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myth about chinese method of unlocking the D2G

So, like many of you guys, i bought an D2G from ebay this morning. My phone has not arrived yet but i assume its prob locked by verizon. i took the initiation of seeking how to unlock it, and i landed here. After searching tons of thread with the same topic? i will summarize the major two methods of unlocking the device, so later on, people like me with the same problem doesn't have to. (please correct me if i am wrong)
1. unlock code from VZ or vendor (unlock shack seems to provide refunds, so one might wanna give it a try.)
2. turbo sim (i used it for iphone4 and it works, but i cant say the same with d2g.)
couple members mentions some dude in china works out a method but you will have to send the phone in. it just happens to be that i speaks chinese, so i went over to the china great firewall in attempt to search for an answer. Apparently the method is no secret. The chinese said that this unlocking method is done through software and worked the same as the unlock code by verizon. The only difference is after the unlock process, the IMEI of your phone will turn into a 16 digits number starting with 0000. I got class in a lil bit, so this is my search so far. i will keep you all updated with my process. if i find a solution. i will make a tut for yall.

IMO changing the imei number isn't a solution at all. Thanks for info.

Changing imei isn't the solution but rather the outcome of the software unlock, but many said the unlock code doesn't work. I would assume many would prefer a better solution which promise certainty, especially when it's a paid service.

Why bother with esothic methods when you can unlock the phone with an online service and 10$ ?

The Solutor said:
Why bother with esothic methods when you can unlock the phone with an online service and 10$ ?
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Unfortunately - not always. Some are "tough nuts" and only Verizon can unlock them. And probably those Chinese guys..
IMEI must be 15 digit though, not 16. I only see problem if they use same IMEI for everyone. Two phones with one IMEI on one network is a call for trouble..
For the record - chaning IMEI number of a GSM phone is illegal in most countries.

leobg said:
Unfortunately - not always. Some are "tough nuts" and only Verizon can unlock them. And probably those Chinese guys..
IMEI must be 15 digit though, not 16. I only see problem if they use same IMEI for everyone. Two phones with one IMEI on one network is a call for trouble..
For the record - chaning IMEI number of a GSM phone is illegal in most countries.
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Apparently, the method switch the original imei 35xxxxxxxxxxxxx of d2g to 0000xxxxxxxxxxx but digits after 0000 are not identical, from there they can calculate the pin code and is available for free. And as i read more, the chinese change esn for the cdma to work. Even thou changing imei or esn is illegal, i doubt they really regulate such act lol. And chill out on the negativity, a thriving forum are great only if their member share their knowledge and benefit us all. My last phone was Nokia n900, and the phone are still popular today due to the community's contributions:

No negativity here. I will be glad if all those having problems unlocking their phone finally find a way to sort their unlock issue.
Discussions about modifying IMEI/ESN is not allowed here on XDA (as well as most other similar forums) hence I expressed this concern.

leobg said:
Unfortunately - not always.
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I know.
But I still think that any alternative method should be taken in account only if you are one of those unlucky owners, not when the phone is still on its way...

[Q] Buying an Android Phone off Someone...

Hello,
I'm looking to buy an Android phone off of someone in my local area and need some questions answered before I go any further. I don't know what phone I want yet, but I'm just worried as to if the phone is going to be stolen or not. Because I don't want it to be registered stolen and locked from the carrier few days later or something. Is there anyway I can prevent this from happening? I called Wind Mobile (That's what I'm planning to get either the phone fully unlocked or at least locked to Wind Mobile) and asked if they can see if the phone is stolen using the IMEI number, and they told me no. Which is odd because I did some research and some suggest to call the original carrier with the IMEI number to see if it's registered stolen. But since that's out of the picture. Is there any other way I can see if the phone is stolen? I'm thinking ask for a receipt of purchase of some kind, but do receipts show the serial number or something to show that it is that specific phone that was bought? Some people are also saying they have Unbranded phones which I know means that it is straight from a manufacturer to the public. So does that mean it is unlocked to all carriers? Is there still an original carrier? And can it still be registered as stolen to the company and remotely locked? I know even unlocked phones can still be registered stolen to the original carrier it was once locked to, but don't know about unbranded since there was no carrier in the beginning. (To my knowledge) Thanks for the help. Sorry for the long post, just need these questions off my back.

