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I would like to know if it is possible to sell this phone, in a working condition to someone else. Or is this phone forever tied to me? I currently have this phone and one on another carrier which is much cheaper and cannot afford the hero ATM
cweezyf said:
I would like to know if it is possible to sell this phone, in a working condition to someone else. Or is this phone forever tied to me? I currently have this phone and one on another carrier which is much cheaper and cannot afford the hero ATM
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Did you sign a contract? If so, you should talk to Sprint about that. We aren't contract lawyers.
Well i didnt actually SIGN anything.. haha but yes I am under contract, I have left carriers before while under contract, with no problems though.
But my question remains the same, if the phone IS tied to me, because of contract or other reasons, is there a way to revert it to a new-like state in which someone could purchase and use the phone? This IS a hacking website after all.
cweezyf said:
Well i didnt actually SIGN anything.. haha but yes I am under contract, I have left carriers before while under contract, with no problems though.
But my question remains the same, if the phone IS tied to me, because of contract or other reasons, is there a way to revert it to a new-like state in which someone could purchase and use the phone? This IS a hacking website after all.
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Have you rooted it? If so, you should probably RUU unless they actually WANT the rooted phone. Other than that, you should simply need to format the SD card and do a factory wipe of the phone data. That would return the phone to a factory state.
cweezyf said:
Well i didnt actually SIGN anything.. haha but yes I am under contract, I have left carriers before while under contract, with no problems though.
But my question remains the same, if the phone IS tied to me, because of contract or other reasons, is there a way to revert it to a new-like state in which someone could purchase and use the phone? This IS a hacking website after all.
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Well, if you have this phone flashed to another carrier, you'll need to get it all setup back to Sprint before someone else can take it over. But chances are as long as you didn't clone the ESN or something illegal. You can sell it off just fine.
Best bet is to call Sprint and have them check the ESN before you sell it. They can look it up and make sure it can be activated. If there is an unpaid bill on the ESN or if it was ever reported stolen, they will not activate it.
The phone is NOT tied to you once you've been released from your account obligation. People sell their CDMA phones all the time. This isn't a problem
okay, But if i sold it and DIDNT tell sprint, and just stopped paying the bill could it still be activated? BTW it is not flashed to use another carrier. But It would nice if i could unlock it to open up the possibilty of an international sale.
cweezyf said:
okay, But if i sold it and DIDNT tell sprint, and just stopped paying the bill could it still be activated? BTW it is not flashed to use another carrier. But It would nice if i could unlock it to open up the possibilty of an international sale.
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It can't be sold internationally because USA is the only country with CDMA.
Nope a phone has to have a clean ESN to be put on another account. A bad ESN means phone came from an account which still has a balance or was stolen.
You don't even really have to tell sprint, if you activate another phone on the account and remove the Hero... But something has to be active on the account in its place - They pretty much hold the phone hostage until you have paid them.
cweezyf said:
okay, But if i sold it and DIDNT tell sprint, and just stopped paying the bill could it still be activated? BTW it is not flashed to use another carrier. But It would nice if i could unlock it to open up the possibilty of an international sale.
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You can stop paying and sell the phone. Its not a problem. Unless someone reports the phone stolen then it will get a bad ESN number. If you just simply sell it or give it to someone else, it will work perfectly fine.
Jus10o said:
You can stop paying and sell the phone. Its not a problem. Unless someone reports the phone stolen then it will get a bad ESN number. If you just simply sell it or give it to someone else, it will work perfectly fine.
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Ummm no. Have you ever registered a phone that came from an account that still had a balance on it? It won't work
Arrgggh so im getting conflicting answers here. Thats okay though. It makes alot of sense that you wouldnt be able to sell your phone until your balance is paid/ different phone switched to same account.
So ill ask this; is there a way to clean/reset your ESN? That would be ideal.
I've also heard the idea of selling the phone for "parts", but that sounds less appealing because im sure nobody is in the market for a "parts" Hero. Unless someone has knowledge of the contrary.
try selling the phone and transferring the account to someone else at the same time, just go with them to a sprint store. I THINK that can be done.
As for changing the ESN you won't find help for that here as it's illegal.
so my friend got a vibrant, and he wanted to file a claim for a lost phone to get one for his brother. as far as I know this is illegal. can you guys give me some examples of things that might happen to him if he goes through with it or some possible consequences? "it's illegal" isn't seeming to convince him.
Insurnce fraud. He would go to jail most likely.
TMobile can track the missing phone using gps and cell towers. They'll see where the phone is and get it for him instead of giving him a new one.
Sent from my Samsung Vibrant using the xda app
gonintendo said:
so my friend got a vibrant, and he wanted to file a claim for a lost phone to get one for his brother. as far as I know this is illegal. can you guys give me some examples of things that might happen to him if he goes through with it or some possible consequences? "it's illegal" isn't seeming to convince him.
