-Mobile PDA Tech Support rep. I never once had a customer's phone not work due to being stolen/blacklisted. Not once. It was not in any of our troubleshooting steps to check such a thing either. As far as I was aware, there was NO WAY to block a stolen phone on T-Mobile and that's what we told customers.
Things might have changed - it's been about 18 months since the location I worked at was completely laid off and shut down. A lot can happen in that time.
Now.... do you want to take the chance? Go for it. But don't say you weren't warned.

So, let me get this right. You are asking in a public forum about committing insurance fraud and the forum has recorded your IP address also. Insurance fraud is a felony in most States. Makes perfect sense to discuss it here. If anyone on the forums assists you in any way then you have both committed conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Conspiracy in and of itself is a crime even if you never go ahead and commit the crime. Smart.

[Q] friend bought a phone online, seller reported it stolen. please help

It was working when she got it. Suddenly on wednesday morning, it says "restricted access changed" and when she tries to select T-mobile as carrier it says not permitted on sim card. She went into tmobile and they checked the IMEI and it turns out the user reported it lost. She called the seller and he says he didn't do anything and is not answering calls now.
Is there anything she can do? Go to the police? wrong forum?
Guessing it could also have been a stolen phone that the guy sold off right away and the original owner just reported it.

Unless the owner that reported it stolen calls back to T-Mobile and says it wasn't stolen there is nothing you can do. I would stay away from the police since your friend has received stolen property. Unless they want to give it back to the owner.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

she got scammed, and has the phone number and craigslist listing, and the fact that the original owner already reported it stolen. Why stay away from cops?

Because receiving stolen property is a crime? Do what you want with the criminal aspect of it, but you won't be able to use that device until it comes off the lost/stolen list. Sorry.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Receiving stolen property knowingly is a crime. You basically got scammed so there's no issue in reporting it to the police. Chances are however, they will do nothing to help you. It will probably be more of a hassle for you, and you won't get your money back or the status of the phone changed, but, it may stop the person from doing it to someone else.
Sorry but I think your friend is out of luck.
Buying used phones is fine but I would limit it to either people I know or actual businesses not individuals. I bought mine on Ebay, but through a retailer that have sold thousands of phones with good seller feedback.

You can go straight to the cops, does she have a receipt or bill of sale at all? That's the biggest thing. If she does then she shouldn't be in trouble
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

faehsemc said:
You can go straight to the cops, does she have a receipt or bill of sale at all? That's the biggest thing. If she does then she shouldn't be in trouble
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
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Very true. If she has a confirmation or receipt for the sale, then she should be good. Ya, it could be a hassle, is it worth it? Is it worth stopping this a-hole from doing this to someone else?
This biggest thing is, was the phone stolen or lost from a different person other then the seller? I am sure t-mobile can trace the original owner through the imei number.
Sent from my PACmaned SCH-I535

I have bought several phones from individuals on craigslist; to avoid the situation you describe here you must do one simple thing. Before you by the phone pull the battery, call verizon customer service. Read the EIN number to them and they will tell you if the phone has been reported stolen. If the seller refuses to let you do this then you can assume the phone is stolen… don't walk… run away!
Verizon is happy to provide this information to you and you are assured that you are getting a clean phone.
Hope this helps in future purchases.
Rick
nvertigo said:
It was working when she got it. Suddenly on wednesday morning, it says "restricted access changed" and when she tries to select T-mobile as carrier it says not permitted on sim card. She went into tmobile and they checked the IMEI and it turns out the user reported it lost. She called the seller and he says he didn't do anything and is not answering calls now.
Is there anything she can do? Go to the police? wrong forum?
Guessing it could also have been a stolen phone that the guy sold off right away and the original owner just reported it.
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Click to collapse

GTablet said:
I have bought several phones from individuals on craigslist; to avoid the situation you describe here you must do one simple thing. Before you by the phone pull the battery, call verizon customer service. Read the EIN number to them and they will tell you if the phone has been reported stolen. If the seller refuses to let you do this then you can assume the phone is stolen… don't walk… run away!
Verizon is happy to provide this information to you and you are assured that you are getting a clean phone.
Hope this helps in future purchases.
Rick
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The issue was with tmobile not Verizon.

