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[Q] Galaxy Nexus stolen, SIM card changed, able to trace back?

Dear forum,
let me just go straight to the point:
My Galaxy Nexus was stolen at work last friday. I tried to use some tracking software like Plan B but without succes, the SIM card had been changed allready.
Now here comes the part that gave me some hope.
When I went to My (Gmail) Account at the Android Market today (using my desktop), I noticed 2 things:
- First thing is that the record from the column "Carrier" has been changed from "Vodafone" to "KPN', so I think I can assume here that someone put another SIM card in it.
- Also at the column "Last Used" I see "February 13, 2012", which is yesterday (monday).
I was really wondering if there is a workaround or something to get more information (like the phone number of that SIM card?) than just the carrier of that SIM card and when it was last used?
Thanks in advance~
Anthony Elbers

During the night push a remote lock app to the device, if they haven't changed the google user login by then. Then just lock the device. If the app shows it set a screen message offering reward for return. Better still make it scream while at work tomorrow.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using xda premium

ForgetfulGuru said:
During the night push a remote lock app to the device, if they haven't changed the google user login by then. Then just lock the device. If the app shows it set a screen message offering reward for return. Better still make it scream while at work tomorrow.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is, I only work at fridays and saturdays. I also think that the person is smart enought to not bring the phone to work when I'm around.
I thought maybe if I could get some more information with a workaround, I could catch the thief myself instead of waiting for him/ her to give it back (which probably isn't going to happen).

I hope you informed your managers.
You could have a look through the available apps in the market see if there is anything you can use to lock the phone remotely and or push some really nasty messages to it. If you ain't using why should they get the use of it think there may be some way of remotely wiping the phone aswell. Then at least it would be of no use to the thief anyway. Sorry I can't be of more help. I allways make sure I activate any built in phone finder and instal lookout, so never really had to deal with the issue
Sent from my HTC HD2 using xda premium

Prey worked for me before.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

Android_Monsters said:
Prey worked for me before.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note that the phone is stolen and SIM card has been changed allready. As far as I know you need to configure Prey on the phone itself, so not really remote like Plan B.
I'm still curious if there is a workaround to get more information about the SIM card than just the "Carrier" and "Last Used"?
Like.. are those the only two things that get stored or is there more information about the SIM card that I could get without having the phone itself?

If you have the IMEI you can contact your network and ask they put a block on the phone, a lot of the time it also blocks it off other networks as well.

i think the info about the sim like its number is by far more important than map location because if you got the thief's number then you can report that number to the police and mobile network .

MrLadoodle said:
If you have the IMEI you can contact your network and ask they put a block on the phone, a lot of the time it also blocks it off other networks as well.
the_metal said:
i think the info about the sim like its number is by far more important than map location because if you got the thief's number then you can report that number to the police and mobile network .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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Click to collapse
This is pretty much what I'm aiming for since I allready have contacted the police and gave them the IMEI of the phone. They said like something like "We'll see what we can do", but I thought there would be some workaround (yeah I'm using this word alot) to get more information of that SIM card.
I think I can assume that the column "Carrier" which is shown on the screen, is read of the SIM card?
Question is, if anything else is shown somewhere in my Gmail (since it's linked to my Galaxy Nexus) or at the Android Market or something that might be of help?

do you know that mobile carriers can identify everything to a handset with just an IMEI
i don't know what is the procedures in your country but i think you should call that carrier and ask for directions especially if you have a proof of purchase or something similar
i wish you could luck friend

the_metal said:
do you know that mobile carriers can identify everything to a handset with just an IMEI
i don't know what is the procedures in your country but i think you should call that carrier and ask for directions especially if you have a proof of purchase or something similar
i wish you could luck friend
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My question is, did you inform your carrier? Here, when that happened to my friend who wasn't too tech saavy, I called his carrier, had the phone blocked right away, and told them what network it was on via the same information that you received via email. The actually contact the manufacturer and the police and were able to track it down on their network, find the phone and press charges. That IMEI number is huge as it tells the carrier what exact tower the phone is connected to. In densely populated areas, that's 1-2km max. Cross reference the people at work that live in that area and boom. Done like dinner.

