I have a friend that purchased a Epic 4G from someone they know. The person they knew hasn't finished paying bill, so the phone is still on their account. Is there any way for me to wipe that user from the phone for her?
No. That's why you always need to check the esn on a phone before buying it.
Thank you,
But is there a way to clear ESN?
The phone is stolen.
The best thing you can tell your friend to do is email the real owner before the esn gets blacklisted and tell them they just bought their phone, and hope for a reward. I wouldnt expect more than 50 bucks if they have TEP.
clearing the esn is a federal offense, nobody here will help you do that.
crash081292 said:
Thank you,
But is there a way to clear ESN?
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Click to collapse
No, I just answered that.
What if I were to port the number to a Pre Pay phone?
I'm just going to take it to sprint and they will probably scrap it.....lesson learned. Thank you everyone!!!
Changing a phones esn to someone elses esn is elligal. Clearing the esn isn't... but all the while not to be discussed here so perhaps google another forum my friend =)
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
crash081292 said:
Thank you,
But is there a way to clear ESN?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. The owner of the account that the phone is listed on must take it off of their account. They need to put another phone on the line that is using the esn or cancel the line all together. If that is done without anyone reporting the phone lost or stolen, then you're good to go.
i've never done this before so forgive my caution. i'm getting my wife an epic and the guy is going to meet me at a sprint store. is it just a simple matter of having an employee activate the phone with my wife's number? thanks in advance
v3rk said:
i've never done this before so forgive my caution. i'm getting my wife an epic and the guy is going to meet me at a sprint store. is it just a simple matter of having an employee activate the phone with my wife's number? thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He has to deactivate the ESN of the phone from his account then you can put your number onto the phone.
qbking77 said:
He has to deactivate the ESN of the phone from his account then you can put your number onto the phone.
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Click to collapse
thanks! can that be done at the store? he said they can get it all clear, make sure the phone will work and activate it. just looking for a second word on it
v3rk said:
thanks! can that be done at the store? he said they can get it all clear, make sure the phone will work and activate it. just looking for a second word on it
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Click to collapse
Yes it can all be done at the store! You're making a good choice on the device
don't pay the seller until the device is confirmed working on your account.
That way he can't snatch-n-run :O
I would also like to add it's best to go with the seller of the phone to the Sprint store and have him deactivate the ESN on his account and then you reactivate it on your account at the same time. That way you know it's legit and you're not going to get ripped off by buying a phone that has been flagged. Once it's confirmed it's on your account, then you pay the seller at the store.
Plus at least the Sprint store is also a public place as well so chance of you getting robbed or cheated by someone unscrupulous from Craigslist is a lot lower.
Is it even possible? I'm parting with my Epic, a phone that I have loved, but am curious now that I've ODIN'ed back to Froyo and formatted everything how I can bring it back to Activation status. Can it be done or is it stuck as a wi-fi media player?
LET ME KNOW!!! I HAVE SEARCHED!
If the ESN is clean. You can part with it. The new owner will have it programmed & provisioned with their account when they take their purchased epic to a sprint store, or if they provide the hexadecimal & MEID over the phone for an OTA provision. You need only Odin like you said you have, and make sure the sd card is formatted. That's it. You're good to go.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Shinydude100 said:
If the ESN is clean. You can part with it. The new owner will have it programmed & provisioned with their account when they take their purchased epic to a sprint store, or if they provide the hexadecimal & MEID over the phone for an OTA provision. You need only Odin like you said you have, and make sure the sd card is formatted. That's it. You're good to go.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
and you make sure your ESN is clear by upgrading or completing your contract with bill paid and verifying it with customer service. I believe they will clear it if you leave Sprint and the ETF is paid if still under contract as well.
Rock on, thanks guys!
Slight variation on this question
I have an Epic 4G and am planning on getting an Epic Touch.
I want to give my daughter my Epic, so I will need Sprint to change the phone numbers around on the devices. Do i need to flash back to stock or can this be done with a custom ROM still on the phone?
Master K said:
I have an Epic 4G and am planning on getting an Epic Touch.
I want to give my daughter my Epic, so I will need Sprint to change the phone numbers around on the devices. Do i need to flash back to stock or can this be done with a custom ROM still on the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to flash back.