The problem with that strategy is that the phone was not reported as stolen until after she already had purchased the phone. Most people do not report their phone stolen right away because they are hoping that they will still find it. In that time someone can sell the phone which still has a clean ESN. It wouldn't become bad until the original owner reported it which is probably what happened in her case. The phone had a clean ESN days after she purchased it.
It does bring up an interesting thought. At what point does the ESN transfer to the new account? It would have to at some point, otherwise someone who owned the phone 4 years ago could still report it stolen. And it could be not immediately otherwise there would be no point in being able to report it stolen because the person who stole it would have control over the ESN just be activating it.
I'll have to ask a friend who's a manager of Sprint store.

rtan73 said:
The problem with that strategy is that the phone was not reported as stolen until after she already had purchased the phone. Most people do not report their phone stolen right away because they are hoping that they will still find it. In that time someone can sell the phone which still has a clean ESN. It wouldn't become bad until the original owner reported it which is probably what happened in her case. The phone had a clean ESN days after she purchased it.
It does bring up an interesting thought. At what point does the ESN transfer to the new account? It would have to at some point, otherwise someone who owned the phone 4 years ago could still report it stolen. And it could be not immediately otherwise there would be no point in being able to report it stolen because the person who stole it would have control over the ESN just be activating it.
I'll have to ask a friend who's a manager of Sprint store.
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On Verizon the esn always remains in the history of your account even if you clear it for sell and is used by another account.

I know they have a history of it, but at one point ownership had to be transferred like a car. Otherwise I could sell my phone to someone then report it stolen 2 years later which would make the phone obsolete without the actual owners permission or knowledge. Or, if the phone had several owners it can't be that all of the previous owners have the right to claim it as stolen indefinetly. There has to be a time limit to when a new account is linked to an ESN and the old account holder no longer can claim it as stolen. That would be the time frame that a person would have to sell a stolen phone.

rtan73 said:
I know they have a history of it, but at one point ownership had to be transferred like a car. Otherwise I could sell my phone to someone then report it stolen 2 years later which would make the phone obsolete without the actual owners permission or knowledge. Or, if the phone had several owners it can't be that all of the previous owners have the right to claim it as stolen indefinetly. There has to be a time limit to when a new account is linked to an ESN and the old account holder no longer can claim it as stolen. That would be the time frame that a person would have to sell a stolen phone.
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As long as it's active on your account it's safe but if you take it off an active line it can still be activated or reported stolen from a previous owner. I had it happen to me before. The time gap was around 2 years or so.

It does not matter which company it was...they all will check the EIN before you buy the phone...
PaulG1488 said:
The issue was with tmobile not Verizon.
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It is always a good idea to get a bill off sale making sure you note the serial numbers, etc. Also have them fill out their information as it is on their drivers license or identification.

[Q] regarding blacklisting phone

Normally when you buy the phone from a carrier, and if you loose your phone, call in and get it blacklisted and people can check the database to see if it blacklisted and all that good stuff...
I bought my N5 from Google Play and can use it on any carrier, so if its lost/stolen, do I call the current carrier and have them blacklist it?
What if someone got a hold of my IMEI and called to get it blacklisted.. how would I go about getting it unblacklisted if I wasnt the one who called it in???
Does google have their own blacklisting database?

I'm pretty sure your carrier will not blacklist the phone till the caller can confirm that they are the owner of the phone (maybe by carrier's records, or by proof of purchase etc).
But since the N5 can be used on other carriers, a carrier blacklist is really not sufficient (if the phone is stolen). I would certainly hope that Google has their own blacklist that will prevent the device from accessing any google services.