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Well your friend is slightly dumb. First of all, the lost phone is blocked for life. Meaning if anyone ever tries to put a sim card in it, and use it, on any network, it won't work. It is permanently blocked from registering onto any network. So basically your friend is going to get 1 refurbished phone in the mail, and his new vibrant will be blacklisted for ever.
Next, if they find out about the fraud, well he can face fraud charges. If he is underage on a family plan, his parents will face fraud charges.
Good luck.
thanks guys!
Its cheaper to buy one from wal-mart than to file a claim (Wal-mart new two year contract is $98.99, asurion charges $130, not to mention you run the risk (more likely than not) you'd get caught.)
SamsungVibrant said:
Well your friend is slightly dumb. First of all, the lost phone is blocked for life. Meaning if anyone ever tries to put a sim card in it, and use it, on any network, it won't work. It is permanently blocked from registering onto any network. So basically your friend is going to get 1 refurbished phone in the mail, and his new vibrant will be blacklisted for ever.
Next, if they find out about the fraud, well he can face fraud charges. If he is underage on a family plan, his parents will face fraud charges.
Good luck.
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well i have to say this is a bunch of bs... i havent done this but known people that have and nothing happens to the other phone they work fine and they dont track you down or go on some sort of man hunt lol but if you say you lost your phone it would be best to not use it anymore get another phone and give the one you had to whoever as long as its not on your plan you should be good.
just so you know im not a fan of thieves but i believe in stealing from big companies cause they steal from people everyday so i would say its fair...
You can do whatever you wish. I found my g1 from a club. Used it for 2 years no prob. Its a gsm phone so whatever the case anyone can put a sim card and use it. How you do it as far as claiming to get a new one is your business
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
tribalb said:
You can do whatever you wish. I found my g1 from a club. Used it for 2 years no prob. Its a gsm phone so whatever the case anyone can put a sim card and use it. How you do it as far as claiming to get a new one is your business
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
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lucky guy... i need to start going to clubs to look for phones lol
They will not blacklist it and they will not track it down.lol
Insurance don't deal with the phone company. You can claim online without ever speaking to anyone .
Also they do blacklist the sim but a new sim will work, this isn't cdma where ya need to call the phone company to activate a new bought phone, just put in your sim...
Hell who says ya can't lose it, then find it a week later, what you supposed to do send it back?
You pay the 130 you got 2 phones that work. My wife just lost her tp2 and we asked if whoever found it can just put on a new card and its now there phone, dude said yup, we can stop the sim but the phone is gone....
gonintendo said:
can you guys give me some examples of things that might happen to him if he goes through with it or some possible consequences? "it's illegal" isn't seeming to convince him.
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Well, tell your friend that when he dies god is going to know he did it and will definitely be really pissed off and condemn him to spend all eternity in Pittsburgh with an incurable case of crabs on his nuts.
Seriously though, tell your friend to stop being shady and just man up and buy another phone if he wants it.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App, bro
smashpunks said:
They will not blacklist it and they will not track it down.lol
Insurance don't deal with the phone company. You can claim online without ever speaking to anyone .
Also they do blacklist the sim but a new sim will work, this isn't cdma where ya need to call the phone company to activate a new bought phone, just put in your sim...
Hell who says ya can't lose it, then find it a week later, what you supposed to do send it back?
You pay the 130 you got 2 phones that work. My wife just lost her tp2 and we asked if whoever found it can just put on a new card and its now there phone, dude said yup, we can stop the sim but the phone is gone....
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actually you can say you still have your sim but not the phone and they will be like ok? and you get to keep your sim still lol
T-Mobile can and most likely will block the IMEI number from being able to register on the network. They've done it multiple times for my sister when she has had the phone stolen or lost. They can insert another SIM card all they want and it won't work. It might work on AT&T, I don't know if the companies share blacklisted IMEI numbers.
Most likely, they would not go through the process of prosecuting a fraud case on something like this because the cost of the lawyers and other legal fees outweigh the cost of just paying the claim but you never know.
hockeyrcks9901 said:
T-Mobile can and most likely will block the IMEI number from being able to register on the network. They've done it multiple times for my sister when she has had the phone stolen or lost. They can insert another SIM card all they want and it won't work. It might work on AT&T, I don't know if the companies share blacklisted IMEI numbers.
Most likely, they would not go through the process of prosecuting a fraud case on something like this because the cost of the lawyers and other legal fees outweigh the cost of just paying the claim but you never know.
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No they don't black list IMEIs.
Well your "friend" meaning you is a complete moron and hopefully you get caught. People like you are the reason insurance deductibles are so expensive.
skater4690 said:
well i have to say this is a bunch of bs... i havent done this but known people that have and nothing happens to the other phone they work fine and they dont track you down or go on some sort of man hunt lol but if you say you lost your phone it would be best to not use it anymore get another phone and give the one you had to whoever as long as its not on your plan you should be good.
just so you know im not a fan of thieves but i believe in stealing from big companies cause they steal from people everyday so i would say its fair...
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I never said they were going to track you down on a man hunt.
HOWEVER, they do deactivate your lost phone permanently. You can never use it on any network.
speoples20 said:
No they don't black list IMEIs.
