My girlfriend has a Galaxy S8+ which she was using on her dad's family plan with T-Mobile. We had put a lot of money into getting this phone up front, Infact almost paid off. I dont know all the details, but her dad couldn't pay the bill on the account and closed it. We tried seeing if we could pay for the remaining balance on the phone in order to have it sim unlocked but they required the whole account balance to be paid off first, which was way more than it was worth. They wouldn't even take the phone back to lesson some of what was owed. They also said that even if we got it sim unlocked it would eventually get black listed if the balance never gets paid. Her dad wanted us to send him the phone so he could sell it to get some of the money back that he thought he paid (But really it was us) but we didnt want someone to end up with a phone they couldn't use.
My question is, is there a way to get around the black listing if it ever occurs? If so can you point me in the right direction? I am familiar with using exploits if they're available.
Related
If I buy a NEW phone on ebay (example HTC Touch Pro or Blackberry Storm), and it is defective, could I go to a Verizon store and return or exchange it without a receipt (assuming I still have the box).
Does anyone know if this is possible?
Hi. Keep in mind I'm sure they track serial #'s / ESN's & such so even if they are nice enough to exchange it (which I've never had the gonads to try) you run the risk that the phone was reported stolen, is under contact on someone else's account or who knows what, you're standing there with your pants down. Then again I suppose they wouldn't let you activate the phone on your account if those were true.. (Sorry I've been in the GSM world too long where you move your SIM as needed.) Anyway I'd say you're taking some big chances there since they surely link phones with accounts or service it was purchased with. I'd love to hear of anyone who has succeeded in this.. It's not like you're buying a toaster & returning it to Kmart for a merchandise credit or something. lol
Bill
by the phone being on someone else's account, does that mean for example they bought the phone at the 2yr contract price only to turn it around and sell it on ebay for profit?
The ebay buyer did nothing wrong in that case, the ESN was clean and ebay purchased cells are easily activated.
thanks for responding.
Yeah that's what I meant but you are assuming best case scenario.. As I said who knows, the phones could have been stolen from a reseller or dealer (I do computer support for a sprint/nextel dealer & they've had many stolen even by employees who turn around & sell them on ebay. The store definitely figures it out eventually & they get reported as stolen & flagged. Maybe within days or weeks or months.) or who knows. That is one of biggest risks of buying off ebay. You may not know the history. Not trying to scare you just saying remember you'll be the one in the store holding stolen merchandise. Again, you risk the same trying to add the phone to your account so I guess they'll track you down either way. lol
As far as your original question, I wish I could say I knew but I don't. I assume there is virtually 0 chance of a return with refund and only a slight chance of an exchange assuming the phone is not flagged & you have a good story. Maybe someone else could chime in who has tried it. Again we are talking expensive phones normally bought with a contact linked to an account so easily traceable so don't be surprised if they scan it in & call you by the name of the guy who sold it to you. lol
Bill
It's just amazing that Verizon makes it so hard to upgrade your phone before your contract is up (even if you're willing to pay full price!!). The only way you can really do it is by buying a phone off of ebay and activating it yourself.
Yeah I'd imagine. That is one nice thing about GSM: Just move your SIM, assuming the phone isn't locked to another carrier which is usually pretty easy to get unlocked. I have bought about 50 phones off ebay (That would have been like 2 had I needed to call AT&T every time I wanted to switch! lol) & for the most part I've had pretty good luck with some duds. (Incompatible model missing 850 band, broken or more worn than expected) If you are in a pinch you might not have much choice but just make sure you buy from someone with high & good feedback & you should be OK. Better yet make sure they have a good return policy or even their own warranty. Not sure if the trick will work for you but I've bought 'Pay as you go' phones & put my SIM in when I needed a phone quickly. Maybe verizon has such a thing too but the prepaid phones are usually pretty awful. Of course there is a chance they'd refuse to add it to your account too. Buy yeah I wouldn't chance buying something on ebay hoping you can return to the local store if needed. I'd say buy new & hopefully sealed, not used (especially for expensive phones unless you want to risk it. Of course you can always try selling back on ebay if needed) from a good seller like I mentioned above & you should be fine. Btw the other thing to consider is go to an authorized Verizon dealer (vs a real Verizon store). You might find them much more likely to work with you on selling you a phone without a contact. I know they make big bucks signing up people but if you're willing to pay retail for a phone I'd imagine they won't turn you away especially if you suggest you'll be back when renewal time comes.