A proof if purchase would probably work, and also look at when the device was registered to make sure the receipt isn't forged
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium HD app

How is IMEI modification illegal (in USA)?

Just curious, my question is
Code:
Why is IMEI modification illegal in USA?
How is it illegal? Who prohibits it: FCC, Congress bill, Federal law....?
NOTE: I am NOT asking how to modify IMEI
That's against xda TOS. I'm asking why it is illegal. There's a difference.
Been trying to find an answer to this. From this previous thread, no one can give me a straight answer. Can't find any answer relating to US laws
I can find answers relating to UK laws:
example: In UK, it is illegal due to this Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act 2002 passed in 2002.. but then there's a loophole (i can modify IMEI if I created the device, or the manufacture allowed me to)... (I havent read any of the amendments to see if those loopholes are changed)

Currently, there is no specific law the prohibits the reprogramming of IMEI's explicitly. However, because IMEI's are used by wireless carriers as a unique ID, by reprogramming your IMEI, if that new IMEI shares an IMEI with someone else, you would be "impersonating" that person digitally, and therefore you would still be in violation of the law. Also note that wireless carriers use a blacklist by request of the government to blacklist stolen phones by IMEI, so if you have a blacklisted phone, and you reprogram the IMEI, you would be facing stiffer penalties than by just being in possession of a stolen mobile device.

syung said:
Currently, there is no specific law the prohibits the reprogramming of IMEI's explicitly. However, because IMEI's are used by wireless carriers as a unique ID, by reprogramming your IMEI, if that new IMEI shares an IMEI with someone else, you would be "impersonating" that person digitally, and therefore you would still be in violation of the law.
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For GSM phones, IMEI is the device identifier, IMSI is the identifier for the sim card/subscriber. carriers should be using IMSI to identify users, not IMEI.
(for CDMA networks, the MEID/ESN identifies both the device and the subscriber .
but of course, carriers might be using IMEI + IMSI (google "Samsung lost IMEI" - IMEI set to 0 or blank when you flash custom roms. Some people can't use the phones, some people can)
Also note that wireless carriers use a blacklist by request of the government to blacklist stolen phones by IMEI, so if you have a blacklisted phone, and you reprogram the IMEI, you would be facing stiffer penalties than by just being in possession of a stolen mobile device.
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A) T-mobile and At&t only began to share their blacklist recently... verizon will join them shortly this year. don't think there's a unified national list yet)
B) there's always a trade off between good and bad....
(i don't like using this analogy, but can't think of another one. let's stick to phones)
guns = bad guys can kill innocent people = bad
guns = good guys can use to protect themselves = good
weight bad v. good

The reason it is illegal is due to cell phone cloning. As I stated in the last thread. Yet you decide to open another? Well here is a little bit more detail
What is Cell Phone Cloning Fraud?
Every cell phone is supposed to have a unique factory-set electronic serial number (ESN/IMEI) and telephone number (MIN). A cloned cell phone is one that has been reprogrammed to transmit the ESN/IMEI and MIN belonging to another (legitimate) cell phone. Unscrupulous people can obtain valid ESN/MIN combinations by illegally monitoring the radio wave transmissions from the cell phones of legitimate subscribers. After cloning, both the legitimate and the fraudulent cell phones have the same ESN/MIN combination and cellular systems cannot distinguish the cloned cell phone from the legitimate one. The legitimate phone user then gets billed for the cloned phone’s calls. Call your carrier if you think you have been a victim of cloning fraud.
As changing the IMEI is cloning a device it falls under this FCC law.
Now after having one thread closed and you open another on this same topic that you know is not to be talked about on XDA, I will leave it as this. If you have any more issues concerning this contact the FCC about it.
Thread closed

Changing IMEI number, using identical number in different country?