Well your "friend" meaning you is a complete moron and hopefully you get caught. People like you are the reason insurance deductibles are so expensive.
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for your information, they do blacklist the phone from working. If you file a claim the phone was lost/stolen, the phone will be blacklisted and no longer work when you try to register on a network.
smashpunks said:
My wife just lost her tp2 and we asked if whoever found it can just put on a new card and its now there phone, dude said yup, we can stop the sim but the phone is gone....
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holly cow, you have a wife? with the comments you leave on here, I thought you were a 12 yr old.
they don't blacklist the IMEI because whoever finds it still has to have a service provider... its the same way with the iphone... Phone company is gonna get paid, regardless of whoever has the phone. I do think however that they lock the number associated with the simcard to prevent "fraudulent activities" i think its like 30 days i remember reading that at the tmobile website
google tmobile insurance replacement FAQs it lays it all out.
good luck, best to do it with a prepaid card so you don't lock a good number...
not that i would ever condone such behavior
Soooo not true.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I've been in the cell industry for the last 6 years and can tell you for a fact, with GSM phones they do not blacklist or lock IMEI's. Its not even possible. The only thing they might do is see if you are stupid enough to use the lost phone on your own plan.
SamsungVibrant said:
holly cow, you have a wife? with the comments you leave on here, I thought you were a 12 yr old.
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I think I have a fan. Follow me on twitter douche bag...
And I'm the 12 year old sounding one.lol.
Hey guys im a newb and was wondering if i can flash my bad esn x play to metro pcs? I cant afford Verizon anymore so they gave me a bad esn and metro has the 40$ unlimited everything
So if you guys can help me out this is much appreciated i love this phone and don't want to give it away yet.
Just get your sim unlocked and change the APN settings
Edit: unsure if a bad esn can be fixed by unlocking.. You'll have to ask someone who deals with sim unlocks
Sent from my R800
rawrrzombie12 said:
Hey guys im a newb and was wondering if i can flash my bad esn x play to metro pcs? I cant afford Verizon anymore so they gave me a bad esn and metro has the 40$ unlimited everything
So if you guys can help me out this is much appreciated i love this phone and don't want to give it away yet.
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The only reason your phone will have a bad ESN is if either it's stolen or you haven't paid your bill, either way the phone is not yours. Thats why your carrier has blacklisted the ESN. Basically you are asking people to help you steal the phone.
you would have to change ESN which is... well, quite impossible...
Send frm my Play with coustum kernals
AndroHero said:
The only reason your phone will have a bad ESN is if either it's stolen or you haven't paid your bill, either way the phone is not yours. Thats why your carrier has blacklisted the ESN. Basically you are asking people to help you steal the phone.
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i didn't steal the phone i couldn't afford the plan i was one so they cut my phone off that's what i meant. i guess ill just take it and see if it will work
rawrrzombie12 said:
i didn't steal the phone i couldn't afford the plan i was one so they cut my phone off that's what i meant. i guess ill just take it and see if it will work
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The problem is you said in your post twice, they gave you a bad ESN. Well what did you mean by that, because the only reason they would do that is if you owe them money. Or were you just mistaken? If you go elsewhere with a "bad" or blocked ESN its not going to work.
Rogue Leader said:
The problem is you said in your post twice, they gave you a bad ESN. Well what did you mean by that, because the only reason they would do that is if you owe them money. Or were you just mistaken? If you go elsewhere with a "bad" or blocked ESN its not going to work.
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Doesn't mean he stole it. Could have been locked into a bad contract
Some people like myself buy them off ebay with bad esn
What happens is all these reneged accounts are lying around eligible for upgrades
some one will come in and get all the brand new phones unopened and sell them online for big profit.
It's 100% your property if you buy it from a 3rd party.
The bad ESN part is bad because then all the towers will block your phone
so you cant use 40$ pre-pay service because they are leasing the towers from big company like verizon and such
Rogue Leader said:
The problem is you said in your post twice, they gave you a bad ESN. Well what did you mean by that, because the only reason they would do that is if you owe them money. Or were you just mistaken? If you go elsewhere with a "bad" or blocked ESN its not going to work.
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You can flash any phone with a bad esn to another provider, if you have the proper software.
captain67 said:
Just get your sim unlocked and change the APN settings
Edit: unsure if a bad esn can be fixed by unlocking.. You'll have to ask someone who deals with sim unlocks
Sent from my R800
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AndroHero said:
The only reason your phone will have a bad ESN is if either it's stolen or you haven't paid your bill, either way the phone is not yours. Thats why your carrier has blacklisted the ESN. Basically you are asking people to help you steal the phone.
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Blagus said:
you would have to change ESN which is... well, quite impossible...
Send frm my Play with coustum kernals
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Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. READ people. SIM card on CDMA? Why list the reason when he told you the reason out-right (can't afford it; obviously under contract)? "Impossible" to do something which is done every day? Jeeze. If you don't know the answer or what you are talking about WHY do you feel compelled to answer the man?
