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I need some advice peeps. I thought I lost my new charge couldn't find it for two days, took a rafting trip and hadn't seen it since. I fig it for gone down the river. I made a claim with asurion and the new phone came ystdy, in the meantime I found my phone buried under my seat in my truck. I charged it and powered it up to discover that it is still working as of today even after I made the claim thru asurion a few days ago. Now I have an extra phone. Is it illegal or does anyone know if I can sell one of the two phones. I figured my original would be flagged with a bad ESN? What should I do, I thought about giving one to my brother but don't want to get him in trouble or think I ran a scam. I did have to pay 99 dollars for the replacement, help???? WWYD???
juddrock said:
I need some advice peeps. I thought I lost my new charge couldn't find it for two days, took a rafting trip and hadn't seen it since. I fig it for gone down the river. I made a claim with asurion and the new phone came ystdy, in the meantime I found my phone buried under my seat in my truck. I charged it and powered it up to discover that it is still working as of today even after I made the claim thru asurion a few days ago. Now I have an extra phone. Is it illegal or does anyone know if I can sell one of the two phones. I figured my original would be flagged with a bad ESN? What should I do, I thought about giving one to my brother but don't want to get him in trouble or think I ran a scam. I did have to pay 99 dollars for the replacement, help???? WWYD???
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It happens. In the previous days, your ESN (which is 'burned' into the SOC) would be trashed when you activate the new phone. Today, though, since LTE phones are now SIM based, a new SIM might activate the old phone just fine. It's possible, though, that the claim trashed the IMEI, but there's no way to tell without talking directly to Verizon.
Keeping it constitutes insurance fraud, and yes, that's illegal. The right thing to do, legally and ethically, is to call Asurion and tell them you found your original phone. They'll probably send you a box and tell you to ship one of the phones back.
If you are still using the phone you lost you can.still sell the new one.you got in the same thing happen to me
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App
Falcyn said:
Keeping it constitutes insurance fraud, and yes, that's illegal. The right thing to do, legally and ethically, is to call Asurion and tell them you found your original phone. They'll probably send you a box and tell you to ship one of the phones back.
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Technically is it Fraud? I'm just asking not saying it's not indeed. That's why I posted because I'm torn. I've paid on insurance for at least the last 5 years and never made a claim @ almost 7 dollars a month for insurance. I needed my phone ASAP and made the claim. Did I overreact, maybe, but now I forked our 99 dollars plus close to half a grand that I've paid insurance over the last 5 years. Honest mistake now I have two phones. If its not illegal I wouldn't mind just letting my brother have the phone or maybe keep it as a spare etc.. IDK really??
Its insurance fraud plain and simple...the right thing to do is call them and telthen you found it
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA Premium App
Actually, it's not fraud, since he believed the phone was lost and made the claim in good faith.
Fraud is a very strict legal term, the primary facet of which is intent.
Now, if it was a situation like we've seen before where the phone is having problems and he didn't want to pay to get it replaced out of warranty so instead claimed it lost, then THAT would be fraud.
This kind of thing happens all the time.
I would advise against selling the phone, since that would make your motives suspect to anyone investigating the situation.
If it will activate with a fresh SIM, however, then use it as spare or give it to your brother.
AlexDeGruven said:
Actually, it's not fraud, since he believed the phone was lost and made the claim in good faith.
Fraud is a very strict legal term, the primary facet of which is intent.
Now, if it was a situation like we've seen before where the phone is having problems and he didn't want to pay to get it replaced out of warranty so instead claimed it lost, then THAT would be fraud.
This kind of thing happens all the time.
I would advise against selling the phone, since that would make your motives suspect to anyone investigating the situation.
If it will activate with a fresh SIM, however, then use it as spare or give it to your brother.
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IDK, I really am torn, my bro's phone is junk and he's not eligible for the upgrade. If I were to take my chances should I keep the new sim in my old phone and give him my old sim in the new one or just keep the sims with the phones they are in now, or would it even matter?
juddrock said:
IDK, I really am torn, my bro's phone is junk and he's not eligible for the upgrade. If I were to take my chances should I keep the new sim in my old phone and give him my old sim in the new one or just keep the sims with the phones they are in now, or would it even matter?
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The old sim is probably toast, anyway due to the claim.
Right now, you should be running a new SIM in your new phone. That's the one that's active on your account.
Maybe someone more familiar with the SIM activation process can chime in about a potential process.
Edit: Of course, it's also entirely possible that they burned the IMEI with the claim as well, making your old phone a very stylish and expensive MP3 player.
AlexDeGruven said:
The old sim is probably toast, anyway due to the claim.
Right now, you should be running a new SIM in your new phone. That's the one that's active on your account.
Maybe someone more familiar with the SIM activation process can chime in about a potential process.
Edit: Of course, it's also entirely possible that they burned the IMEI with the claim as well, making your old phone a very stylish and expensive MP3 player.
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But, here's the kicker, I haven't even activated my new phone, I'm still currently using the original phone and sim, so go figure, it's not toast as of yet, should I just keep it on the DL for a month or so and see if they shut my current device down?
juddrock said:
But, here's the kicker, I haven't even activated my new phone, I'm still currently using the original phone and sim, so go figure, it's not toast as of yet, should I just keep it on the DL for a month or so and see if they shut my current device down?
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I'm surprised they haven't burned the SIM or the IMEI. At this point, you're out of my experience range, so I don't want to say something that could cause problems.
