Database Info

Craigslist phone...

Last week my wife broke her Evo. I decided to go on craigslist (I've bought a few phones this way w/ no issues) and get her a decent used phone to get by until we can upgrade. Found an Epic for a good price, got it home, called sprint to activate and they're telling me its active on another account with a high outstanding balance. There's nothing they can do. The d-bag I got it from won't answer my texts. What else can I do with this phone? Thanks
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

JesseJames said:
Last week my wife broke her Evo. I decided to go on craigslist (I've bought a few phones this way w/ no issues) and get her a decent used phone to get by until we can upgrade. Found an Epic for a good price, got it home, called sprint to activate and they're telling me its active on another account with a high outstanding balance. There's nothing they can do. The d-bag I got it from won't answer my texts. What else can I do with this phone? Thanks
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe it's me but, I always ask for the ESN to check status before buying a used phone. I once took a used phone and called Verizon to check it while standing there with the person I was buying it off of (he was not looking happy after about 5 min on hold).
You've got a phone that has a "bad ESN" your pretty much done unless the user who had it clears it up. Unless you want to use it as a Wi-FI browsing device or something, there is not much you can do, sorry.
File a police report maybe ? They did sell you a device that that claimed working that was not (they wont do much but, it will be on file). Also, if you text him, try to call him from a different number than the one you texted him from (he might pick up thinking it was someone else).
Good luck, sorry about the news, Lesson learned, always check ESNs before buying a used phone.

DavidinCT said:
Maybe it's me but, I always ask for the ESN to check status before buying a used phone. I once took a used phone and called Verizon to check it while standing there with the person I was buying it off of (he was not looking happy after about 5 min on hold).
You've got a phone that has a "bad ESN" your pretty much done unless the user who had it clears it up. Unless you want to use it as a Wi-FI browsing device or something, there is not much you can do, sorry.
File a police report maybe ? They did sell you a device that that claimed working that was not (they wont do much but, it will be on file). Also, if you text him, try to call him from a different number than the one you texted him from (he might pick up thinking it was someone else).
Good luck, sorry about the news, Lesson learned, always check ESNs before buying a used phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I ever buy one again I'll definatly ask for the ESN up front I've learned my lesson. I was wondering if I were to unlock it could it be used on another carrier? Like boost mobile or something? Then maybe I could sell it straight up without screwing someone else. I even thought about listing it on ebay with a big bold disclaimer saying it cannot be used with sprint. I gave $200 for it and it's in perfect condition

You can definitely put it on Pageplus, Cricket or Metro. Not sure about VM or Boost since they are also on Sprint's network.

Sold phone on ebay now bad esn???

Hey guys, I sold my friend's epic 4g (sprint) last week when he upgraded to the galaxy s II. I was with him when he upgraded and knew for a fact that the phone was fine (he bought it new).
I had someone ask me about the ESN when selling and had checked it using a free site, and it came up clean. Now the buyer has contacted me and said that he cant activate it, and checking that same site I used before it, it is now saying bad esn.
What could have happened??? Is there something that the buyer did wrong? I have never messed with CDMA phones before, so the ESN thing is kind of a mystery to me.
If i refund him and get the phone back, is there a way to get the bad esn reversed?

Probably not. However, I am weary of this free-site you used to check the ESN? Basically you should never divulge the ESN to anyone even potential buyers. At least a couple years back, ESNs could be cloned to other handsets thus causing problems. I am not sure if thats still the case in today's world but for that reason I never give out the ESN (I call sprint directly to check for me if anything).
I am not saying that is what happened in your instance. But more of a warning for not divulging ESNs easily. You can however probably sell the phone as BAD ESN and someone willing to hack it to run on cricket, metroPCS, etc. can give it a go.
Sorry if that's not the news you wanted to hear but that's my take on it and maybe someone else has other information to help you out.

The site I used I had found in an article posted on ebay. It seems like a lesson learned on this one. I figured that I was pretty much screwed, but wanted to check into it more.
I assume the value is about half of what I sold it for with a bad esn now?

jay-red said:
The site I used I had found in an article posted on ebay. It seems like a lesson learned on this one. I figured that I was pretty much screwed, but wanted to check into it more.
I assume the value is about half of what I sold it for with a bad esn now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How Mich you sold it for?
from my shooter rocking myns ROM

sure
The phone is my favorite. Thank you!