CZroe said:
Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. READ people. SIM card on CDMA? Why list the reason when he told you the reason out-right (can't afford it; obviously under contract)? "Impossible" to do something which is done every day? Jeeze. If you don't know the answer or what you are talking about WHY do you feel compelled to answer the man?
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Exactly "can't afford verizon" that means he didnt pay the bill, so the phone was cut off, he does not own the phone because he invalidated his contract, and thus the phone is stolen.
Sent from my R800i using Tapatalk
AndroHero said:
Exactly "can't afford verizon" that means he didnt pay the bill, so the phone was cut off, he does not own the phone because he invalidated his contract, and thus the phone is stolen.
Sent from my R800i using Tapatalk
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I don't know how things are done there, but actually that's technically and legally wrong here in the USA. The phone is rebated and paid for at the time the contract is signed. The SERVICE CONTRACT is the only remaining obligation. The contract comes with terms and stipulations stating that they will require payment of an ETF (Early Termination Fee) if he does not carry the contract to full term and that they will ban the ESN if he does not pay that. It does not state that the phone remains or reverts to being their property.
For consumer protections reasons, there are other "outs" in the contract and you are not required to send the phone back because it is YOURS nor are you required to pay ETFs. For example, the FCC does not want local monopolies to keep you living in an area they serve just because you have a contract with a provider there that doesn't exist elsewhere. For example, if I wanted to move to North Dakota and there was no Sprint coverage in the town I was moving to, I can move there and keep my phone and end my contract and legally dodge the ETF. If I ever activate it with that provider again, they can require me to resume my contract.
Simple.
CZroe said:
I don't know how things are done there, but actually that's technically and legally wrong here in the USA. The phone is rebated at the time the contract is signed. The SERVICE CONTRACT is the only remaining obligation. The contract comes with terms and stipulations stating that they will require payment of an ETF (Early Termination Fee) if he does not carry the contract to full term and that they will ban the ESN if he does not pay that. It does not state that the phone remains or reverts to being their property.
For consumer protections reasons, there are other "outs" in the contract and you are not required to send the phone back because it is YOURS. For example, the FCC does not want local monopolies to keep you living in an area they server just because you have a contract with a provider there that doesn't exist elsewhere. For example, if I wanted to move to North Dakota and there was no Sprint coverage in the town I was moving to, I can move there and keep my phone and end my contract and legally dodge the ETF. If I ever activate it with that provider again, they can require me to resume my contract.
Simple.
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Hooray America! (another example of an it is you can suspend/cancel your contact without an ETF if you getting deployed overseas (military))
Sent from my R800x using Tapatalk
Flipping through the thread and damn some people are f ing unbelievable. Your really going to call the guys phone stolen because he couldnt pay the bill? Are you kidding me? Pretty sure the 250 dollar early termination fee that will be tacked on to a final bill will pretty much cover the cost of the phone.. Its amazing how people can be so argumentative for no reason. The guy had a simple question, he didnt ask for a moral judgement. The answer to your question is YES you can have it flashed to metro.
AndroHero said:
Exactly "can't afford verizon" that means he didnt pay the bill, so the phone was cut off, he does not own the phone because he invalidated his contract, and thus the phone is stolen.
Sent from my R800i using Tapatalk
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Why did you even waste energy and burn a single calorie to type on this thread if you weren't going to contribute to the question asked. I'm sick of arse holes that want to play phone police on an internet forum. You don't know if he paid his termination fee or made conditions with Verizon. Personally I think its none of your business or any body else. So the point of the matter is Metro hooks up a lot of phones from other carriers such as Verizon legally in the US. Trust me America being the forefront of lawsuits would have sued the breaks off of Metro PCS if it wasn't. Do not post if you don't have anything intelectual or contributing please.
R800x Carrier Pigeon - Got any change?
Before I get into the nitty gritty, yes, ive seached the forum. yes ive seached the google. yes, afaik im using the right software (cdma-w, qpst, QXDM, even that dfs cdma tool).
The Xperia Play (R800x - Verizon) is an amazing phone first of all. If only it could make calls...
Here is the problem im having: I can write min, nam, PRL, etc, most NV items to the phone just fine. but when i try to repair the esn/meid i get back an error which, though slightly different depending on the software, amounts to a statement that the value is read-only or failed to write. I have some past success with this sort of thing on other platforms (Moto Razr for ex.)but im at a loss here, and ready to accept any help offered. I read somewhere that an unlocked BL is req. but that doesnt make sense to me.
Also ive noticed that the older version of cdmaw (2.7) doesn't seem to read or write meid values, only esn, from what ive read, its like frank sinatra said, you cant have one without the other.
So my questions: has anyone else run into this problem? Is it related to the bootloader or ROM in any way? Suggestions etc Please and Thank you
Yes im a n00b. yes im ok with that. there is always some1 who knows more about something than I do. Teach me to fish so i can share my fish
freddycheeba said:
Before I get into the nitty gritty, yes, ive seached the forum. yes ive seached the google. (btw, the flash-to-MetroPCS page seems to have vanished from the internets..)yes, afaik im using the right software (cdma-w, qpst, QXDM, even that dfs cdma tool).
