Database Users

Sprint is onto us O.o

So, I accidentally got my 4g taken away through all the flashing i did, and I took it today to a sprint store to get it fixed (before i did this, i grabbed my old sd card which is 100% clean, also used the guide on how to downgrade from a rooted to stock, and then i upgraded to froyo stock).
It took them about 40 minutes of checking and stuff, at which point they came out to tell me the phone was flashed prior to the point which would void my warantee or w/e. Meaning even though i reseted my phone, upgraded to stock froyo, and cleared my sd card, they are still able to tell that your phone has been flashed.
The good news is that I have insurance on it, meaning i can get a brand new one for 100$. Just gonna report it lost, and get another one for 100$ and sell the old one on ebay

How could they tell? What sys info could there posibbly be that would let them figure out it had ever had any other rom version?
Couldn't you just ##786# and then Menu > Reset all before taking it in (with official firmware of course.) ?

When you claim your phone lost or stolen, they block that ESN so it can't be reactivated.
Sent from my beloved HTC EVO 4G.

scirio said:
How could they tell? What sys info could there posibbly be that would let them figure out it had ever had any other rom version?
Couldn't you just ##786# and then Menu > Reset all before taking it in (with official firmware of course.) ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
already did. I reset it several times from recovery, through the phone and through ##786#. After which I used reset the phone to unrooted 2.2 froyo. Going to reset it one more time today, with some different files, and take it into a different store. See if that helps. If not then I'm just gonna report it as lost, sell it on ebay, and get a new one.

akarol said:
When you claim your phone lost or stolen, they block that ESN so it can't be reactivated.
Sent from my beloved HTC EVO 4G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since when? I did the same thing with my samsung instinct. Claimed it as lost, and then re-activated it for my son, and i kept the new one.

Last-Chance said:
Since when? I did the same thing with my samsung instinct. Claimed it as lost, and then re-activated it for my son, and i kept the new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You boneheads are why we end up paying so much for stuff. That's fraud!

awrnsmn said:
You boneheads are why we end up paying so much for stuff. That's fraud!
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Click to collapse
like i give a ****. the phone was a complete failure. + They should fix the evo as well. It's a problem of sprint authenticating my phone + i'm paying for the 10$ extra 4g speeds, either deactivate that, or reauth the phone.

awrnsmn said:
You boneheads are why we end up paying so much for stuff. That's fraud!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you make a claim through Asurion, they have no access to your Sprint account only to see if you have the insurance plan so they have no way to access your account to restrict the ESN and label it lost or stolen so that is where the loophole lies......

He probably didn't put the security back on the phone.. prob said s-off still..
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

qpeezy35 said:
When you make a claim through Asurion, they have no access to your Sprint account only to see if you have the insurance plan so they have no way to access your account to restrict the ESN and label it lost or stolen so that is where the loophole lies......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a little bit of a bone to pick with them.. about two weeks ago my wife lost her palm pixi... we put a claim in and I paid the $100 for a new one. Got the phone in but did not activate it due to me moving this last weekend. During the move, found her phone. I call asurion and tell them to take the flag off the ESN so I can just reactivate her phone. They say they cannot do that and since I found her phone to send it in to them. I told them ok, after I transfer her data I will send you that phone and you credit me my deductable. They said no.. I said then take the flag off of her phone and I will send you back yours and you give me the deductable. They said no... I said ok, well screw you.. I am selling the phone you gave me then and using her other to sell for parts and buying her an Evo... the damn pixi can pretty much be had for less than $100.. pricks.

martyzidek said:
He probably didn't put the security back on the phone.. prob said s-off still..
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, checked that as well. It was on. Using:
RUU_Supersonic_1.32.651.1_Radio_1.39.00.04.26_release_171253
right now. Going to a diff store in a couple minutes to see if they notice it.

awrnsmn said:
You boneheads are why we end up paying so much for stuff. That's fraud!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you think his son feels having a crook for a father. Poor kid. Hopefully the apple falls far from the tree. Otherwise, next stop, juvi.