He probably tried to wipe and/or clone the phone which went bad for him and now he's blagging you trying to be refunded.
Be cautious in these kind of situations.

yeah **** that guy you sold it to. he is sheisty.
by the way, why on earth wouldn't you just call sprint? it takes like two seconds to verify an ESN with them...

Ok, so I got an email from the buyer saying he called sprint again and seemed to get it working. The reason I didnt call sprint was that this happened at like 10 pm last night, and was looking for some quick advise. But all is well as he seems happy (judging by his replies he isnt the sharpest tool in the shed) Thanks for the replies guys.

Where to get a new phone?

I'm on sprint and have been for a year now with my HTC EVO 4G. Since I'm on a family plan I don't have a yearly upgrade (although they did away with that...). The EVO is just kinda slow hardware wise, so I'm looking for a new phone from now till I can upgrade to an LTE phone in yet another year.
Thing is, I want a Galaxy s2 epic 4g touch. So I need it off contract, and with my $200 budget it would have to be used. Where should I look to get it? Ebay has it priced at $300, a but too pricey. Where do you guys go for off contract used phones?

Try Craigslist. If you buy a phone off someone from craigslist, I suggest you meet the person at a Sprint store to do the phone transfer. This makes sure you get a phone with a clean ESN (in other words to not get scammed).
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

adelmundo said:
Try Craigslist. If you buy a phone off someone from craigslist, I suggest you meet the person at a Sprint store to do the phone transfer. This makes sure you get a phone with a clean ESN (in other words to not get scammed).
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a really good idea. Would they not activate it if it had a bad ESN?

rocket999 said:
That's a really good idea. Would they not activate it if it had a bad ESN?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it has a bad ESN, it will not get activated. So it's a good idea to do it at the Sprint store so the store can check if the phone does have a good ESN before you shell out the cash to the seller. Plus doing it at the Sprint store is also a public place as well, providing safety, especially if you're carrying $200 cash. People have been mugged from fake Craigslist ads as well, since the thieves know you're carrying large amounts of cash.

I would have rather asked you to buy the phone from flipkart . I find it much better than ebay ( but it is just my review )

I don't think you'll find a E4GT for less than $300.
-Sent from my Droid 2-

adelmundo said:
If it has a bad ESN, it will not get activated. So it's a good idea to do it at the Sprint store so the store can check if the phone does have a good ESN before you shell out the cash to the seller. Plus doing it at the Sprint store is also a public place as well, providing safety, especially if you're carrying $200 cash. People have been mugged from fake Craigslist ads as well, since the thieves know you're carrying large amounts of cash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So one more question. If I were to get a GS2 with a bad ESN AND find a bricked GS2, then use CDMA workshop or a similar program and switch the two ESNs would they activate it over the phone? To them the GS2 with a bad ESN would look like the bricked one that would have a clean one.
I have seen people that do this to flash phones to other cariers. They get an old donor phone and use the esn from that for the new phone. Then they just have the carrier activate it. The process would be the same, except without switching carriors. Thoughts?

I think you should look at XDA Market Place.

You can get a Nexus S off of CL for cheap. Around $150-$200 or straight trade. You have to look around but you can always find a deal. This is coming from a person who deals on CL regularly.

rocket999 said:
So one more question. If I were to get a GS2 with a bad ESN AND find a bricked GS2, then use CDMA workshop or a similar program and switch the two ESNs would they activate it over the phone? To them the GS2 with a bad ESN would look like the bricked one that would have a clean one.
I have seen people that do this to flash phones to other cariers. They get an old donor phone and use the esn from that for the new phone. Then they just have the carrier activate it. The process would be the same, except without switching carriors. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swapping ESN's is very illegal. I would suggest not going down that road.

