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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!!!
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.
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?
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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
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.
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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, 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.
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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!
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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!
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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
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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.