I found a story on somewere else of an user whose Google play. N5 got blacklisted by Spring
These are 2 quotes fro the same person:
AIO's website says my Google Nexus 5 is on the lost and stolen list?
Device Reported Lost or Stolen
Our records show that this device is on the national lost and stolen list. Please contact the company that previously provided wireless service for this device for help.
Aio Wireless cannot activate a device that another wireless company added to this list.
This phone was purchased from the Google Play Store. It's been on RingPlus, and StraightTalk (which it's currently on). Is it possible that someone marked it lost or stolen, but it's still working without any problems on ST? It might have been on Net10, I did have the SIM card in it, but I don't think it was active.
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I just got off the phone with Google support. That took around an hour of my time. The Google rep was quite lost on to why in the world Sprint would EVER blacklist phones that were not lost or stolen and have no contracts with them. I was put on hold a couple of times, and I explained what happened. After talking to him, I was transferred to the shipping dept (which apparently takes care of all returns for any reason).
The rep in the shipping dept was very nice, but he kept wanting to give me a refurbished phone for something I never did anything wrong with to begin with. My battery is charged at 50% all the time and I don't want to get stuck with a used phone or a bad battery. I kept telling the rep that I even have an email from RingPlus explaining the situation and that my phone was activated before they knew of this secret blacklist that included Google Play store purchases. He told me he would talk to his lead, came back, and claims that they will be sending me a new device. I don't know if I'm actually getting a used or new device, but at least when it comes it will hopefully not be blacklisted.
I was hoping to switch over to another carrier to save a few dollars each month. So after a $431 dollar hold was put onto my credit card, I guess I wait 3-5 business days and see what I end up receiving in the mail. I'll have to reorder one of the glass screen protectors for my device.
I guess this was a learning experience. Be very careful what CDMA carriers can do to your devices, because they need to have the numbers for it as they can't just pop in a SIM card and go. I'm not sure I will ever be using a Sprint or Verizon MVNO again, or at least for quite a while, and wouldn't ever do it with any devices less then a few months old.
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Original article. http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...Google-Nexus-5-is-on-the-lost-and-stolen-list

Not sure about the US, but in europe some countries/carriers have joint IMEI databases. If one carrier marks the IMEI as stolen the phone won't work on any carrier in that country.
Sent from my Nexus 5

liud said:
Not sure about the US, but in europe some countries/carriers have joint IMEI databases. If one carrier marks the IMEI as stolen the phone won't work on any carrier in that country.
Sent from my Nexus 5
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I know this.. thats the situation with in Canada, US and so on... that wasnt my question...

[Q] Stolen Nexus - Whose responsibility is it to block the IMEI?

So my Nexus 5 was stolen while I was grocery shopping this weekend. I'm going a little crazy, but I've hit one particular stumbling block; blacklisting the IMEI.
Here's a brief rundown on what I've done. I've attempted to use the Android Device Manager to deactivate the phone, but whomever took it probably removed the SIM card and wiped it. I've tried Cerberus which I had installed, but it hasn't seen my phone since the last time it was on my local WIFI network. I've contacted the carrier (T-Mobile) and had the SIM card deactivated. I've reported it to the police, who are being quite helpful. I've contacted my credit card who, it appears, won't cover it under purchase protection because I purchased it 125 days ago (120 days is what they cover up to). No complaints so far.
I had no passcode on it. I'm an idiot. If there's any question about this, please re-read the preceding two sentences.
Enter the IMEI. I bought the phone from Google Play, and this is where things get dicey. T-Mobile does not have the access to block it, because it's not a phone that they sold me. Google can't block it, because apparently Google can't block an IMEI at all. LG can't block it pretty much for the same reason as Google. Everybody points back to the carrier, but the carrier can't do it.
Everybody is willing to, nobody can. I'm not complaining about any of the service I've received. Quite seriously, it's all been top notch. But nobody appears to be able to blacklist the phone. I spent an hour on the phone with a mid-level tech at T-Mobile who clearly knew what he was doing, and we have a couple of irons in the fire. So we'll see what happens.
So two questions. Has anybody had to go through this, and what was the result?
This seems like more than a minor oversight. How is it Google can sell a device with no mechanism to handle IMEI blacklisting? I loved my N5, but this is seriously making me think twice about buying another phone directly from Google.