Basically from what I've read, changing IMEI number is illegal in most countries, however it would be detectable only if the 2 devices are using the same carrier? Or worldwide?
For example, device 1 is in USA using Verizon, and device 2 is in Europe using Vodafone. Would it cause issues anyway?

alxv1 said:
Basically from what I've read, changing IMEI number is illegal in most countries, however it would be detectable only if the 2 devices are using the same carrier? Or worldwide?
For example, device 1 is in USA using Verizon, and device 2 is in Europe using Vodafone. Would it cause issues anyway?
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In many countries it isn't illegal. The intent of the law is to stop criminals changing the numbers and then selling the phones, and I understand prosecutions are usually brought on this basis, not for changing your own one.
If the change is made outside a jurisdiction where it is illegal then it may comply with the letter of the law. Some countries also have a limit of how many phones you can carry out of the country.
It may also happen inadvertently if you load a new rom onto your phone, legislators often don't have the technical knowledge to see the implications of their laws. (How would you correct it back?)
The IMEI number has a checkdigit so any number can't be used.
If you are worried about tracking and privacy then this is a quite legitimate goal, but don't forget the sim card number also associates with the user, also any apps that login. Also don't forget to disable the base station software push services on your phones.
To avoid causing problems for random users, ie both devices being blacklisted, use that of another old phone you own or try to do some research on number allocation.
It seems from other online comments that both telephone number and IMEI are cross referenced within that particular network. Often blacklisted IMEI numbers will work in other jurisdictiins, which is why people are sometimes caught travelling with a bag packed full of phones.
On a positive note though there is nothing to stop you trying to make a boot script to change mac address, but remember that the second digit should always be even.

david68429 said:
In many countries it isn't illegal. The intent of the law is to stop criminals changing the numbers and then selling the phones, and I understand prosecutions are usually brought on this basis, not for changing your own one.
If the change is made outside a jurisdiction where it is illegal then it may comply with the letter of the law. Some countries also have a limit of how many phones you can carry out of the country.
It may also happen inadvertently if you load a new rom onto your phone, legislators often don't have the technical knowledge to see the implications of their laws. (How would you correct it back?)
The IMEI number has a checkdigit so any number can't be used.
If you are worried about tracking and privacy then this is a quite legitimate goal, but don't forget the sim card number also associates with the user, also any apps that login. Also don't forget to disable the base station software push services on your phones.
To avoid causing problems for random users, ie both devices being blacklisted, use that of another old phone you own or try to do some research on number allocation.
It seems from other online comments that both telephone number and IMEI are cross referenced within that particular network. Often blacklisted IMEI numbers will work in other jurisdictiins, which is why people are sometimes caught travelling with a bag packed full of phones.
On a positive note though there is nothing to stop you trying to make a boot script to change mac address, but remember that the second digit should always be even.
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Sorry for the late reply, thanks for the very useful info!

S8+ IMEI Help

Ok so this is going to be a long one... sorry in advance if I've broken any site rules posting here (made an account so I could make this post).
First, I work retail loss prevention for an off-brand retailer (in the USA). About 3 months ago we found a T-Mobile s8+ in one of our fitting rooms. The phone was turned into me via one of the store employees where I let it sit in my office for 3 days while turned on, hoping someone who knows the original owner would call it. No one called, so I took the phone to my local T-Mobile store to turn it in or see if they could contact the owner. The T-Mobile representative told me that they would be unable to take the phone from me, or give me any information regarding the owner. So the phone sat in my stores Lost and Found box for 30 days as policy. Once those 30 days passed our policy states to throw out the phone with the normal trash. Being an expensive phone, and the technology lover I am, I kept the phone which I had all legal right to do since the store had thrown it out.
The phone itself had a pin-lock and probably some sensitive data regarding the previous owner which I was able to clear out via a re-flash of the OS on the phone (i'm not a bad guy I didn't want their personal data).
So, obviously, the phone itself has an IMEI number reported as "Lost" with T-Mobile. Which means I'm basically unable to use it on our carrier (Metro PCS), however my wife was using it for the camera and other apps while at the house.
Flash forward another month and my wife's phone begins to start acting up so I figured there could be some way to work out to let her use this s8+ (I own a normal s8 myself and have no real use for the s8+). So i called T-Mobile customer support, explained the situation described above, and they told me I would need to take the phone to a Samsung store to have the device refurbished? Well, I drove about 30 minutes out to the nearest Samsung store to be told they don't perform such a service.
So I decided to look into altering the IMEI# of the s8+ to a clean IMEI of my wife's current phone or an older one we no longer use, and all the laws and specifications regarding what can and can't be done. All I could dig up regarding IMEI laws in the US was here: congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/senate-bill/3186/text/is -- Which isn't actually a law it's a proposed bill that never got passed. I did find some stuff from the FCC about cell phone cloning fraud:fcc.gov/consumers/guides/cell-phone-fraud -- but this also doesn't exactly fit my situation since we only want to use one phone, not two under the same identifications. There also is the concern of 'is it really fraud if I own both phones in question?'.
So this brings us to the current status: I have this phone that I obtained legally with a bad IMEI and cannot use it for everyday purposes.
Any help on how we can get the phone to a usable state would be greatly appreciated.
[Edit update]: I realize this is a very unusual situation, and am fully aware of the stigma regarding asking what to do regarding bad IMEI numbers and just want to clarify that I do not intend to break any laws or act with malicious intent to others. I simply want to have a phone, which I own legally, working.