What is the difference with whole same name phones?

http://www.everbuying.com/Wholesale-Cell-Phones-b-22.html
Heres a little back story... my phone was stolen, I am with tmobile, I went into the store to replace the phone. Turned out since I had transferred from my contract to prepaid I still owed money on my contract so I wasnt covered with insurance, and they couldnt activate a new phone for me.
I called tmobile in the morning who helped straighten out my balance, but I didnt want to pay for a phone through air mail because I need the phone ASAP immediately. I had an HTC Amaze.
I went into the store where they told me they could still NOT activate me a phone, but they could add my new phone to my previous stolen phones pre paid plan. (its alot more complicated than this, but for the point of this threads sake...)
So basically if I bring in a phone they can activate my old plan and keep my old number. So I found this site http://www.everbuying.com/Wholesale-Cell-Phones-b-22.html but I do not know which phone is which because they are different names than the name brand phones.
I really really want the Galaxy S II from Samsung...or Nexus from Verizon... but which phone is close here? Which is worse? How can I find details of the best phone so I can get this situation straightened out, and get all of this horribke experience behind me?

Three words. Coun ter fit.
If not counterfeit, then if it looks too good to be true...........

85gallon said:
Three words. Coun ter fit.
If not counterfeit, then if it looks too good to be true...........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.everbuying.com/product134739.html
http://www.everbuying.com/product111662.html
http://www.everbuying.com/product117369.html
These three are similar to the GSII Specs Hereut they all lack something. For one they are all 3G speeds. They wont let me buy the GSII at the store without paying full price so I am trying to find something close if not exact that is closer to my price range. They want $600 for the GSII at most I have like $400 and that is double what I prefer to pay...making payments is not a problem.
Here is something similar to the HTC Amaze but it has Android 4.0 on it. I was considering it but I really dont want the Amaze again...thats the one I just had that was stolen.
http://www.everbuying.com/product136232.html
Otherwise thanks for the feedback, I am getting my friend one of the cheap $40 iphones so I guess well find out how fake they are or real. + 1

Do not buy used phones: you are powerless!