Bill
Ok, so believe it or not, I called Verizon and the rep told me that even if you don't have the original receipt, the verizon store uses the proof of purchase barcode to tell when the item was purchased. If your item is defective you can exchange it, and she even said in some cases they'll even let you put the money towards a new phone, although they prefer to have a receipt.
I'm shocked as I thought they would have a very strict return policy.
Also, any cell purchased in the last month is returnable until Jan 15, which means blackberry storms and htc touch pros and omnias bought on ebay can simply be returned to a verizon store if they are defective!
Wow! Did you get that in writing? lol Guess they have a very lenient return policy. Sounds like they do track them big time but instead of holding it against you they actually HELP you with the info. Geesh, if that really works I'd say they have some killer customer support policies! Makes me want to break a phone to try it & see. Then again I'm on ATT & they'd prolly laugh as they escorted me out the store. :|
Good luck with that, I'd love to hear follow up if you end up needing to try it but then again I'm sure you'd rather NOT have to try. Anyone else ever actually do this with any carrier?
I was offered a razr in exchange for my charge. How does the razr stack up against the charge. Particularly the camera but everything in general. I understand it has a locked bootloader. Still learning about all that stuff because ive always had a sammy phone and could flash things very easily.
Razr. I don't know about the camera but everything else is better. They got around the locked bootloader with dual booting.
Razr. It works and it has a future. Our devs have done a fantastic job but Samsung & Verizon have ensured that this phone will hit EOL in the not too distant future.
Still Charged Up
Reilly1812 said:
Razr. It works and it has a future. Our devs have done a fantastic job but Samsung & Verizon have ensured that this phone will hit EOL in the not too distant future.
Still Charged Up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I kinda think it's an embarrassment for them. I knew I was buying a sub-standard phone before I bought it. The reviews said it had garbage for software and nowhere near enough ram. But they also said that it showed some promise with better software. I thought about waiting for a better one to come along but there was also the talk of Verizon ending unlimited data for new users. It was truly a case now or never. Sure enough just a few weeks after I got it they ended unlimited data.
All it had going for it was it was better than the Thunderbolt and that other phone that came out just after it did. I think it was HTC but I forgot the model. Anyway the T-bolt ate it's battery too fast and wouldn't stay running. I got to compare the HTC phone side by side with my charge and the display looked washed out. The good thing that came from my decision is that I have unlimited data.
Sure enough our developers have turned it into a good phone. Now it's hard to decide whether to keep it or get a better phone. The battery life of the Razr Maxx looks mighty good. Getting around the locked boot loader by dual booting looks good too. They say Motorola has better radios than Samsung.
The big deal is a phone with this little ram really looks bad compared to the new phones. I think that's why they are trying to sweep it under the rug.
stueycaster said:
Yeah I kinda think it's an embarrassment for them. I knew I was buying a sub-standard phone before I bought it. The reviews said it had garbage for software and nowhere near enough ram. But they also said that it showed some promise with better software. I thought about waiting for a better one to come along but there was also the talk of Verizon ending unlimited data for new users. It was truly a case now or never. Sure enough just a few weeks after I got it they ended unlimited data.
All it had going for it was it was better than the Thunderbolt and that other phone that came out just after it did. I think it was HTC but I forgot the model. Anyway the T-bolt ate it's battery too fast and wouldn't stay running. I got to compare the HTC phone side by side with my charge and the display looked washed out. The good thing that came from my decision is that I have unlimited data.
Sure enough our developers have turned it into a good phone. Now it's hard to decide whether to keep it or get a better phone. The battery life of the Razr Maxx looks mighty good. Getting around the locked boot loader by dual booting looks good too. They say Motorola has better radios than Samsung.
The big deal is a phone with this little ram really looks bad compared to the new phones. I think that's why they are trying to sweep it under the rug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went to a Verizon store the other day and they still had an ad playing on the tv for this phone.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2
JihadSquad said:
I went to a Verizon store the other day and they still had an ad playing on the tv for this phone.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They still have a bunch of them in stock cause nobody wants them.
