I found a lost Galaxy Note on a bench at a bus stop with nobody around it. I picked it up and tried to call home (to find the owner) and found that the phone had a passcode. I then popped off the back to check the sim and found a vodaphone SIM, (I'm Canadian so it isn't a phone from around here) I've tried a few "tricks" I read online to figure our who owns the phone such as sticking in another sim into it and calling it, then trying to access the phone from there, but all of the ways to bypass the lock seem to be outdated and not work. It is not in developers/debugging mode so I am not able to connect to it via USB. It seems like a pity not try everything to return the phone to the owner. The last thing I can think of is to factory reset the phone, but then I lose all the personal data which sort of makes things.. worse! Help?
Ombraz said:
I found a lost Galaxy Note on a bench at a bus stop with nobody around it. I picked it up and tried to call home (to find the owner) and found that the phone had a passcode. I then popped off the back to check the sim and found a vodaphone SIM, (I'm Canadian so it isn't a phone from around here) I've tried a few "tricks" I read online to figure our who owns the phone such as sticking in another sim into it and calling it, then trying to access the phone from there, but all of the ways to bypass the lock seem to be outdated and not work. It is not in developers/debugging mode so I am not able to connect to it via USB. It seems like a pity not try everything to return the phone to the owner. The last thing I can think of is to factory reset the phone, but then I lose all the personal data which sort of makes things.. worse! Help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory data reseting the phone is definitely a last ditch resort and the phone probably will be unidentifiable by then. Did you look at the grease stains on the phone? I've been able to unlock phones with about a 60% success rate just by looking at the grease.
I should have looked beforehand! That would have been the smart thing to do haha.. When I popped the backing of I accidentally wiped the screen so there isn't much in terms of clues from the grease. Is there any way to access the saved emails on the phone? If I could see an email, the to/from email, I could email the owner that I found his phone.
Try googling how to bypass android pattern lock or another similar search term. Something could come up
call VODAPHONE have them check SIM to account
big reward
? PROFIT ??
or..
Finders Keepers...
If I had a GNote I would not be leaving it in public.
Oh that's mine actually....
Not it's not, I jest... Yeah,.call Vodafone. They should know the owner by the imei.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
Related
My wife's phone was stolen yesterday. We didn't have insurance or that silly lookout security on it. I bought it on Craiglist last december for her Christmas gift. It was already unlocked and rooted. So the person who stole it can just through any sim in there and use it (we disabled the sim on it through tmobile immediately.) Tmobile is happy, they got a new phone sale and a 2 year contract extension out of it.
But they refuse to block/blacklist the IMEI!
I've called customer support *multiple* times and get the same answer every time - company policy is to not block IMEIs on lost or stolen phones. WTF? The only time they block IMEIs is if you buy a phone and don't pay for it, or if you have insurance (and even that part is not clear, it sounds like they just use the Lookout security program to lock it, which any savvy user can disable in minutes).
I've filed a police report, and when I finally told them that by not blocking the IMEI they are aiding and abbetting a felony theft. They said to write to the legal department.
The police report they gave my wife doesn't even say phone or the IMEI. I asked her to go back and get the full report or get the officer to write the phone model and make on the little slip as well as the IMEI, and I'm going to take it in person to every carrier and see if they'll block the IMEI from their system, just in case this person has another carrier (since it's unlocked).
Does anyone have advice on what to do? I know I won't be tracking or recovering the phone I just want to make sure it's unusable.
Well until you blocked the sim you could have used lookout's plan b to attempt to find the phone. You are pretty much screwed unless the phone shows up in a pawn shop. Did t-mo give a reason for not blacklisting the imei?
You can install androidlost remotely from a computer or another handset. Go to wwwDOTplayDOTgoogle.com sign into the account email that is on the phone that was taken and search for (androidlost) and click install. It will install the on the device when it connected to a data network via wifi or GSM. Then go to wwwDOTandroidlostDOTcom and follow the instructions on their site. I hope this helps. "Since this is my first post I am unable to put web links so Dot is used in place of (.)
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium
The phone's sim has been disabled. My wife already has a new sim and new phone. I don't think I can remotely install apps anymore. And before blocking the sim, lookout hadn't been installed. I suppose I could've tried to push lookout, but it still has to be run and activated before it can be used. And I doubt the thief would've done that.