Did you try Samsung Dive website??
www.samsungdive.com

the_metal said:
do you know that mobile carriers can identify everything to a handset with just an IMEI
i don't know what is the procedures in your country but i think you should call that carrier and ask for directions especially if you have a proof of purchase or something similar
i wish you could luck friend
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
onlymojo said:
My question is, did you inform your carrier? Here, when that happened to my friend who wasn't too tech saavy, I called his carrier, had the phone blocked right away, and told them what network it was on via the same information that you received via email. The actually contact the manufacturer and the police and were able to track it down on their network, find the phone and press charges. That IMEI number is huge as it tells the carrier what exact tower the phone is connected to. In densely populated areas, that's 1-2km max. Cross reference the people at work that live in that area and boom. Done like dinner.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I know that, but I called both the police and my carrier and gave them my IMEI and asked if they could do such thing.. and both said that they can't do such a thing, ONLY if the phone has the original SIM card... I think they just don't want to help me at all.
amritpal2489 said:
Did you try Samsung Dive website??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried that one. But I need to set it up on my phone first. Keep in mind that the phone is allready stolen and the SIM card has been changed.

No Service with AT&T

For some reason I can't get any service with AT&T but it picks up service with T-Mobile.
I have it rooted, unlocked with the Ace Hack Kit and running ICS AOSP.
Any ideas?
Edit: I've tried flashing different radios still no luck.

Are you using an ATT SIM? Can you get ATT in your area with a different phone?

I tried three different ATT sim cards and yes there is ATT service in my area.

Your APN settings are probably wrong. Give this thread a look:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1042553&highlight=apn+settings

pazzo02 said:
Your APN settings are probably wrong. Give this thread a look:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1042553&highlight=apn+settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but it didn't work.

I'm going to cover the obvious. Your putting the sim cover back on right? Its needed for the antenna

marsdta said:
I'm going to cover the obvious. Your putting the sim cover back on right? Its needed for the antenna
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I do and a reboot. No luck but T-Mobile for some reason works fine.

I also get an error when searching for networks in the settings.
"error while searching for networks"
This is so confusing.

You don't need a correct APN for phone signal. So that shouldn't matter. Could this phone be possibly stolen or involved in an ATT account that was terminated early? Maybe ATT has it blocked from the network?

Agoattamer said:
You don't need a correct APN for phone signal. So that shouldn't matter. Could this phone be possibly stolen or involved in an ATT account that was terminated early? Maybe ATT has it blocked from the network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was gonna say this, my friend picked up a rooted phone a month ago. Had the same issue as the OP so we called AT&T and sure enough the IMEI # or something like that was reported stolen and had service terminated. They went on to tell him he's S.O.L.

MMM-BACONSTRIPS said:
I was gonna say this, my friend picked up a rooted phone a month ago. Had the same issue as the OP so we called AT&T and sure enough the IMEI # or something like that was reported stolen and had service terminated. They went on to tell him he's S.O.L.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a really interesting post. This is the first case I ever heard of where AT&T blacklisted a stolen device. I hope it is true. Typically, they just terminate service by deactivating the sim card and don't worry about the device.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk

Agoattamer said:
You don't need a correct APN for phone signal. So that shouldn't matter. Could this phone be possibly stolen or involved in an ATT account that was terminated early? Maybe ATT has it blocked from the network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did buy this off of a stranger. I have never heard of ATT doing this though.

I found one thread on the net from a nexus owner and he said it was a mobo issue.

sh4rex said:
I found one thread on the net from a nexus owner and he said it was a mobo issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats like using google to diagnose your car. apples and oranges. your next step should be to contact ATT and find out if that imei number is listed as blocked from the network before taking wild stabs in the dark from reading forums about phones different than yours.
not to knock you for searching though, it is appreciated

Did a little searching and it seems ATT does not blacklist IMEI codes. Just sim cards. Go figure.
I find it difficult to believe it is a motherboard issue. If it picks up a T-mobile phone signal there is no reason why it should not pick up an ATT phone signal if the sim card is good and there is service in the area.