I purchased a Verizon Galaxy Note 3 from a guy off Craiglist and checked the ESN, it was clean then and I proceeded to use with T-Mobile. Everything was working fine, HSPA and such. But now, after waking up, the phone has not signal, so I went online to check to see if anything happened to the ESN, and noticed it now has changed from Good to Bad. I've tried to contact the guy but no response.
I tried to remove the sim and inserted it in a different phone and everything was fine.
Is there anyway I can still use the Verizon Galaxy Note 3 with T-Mobile even though the ESN is bad?
I've tried to change the APN settings (epc.tmobile.com) and even (fast.t-mobile.com) on the device but nothing is working for me. It keeps showing No Service - Selected Network (T-Mobile) not available.
The device model is SM-N900V, Android 4.3.
Please help !
Waw I did not think that happened . he called the phone lost stolen after he sold it . sorry this happened to you . did you call up Verizon to explain the situation ?, they are the ones that issued the lock on the ESN They might be able to help . please keep is posted
ttav9216 said:
I purchased a Verizon Galaxy Note 3 from a guy off Craiglist and checked the ESN, it was clean then and I proceeded to use with T-Mobile. Everything was working fine, HSPA and such. But now, after waking up, the phone has not signal, so I went online to check to see if anything happened to the ESN, and noticed it now has changed from Good to Bad. I've tried to contact the guy but no response.
I tried to remove the sim and inserted it in a different phone and everything was fine.
Is there anyway I can still use the Verizon Galaxy Note 3 with T-Mobile even though the ESN is bad?
I've tried to change the APN settings (epc.tmobile.com) and even (fast.t-mobile.com) on the device but nothing is working for me. It keeps showing No Service - Selected Network (T-Mobile) not available.
The device model is SM-N900V, Android 4.3.
Please help !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may also want to try to set your network settings to global rather than to lte. For some reason, if you have it set to global it uses a different radio and will work just fine on tmobile.
jmichaels1982 said:
Waw I did not think that happened . he called the phone lost stolen after he sold it . sorry this happened to you . did you call up Verizon to explain the situation ?, they are the ones that issued the lock on the ESN They might be able to help . please keep is posted
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I have called both T-Mobile and Verizon.
I called Verizon first to explain the situation and the representative transferred me to Tech Support, and then the Tech Support asked me for the ESN, which I gave him. He then told that indeed the ESN is bad, but he could not find the reason why. He recommended me to call T-Mobile.
I then called T-Mobile and told them about the situation. It's funny because for reasons T-Mobile found out that the reason ESN is bad is because, exactly what you said, the phone has been reported lost/stolen. The phone is now blocked from accessing any US carriers. The representative from T-Mobile told me that Verizon was the one who put the lock on it, so I would need to call Verizon to get the problem fixed.
I called Verizon again, and this time, I spoke with a really friendly representative, she listened to the whole situation, and tried to fix the problem for me. She even tried to look up the phone numbers that I used to contact the guy with. But unfortunately, none would work. I feel really bad because she tried all she could. The conversation went on for almost an hour.
Long story short, the phone is now locked from being able to use with any US carriers. I'm stuck with a very expensive brick. Both T-Mobile and Verizon could not do anything about my situation. Pretty frustrated now.
Learned my lesson, I will never buy any phones from anyone on Craiglist ever again !
Certain people will buy it for parts . dont give up on selling it . try swappa next time . they have PayPal protection . although anyone can do what just happened to you . to protect yourself against this in the future : put the phone under your account either by calling or in a verizon store . I believe that once the ESN is registered under your name they can't report it lost or stolen . popping the Sim in , I think , without calling just puts the phone on your account but doesent register the ESN . these are all.just speculations . I could be way off. There is a verizon rep on these forums . he is very friendly ... Look up his forum and ask away !
It's unfortunate. I had a friend who ran into the same thing about two months ago with a note 2 on verizon. Not to mention I had been scammed on an ATT phone. Unfortunately att phones they dont block the phone for a couple hours, so when I was purchasing the phone I was able to make a test call then I got blocked in the morning. This was few months after tmobile, att and verizon instituted that co-network nationwide ban.