The reason they gave was A) they don't disable IMEIs on stolen and lost phones and B) they have no way to do it (which I called BS on and said connect me to someone who can, they wouldn't)
Ok I was able to install androidlost apparently. At least it said it could send it to the phone. However I go to the website and it says the program needs to be run on the phone first. Like I said, doubt the person will do that. And I can't send an SMS to it to start it, since the sim has been disabled. Now if I knew the phone number of the SIM they plugged into it then maybe I could do something. I also put lookout plan b on. Again I can't send it a text and I don't know if it will really even install. If they've thrown a new SIM, MAYBE plan B will work and send an email to my wife's gmail and MAYBE it'll have the phone number in it, from which I can text to start androidlost.
Edit: God I wish I'd known about plan B before we disabled it
Edit2: Anyone know if the person plugs another sim card in, will Google Play still be able to download to it?
If they dont change the google account then yes it will install. Otherwise mate your screwed. But as a aside you now know about things that can be done to help find the device. I suggest looking into cerabus for your current phones. You can set it up to remain through a factory reset/data wipe on rooted phones. Im sorry this happened and we cant offer much more help.
That's sucks man! There is a way to track a phone via imei and what tower they are connected to but i think that software is only available to certain agencies (the feds...lol). No matter what SIM is in the phone, or if there is even a sin in it, when you send an app to it via play store, it installs as long as your Google account hasn't been removed from the device.
Sent from my SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
Well I installed both Plan B and Lookout but no emails from plan B At least I know if they do put a SIM card in, even for another carrier, I can still install stuff to it as long as the google account isn't changed. Of course I have no way of knowing if the google account is changed. Actually...if the google account is changed, will it disappear from the list of devices I can install to on the Google Play store? Does the fact it's still listed as one of my devices I can install things to mean the google account hasn't been changed?
Cerberus looks awesome. Actually, what if I just go ahead and buy and install Cerberus to it remotely? Does it need to be configured/enabled on the device itself before it starts being able to be tracked by the cerabus web site and give me the new phone number of a changed SIM?
Edit: Aw nuts. Cerberus DOES have to be configured on the phone itself and granted permissions. DAMN I wish I'd thought about this issue before. Also wish she'd at least put the PIN or pattern lock on her phone. I put it on mine but she didn't put it on hers. That would've prevented someone from getting into the phone unless they wiped the ROM, right?
Edit2: I went ahead and put Cerberus on my own phone and bought a license I was so impressed.. This is way better than Lookout. I hid if from my app drawer, but how do you make it so a person can't uninstall it? It still shows up on the list of installed programs.
I think you need to be rooted for that. I would ask the support for cerebus Im not real sure I just know people on reddit speak very highly of it.
All they have to do is factory reset it.....all gone.....and if its got a security lock when you wake the device all they have to do is the 3 button combo into recovery and do factory reset.....either way....your phone is gone and tmobile dont care cuz most likely it will be of use to someone else hoping with thier service....plus hey they just made a few more bucks from you
With celebrus it will persist through a factory reset/data wipe. The only way it will be removed is if they wipe system.
I guess they will do that too.
I always neglected these anti theft apps, since they appeared too heavy and RAM consuming..
I decided to take the chance, but I agree - it's a real bummer, our entire lives are in these devices.
sent from me
I'm pretty impressed with Cerberus. It consumes <1mb RAM, it has a disguised version, if your phone is rooted it will survive a factory reset, if the person change SIMs it will send you a message with the new # (which you can then send secret cerberus commands to), if the person changes the gmail account on the phone it will still work -- it's a SLICK program. It has an SMS command method and a web dashboard and you can do all sorts of stuff - track location, lock, display a message, sound an alarm, wipe SD, record video or audio, all sorts of stuff. It has a disguised version too (need root though) and the person can't uninstall it.
God I wish I'd installed this on my wife's phone. It's only $3 too, one time fee and you can install it on 5 devices with that license. No monthly fee. Just for comparison, Lookout has a 21MB RAM footprint.
I've not tried the Avast anti theft program but it sounds nice too. I'm not trying to shill for Cerberus here, I'm just really impressed. And damn I wish I'd put it on there before it got stolen...
Unfortunately no carrier will be willing to block a stolen phones imei
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
New info only way to block imei is if your on a payment plan for the device.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
New info. Look at the dates before pulling up dead threads.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app
disabling sim is one of the worst things you can do to it, cause you block communication to it unless the other person puts a sim card with a data plan in it.
airfluip1 said:
disabling sim is one of the worst things you can do to it, cause you block communication to it unless the other person puts a sim card with a data plan in it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed very true. I learned that the hard way.
To elaborate - you can remotely install tracking software from the play store to give you a chance to recover it, wipe it and other useful tools.