VOODOOTRIP said:
I have a little bit of a bone to pick with them.. about two weeks ago my wife lost her palm pixi... we put a claim in and I paid the $100 for a new one. Got the phone in but did not activate it due to me moving this last weekend. During the move, found her phone. I call asurion and tell them to take the flag off the ESN so I can just reactivate her phone. They say they cannot do that and since I found her phone to send it in to them. I told them ok, after I transfer her data I will send you that phone and you credit me my deductable. They said no.. I said then take the flag off of her phone and I will send you back yours and you give me the deductable. They said no... I said ok, well screw you.. I am selling the phone you gave me then and using her other to sell for parts and buying her an Evo... the damn pixi can pretty much be had for less than $100.. pricks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure there was never a block on the ESN. Trust me, i know a few people that did the same as me, and they never blocked the ESN. Also I know a guy who just called it lost, and never even deactivated/turned off the phone. Received the new one and sold it, while still using the old one.
Also FishTaco, Considering as of last year, my income went from xx,xxx to 6 digits, I would hope the apple falls closer to the tree.

I checked the S-On, but i never checked the PRI. Could of been the reason they found out it was rooted.

Last-Chance said:
Also FishTaco, Considering as of last year, my income went from xx,xxx to 6 digits, I would hope the apple falls closer to the tree.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are my hero.....Funny how that 6 figure income (cough) turned you into a cheating tightwad.

ntron1 said:
You are my hero.....Funny how that 6 figure income (cough) turned you into a cheating tightwad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. It was before my new job
2. Why should i pay 350$ for a new phone, when i'm paying for 4g service that doesn't work?
edit: actually it's more than 350 since I'm no longer able to upgrade and would have to buy the device without a plan.

Last-Chance said:
1. It was before my new job
2. Why should i pay 350$ for a new phone, when i'm paying for 4g service that doesn't work?
edit: actually it's more than 350 since I'm no longer able to upgrade and would have to buy the device without a plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol because you signed a contract to do so?

Last-Chance said:
Also FishTaco, Considering as of last year, my income went from xx,xxx to 6 digits, I would hope the apple falls closer to the tree.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pfft, six figure incomes are for women. My income has 8 numbers, then a little dot, then two more numbers..

He probably couldnt tell you flashed it himself, he probably did everything he could to fix it, or he probably went through some sort of checklist of things that could break 4g and ways to fix it; and then just came to conclusion that you must've flashed it in order to break it.

sorry i gotta call BS on knowing you rooted the phone ! ive rooted and returned to many for various hardware troubles never never had any body tell me i had a cooked rom flashed on the the phone in question

buying a locked galaxy tab

hi everyone
happy new year
i have a question and i hope you guys can help me
i have family in Germany and USA and i thought maybe i can buy a galaxy tab from there and they send it to me, because it's 800$ in my country and i can buy one for 399$ in the USA (AT&T) and 199Euro (O2 and vodafone) in Germany (with contact)
now i want to know whether it's possible to buy one and unlock it?
AT&T says it's 2 year contact. does it mean you have to pay monthly for 2years even if you don't use their services? can they sue you or it's ok if you cancel the contract and keep the device for 399$ you paid at first?
i don't want my uncle to get in trouble
and one more thing
if i get one and even if i couldn't unlock it, can i still use the device? like for video, office programs and most importantly it's wifi.
i heard you must activate it first. can i somehow ignore/skip it?
thank you so much in advance
i hope you have a great year