I'm not sure if it would help, but next time it might be a good idea to do a transaction instore. Possibly having one of the employees transfer over the phone and issuing a new sim card, might deter the would be thief from doing an insurance claim. Since you would be able to prove that you did everything in store, hopefully with the aid/witness of the verizon rep that helped you.
You can use blacklsted note 3 on att and t-mobile. However, u need to add apn into the phone yourself in order to get data. I don't need you need to root it or not to change it. Go switch to GSM I think there people who able to get lte on T-mobile in band 4 , but i don't know how. I had a blacklisted note 3 currently running on ATT. Only get H+ .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2582747
I wonder what could be the motivation of a seller to report a phone stolen after selling it? Fraudulent insurance claim afterwards? Or maybe it was a stolen phone but the owner was out of town and was unaware of the theft? (Strange scenario.) Or maybe Verizon blacklists phones for non-payment on an account?
Sorry this happened to you, but I am sort of curious if you got a "too good to be true" deal off of CL... do you mind me asking how much you paid for a $700 phone?
Performing the sale right in a carrier's retail store with an immediate account transfer does seem to be a really good idea - if the seller gets cold feet about that, you'll know that things are not on the up and up.
A sure fix is replacing the motherboard with one from a shattered unit.
Check the IMEI number before purchasing.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
raginmonkey said:
You may also want to try to set your network settings to global rather than to lte. For some reason, if you have it set to global it uses a different radio and will work just fine on tmobile.
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Did OP try this?
That's very unfortunate. I've dealt many times over craigslist I'm fortunate that the phones I've bought were from good people.
I hope you get something out of it.
I trade phones alot, and thats why I swap sims wherever I meet someone.
brex91 said:
I trade phones alot, and thats why I swap sims wherever I meet someone.
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Can you elaborate?
xdadevnube said:
Can you elaborate?
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Click to collapse
i mostly trade even up, went from a note 2 to a s4 to a note 3 and only spent money on gas to meet the person with the phone.
So when we both arrive I look at the phone for physical damage, then power both down, swap sims and power back up. If I get a signal it's activated. (on verizon at least)
(I think theres a limit to how many times you can do this in a certain period of time, but for me it's only every 6 months or so, so no problems)
And of course in my situation I'm doing trades locally off craigslist.
brex91 said:
i mostly trade even up, went from a note 2 to a s4 to a note 3 and only spent money on gas to meet the person with the phone.
So when we both arrive I look at the phone for physical damage, then power both down, swap sims and power back up. If I get a signal it's activated. (on verizon at least)
(I think theres a limit to how many times you can do this in a certain period of time, but for me it's only every 6 months or so, so no problems)
And of course in my situation I'm doing trades locally off craigslist.
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Click to collapse
I suppose after a trade you can call in your old phone lost/stolen if the other guy does it to your "new" phone. If you just buy a phone, then I can see what happened to the OP being much more likely.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 2
xdadevnube said:
I suppose after a trade you can call in your old phone lost/stolen if the other guy does it to your "new" phone. If you just buy a phone, then I can see what happened to the OP being much more likely.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
possibly, but like i said, that's why I swap sims. After that the phone is activated on my account, they can't report it stolen. I make sure I have a signal before the trade is done.
brex91 said:
possibly, but like i said, that's why I swap sims. After that the phone is activated on my account, they can't report it stolen. I make sure I have a signal before the trade is done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I'm confused. So in the case of the OP, he should have activated it with Verizon first (Verizon phone)?
He said it was working with T-Mobile, then it stopped working.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 2
Never heard of a Verizon phone being blocked from the other carriers. I bought a bad esn Verizon note 3 for my girlfriend off eBay and she still using it on AT&T. Please update on the situation if you're able to use with AT&T
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda app-developers app
so OP, did anything work out for you?
This just happend to me too..
I lost my AT&T S4, and since i had over a year left on the contract i sought craigslist for a new phone.
I purchased a used Verizon s4 for $380 from a person claiming to be the original owner, he said he upgraded and was selling the current phone.
I put my AT&T sim in the phone and it was all good.. i had signal and tested it by making a call to the sellers phone.. I did other physical check to make sure no water damage etc.
I purchased the phone and switch the SIM back to my temp dumb phone. when i reach home i was googling APN settings for AT&T when i came accross a link that mentioned bad ESN, so just for the heck of it, i plugged in the ESN of the new phone and turns out it was reported Stolen!!
i am little scared to put in my SIM back into the phone... is it OK to put the SIM back? will it work? is there any other issues i may face?