Hi, sorry if this is promoting clutter but I've scoured the internet (google, wiki, searching these forums and others) and haven't been able to find a solution.
Some background:
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S 4G
Running stock GB 2.3.6
A couple months ago I woke up to find my phone would not pick up and connect to the t-mobile network (it constantly displayed (searching) on the dropdown menu). After trying many things it would sometimes randomly connect to the network and allow me to send/receive messages and make calls, but it doesn't last.
Things I've tried:
Rebooting
Going in and out of airplane mode
Unselecting and re-selecting use packet data
Manually searching for mobile network operators (it recognizes that there are available AT&T and T-Mobile networks, but when I try to connect to either it fails)
Performing a factory-reset
Rooting, Flashing to a different GB ROM
Factory reset, then flashing to Slim ICS instead
Performing another total wipe/reset, and now I'm back to stock.
EDIT: Sorry, I've also gone to the T-Mobile store and switched SIM cards to no avail.
I used the new SIM card in a new phone (another Samsung Galaxy S 4G) and it works perfectly fine, it's just this phone.
If anyone could give me any other ideas I'm all ears, and I appreciate any help lent in advance.
Thank you, and if you need any other information please let me know.
And you have checked your apn settings? You have an imei number listed in the about phone?
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app
Wifi, gps, bluetooth work at all? calling or txting or data or nothing?
Heimdall one click and re-check
Sorry for the late reply, I've been on shift.
Champ: My APN settings look correct (registered on T-Mobile US, epc.tmobile.com), and I do have an IMEI number listed.
Geto: Wifi works. GPS works. Bluetooth I haven't tried. Calling/texts/data doesn't work at all.
Itzi: Just tried heimdall one click with no success =( Picks up on the T-Mobile network (instead of saying (searching)) but doesn't display the 4G/3G/etc. next to the service bars and won't text/call.
Good be a bad chip. I'd call Samsung and talk to them. They made the phone and if your still under warranty they will do the right thing.
Could be a defective modem 'cause it gave you random connections. Are you under a contract with T-Mobile? If so, they will replace it for free. Although u have to pay the replacement fee of $25. Call them.
Hit the thanks button if it helps. It's my motivator to be more helpful.
I was afraid it was a hardware issue... Thank you for all your help, guys.
I'm not under warranty nor am I under contract. Any chance they would still replace it?
Also, if not, is there anything you recommend I do with this phone? (sell it, use it for something else, etc.)
WashboardSlim said:
I was afraid it was a hardware issue... Thank you for all your help, guys.
I'm not under warranty nor am I under contract. Any chance they would still replace it?
Also, if not, is there anything you recommend I do with this phone? (sell it, use it for something else, etc.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of warranty they will still fix it but the price may be more than the phone is worth. Its still worth calling them to find out. AS Far as other uses the thing makes an incredible mp3 player. The Wolfson DAC in it is way better than most. In airplane more just playing music I can get 20 hours plus out of this phone. Which is pretty sweet.
If you bring it to T-mo lab, Heimdall back to stock without root, or they will blame you for this and get lazy on analysis...
sent from me
Hi, I have an old LG Optimus T that has no service anymore, I got an HTC One from Sprint back in May, haven't touched it since. And basically, the phone has no service, and the lock screen was tried too many times or something back months ago, idk how, so I have to sign in with my google account, which I know, but without service on the phone, I guess it won't let me sign in, I figured my credentials would be saved into the phone so I could type it in without service, but Its not apparently. Anyway, I come here because I want phone numbers off the phone, I got all my pictures and crap because I can hook it up to the computer for that, and I don't wanna do a factory reset, because well, I don't care for the phone, I just want some phone numbers.
Thanks for any help ahead of time.
Blkm0nk3y92 said:
Hi, I have an old LG Optimus T that has no service anymore, I got an HTC One from Sprint back in May, haven't touched it since. And basically, the phone has no service, and the lock screen was tried too many times or something back months ago, idk how, so I have to sign in with my google account, which I know, but without service on the phone, I guess it won't let me sign in, I figured my credentials would be saved into the phone so I could type it in without service, but Its not apparently. Anyway, I come here because I want phone numbers off the phone, I got all my pictures and crap because I can hook it up to the computer for that, and I don't wanna do a factory reset, because well, I don't care for the phone, I just want some phone numbers.
Thanks for any help ahead of time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm, isn't it possible to connect to Wifi? Try going to an access point that you know your phone previously connected to. Also, perhaps you misstyped the SIM pin too many times? In that case, you have to enter a different code. Not sure what it's called in English, but you got it when you got your SIM. If you don't have that anymore, try contacting your carrier. Good luck!