Undzis said:
I was offered a razr in exchange for my charge. How does the razr stack up against the charge. Particularly the camera but everything in general. I understand it has a locked bootloader. Still learning about all that stuff because ive always had a sammy phone and could flash things very easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how did you get offered a Razr, and which one is it (the regular, new M, or Maxx)?
jco23 said:
how did you get offered a Razr, and which one is it (the regular, new M, or Maxx)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it was the reg razr.
First they sent out new sim cards to see if that would fix the issue. it didn't so they did put in a trouble shooting ticket to see if it was the network since both my phones had the same issue. the trouble shooting ticket came back fine and that it must be my phones.
Ive been sent 8 different charges in the last yr. Ive gotten clnr that had everything from blown speakers, constant fc that wasn't solved by factory rest, to different screen issues. I calmly and politely argued my point that somebody clearly isn't doing their job. I told them that i wouldn't except another clnr charge. I have no faith in the device that was gonna be sent to me would be in good working order. They keep telling me that it was policy to replace it with the same model. I told them that they could offer a different device if they really wanted to and in fact i was offered other devices in the past since i had gone through so many clnr charges that were sent out to me defective. I just refused to take any of the other devices (at the time the other devices offered wasn't as good imo). It would be up to their manager to authorize it. The tier 2 tech keep insisting that he could only give me the same device. So i asked to speak to his manager.
The manager repeated the same spill. So i keep telling her that after 8 charges i wont take another. she suggested that i use my upgrade. i told her that i shouldn't have to buy a new phone when im under warranty to get a fully working phone and use the service i pay for. I also noted that if i did use my upgrade. I would have to spend more money on 2 new phones (since mine and my wifes phone was having issues). I would lose my unlimited data, which would cause my monthly bill to go up and would open up the possibility for data overage charges. Lastly i would have to pay 30x2 to use my upgrade. This was asking way to much of me just to get a working phone. As a new customer i wouldn't have to pay out so much. The manager replied that even new customers would have to pay the $30 activation fee. I told her that with all due respect Its very easy to get the new $30 activation fee waved. If verizon didn't want to do. then you could easy go to best buy or some other 3rd party retailer and they will do it and offten times can get a better deal on the phone or combo pack that you wouldnt get through verizon.
She kept insisting that she could only send out the same device. So i told her i understand her view point but please understand mine. I added That I feel as if im being treated differently because now im off contract and i either upgrade to put me back on contract or go through the nightmare of clnr charges that i had already experienced.. Where as before, when i was going through all the bad clnr charges i was offered different devices multiple times but i declined to take them. But at the time i was still on contract. I also told her that it was disheartening to feel this way since im still a paying customer and have been loyal to verizon for yrs now regardless of contract or not. Afterwards I told her that ill let her go since we cant seem to find a solution and i don't want to waste anymore of her time. Ill call back later after i figure out what to want do next.
Thats when she asked me to hold for one min. After maybe 30-60 secs she came back and said that she could replace it with a reg razr only and that it was the best she could do. I told her that i really didn't know that much about the razr but if its at least as good as the charge then that would be fine. she told me that it was actually better because and it used newer hardware. I told her that it would be fine and that i really appreciate her help and was glad that we could come up with a solution. Then she went through the clnr process but for razrs instead of charges.
i called around lunch time. But i noticed that late night they seam to be more willing to work with you. Just food for thought though. i hope this helps ya. sry for any typos im trying to watch my kids, help with homework and type at the same time.
We switched from Big Red about a year and a half ago to TMO. it was a very painful transfer and they never got our accounts quite right. For example, my caller ID shows my wife's name.
We have been contemplating moving away from TMO but aren't quite sure if it's worth it and where to move to. I currently have a M8 and she has a iPhone 6. We still owe on our phones, we are doing that plan where we will own our phones after paying them off. I'd like to upgrade to the S7 Edge and she will probably stay with her phone for the time being.
We were originally thinking about going to Sprint, but I was recently talking to a friend and he says that he's always having dropped calls with them. But AT&T doesn't have very good promos right now. Sprint has that 50% off deal going on and at Costco, they said we would get a $200 (or was it $225?) gift card per line activated on top of the half off deal and paying our termination costs!
Sprint definitely seems like the best deal going right now, however, we don't want dropped calls.
I've searched and can't quite find a carrier comparison site out there, at least anything updated in the recent months. I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thanks!