I gave up and sold it to someone using tmobile

since it was rooted, ATT is still able to block the cellphone? I thought they might lose the connection with this device... Sounds interesting

fernandezhjr said:
This is a really interesting post. This is the first case I ever heard of where AT&T blacklisted a stolen device. I hope it is true. Typically, they just terminate service by deactivating the sim card and don't worry about the device.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since fernandezhjr the police of interesting posts wanted to poke some holes in my story...I asked said friend for a little more detail, turns out the phone in question was sold with the simcard in which she tried to use. Shady seller I guess sold the phone and cancelled the simcard on the phone, not sure if the phone was stolen or was actually the sellers phone but regardless that's neither here nor there. Once removing the simcard she was able to use the phone with her simcard.
edit: phone was never rooted. not sure if that matters to anyone.

MMM-BACONSTRIPS said:
Since fernandezhjr the police of interesting posts wanted to poke some holes in my story...I asked said friend for a little more detail, turns out the phone in question was sold with the simcard in which she tried to use. Shady seller I guess sold the phone and cancelled the simcard on the phone, not sure if the phone was stolen or was actually the sellers phone but regardless that's neither here nor there. Once removing the simcard she was able to use the phone with her simcard.
edit: phone was never rooted. not sure if that matters to anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh heh. Like I said before, no poking, just spotting. I don't think anyone would like misinformation being posted, even if it isn't intentional. And when it comes from a more informed member like yourself that likes to be helpful to others, it is more likely to be accepted and/or acted upon. I also only question you when I've had conflicting experiences or seen reliable sources that conflict. The non blacklisting of devices is one that has been discussed here before and typically pops up in many other forums.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk

T-Mobile Digits

Supposedly their one number solution works with any carrier.
https://explore.t-mobile.com/digits-landing

Not sure how it works with any carrier when the sign up asks specifically for your Tmobile phone number? Lol I did however read about the beta sign up page leaking people's accounts by a glitch in the system. https://www.xda-developers.com/t-mobile_digits_security/

highaltitude said:
Not sure how it works with any carrier when the sign up asks specifically for your Tmobile phone number? Lol I did however read about the beta sign up page leaking people's accounts by a glitch in the system. https://www.xda-developers.com/t-mobile_digits_security/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went to the site and started to opt in for the beta. It presented me a 10 digit number that was not one of my several T-Mobile lines. I went no further.
About 10 minutes later I went back to the site. They have changed the sign up process. You now just sign up (no data exchange) and they will get back to you if you are selected.
Hope it works as I have 2 smartwatches and a phone line on T-Mobile, plus I have a work phone on Verizon. This could make it easier for me to use one number and not have to worry about setting up call forwarding on multiple devices.

highaltitude said:
Not sure how it works with any carrier when the sign up asks specifically for your Tmobile phone number? Lol I did however read about the beta sign up page leaking people's accounts by a glitch in the system. https://www.xda-developers.com/t-mobile_digits_security/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to Engadget, the app will work with the big 4 carriers. They're not sure about specifics yet.

Hmm well that might be cool then!

Just signed up on mine. My Pixel XL and Gear S3 now use/share the same number
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

I'm not certain that this is the cause, however, since activating Digits, my S3 doesn't seem to want to connect to the mobile device through the cellular network any more. I used to get all the notifications and now -- nothing. Anyone else experiencing this?
I can't seem to activate the "Remote connection" on the Gear App, so I'm not convinced that the problem is with Digits.
Any thoughts?
Dan