Mushoz said:
Hmmm, isn't it possible to connect to Wifi? Try going to an access point that you know your phone previously connected to. Also, perhaps you misstyped the SIM pin too many times? In that case, you have to enter a different code. Not sure what it's called in English, but you got it when you got your SIM. If you don't have that anymore, try contacting your carrier. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean the PUK right?
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_unblocking_code
I mean it also should work without a sim card.
Or are the numbers saved On the SIM?
Sent from my Note 2
Mushoz said:
Hmmm, isn't it possible to connect to Wifi? Try going to an access point that you know your phone previously connected to. Also, perhaps you misstyped the SIM pin too many times? In that case, you have to enter a different code. Not sure what it's called in English, but you got it when you got your SIM. If you don't have that anymore, try contacting your carrier. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was my first though. And basically no I can't.
posuniator said:
You mean the PUK right?
-Personal Unblocking Code Wikipedia link-
I mean it also should work without a sim card.
Or are the numbers saved On the SIM?
Sent from my Note 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure, I just checked my google account in hopes that the numbers were all saved to that(like off my HTC One they are), but they weren't, leads me to believe that they are most probably saved to the SIM. Anyway to access these phone numbers vis USB and computer or something? Because I'm not gonna be able to unlock it...
P.S. lol @ this things battery life. I haven't touched the phone in like 1-2 months since last I tried to get the numbers off, and its still got half battery left. It hasn't been used, but still, that standby time.
Hi,
I bought a used Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and accidentally locked myself out. The seller is completely unresponsive, so I'm using Real Term to bypass it. Everything works right up until I try calling from the program. As soon as I hit "Send ASUII", a message pops up on my phone saying "not registered on this network". I'm using my current active sim.
Anyone have any advice on how to get past this?
Who sells a phone without factory resetting it first?
And your SIM not working suggests that it has been IMEI blocked, also something that happens to stolen phones
In order for you to have 'locked yourself out', you would have had to have had access to the phone in the first place, and if that was the case you could have reset it from settings which would not have caused FRP lock, so in this case it sounds like you reset it from recovery due to not having access to the phone in the first place, another clue of a stolen phone
I find it hard to believe anyone would sell a phone without any lockscreen security set up, with their account still connected
You see the problem XDA has, we start helping people bypass FRP, how do we know we're not helping someone who has just stolen the phone and wants to reset it for themselves?
FRP is to prevent this
Personally I think the bypass FRP subject should be banned on XDA unless absolute proof of ownership can be provided
Posting in here to get some help. I made a thread.
I bought one and the lady is super nice, but forgot her password and reset it. Now, I assume theres a 24hr lock out period maybe?
I have proof of purchase and everything. Phone was broken screen, so i bought it and repaired it and now frp locked out. Sucks.
I thought maybe try a ebay remote view team who will do it but not sure how reliable that is. This lady sent me the verify codes but it keeps just
kicking the phone back to the start so i assume a lock out period is why. I tried a random password and it said wrong so im hoping thats all it is.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/how-to/looking-best-option-s7-t3602141
Hello guys,
Im coming at you for a question which I can't have any answer.
I bought a Note10 Plus in October to somebody on the web, the phone was brand new (on its original sealing and packaging) and working perfectly. I was first on Three network, the phone worked, then I switch on GoMo, working perfectly too. On the 10th of November I traveled to Japan with a local sim card (Docomo) and same, all working. But yesterday, I came back to Ireland where I live, and still as of today, the phone show me 'SIM 2 not allowed'.
The phone is unlocked, I've checked with the Samsung support and they confirmed it (but didn't bring me helpful troubleshooting steps). I've contacted my carrier too who said that there is no issue on my account, and they will send me a new sim card too.
I'm not expecting it to work though, as the SIM card is working on the iPhone X of my gf, and her sim card is not working on my phone too. So it's only on my Note 10+.
I've tried to remove the sim and reinsert it, restart it, reset network settings, check the date and time, nothing to do, all go to the same error.
After making research, I tried to check some IMEI Blacklist check websites, but I don't trust them as I don't know where these infos comes from, but one catch my attention because it told me that the phone was blacklisted : https://www.imeipro.info/
All the others says that the phone is clean. Again, that's why I don't really trust it, and my carrier didn't mention any block. I'm still curious why my phone appear as blacklisted so I send them an email to try to know more.
I receive signal too, but can't send/receive calls or text, and I don't have access to data neither.
So now I have my phone with no any SIM working, and I don;t know what to try to get my phone working again.