So I know this type of discussion isn't really related to developing but since this forum was basically THE Android forum for me, I would like to get the word out here. I don't want another victim like me to happen; I hope this will help any future phone buyers from falling into the trap I did. This is going to be a long story but I hope I can clear up all this confusion about used phones, so strap in!
I bought an iPhone 4S last year from a guy on Craigslist; he offered to meet at an AT&T store to verify the clean IMEI and this action alone made me go against my gut instincts, which were telling me this guy looked kind of sketch. He was a white male in his late thirties, pot belly and dressed really sloppily; also had a slight hunch. But you can't judge a book by it's cover right? His story was that this was his wife's iPhone and that he sold his own a few days ago because he wanted a Samsung Galaxy S3; the phone had one more year on-contract and came with the original box so I knew it wasn't stolen. I gave him my $400 after inspecting the phone and left. Fast-forward to this week...
The phone was given to my dad to use on AT&T a month ago; I used the phone on T-Mobile for almost a year and nothing unusual came up. Just two weeks ago, my dad started getting messages saying "This device has been blocked from network use. Please call your service provider..." Not making much of it or even feeling any panic because I was that naive, I thought to myself "no way the previous owner would call in a year later to blacklist his phone. Who would even do that?" I called AT&T and after an hour, the representative was getting annoyed and said "I'll open up a case; wait three days." Three days pass and I had no word from them; I called in again and after another hour l found out my case was closed and got transferred to the supervisor. To sum up what he said: the phone was fine on T-Mobile until it was registered in the AT&T system, the owner can block a phone years down the line because the "30 days since it's loss" translates to "30 days since it's last been used by ANYONE," and that even if I have proof I bought the phone, only the original owner can remove it from the blacklist. So wireless carrier's have this huge hole in their policy that creates victims for people who buy phones secondhand and they honestly don't give a crap because it earns them money. I asked "so there is NOTHING to protect people like me? You can't even tell the police who this guy is?" He brushed me off and told me to call the police and open up a case, even if the police do get involved though, he said their company will stay quiet.
So I ended the call, speechless and dumbfounded. Lost, confused, and frustrated, I went to the police station in my city, but it turns out I lived outside the city limits so I had to call a dispatcher in another county; after the short conversation, the dispatcher told me to wait for an officer to call. The straightforward police officer, being much more friendly and understanding than the people at AT&T told me "since the phone wasn't actually stolen, it's a civil issue; the only thing you can do is try to find this guy and take it to court. We don't get involved in these kinds of matter. I know it's tough to accept but the wireless companies just want profit and this policy that creates victims like you gets them what they want. This happens all the time and us police officers can't do anything about it. I'm sorry for your loss and I really wish I could help but this is the truth; you're left to your own devices now. Whenever you buy a phone secondhand YOU TAKE A HUGE RISK!" I'm hung-up the the phone in a better mood than I was because someone actually had sympathy for what had happened to me. Left here with just an e-mail address, I knew there was no hope of finding this guy; this person that was a criminal in a moral sense, and yet was not in a legal sense. What this guy did, the police officer said it's COMPLETELY LEGAL!
So the best I could do was go on Craigslist again and find someone who wanted a phone with a bad IMEI for parts or use overseas; I guess luck and karma were on my side and this guy quickly responded, wanting to buy the phone for $200. It turns out he worked for a company that fixes phones and ships them overseas to sell. I knew this guy, who was in his late twenties and rotund, was trained in buying phones; he brought a toothbrush, SIM card remover, and various other tools to inspect the device. I was uneasy during and after the deal; left scarred and paranoid from the previous Craigslist experience. To show how paranoid I was, I even went to a bank teller, asking him to check if the money he gave me was fake. After this ordeal, I realized that spending that extra $300 to buy a brand new phone is worth it; all this stress, mental exhaustion, and time is worth saving by putting down that extra money.
But the problem wasn't over; I bought a T-Mobile HTC One on Swappa for myself when I gave my iPhone 4S to my dad, although from a trusted seller, I knew I could not risk it anymore. Even though I know this guy's name, address, PayPal account, and had proof of purchase, I was still powerless; the wireless and insurance companies don't care about the facts. The merit of facts flies out the window and all they do is put their fingers in their ears and scream "OUR POLICY!" But I remembered during the escapade with the AT&T supervisor, he said I could have transferred the ownership of the phone. To get my facts straight, I went to T-Mobile with all the evidence I had saying I bought this phone from Swappa; I didn't bother with the bottom-feeders and went straight to the manager. Guess what he said? "We can't tap into the system and transfer ownership of a phone since it's tied to a contract. The best we can do it make a note on YOUR account that you bought this phone; this won't prevent it from being blacklisted but it will help if you decide to escalate the issue to Asurion (the insurance company)." Now I thought to myself, "would Asurion even give a damn?" The answer: NO; no they would not. They would most likely try to push the responsibility to someone else and dismiss this huge hole that creates helpless victims because their business runs on customers "losing" their phones or getting it "stolen," and then paying them to replace it.
After all this time wasted trying to get to the bottom of things, I'm left with the cold hard truth: you WILL get burned if you buy a used phone and there is NOTHING you can do about it! NOTHING! The best you can do is to take matters into your own hands and sue; the companies don't care and the police can't help! Save yourself from what has happened to me; just spend that extra $300 to buy a new phone. It's worth every penny for that extra security because this world is full of people who will take advantage of you! I can already feel my idealism fading...

yorkies88888 said:
I bought an iPhone 4S last year from a guy on Craigslist.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry this happened, but you purchased the phone off of craiglist!! You should of known better a simple google search would of told you about the dangers.

That was a long read but well worth it sorry that happened to you man, But i think recommending people not buy a second hand phone is somewhat extreme not everyone is a crook and are out to get you.
Anyway glad you were able to recoup half of the money back.

I often meet with someone on the way to sell me a second-hand mobile phone, I did not bother these people.

I bought my HTC one s from a local pawn shop. It was a fido phone which I unlocked and use on Telus network. So basically as long as you buy a phone which was not on the carrier you are going to use it on, then you are completely safe right?
Could you not have still switched that iPhone back to T-Mobile?
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app

350Rocket said:
I bought my HTC one s from a local pawn shop. It was a fido phone which I unlocked and use on Telus network. So basically as long as you buy a phone which was not on the carrier you are going to use it on, then you are completely safe right?
Could you not have still switched that iPhone back to T-Mobile?
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the problem is that carriers in the U.S. are starting to share the same blacklist; AT&T, T-Mobile, and the other smaller wireless companies under them share the same list. Once you get blacklisted on one carrier, you're blacklisted by most now.