SFVDan said:
I'm not certain that this is the cause, however, since activating Digits, my S3 doesn't seem to want to connect to the mobile device through the cellular network any more. I used to get all the notifications and now -- nothing. Anyone else experiencing this?
I can't seem to activate the "Remote connection" on the Gear App, so I'm not convinced that the problem is with Digits.
Any thoughts?
Dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quick update: Much as I hated to do it, a device reset on the S3 and a reinstall of the Gear app on the phone solved it. My guess is that the phone and the S3 device exchanged pertinent info from the esim card that changed when the phone number changed upon enrollment in Digits. Redoing the whole thing, I presume, forced this new information into the equation and solved it toute suite.
If anyone has any additional insight, I'm all ears, but I'm good to go now.
Dan

Lost Signal (Verizon)

Earlier today I was attempting to switch to Textra as my new texting app, but had issues getting MMS to come through, so I followed some steps to attempt and change the APN for my phone. Somewhere while doing this and rebooting a few times I lost signal on my phone and couldn't get it back. I flashed a new ROM (viper) and the signal came back for a while, but then the phone rebooted to finish an update and I lost it again (so I'm pretty sure its not my sim card).
I am able to get the signal to come back for about 3 seconds every time I toggle airplane mode. I'm not sure why this is, maybe its not actually connecting? Any ideas what to do to fix this issue? I tried a safe reboot through Viper but still had the issue so it doesn't seem to be any apps interfering or anything like that.

Found a bit of a workaround that does something...
Went into the hidden phone info settings and set preferred network to LTE/CDMA (or LTE only, both worked). This allows me to use LTE for loading websites and apps and stuff but texting and calling do not work.

raznbagel said:
Found a bit of a workaround that does something...
Went into the hidden phone info settings and set preferred network to LTE/CDMA (or LTE only, both worked). This allows me to use LTE for loading websites and apps and stuff but texting and calling do not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same issue. Seems to be the same problem that's been under discussion for months. Verizon just immediately blames it on the device (despite the fact that they can't explain why it worked fine a week ago or why I still get data). My solution is to just switch to t-mobile. I'll be saving myself $30-40, getting unlimited (instead of 6GB) and a network that works fully. Just waiting for my sims to arrive. I know it's not really a solution but Verizon seems to be completely unwilling to even acknowledge the issue let alone fix it. Problems seems to exist on other BYOD phones as well so it's debatable whether they're just incompetent or actively blocking devices they don't sell.

Smokex365 said:
Same issue. Seems to be the same problem that's been under discussion for months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI, the tldr of that thread is that no fix or root cause is known, but it's happening to a seemingly significant number of people. Pretty much everyone gave up trying to use the U11 on Verizon after having the issue by either switching phones or carriers. With one or two getting a replacement U11 and claiming that it work, for now at least. The issue seems isolated to only Verizon.

Anon2016 said:
FYI, the tldr of that thread is that no fix or root cause is known, but it's happening to a seemingly significant number of people. Pretty much everyone gave up trying to use the U11 on Verizon after having the issue by either switching phones or carriers. With one or two getting a replacement U11 and claiming that it work, for now at least. The issue seems isolated to only Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciate the tldr, I remembered seeing that thread before I bought the phone but didn't read through it completely. Not sure what I'll do, probably get a new phone...

Unlocked N20U on Verizon (Text issues)

I'm having a weird issue with my unlocked N20U on verizon. I'm not getting text messages sometimes. Most of the time when I send them they go through, but I do not receive all of them. Does anyone have any ideal what I might can do to fix this?
The few things I've done so far are:
Switched to Samsung's message app over Google's. That seemed to work at first.
I switched to LTE/CDMA in network settings.
I downloaded Google Carrier services which probably does nothing but I did it anyway.
I don't know what else I can do.

Is your phone's date and time correct? Try setting your date and time manually instead of auto.

BlinkThinks said:
Is your phone's date and time correct? Try setting your date and time manually instead of auto.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's correct. I haven't set it to manual yet but I will test it.
I'm going to contact Verizon and see if perhaps a new sim will fix it. I have no idea what could be the issue. I would understand better if it just didn't work at all, but the fact it does work sometimes and not others is strange.