I think I've explained all I did today, I don't know what to do more, I don't have any idea of what's going on with the phone, that's why I need your light to see if you can help me to find a way.
Thank you guys, I hope to hear from you soon!
From the sounds of it, it sounds like it's been blacklisted, that's my guess. Do you get any message when you insert the sim? I had a similar thing happen to me, turned out the guy I bought the phone off on Ebay didn't pay he's bill and phone wouldn't text or make calls anymore. O2 was the company that barred the phone, and they couldn't help me even though I had proof I'd purchased the phone from the guy, only he could sort it out as it was he's account. Anyway thankfully PayPal came to my rescue, they just needed proof it was blacklisted, carphonewarehouse did a check and printed out the results for me thankfully as I knew the guy that worked there. I got a refund and promised myself I'd never buy a phone off Ebay from a personal seller, if its a business account then maybe. Awful experience though. I hope you get this sorted.
I'm guessing you've never rooted the phone or flashed it as that can sometimes delete the efs folder which causes the phone to have no imei.
Thanks for your answer !
No usually I root all my phones but this time I wanted to keep it as normal, because tthe phone looks like there's nothing more to improve to me (except a little bbit the camera when the light is low..)
I didn't knew that it could cause such things ! I should have done that
Honestly that was the first time I bought the phone to somebody, and more of that, the phone was sealed on the original plastic with the label ''eu sim card only''. So I was trusting it, even if I know, that doesn't mean it's safe behind that.
Since I've posted the message, I contacted few carriers, like mine GoMo, and they dont know anything about the blacklisting (I was surprised) then I contacted Three, they told me that the device does not belomg to the; so they can't check.
I tried Eir, and they refused to give me infos for data protections, which I think is stupid because the phone is not a personal information who could reveal an identity but anyway. I didn't though about Carephonewarehouse, I will visit them because it seems like this is the best idea.
The weird thing to me is still that it didnt worked suddenly... I was in the flight and this is when I came back that it didn't worked. Well, maybe that was a bad hazard.
Something I've discovered yesterday more of that is when I have this issue, turning off the 4G and only allowing 3G/2G will allow me to use the data. Still no phone or text, but the phone is detecting the H+ signal and I'm free to go on the web.
Yes for your question, the issue happened instantly when I insert the card on the SIM1 with the error SIM not allowed, the SIM 2 slot works perfectly, that's what I'm using for the moment but I can't use any SD card at the same time, so it bother me. :/
Thanks for sharing your experience, then I know a little bit fore of what to do. I wanted to go to the police but I don't want to spend 2 hours there. Maybe I'll think of it as a last resort...
https://www.google.com/amp/s/forum.xda-developers.com/s10-plus/help/sim-1-allowed-t3945371/amp/
I just came from Japan as well I had the same problem but with my Sony Xperia 1.
I bought it from the states and I took vacation to Japan and used their sim card.
When I came back here in Florida I switched back to my at&t sim card I couldn't make calls or texts only data works for some reason I tried everything I used sim card on other phones (sim card is fine)
I tried everything, nothing worked !
I factory reset the phone and it worked, fixed the problem (it's strange because I used Galaxy s8 also with that sim card and it's working fine)
My Sony Xperia 1 had similar problem to yours
I don't know if this will help you to be honest but I had kinda same problem.
Hope you solved you issue.
jadaress1 said:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/forum.xda-developers.com/s10-plus/help/sim-1-allowed-t3945371/amp/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, but unfortunately the phone has been bought from someone as I said, and the suggestion there doesn't help :/
cali1986 said:
I just came from Japan as well I had the same problem but with my Sony Xperia 1.
I bought it from the states and I took vacation to Japan and used their sim card.
When I came back here in Florida I switched back to my at&t sim card I couldn't make calls or texts only data works for some reason I tried everything I used sim card on other phones (sim card is fine)
I tried everything, nothing worked !
I factory reset the phone and it worked, fixed the problem (it's strange because I used Galaxy s8 also with that sim card and it's working fine)
My Sony Xperia 1 had similar problem to yours
I don't know if this will help you to be honest but I had kinda same problem.
Hope you solved you issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for that, I've tried this yesterday after a backup, I used the sim card with the phone completly as new (well, I've restored it from the settings, so I don't know if it was the good way) and it didn't worked.
I think I will try carephone warehouse as jadaress1 requested, it might give me lot of infos there. Im also starting thinking that the phone is carrier blocked, but I can't see any reason why the phone was new and already unlocked so I don't see any reasons...
I'll let you know