MahZi said:
now i want to know whether it's possible to buy one and unlock it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can unlock it.
AT&T says it's 2 year contact. does it mean you have to pay monthly for 2years even if you don't use their services? can they sue you or it's ok if you cancel the contract and keep the device for 399$ you paid at first?
i don't want my uncle to get in trouble
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A contract is a contract, regardless of whether you use the services or not, so yes you are supposed to pay. If you wish to terminate early, you need to pay an "Early Termination Fee" (see here). I would guess this means the ETF for a Tab is $325, which would mean you'd have been better off paying $649 for the device in the first place.
And yes, they can pursue you for this - in order to get a contract phone in the US, you need a credit check which means a social security number is required, so they can track down whomever purchased the device relatively easily.
Note, I'm not in the US, so some of this information may be out of date/incorrect, but I know as of 18 months ago getting a cell phone on contract without an SSN was almost impossible!
Regards,
Dave

If you get one in Germany, you can have it unlocked right there. According to German law IIRC, they are required to unlock it for you if you ask them. They are allowed to charge a small fee for it, usually around 50€. Still a good deal.
Maybe someone from germany can confirm or refute this?

thanks Dave and Rapax for fast answers
i think it's better if i buy an unlocked one
they both (AT&T and vodafone) charge for internet connections which i won't be able to use so it does'nt worse
Rapax, vodafone price is 199euro and 40 each month, you mean i can get the device for 199 and pay 50 more to unlock?
i'm not sure if it sounds right
you can have an unlocked galaxy tab for 250euro? i'm getting one immediately

MahZi said:
thanks Dave and Rapax for fast answers
i think it's better if i buy an unlocked one
they both (AT&T and vodafone) charge for internet connections which i won't be able to use so it does'nt worse
Rapax, vodafone price is 199euro and 40 each month, you mean i can get the device for 199 and pay 50 more to unlock?
i'm not sure if it sounds right
you can have an unlocked galaxy tab for 250euro? i'm getting one immediately
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't forget that the contract will still run, unlocking doesn't change that. So it's 199+50+24*40 = 1,209€ Not such a bargain, is it?

i will definitly not buy one
i thought it's gonna cost cheaper that way
you guys don't know a better way?

MahZi said:
i will definitly not buy one
i thought it's gonna cost cheaper that way
you guys don't know a better way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy one from the UK for £407, all in with no contract and already unlocked.
Regards,
Dave

look on ebay.

foxmeister said:
Buy one from the UK for £407, all in with no contract and already unlocked.
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks Dave, i'll see if i can find someone in UK
LargePrime said:
look on ebay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh no, i have bad experience with used devices
but thanks

MahZi said:
oh no, i have bad experience with used devices
but thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They have new ones.
Honestly you can get 4 used ones for that price. That's a lot of spare parts!
And returns are easy. But, As you wish...

You want GSM version only,right?

LargePrime said:
They have new ones.
Honestly you can get 4 used ones for that price. That's a lot of spare parts!
And returns are easy. But, As you wish...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i understand what you say but my relatives over there are not technology friends. they can't test the device to see if it's ok (just the look of it)
LargePrime said:
You want GSM version only,right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i want GSM version
actually i'm not gonna use it as a phone but GT is the only good thing i found that offers my need (light, small and touch). i'm paying for phone part but i won't use it
maybe i have to wait for ipad 7inch or maybe i should buy an Archos 70it
help me

Do you want to wait? If so there are some great things coming. We will see a doubling of power and storage within 6 months.
There should be a wifi only version out soon, which might meet your needs.
Conversely, find a ebay new product that will ship to you. Worse case you waste cash on shipping. still way cheaper.

I read galaxy tab wifi-only version is comming in Q1 this year
it's great news for me
I hope it's 400 not 500
so i wait
in the mean time, do you guys know other options for me? i mean other devices

[Q] Are the S4's going to be easily unlockable?