The Xperia Play (R800x - V3r1$0N) is an amazing phone first of all. If only it could make calls...
With every intention of avoiding starting a legal debate, here is the problem im having: I can write min, nam, PRL, etc, most NV items to the phone just fine. but when i try to .repair. the 3$n or M31D i get back an error which, though slightly different depending on the software, amounts to a statement that the value is read-only or failed to write. i may have some past success with this sort of thing on other platforms (Moto Razr for ex.)-allegedly, and im by no means stumped or ready to give up, but im ready to accept any help offered. I read somewhere that an unlocked BL is req. but that doesnt make sense to me.
Also ive noticed that the older version of cdmaw (2.7) which may or may not be available from the common sources, doesn't seem to read or write m31d values, only 3$n, from what ive read, its like frank sinatra said, you cant have one without the other.
So my questions: has anyone else run into this problem? Is it related to the bootloader or ROM in any way? Suggestions etc Please and Thank you
Yes im a n00b. yes im ok with that. there is always some1 who knows more about something than I do. Teach me to fish
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Couple things:
1. "hacker speak" like saying 3$n and m31D is tremendously annoying. I have no idea why you felt the need to do that. Actual intelligent humans like you will find here think you sound like an idiot when you type like that. Speak English, its what we speak.
2. I don't believe anyone has successfully done with this phone what you're trying to do AFAIK. There are people who can unlock the bootloader for you, but I agree I doubt that would help, but hey who knows.
3. That said, you threw gas on the fire even mentioning legal issues. I'm not gonna make any assumptions about why you have a bad ESN phone a I don't know where you got it, but as you can see its a touchy subject here. Mainly because carriers don't just blacklist ESNs for no reason or on a whim.
Anyway whatever your reasons, good luck, I don't know that you will find an answer here, but maybe someone who does know can help you.
Touchy subject
My Esn is clear, but i already have service with another cdma provider- one who has very limited choices as far as phones go. I have no intention of trying to rip off my carrier for my data use or anything like that, i just want to make calls on my current network, using my R800x.
I wrote 3$n because some places will delete your post or even ban you just for mentioning the word, which is silly since all we're trying to do is exchange some theoretical knowledge.
Anyway thanks for your response RogueLeader.
freddycheeba said:
My Esn is clear, but i already have service with another cdma provider- one who has very limited choices as far as phones go. I have no intention of trying to rip off my carrier for my data use or anything like that, i just want to make calls on my current network, using my R800x.
I wrote 3$n because some places will delete your post or even ban you just for mentioning the word, which is silly since all we're trying to do is exchange some theoretical knowledge.
Anyway thanks for your response RogueLeader.
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Click to collapse
So your carrier just plain won't accept your Xperia Play's ESN, so you're trying to swap on one from another phone? Good plan, but like I said it seems like something thats not likely possible (or hey maybe it is and just no one's done it yet). I'd be interested to hear if this works out. Also pretty ridiculous if its true that they just won't take it, but then again Verizon won't accept non Verizon cdma phones as far as I know, but we expect them to suck.
As for this place its pretty heavily monitored, so if your post goes somewhere they don't want, it doesn't matter what words you use they will delete it for you ..
Waka Flocka FLAME!
Sent from my R800x using xda premium
Bad esn for whatever reason, it's still a bad esn. Metro does have the power and tools to flash SOME phones to their network. BUT a lot of these phones will not be fully functional, whether it's the internet or mms, etc. but here's the thing, we here are not metro pcs, we are consumers, ask metro, if they don't have an answer we will more than likely not have one either.
you will just piss some people off with your poor search and investigative skills.
Sent from my R800x using xda premium
I didn't see a thread on this so I thought I'd warn anyone who doesn't know.
AT&T now blacklisting stolen phones.
AT&T is now blacklisting all reported stolen phones, or devices they say were "Improperly scanned" out of inventory and major retailers such as Best Buy or Wal-Mart. What this means is that sometime after inserting your SIM card into one of these phones, AT&T will lock your SIM card and you will either get a message stating the device is blocked from the network, or the phone will only call AT&T's security division. Even if you put it back in another phone.
This lock is supposed to occur within minutes according to AT&T, however we have seen it take up to weeks for the lock to occur. This also applies to any pre-paid service such as Straight Talk and Red Pocket who use AT&T phones. If you are on one of these plans, you must call your carrier, not AT&T and request the account be unlocked.
Sounds like a good plan right? The only problem with this is, at this time, unlike Verizon, Sprint, and other carriers, there is no way to call in and check the IMEI before you purchase a used or refurb phone. Thus, if you buy a phone from Craigslist, Ebay, or a local used phone store, its imposable to check the esn like you would a CDMA phone to determine if it has been reported lost or stolen.