Oh, also, we're still confused what would happen with TMO and our phones if we do cancel. Do we have to turn them in? But we have been paying on them, so that doesn't quite seem right??? I don't know...
Former Note 7 owner here. Actually I never sent it back, just went to Best Buy to pick up an S7. No longer making monthly payment on the Note, but I am on the S7. I never wanted the S7 and I would like to upgrade to the S8+. From what I understand, you cannot trade in a phone unless it's paid off. Are there any other options for me?
Is there a market for Note 7's somewhere out there? I'd like to sell it to help offset the cost of this S7? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
literally 0 value for note 7. Any reputable marketplace will block/take the listing down for note 7s.. also soon Samsung will make render the phone useless.
illegal to sell the note 7. So you wont get any money from it.
I dont know what carrier your on but tmobile has Jump (they pay off your old phone and you start payments all over on the new one)
And they also offer a trade in. They give your X amount of money for the new phone. If you own more on the old one then the trade in value your be left paying the rest in month payment.s
So check with who you have phone service with.
im on vzw. going to stop by Best Buy this afternoon to see if there's something they can do for me.
So I bought a S22 Ultra off Facebook marketplace for $900 I did an imei check with my carrier and confirmed it wasn't stolen or anything of that nature and we set it up on my account in store with the guy present and confirmed it worked. Fast forward a week I wake up to a nice message on my phone that Samsung has blocked my device due to incomplete trade in and that I need to contact Samsung to fix it. Cant use the phone at all. I have a $900 paper weight. Does anyone know of a bypass for this? Will rooting it give me the ability to get around this?
That's a new one to me. Sorry can't help, post a photo of the message the phone is showing.
The reason that happened is probably because the guy purcahased the phone from Samsung with a Trade-in discount. He did not send his phone in as part of the agreement. Then they tried to bill his card for the amount of the Trade-in and it didn't go through for whatever reason. After that they blocked his phone which you purchased from him. He most likely hated the phone kept his old phone and now you are screwed until you contact Samsung and resolve it. They specifically state on the Trade-in info they send you with the shipping label that if you don't send them the Trade-in phone within 2 weeeks the new phone will be locked out. The other reason they do that is if it's reported stolen. So your only two options are 1) Contact Samsung or 2) Throw it in the trash.
i think its unlikely, you could try to flash a new firmware with unbranded csc , im not saying that WILL fix it, but it wont do u any harm to try if your not planning on seeking help from samsung, i would recommend trying to fake an imei in an efs and load that, i couldnt advise you how though im afraid
That's the new way, they allow multiple trade in devices so the scumbag will select devices with the highest trade in to bring down the purchase price to the lowest possible level and sell it on arrival making hundreds in profits. Possibly the only way to avoid this would be to remove any samsung stuff BEFORE they initiate a lockdown.
We can't have nice things because of this and if it keeps up I see (Samsung) wanting to put a full purchase price hold at time of purchase and then release it when they get the trade ins. :-(
thats why i like to pre order and buy my devices for cash, no waiting and you know your phone is bnib
cpufrost said:
That's the new way, they allow multiple trade in devices so the scumbag will select devices with the highest trade in to bring down the purchase price to the lowest possible level and sell it on arrival making hundreds in profits.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read about this somewhere just recently. The bad guys are sure creative in figuring out how to game the system. Around here we have to be very careful of FB Marketplace. Sometimes it seems there are way more sketchy stolen items on it than legitimate items.
The other thing is you probably should get a screenshot of the persons drivers license when making a purchase for such a large amount of money. That way the Police know where they live and they got a photo as well. If the seller is not willing to provide that info to you then stay away. I am not gonna send somebody $900 on the internet and just hope they willl send me what they promised without fully checking them out first.
Nobody would accept that. They can simply say don't buy it then. How would he now you wouldn't be a dodgy guy and use his driving licence for scams? The safest way of this kind of trade in risks is to request the purchasing invoice where you could see if it was purchased with trade in option. If the seller doesn't provide it then i would recommend not to buy the phone for the first 3 months of phone's releasing date when trade in would have been completed already.
Always a risk when you guy items from individuals. The one thing for sure, if the deal is too good to be true, it usually is sketchy.