Best your gonna get on this is google can be your friend. We dont discuss this in any form here.

Starhound said:
Ok so this is going to be a long one... sorry in advance if I've broken any site rules posting here (made an account so I could make this post).
First, I work retail loss prevention for an off-brand retailer (in the USA). About 3 months ago we found a T-Mobile s8+ in one of our fitting rooms. The phone was turned into me via one of the store employees where I let it sit in my office for 3 days while turned on, hoping someone who knows the original owner would call it. No one called, so I took the phone to my local T-Mobile store to turn it in or see if they could contact the owner. The T-Mobile representative told me that they would be unable to take the phone from me, or give me any information regarding the owner. So the phone sat in my stores Lost and Found box for 30 days as policy. Once those 30 days passed our policy states to throw out the phone with the normal trash. Being an expensive phone, and the technology lover I am, I kept the phone which I had all legal right to do since the store had thrown it out.
The phone itself had a pin-lock and probably some sensitive data regarding the previous owner which I was able to clear out via a re-flash of the OS on the phone (i'm not a bad guy I didn't want their personal data).
So, obviously, the phone itself has an IMEI number reported as "Lost" with T-Mobile. Which means I'm basically unable to use it on our carrier (Metro PCS), however my wife was using it for the camera and other apps while at the house.
Flash forward another month and my wife's phone begins to start acting up so I figured there could be some way to work out to let her use this s8+ (I own a normal s8 myself and have no real use for the s8+). So i called T-Mobile customer support, explained the situation described above, and they told me I would need to take the phone to a Samsung store to have the device refurbished? Well, I drove about 30 minutes out to the nearest Samsung store to be told they don't perform such a service.
So I decided to look into altering the IMEI# of the s8+ to a clean IMEI of my wife's current phone or an older one we no longer use, and all the laws and specifications regarding what can and can't be done. All I could dig up regarding IMEI laws in the US was here: congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/senate-bill/3186/text/is -- Which isn't actually a law it's a proposed bill that never got passed. I did find some stuff from the FCC about cell phone cloning fraud:fcc.gov/consumers/guides/cell-phone-fraud -- but this also doesn't exactly fit my situation since we only want to use one phone, not two under the same identifications. There also is the concern of 'is it really fraud if I own both phones in question?'.
So this brings us to the current status: I have this phone that I obtained legally with a bad IMEI and cannot use it for everyday purposes.
Any help on how we can get the phone to a usable state would be greatly appreciated.
[Edit update]: I realize this is a very unusual situation, and am fully aware of the stigma regarding asking what to do regarding bad IMEI numbers and just want to clarify that I do not intend to break any laws or act with malicious intent to others. I simply want to have a phone, which I own legally, working.
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This is illegal and will bring you to jail so dont even try it

kpwnApps said:
This is illegal and will bring you to jail so dont even try it
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In most countries yes not all but either way frowned talks on xda

Update: I no longer need assistance.
Side Note: Here is the US law regarding changing mobile identification numbers: govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title18/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap47-sec1029

Starhound said:
Update: I no longer need assistance.
Side Note: Here is the US law regarding changing mobile identification numbers: govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title18/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap47-sec1029
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Yes as that may be true. But the rules here on xda as well as the rest of the world prohibit this. I do agree with you on the law here in US though. ???