I would be willing to bet that IMEI on the original phone has been or is in the process of being flagged as stolen/bad/whatever. Blacklisted so it cannot be activated on VZW again. It would work on a different network like Cricket if it can be flashed but it could be that it doesn't happen until the replacement is activated. I would toss the old one in a drawer or sell as a bad ESN device without a sim or use it only as a PDA on wifi at the house. If you were to sell the new one, and keep the original, when the other guy activates it and your phone stops working its going to suck. Not saying this will happen for sure, but not worth trying. I would call Verizon and ask them what will happen.
If you're worried enough about it to ask here, then just do the right thing and call them and send the replacement back.
AlexDeGruven said:
Actually, it's not fraud, since he believed the phone was lost and made the claim in good faith.
Fraud is a very strict legal term, the primary facet of which is intent.
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You are wrong sir plain and simple.
See, ask yourself how did the OP get an insurance claim? He claimed the phone was lost or stolen (doesn't matter) and because his was lost... He filed a.claim...
Asurion claims it as a loss...and ships him out an insurance replacement...
Now, if or should he find the phone?
That phone belongs to Asurion NOT the OP. Get it?
Why does it belong to Asurion?
Read the terms and conditions of Asurion's service.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
SigmunDroid said:
You are wrong sir plain and simple.
See, ask yourself how did the OP get an insurance claim? He claimed the phone was lost or stolen (doesn't matter) and because his was lost... He filed a.claim...
Asurion claims it as a loss...and ships him out an insurance replacement...
Now, if or should he find the phone?
That phone belongs to Asurion NOT the OP. Get it?
Why does it belong to Asurion?
Read the terms and conditions of Asurion's service.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
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At that point Asurion (the company, not a dude named Asurion) was done with the deal. They have no interest in the old phone. It was written off a long time ago. They report the claim to Verizon who then does their part and blacklists the IMEI/ESN so that device cannot be reused on their network. Its over. He doesn't owe Asurion anything as he paid for a service he didn't use for the longest time and finally got to use it in a manner that was completely non-fradulent and valid. The OP should do whatever he wants with the phone but I wouldn't trust it.
AlexDeGruven said:
Actually, it's not fraud, since he believed
Fraud is a very strict legal term, the primary facet of which is intent.
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If he chooses to keep the phone now that he's found it, that's intent. He should have read his agreement with Asurion. Legally, the phone now belongs to them.
Asurion's terms clearly state for lost/stolen phones that if the phone is ever found it is required to be sent back to them.
Oh, and by the way: it's in no small part due to things like this our deductibles are so high. Remember when they were just $50? Yeah... Thanks.
Falcyn said:
Oh, and by the way: it's in no small part due to things like this our deductibles are so high. Remember when they were just $50? Yeah... Thanks.
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That's why I don't buy insurance. A few months after getting a phone you can find a replacement for cheap enough because they released 5 newer models since then. To hell with insurance. Between the deductible and monthly premiums you technically already paid for the phone they send you. Its like a savings account that can only be used on a (now outdated) cell phone. Not exactly a bargain IMO.
jamesnmandy said:
That's why I don't buy insurance. A few months after getting a phone you can find a replacement for cheap enough because they released 5 newer models since then. To hell with insurance. Between the deductible and monthly premiums you technically already paid for the phone they send you. Its like a savings account that can only be used on a (now outdated) cell phone. Not exactly a bargain IMO.
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Also why I don't buy it..way overpriced for what you get...full coverage insurance on a vehicle that cost 30k is around 100 to 200 a month...so like .5%. The same on a 400 dollar phone is 7 a month...about 2%...do it costs 4 times more to insure a phone than my vehicle...no thanks
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
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.
Hi guys,
So about 3 1/2 months ago my SGS3 was lost and now I've got it back. Guess someone felt guilty. Any way, some insurance calls and $130 later, I got a replacement phone and have been using that 'til recently. So my question is, is it possible to give my "lost" phone to a family member to use? I remember them blocking the IMEI number, but I've heard countless stories about people still being able to use "lost and unlocked" phones. What'll happen if I do end up giving it to my brother?
Any suggestions would be great. It would be a pain in my wallet to return a phone I once bought before, and I can't return this replacement phone either.
To keep things legit, that's gonna be a question for your insurance company. Technically the have replaced your "lost" phone.... But now you have it. Don't get yourself in trouble over something like that.
Probably need to make sure the esn is clear. If the phone was reported stolen, the esn will identify it as such.
Sent from my A500 using xda app-developers app
garbour said:
Probably need to make sure the esn is clear. If the phone was reported stolen, the esn will identify it as such.
Sent from my A500 using xda app-developers app
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How do you check/reset it? Or is it not possible.
You should inform your insurance co. Good karma and that...:angel:
acalmenvoy said:
You should inform your insurance co. Good karma and that...:angel:
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When has insurance companies ever cared about "good karma" lol
Pretty sure contacting the carrier is the only way to clear an esn.
Sent from my A500 using xda app-developers app
Either contact the insurrance firm, either use it as an giant ipod. Think about it as being CDMA and u have only GSM available
I think that once it's locked you can't unlock the imei.
But try to contact you insurance anyway
You have to have it removed from the blocked list which only the insurance company can do, but if you read the fine print it covers what you need to do which is send back it to them.
As for changing the IMEI. This is illegal and talking about it is against XDA rules
Sent from Arkham
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.
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.
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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
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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
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Thanks for the story.
I think it is pretty safe to buy second hand unlocked phone...
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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.
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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.
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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
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Nope. Software modifications won't do anything as your IMEI has been blacklisted. The only way around that is a new motherboard.
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@ 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?
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Anyone know if this affects Canada the same? For example using an unlocked fido/rogers phone on Telus. Do they share a blacklist too?
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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.
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Thanks for the info
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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.