Ofcourse i tried contacting the seller,, but as exected, he has not responded yet.
I checked ESN on checkesnfree.com, as well as the verizon site and they all report it as stolen.
I checked same ESN on tmobile site and used the ESN # as IMEI, and even tmobile site said it was stolen.
I did the same thing on Swappa.com and they were not able to determine ESN status..
on AT&T, if i go in as a new buyer, add SIM card to my cart, it asks me to enter device IMEI and it accepts it.. the AT&T rep told me that this was a good way to check if IMEI is clean or not.. so i am assuming IMEI is clean on AT&T, but for how long??
Sorry i know i am asking Too many questions.. but this has been so sudden and unexpected.. kind of feeling like a fish out of water!
If a phone is reported stolen, it will not work on T-Mobile or AT&T. If it is bad esn/imei for non payment, then it will only be blocked on Verizon.
Hi everyone. I have a question that pertains to my att servjce and a unregistered imei . So i traded a friend of mine an iphone 5 for his XT2. AT&T. He has cricket and had no problems with the phone or the. service . I however have att and about 6 hours after getting the phone and putting my sim card in it att shuts off my line. Turns out the phone was never rang up at the register. So the imei os unregistered i guess? Is there any way at all i can get past this and use my phone. Via settings database editor. Xposed apps or mods. Anything??!!?
aaronisham95 said:
Hi everyone. I have a question that pertains to my att servjce and a unregistered imei . So i traded a friend of mine an iphone 5 for his XT2. AT&T. He has cricket and had no problems with the phone or the. service . I however have att and about 6 hours after getting the phone and putting my sim card in it att shuts off my line. Turns out the phone was never rang up at the register. So the imei os unregistered i guess? Is there any way at all i can get past this and use my phone. Via settings database editor. Xposed apps or mods. Anything??!!?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably not what you want to hear but...
There is an entire conversation in the XT2 SD thread that discusses this very issue. you will need the original receipt to prove you/your friend purchased the phone to show at&t and they will remove the phone from blacklist, i have not read any other info pertaining to a workaround.
Maybe someone else have some additional incite.
Good luck,
m0000 said:
Probably not what you want to hear but...
There is an entire conversation in the XT2 SD thread that discusses this very issue. you will need the original receipt to prove you/your friend purchased the phone to show at&t and they will remove the phone from blacklist, i have not read any other info pertaining to a workaround.
Maybe someone else have some additional incite.
Good luck,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what at&t was saying as well. but i am sure there has got to be a way. people end up with phones that have bad imei's all the time.. i understand this is a slightly situation because the phone was assumingly never purchased from the store.. but not really. either way the point is to get it to where atts systems cannot detect that i am using this phone... so i assume there has to be a solution.
maybe im wrong in believing people can get past bad imei's. thank you tho.. hopefully your wrong i hate iphones so i traded a 6s for this
thanks again.
aaronisham95 said:
thats what at&t was saying as well. but i am sure there has got to be a way. people end up with phones that have bad imei's all the time.. i understand this is a slightly situation because the phone was assumingly never purchased from the store.. but not really. either way the point is to get it to where atts systems cannot detect that i am using this phone... so i assume there has to be a solution.
maybe im wrong in believing people can get past bad imei's. thank you tho.. hopefully your wrong i hate iphones so i traded a 6s for this
thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
easiest solution go to Walmart buy an xt2 ($69)
sell the one you have to a cricket customer
If you really can't afford the $69 you could return the bad phone to Walmart for a refund (it's actually their fault the IMEI is not registered)
it's not the most honest thing to do, but it would work.
Wow your right. The people at at&t were talking toe like i stole it from walmart or something. They had my phone line completely
suspended
aaronisham95 said:
Wow your right. The people at at&t were talking toe like i stole it from walmart or something. They had my phone line completely
suspended
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Click to collapse
I had the same problem a year or so ago with the H1611, I got it online and it was never correctly rang out.
Yeah. I disabled everything att related and removed all the permissions and its been two whole days. Im pretty sure if they could read the imei my service wouldve already been suspended again. Ill remove this now.