Starhound said:
Update: I no longer need assistance.
Side Note: Here is the US law regarding changing mobile identification numbers: govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title18/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap47-sec1029
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Click to collapse
That law is surpassed by the cell phone cloning act of the early 90's. In the US it is illegal to alter the IMEI or even have tools that allow you to do so. It effects the IMEI and ESN (for older phones) many sites have been closed down for it. XDA has a very strong stance against it.
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/cell-phone-fraud

solitarios.lupus said:
That law is surpassed by the cell phone cloning act of the early 90's. In the US it is illegal to alter the IMEI or even have tools that allow you to do so. It effects the IMEI and ESN (for older phones) many sites have been closed down for it. XDA has a very strong stance against it.
I'm not really here to argue if the act is illegal or not (it is). But, to point out I also wasn't exactly asking on instruction on how to change an IMEI.
I only asked what laws are in place that specify the legality of the situation (which has been solved), and what -can- be done in this situation (remains unsolved).
-Thank you
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Starhound said:
solitarios.lupus said:
That law is surpassed by the cell phone cloning act of the early 90's. In the US it is illegal to alter the IMEI or even have tools that allow you to do so. It effects the IMEI and ESN (for older phones) many sites have been closed down for it. XDA has a very strong stance against it.
I'm not really here to argue if the act is illegal or not (it is). But, to point out I also wasn't exactly asking on instruction on how to change an IMEI.
I only asked what laws are in place that specify the legality of the situation (which has been solved), and what -can- be done in this situation (remains unsolved).
-Thank you
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The only thing that can be done is turn it in to t-mobile. If I t was me. I would turn it in to t-mobile so they can return it to the proper owner.
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solitarios.lupus said:
Starhound said:
The only thing that can be done is turn it in to t-mobile. If I t was me. I would turn it in to t-mobile so they can return it to the proper owner.
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I attempted to do exactly that about 3 days after the phone was turned in to me (as described in original post). T-Mobile refused to take it from me. Nor would they give me information to contact the owner. Maybe that's not their standard policy, I don't know.
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Starhound said:
solitarios.lupus said:
I attempted to do exactly that about 3 days after the phone was turned in to me (as described in original post). T-Mobile refused to take it from me. Nor would they give me information to contact the owner. Maybe that's not their standard policy, I don't know.
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I can tell you that is not their policy. Mail it to the corporate office with a letter saying what happened and where you took it. That person will be fired on the spot. But that is up to you. Either way it is useless unless you use it on att.
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Starhound said:
solitarios.lupus said:
That law is surpassed by the cell phone cloning act of the early 90's. In the US it is illegal to alter the IMEI or even have tools that allow you to do so. It effects the IMEI and ESN (for older phones) many sites have been closed down for it. XDA has a very strong stance against it.
I'm not really here to argue if the act is illegal or not (it is). But, to point out I also wasn't exactly asking on instruction on how to change an IMEI.
I only asked what laws are in place that specify the legality of the situation (which has been solved), and what -can- be done in this situation (remains unsolved).
-Thank you
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I have your same issue. A phone was forgotten on the bathroom of my cafe and nobody reclaimed for more than 6 months. Once tried to used after this long time the phone seems to be reported lost and imei locked. I cleaned up the phone to erase all the old personal information but not able to use it.
I understand the role on this forum and nobody want talk about it. would be really appreciate if you can privately point me to the right direction to make the phone working.
I won't contribute to the pocket of a lot of people on youtube or ebay selling the service for 50 pound. This is not a businness for me but just try to use a phone instead of bin it
Mine is a G950F model
Thanks
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