The best you can do is put your SIM in the phone and try it out before you buy it and, more importantly, make sure there is a return policy at the store you buy it from. At this time there seems to be no sure fire way to determine if a phone you buy from an individual or online has been reported lost or stolen, and AT&T will not unblock any phone reported stolen except by the person who reported it.
The only exception is if you have purchased a phone from a major retailer. In that case AT&T security division reports that if you take the phone back with the receipt, they will unblock it.
Just reading this reminds me about insurance scams where someone would sell their old phone on some site and then call in the phone as stolen. To me: this is just another risk for buying used phones now. Then again: I recall reading a very recent article about a iphone theft ring in San Francisco. Maybe it's better off this way.
Puts ATT in hard spot. They can either let the thieves sell the units and then the end customer's are unknowingly screwed or let the units work. I suppose their rationale is that if the unit stops working they can report who sold them the phone?
I think they very well should blacklist phones reported as stolen. They've been doing it in Europe for years. My problem is, unlike every other major carrier, you cannot verify if a phone is stolen or not before you buy it. This doesn't punish the thieves so much as the person who unknowingly buys it.
killgorian said:
I think they very well should blacklist phones reported as stolen. They've been doing it in Europe for years. My problem is, unlike every other major carrier, you cannot verify if a phone is stolen or not before you buy it. This doesn't punish the thieves so much as the person who unknowingly buys it.
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If it's reported stolen that's one thing - but what about the phones that somebody hasn't paid their bill to on the major carriers - the money owed goes on that person's SS# anyways for life until they settle up - I see bad esn's being sold on ebay all the time. I don't feel bad flashing a phone to cricket with a bad esn since it's tied to somebody's social. If it's stolen by thieves of course - lock em down. I'm just sayin'
mook_ said:
the money owed goes on that person's SS# anyways for life...
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No. 7 years max.
killgorian said:
My problem is, unlike every other major carrier, you cannot verify if a phone is stolen or not before you buy it.
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Yes. This service should have been offered FIRST and then a couple of years later they should have introduced the banning practice. As it is I can see a lot of people making honest mistakes.
You can call into att and have them check the numbers on the phone ...I just did this a week ago with my one x after getting.burnt on one
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Some online stores have a very efficient and reliable pre-purchase customer care.
I bought my AT&T phone from europe from negrielectronics.com and I clearly asked to know the IMEI of the device before placing the ordere since we have some specific IMEI issues here n Europe.
They could immediately email me the code.
So just ask if you want to purchase on the internet; maybe you'll be lucky.
We can actually deactivate stolen / lost phones,
I`m not sure about blacklisting, savedesk knows that,
After we make reports on lost/stolen phones we just send them to savedesk
It has always been a long before practise to ask the customer to rescan again to where you have bought the phone in cases of phones tagged as warehouse are not deactivated
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hey guys - so i just got taken. bought a phone on CL and turns out it's blacklisted. do you know if there's anyway for ATT to check who this phone belonged to based on IMEI? my long shot is maybe contacting original owner (i know ATT doesn't give out information) but could THEY possibly contact original owner and tell him someone found his device?
i figure this is better than me tossing the device?? any thoughts?
piotrus22 said:
hey guys - so i just got taken. bought a phone on CL and turns out it's blacklisted. do you know if there's anyway for ATT to check who this phone belonged to based on IMEI? my long shot is maybe contacting original owner (i know ATT doesn't give out information) but could THEY possibly contact original owner and tell him someone found his device?
i figure this is better than me tossing the device?? any thoughts?
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If you have any of the seller's info you can report it to authorities.
The only info i have is a cell phone number. Which was a pay as you go number. So i dont think they can do anything if sim card has been tossed right?
What will they authorities do? Dont they have more important things? Ill they confiscate the phone? I just realized i could sell it for use in Europe potentially?
piotrus22 said:
The only info i have is a cell phone number. Which was a pay as you go number. So i dont think they can do anything if sim card has been tossed right?
What will they authorities do? Dont they have more important things? Ill they confiscate the phone? I just realized i could sell it for use in Europe potentially?
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it's IMEI programmed.
so no matter what SIM you'll use it will still be blacklisted,
as long as a stolen phone can receive a signal and passes through AT&T's database it will automatically send out a code to lock out the phone,
it is n "as-is" basis though,
depends entirely on the phone
deathnotice01 said:
it's IMEI programmed.
so no matter what SIM you'll use it will still be blacklisted,
as long as a stolen phone can receive a signal and passes through AT&T's database it will automatically send out a code to lock out the phone,
it is n "as-is" basis though,
depends entirely on the phone
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Hi, my first post here.
I have a customer (I do computer repair, not cell phones) who unknowingly bought a "blacklisted" att phone an HTC one x from craigslist. Is there anything he can do? I told him I would look into it to try and help him out. But I know nothing of cell phones. The guy's like 60 trying to make a few bucks while in retirement buying and selling cell phones.