Thanks for the info.. glad you told.the story. I know this now heh.. sorry for what happened
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

Thanks for the story.

I think it is pretty safe to buy second hand unlocked phone...
Sent via Tapatalk 2

yorkies88888 said:
Well the problem is that carriers in the U.S. are starting to share the same blacklist; AT&T, T-Mobile, and the other smaller wireless companies under them share the same list. Once you get blacklisted on one carrier, you're blacklisted by most now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This applies to me as well. Without getting into too much detail: Purchased a late model android phone from Craigslist, an unlocked AT&T branded device and I use T Mobile. Fast forward until 2 weeks ago the phone would no longer make calls and gave me a specific error code which I forget now. Turns out that code meant "stolen or lost device" and it would no longer work on any US cellular networks.
Someone who isn't me was unsuccessful in changing the number that shall remain nameless in order to get the phone working again.... that is all

yorkies88888 said:
Well the problem is that carriers in the U.S. are starting to share the same blacklist; AT&T, T-Mobile, and the other smaller wireless companies under them share the same list. Once you get blacklisted on one carrier, you're blacklisted by most now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now i am living in europe, so this doesnt really bother me, yet i am still curious: what if you buy a htc one (for example) that someone had with contract, and root it? Would it still be in a blacklist? And for the iphones: does a jailbreak do the trick to get the phone going again?
Also, sorry for your experiences :/
Greets Vauvenal7
Sent from my HTC MyTouch_4G_slide

Vauvenal7 said:
Now i am living in europe, so this doesnt really bother me, yet i am still curious: what if you buy a htc one (for example) that someone had with contract, and root it? Would it still be in a blacklist? And for the iphones: does a jailbreak do the trick to get the phone going again?
Also, sorry for your experiences :/
Greets Vauvenal7
Sent from my HTC MyTouch_4G_slide
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Software modifications won't do anything as your IMEI has been blacklisted. The only way around that is a new motherboard.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

@ yorkie8888
*Interesting read, Sorry to hear what happened, everyone else, I'm from London UK and was wondering if anyone else had experienced anything similar to yorkie here in the UK?
Sent from my Revolutionary Htc One X

Anyone know if this affects Canada the same? For example using an unlocked fido/rogers phone on Telus. Do they share a blacklist too?
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app

This I feel has to be said:
Your spent $400 on a USED iPhone?
Buying used phones entails some downsides, like not getting to claim warranty, and this blacklisting thing is really sad, but, meh, that's why we buy them cheap.
Also, I feel the lesson here is, take precautions when buying second-hand, for instance, leave the phone unused for 31+ days. Buy a bat and work out. Take incriminating photos of the seller, etc.
Anyway isn't it possible -although illegal, I know- to change your IMEI?
Seems to be "common" losing/changing it when flashing ROMs.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Thanks for the info
Sent from my HTC Explorer A310e using xda app-developers app

Thanks for sharing this info.

So what is the point of someone blacklisting a phone a year later? Do they get a insurance claim or something.
I have bought used sprint phones for years, but now that I am using a phone (tmobile) with a sim card/imei it seems that you are more likely to get screwed.
Does swappa and PayPal not protect against this issue? And if not what the hell is swappa charging the customer $10/transaction for?

I am almost positive I got this same error a couple of years ago on a phone purchased directly from AT&T. It was a bad SIM card. I wasn't able to make calls or anything. They replaced the SIM and it worked. So for those who buy a used phone and get that error, check your SIM card first.

I've been buying and selling used phones for the last 2 years and never had an issue. I've don't buy off craigslist though, I stick to swappa or ebay where you have some protection via paypal. Yes you always run the risk of someone reporting the device lost/stolen after the sale, but that's why you only buy from reputable/rated sellers and skip on anything that looks too good to be true.
I'm sorry to hear you got screwed on your iphone, but I wouldn't consider your experience the norm. As for the warranty/insurance issue on your other phone, that's just how it is, do your research. The warranty only applies to the original buyer of the device (when bought through an authorized retailer). Same with insurance, you can only add it in a certain time frame when you've bought the phone from an authorized retailer.
However, some carries do have an "open enrollment" where you can add insurance to your device regardless of when/where you bought it. Verizon actually has it going on right now through Dec 2.