Paul_Deemer said:
The reason that happened is probably because the guy purcahased the phone from Samsung with a Trade-in discount. He did not send his phone in as part of the agreement. Then they tried to bill his card for the amount of the Trade-in and it didn't go through for whatever reason. After that they blocked his phone which you purchased from him. He most likely hated the phone kept his old phone and now you are screwed until you contact Samsung and resolve it. They specifically state on the Trade-in info they send you with the shipping label that if you don't send them the Trade-in phone within 2 weeeks the new phone will be locked out. The other reason they do that is if it's reported stolen. So your only two options are 1) Contact Samsung or 2) Throw it in the trash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the most likely reason, and the only thing you can do is to contact Samsung. You could offer to pay the trade in value discount that was applied at the time of purchase, but that could be up to £570 (here in the UK) as that was the top tier (S21Ultra) trade in if I remember rightly.
I think there must of been some genuine trade in purchase, as a valid IMEI number is required at the time of ordering the new phone....Unless there is a way of generating IMEI numbers I'm not aware of.
I would contact Samsung before doing anything else with the phone, as I wouldn't be surprised if Samsung have locked the phone through Knox or something.
That phone is locked via knox. Nothing you can do unless you contact samsung and give them proof of your transaction then from there it's either they will help you or wont care at all.
That's samsungs fault at first. Here in Turkey, you pay full price. After they receive trade-in device they refund discount amount to you. This is the only way to stop such thing.
rroyy said:
That's samsungs fault at first. Here in Turkey, you pay full price. After they receive trade-in device they refund discount amount to you. This is the only way to stop such thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, and too, because of folks not playing nice and taking advantage of others, they will wind up doing the same thing here in USA. At the very least placing a merchant hold for the full device price on the method of payment and releasing it upon successful redemption of trade in value.
Samsung locked the wrong phone. They should be locking the new phone. Call them
Will_T said:
I read about this somewhere just recently. The bad guys are sure creative in figuring out how to game the system. Around here we have to be very careful of FB Marketplace. Sometimes it seems there are way more sketchy stolen items on it than legitimate items.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree with you, FB\Meta is a mess.
I've had nothing but stellar results selling and buying using Swappa. They are pretty stringent with phone condition and both buyers and sellers.
My favorite transaction was about 4 yrs ago when I dropped a very well protected Nexus 6 just wrong while waiting on a lift, and the screen broke. If it were newer I would have replaced the screen, but 10 minutes into a business meeting I found a replacement for $150 in my city on Swappa. I pinged the seller and he was sitting across the street from me. When I got out of the meeting 30 minutes later, I walked across the street and he handed me the like brand new phone in box and waited for me to boot up! All pre-checked IMEI on Swappa for free to ensure not stolen, etc.
armst433 said:
Samsung locked the wrong phone. They should be locking the new phone. Call them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an S22U. It is the new phone....
I'm hoping OP updates us, I wanna know whats going on with this rather strange story.
Parzival__ said:
So I bought a S22 Ultra off Facebook marketplace for $900 I did an imei check with my carrier and confirmed it wasn't stolen or anything of that nature and we set it up on my account in store with the guy present and confirmed it worked. Fast forward a week I wake up to a nice message on my phone that Samsung has blocked my device due to incomplete trade in and that I need to contact Samsung to fix it. Cant use the phone at all. I have a $900 paper weight. Does anyone know of a bypass for this? Will rooting it give me the ability to get around this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the phone turns on? it comes in wi-fi where are the wi-fi networks? if you get high is there a bar? if it exists write www.youtube.com done do glue in the copy bar open Youtube go to click and see Youtube Terms of Service in the bar write this E-FRP site addresses appear and there is e-frp click open and see for Samsung and other functions for you you are interested in ftp and test account or Samsung it would be better to have another phone active go to Youtube and in the bar write e-frp for Samsung because there are several steps. Good luck
Paul_Deemer said:
The other thing is you probably should get a screenshot of the persons drivers license when making a purchase for such a large amount of money. That way the Police know where they live and they got a photo as well. If the seller is not willing to provide that info to you then stay away. I am not gonna send somebody $900 on the internet and just hope they willl send me what they promised without fully checking them out first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the crazy part is it was a in person purchase. Dude met me at spectrum mobile and they verified it was unlocked and would work and that's when the transaction happened.