He used it for a day or so then it just stopped working. when his att sim was deactivated he went to att as he knows the folks who work in the local store. They cleared his sim card, but not the phone. They weren't interested in taking the phone from him either. They said it could be blacklisted for several reasons from non-payment, to stolen or some other reason, but they couldn't tell him the reason. Some advice or a point in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Would unlocking the phone make any difference (to use on another carrier) or is he just basically screwed with this one?
Thanks,
Chris
SIM unlock it and have it on T-Mobile.
Lil Chris said:
Hi, my first post here.
I have a customer (I do computer repair, not cell phones) who unknowingly bought a "blacklisted" att phone an HTC one x from craigslist. Is there anything he can do? I told him I would look into it to try and help him out. But I know nothing of cell phones. The guy's like 60 trying to make a few bucks while in retirement buying and selling cell phones.
He used it for a day or so then it just stopped working. when his att sim was deactivated he went to att as he knows the folks who work in the local store. They cleared his sim card, but not the phone. They weren't interested in taking the phone from him either. They said it could be blacklisted for several reasons from non-payment, to stolen or some other reason, but they couldn't tell him the reason. Some advice or a point in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Would unlocking the phone make any difference (to use on another carrier) or is he just basically screwed with this one?
Thanks,
Chris
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AT&T is very strict with matters pertaining to blacklisted phones,
reactivation of a valid sim card is possible but not the phone,
i never had actual experience with AT&T phones since i'm not in the US and we only had experience navigating them during our training at AT&T tech support,
but you can try flashing the stock generic firmware from a AT&T HTC one X and using a T-mo sim instead of a AT&T sim to prevent execution and authentication of IMEI protocols which are nessesarry to deactivate the blacklisted phone,
Welcome to the bad ESN world
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cell128 said:
Welcome to the bad ESN world
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
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And corporate controlled america
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By staring at this post you have waived your right to privacy
Complaints will be trolled accordingly
Im a bit confused. Maybe someone could shed some light. Can a at&t iphone that is not in good standing with at&t be used on straight talk. If so must it be a ST Tmobile sim?
Im buying my mom an at&t iphone 4s off CL and want to make sure it can be activated. Thanks!!
themow said:
Im a bit confused. Maybe someone could shed some light. Can a at&t iphone that is not in good standing with at&t be used on straight talk. If so must it be a ST Tmobile sim?
Im buying my mom an at&t iphone 4s off CL and want to make sure it can be activated. Thanks!!
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As long as it is not reported lost or stolen it can. If it has been blacklisted, no it cannot.
I didn't know where else to post this question...
I'm about to buy a NEW Galaxy S4 Active from a guy on Craigslist that's going to get one new from the ATT store today. The selling price to me? $400.
That's a great price, so I'm wondering...
Is there anything that I need to be aware of? Can I lose out on this deal? I'm assuming that he's going to get an upgrade and extend his contract, because that's the only way he can make money on this deal. But what if he cancels his contract or doesn't pay his bill, won't the phone get blacklisted and I'll end up with a brick in a few months?
No blacklisting on att phones. The only way you can lose out is if the guy has insurance on his phone, sell it to you, then calls att reports it stolen. Then the phone becomes a glorified paperweight.
Alot of people run this Craigslist scam, because the insurance deductible is cheap, and they make a large profit selling it, then reporting stolen and get a brand new device, meanwhile you get scammed.
To prevent that from happening you can meet the guy at an att store and let them know you are purchasing the phone from him, and they will transfer ownership to you and he can't file a stolen device.
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I would be very careful when buying an expensive phone from Craigslist. Tell him you only want to meet at an at&t store so they can make a note on his account that he sold you the phone. Then I would have them activate the phone there and then for you. If it's legit then he'll have no issue doing what you suggest. $400 is a good price for an active. But sometimes if it seems too good to be true, well you get the point.
Great advice you guys! That's what I'll do is meet him at the store and make sure I'm notated and the ownership is transferred to me. I didn't realize ATT would do that for me!
That is two good pieces of advice. Benefit of Craigslist over EBay is one-on-one contact. I would add, and you probably already decided, is if he doesn't want to meet with some excuse--don't buy it--
I just bought an iPhone for a family member. I met the seller at the AT&T store and I went in and had AT&t run the IMEI. they said it was not reported stolen but that is all they could do. According to the sales person there is no way to transfer an IMEI and that an original purchaser could theoretically still report the phone stolen.
I am not sure if I believe the second part but it could be. I can't see att trying to track every IMEI as phones change hands.
alphadog00 said:
I just bought an iPhone for a family member. I met the seller at the AT&T store and I went in and had AT&t run the IMEI. they said it was not reported stolen but that is all they could do. According to the sales person there is no way to transfer an IMEI and that an original purchaser could theoretically still report the phone stolen.
I am not sure if I believe the second part but it could be. I can't see att trying to track every IMEI as phones change hands.
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Yeah that's wrong. Basically an imei cannot be on two accounts at the same time. So going in to a store with the seller they could remove it from their account and it would be put on yours. With ATT however, there is very little ways for them to "blacklist" a phone. Sure it may not be able to be placed on your account but a sim will still work just fine in it. Verizon is different due to the way their activations work.