My son was having similar problems until he enabled the RCS under messages. I think he was using Google Messages, but I think it can be done under Samsung's messaging app as well. Hope that helps.
Edit: same scenario, VZW with the unlocked version of the device.
Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

themisterwilson said:
My son was having similar problems until he enabled the RCS under messages. I think he was using Google Messages, but I think it can be done under Samsung's messaging app as well. Hope that helps.
Edit: same scenario, VZW with the unlocked version of the device.
Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I already have it enabled :/

imucarmen said:
Thanks, I already have it enabled :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was worth a try I guess. He was getting messages from his mother's iPhone but nothing from me until he set that up, and then everything came through at once. Sorry it didn't help in your case.
Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

themisterwilson said:
Was worth a try I guess. He was getting messages from his mother's iPhone but nothing from me until he set that up, and then everything came through at once. Sorry it didn't help in your case.
Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may do a factory reset. If that doesn't work, I'll contact Verizon for a new sim, or see if they have any ideas about what might fix it.

imucarmen said:
I may do a factory reset. If that doesn't work, I'll contact Verizon for a new sim, or see if they have any ideas about what might fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck!
Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

imucarmen said:
I may do a factory reset. If that doesn't work, I'll contact Verizon for a new sim, or see if they have any ideas about what might fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Idk if you've resolved it or contacted them yet. Either way if you need the sun I recommend googling 5G verizon sim and clicking the link to the verizon page for it. I contacted a few reps and they told me I couldn't order a new one online but had to go in the store. Store is too far so shipping is easier. I was able to select the 5G sim for the line.

I know if the phone doesn't register with their servers properly, you won't get access to their CDMA bands. Which results in the same issues as if you have like a OP7P on Verizonm you can send but not receive messages. You have to have them provision the line as CDMA-LESS so it sends your SMS over LTE as well, and viola it works. (OP7P doesn't have the proper CDMA radio to access it, but the OP8P does but it still doesn't work unless Verizon sells you the phone). Worth a shot. SMS works on my unlocked N20U on Verizon but my line was previously already set to CDMA-LESS as I came from a OP7P.

bmk007 said:
Idk if you've resolved it or contacted them yet. Either way if you need the sun I recommend googling 5G verizon sim and clicking the link to the verizon page for it. I contacted a few reps and they told me I couldn't order a new one online but had to go in the store. Store is too far so shipping is easier. I was able to select the 5G sim for the line.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did a factory reset last night and it seems to be working better today but I still experienced issues. I'm going to get a new sim. Now if I could just get the chat service on Verizon's website to work. I might have to call them because the chat service seems broken.
Do you have a direct link for the 5g sim page? I searched google but didn't see it. I'll keep looking.
[edit] I found the page, but it's broken. It loads and then goes blank. I tried it in 3 different browsers and it does the same thing in all of them. I always have trouble with Verizon's site. It's complete garbage.

http://https://www.verizon.com/support/4g-sim-card-faqs/ That's the link I used and under section 4. I logged into my account and it had me select the line. I have been having issues with Verizon support and account pages for the past month or so as well.

bmk007 said:
http://https://www.verizon.com/support/4g-sim-card-faqs/ That's the link I used and under section 4. I logged into my account and it had me select the line. I have been having issues with Verizon support and account pages for the past month or so as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, that's what I found. When I get to the slect a line part it shows while it's loading but then the whole page goes blank. I've tried 4 different browsers now and the same happens on them all. Verizon needs a new web admin because their site is broken and has been for ages. Crazy that such a large company could have such a broken site. Now I'm going to try the app. If that doesn't work I guess I'll call them tomorrow.

bmk007 said:
http://https://www.verizon.com/support/4g-sim-card-faqs/ That's the link I used and under section 4. I logged into my account and it had me select the line. I have been having issues with Verizon support and account pages for the past month or so as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what happens. It goes from this: https://gyazo.com/66cc63bc7d67af551edb28ae491f7b12
To this: https://gyazo.com/d0e600d9208bb4f26b2eb1881eda4cfd
All 4 browsers do this.
[edit] I was finally able to reach support via the myVerizon app. I have a new sim on the way.