max.exter said:
So my Nexus 5 was stolen while I was grocery shopping this weekend. I'm going a little crazy, but I've hit one particular stumbling block; blacklisting the IMEI.
Here's a brief rundown on what I've done. I've attempted to use the Android Device Manager to deactivate the phone, but whomever took it probably removed the SIM card and wiped it. I've tried Cerberus which I had installed, but it hasn't seen my phone since the last time it was on my local WIFI network. I've contacted the carrier (T-Mobile) and had the SIM card deactivated. I've reported it to the police, who are being quite helpful. I've contacted my credit card who, it appears, won't cover it under purchase protection because I purchased it 125 days ago (120 days is what they cover up to). No complaints so far.
I had no passcode on it. I'm an idiot. If there's any question about this, please re-read the preceding two sentences.
Enter the IMEI. I bought the phone from Google Play, and this is where things get dicey. T-Mobile does not have the access to block it, because it's not a phone that they sold me. Google can't block it, because apparently Google can't block an IMEI at all. LG can't block it pretty much for the same reason as Google. Everybody points back to the carrier, but the carrier can't do it.
Everybody is willing to, nobody can. I'm not complaining about any of the service I've received. Quite seriously, it's all been top notch. But nobody appears to be able to blacklist the phone. I spent an hour on the phone with a mid-level tech at T-Mobile who clearly knew what he was doing, and we have a couple of irons in the fire. So we'll see what happens.
So two questions. Has anybody had to go through this, and what was the result?
This seems like more than a minor oversight. How is it Google can sell a device with no mechanism to handle IMEI blacklisting? I loved my N5, but this is seriously making me think twice about buying another phone directly from Google.
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yes, tmobile can and will block it for you. its the responsibility of whoever is you carrier. and no, google can not block an imei, its up to the carriers to do that.

simms22 said:
yes, tmobile can and will block it for you. its the responsibility of whoever is you carrier. and no, google can not block an imei, its up to the carriers to do that.
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And that's what I would expect. Except they haven't been able to. I've found a few other references around with people experiencing the same issue, and none seem to have had a satisfactory solution.
I would expect that it would be T-Mobile's responsibility, but several people there have now said that they can't. It's not that they haven't tried. I watched on person try in-store without success. Their computer system says that they are not authorized to set up the block. And as you say, Google can't do it. Nobody has said that they won't, but everybody has said that they can't.
So not disagreeing with you. But this is where I'm stuck at the moment.

max.exter said:
And that's what I would expect. Except they haven't been able to. I've found a few other references around with people experiencing the same issue, and none seem to have had a satisfactory solution.
I would expect that it would be T-Mobile's responsibility, but several people there have now said that they can't. It's not that they haven't tried. I watched on person try in-store without success. Their computer system says that they are not authorized to set up the block. And as you say, Google can't do it. Nobody has said that they won't, but everybody has said that they can't.
So not disagreeing with you. But this is where I'm stuck at the moment.
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thats odd, as tmobile has blocked many, many, many phones. that first month that you bought a phone from them, and dont send in your payment, theyll block it. now, the people working in the stores are clueless, they dont know how to block it. give them a call instead, but dont talk to customer service about it, talk to their tech department.

simms22 said:
thats odd, as tmobile has blocked many, many, many phones. that first month that you bought a phone from them, and dont send in your payment, theyll block it. now, the people working in the stores are clueless, they dont know how to block it. give them a call instead, but dont talk to customer service about it, talk to their tech department.
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And that's true if you bought it from them, but I bought it from Google Play. I've spoken with customer service and with their tech department. I'm expecting to hear back from the tech folks, but so far they've been stumped by this one. But they're really going all out to try, so don't look at this as a complaint.
So far this is looking like a grey area. Everybody wants to help, but it's apparently the responsibility of the seller (so far as T-Mobile's computer system is concerned), and Google doesn't have the capability.