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imitenotbecrazy said:
Yeah that's wrong. Basically an imei cannot be on two accounts at the same time. So going in to a store with the seller they could remove it from their account and it would be put on yours. With ATT however, there is very little ways for them to "blacklist" a phone. Sure it may not be able to be placed on your account but a sim will still work just fine in it. Verizon is different due to the way their activations work.
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I am not sure why you say they can't blacklist. They can and are now doing so. EU has done it for years. No one in the USA did it in the past but the carriers are doing it now, and they are working on a shared database. So once a phone is blacklisted it will be unusable on any carrier.
Today a blocked AT&T phone could still be used on t-mobile.
The phone sends its IMEI when it connects to the network and AT&T can easily block it if it is reported stolen. There are other threads about people buying notes and s4 that are blocked.
alphadog00 said:
I am not sure why you say they can't blacklist. They can and are now doing so. EU has done it for years. No one in the USA did it in the past but the carriers are doing it now, and they are working on a shared database. So once a phone is blacklisted it will be unusable on any carrier.
Today a blocked AT&T phone could still be used on t-mobile.
The phone sends its IMEI when it connects to the network and AT&T can easily block it if it is reported stolen. There are other threads about people buying notes and s4 that are blocked.
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Weird. I've never seen a phone not connect to the network like that. I haven't told ATT I've switched phones since my OG Note a year and a half ago. That phone has long since been gone. The only thing that seems to be reporting to ATT is the sim. What happens when you use an imei from outside their database? How does it access their network then?
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imitenotbecrazy said:
Weird. I've never seen a phone not connect to the network like that. I haven't told ATT I've switched phones since my OG Note a year and a half ago. That phone has long since been gone. The only thing that seems to be reporting to ATT is the sim. What happens when you use an imei from outside their database? How does it access their network then?
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I switch phones all the time and I don't "tell" AT&T - this works fine without issue, but they do see the IMEI - this is easy to verify. Log into your AT&T account and look at your devices - it shows the actual phone that is being used on that number. I am not sure how often they update this, but it shows the system automatically sees the IMEI.
They only keep a database of Blocked or blacklisted IMEI. It is impossible for them to keep a database of approved phones, it just wouldn't work and it would piss people off. It is easier to keep a short block list.
On my account, I have 2 other family lines for dumb phones and they have data blocks. But these lines are using other smart phones, and they listed by brand and model when i log into my account. The IMEI can be used to detect brand and model. I still don't know why the CSRs ask for IMEI when this info shows up automatically, but i never give it to them.
And like I said, when i bought the last phone, I walked in the store and the guy knew what i wanted and looked it up to see if it was reported stolen. When it was not, he said everything was good. A few years ago, they would not have cared either way.
alphadog00 said:
I switch phones all the time and I don't "tell" AT&T - this works fine without issue, but they do see the IMEI - this is easy to verify. Log into your AT&T account and look at your devices - it shows the actual phone that is being used on that number. I am not sure how often they update this, but it shows the system automatically sees the IMEI.
They only keep a database of Blocked or blacklisted IMEI. It is impossible for them to keep a database of approved phones, it just wouldn't work and it would piss people off. It is easier to keep a short block list.
On my account, I have 2 other family lines for dumb phones and they have data blocks. But these lines are using other smart phones, and they listed by brand and model when i log into my account. The IMEI can be used to detect brand and model. I still don't know why the CSRs ask for IMEI when this info shows up automatically, but i never give it to them.
And like I said, when i bought the last phone, I walked in the store and the guy knew what i wanted and looked it up to see if it was reported stolen. When it was not, he said everything was good. A few years ago, they would not have cared either way.
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See that's where I'm having this issue. I log into my ATT dealer site and it still shows me on the OG Note. When I log into my account it shows OG Note. My account doesn't update with what phone I'm using currently. Not sure if mine is an anomoly or not. AFAIK though ATT told us there was nothing that could be done when one of our ATT display phones was stolen. That's part of where my assumption that blacklisting was not a real thing with ATT.
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imitenotbecrazy said:
See that's where I'm having this issue. I log into my ATT dealer site and it still shows me on the OG Note. When I log into my account it shows OG Note. My account doesn't update with what phone I'm using currently. Not sure if mine is an anomoly or not. AFAIK though ATT told us there was nothing that could be done when one of our ATT display phones was stolen. That's part of where my assumption that blacklisting was not a real thing with ATT.
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I admit I never blocked a phone. But there is thread that has lots of details of a few users experience:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2315935
According to AT&T only the original owner can report a phone stolen - so maybe only new activations get treated this way. The AT&T rep said i could not add the IMEI of the used phone to my account to prevent someone from reporting it stolen, so their system has lots of limits.
I wish I knew more, but AT&T is not the most forthcoming with how things work.
alphadog00 said:
Today a blocked AT&T phone could still be used on t-mobile.
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I read just the other day that Tmo and ATT are sharing their blacklists. And once a phone has been blacklisted on one carrier, the other will follow suit.