Hi all,
Long time joiner on here but left shortly after joining when I joined the "i" bandwagon. I have since got an S3 and now about to order an S4 having come back to the Android world!
So to begin with ....
I know it's difficult to say with a unit not even out yet but based on how the previous samsung's have been, will the S4 be easily unlockable?
My issue is that I am on a good contract with O2 but they're not willing to issue me an S4 without getting onto a 24 month contract even if I pay a fair bit upfront.
So my other option is that I buy a Orange/EE unit on a 12 or 18 month contract, get it unlocked and then stick the O2 sim in there.
And then with the S3, that can take the sim that comes with the new contract as I need to port an old pay as you go secondary number over anyway.
I won't place the order however if we're talking months before unlocking it as it will be pointless getting it without being able to use it
Thanks!
AJ

akash_84 said:
Hi all,
Long time joiner on here but left shortly after joining when I joined the "i" bandwagon. I have since got an S3 and now about to order an S4 having come back to the Android world!
So to begin with ....
I know it's difficult to say with a unit not even out yet but based on how the previous samsung's have been, will the S4 be easily unlockable?
My issue is that I am on a good contract with O2 but they're not willing to issue me an S4 without getting onto a 24 month contract even if I pay a fair bit upfront.
So my other option is that I buy a Orange/EE unit on a 12 or 18 month contract, get it unlocked and then stick the O2 sim in there.
And then with the S3, that can take the sim that comes with the new contract as I need to port an old pay as you go secondary number over anyway.
I won't place the order however if we're talking months before unlocking it as it will be pointless getting it without being able to use it
Thanks!
AJ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The other option is to buy a phone from phones4u, Im sure all the phones from these companys are sim free and you also receive a pre order pack including a case, sd card and a car charger.
you can also get 12 month contracts on vodafone.
And if you go through quidco or topcashback you can receive cashback for these too.

Let me drop them an email
I did ask dialAphone - theirs is locked but did not think about P4U

akash_84 said:
Let me drop them an email
I did ask dialAphone - theirs is locked but did not think about P4U
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats strange about dialaphone, I thought all their phones were unlocked too. I ordered my htc one X from them and it was unlocked.

Just had a live chat with P4U, have to say, very impressive. No waiting, she was extremely quick to reply each time and clearly UK based
So basically if it is ordered online, it might be unlocked but there is no guarantee it will be for certain.
BUT, if bought in-store, I can request an unlocked unit.
I think this will probably be the way to go

akash_84 said:
Just had a live chat with P4U, have to say, very impressive. No waiting, she was extremely quick to reply each time and clearly UK based
So basically if it is ordered online, it might be unlocked but there is no guarantee it will be for certain.
BUT, if bought in-store, I can request an unlocked unit.
I think this will probably be the way to go
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep had nothing but positive experiences with both dialaphone and phones4u

Its on unlocked mobile for £529 I'm very tempted, but was in o2 shop today and the guys there reckon it will be under £500 within a couple of weeks to buy locked to o2 so might be worth waiting for a few weeks

With Three it's £15 to unlock and you can do it right away.

Thanks all for the replies
I'm going to take the punt and go for an Orange S4. I get 7 days to return it so if it's locked on Saturday or whenever it arrives, I'll just have to send it back or maybe speak to Orange first to see if they can unlock it with the threat of cancelling the contract if it's not.
And if that happens, it'll just be a case of waiting or maybe going with O2 and the deal they have offered to upgrade which is not a nice one!

Bought a Verizon PrePaid Moto G Today...

So let me tell you how this went down...
First, I go to a local Best Buy Mobile store to check out the Moto G for my girlfriend. They tell me they can't sell me one in the store until Jan. 9th, but if I purchase one online and choose to pickup in the store, I could get one. So I stand in the store, buy the phone on my GS4, and pick it up at the counter. Weird process, but whatever.
So I bought the phone. The lady at the register assured me that I would be able to use this on her line (which is a contract line). Go to activate it, and find out that it can't be done until the 9th. That's cool, no problem. Once I get home, I find out that the phone will only work on a prepaid line and BestBuy did not inform me of this. I go back up to the store to return it, but they won't take it back because it's opened. Oh, I forgot to mention, the lady at the damn counter was the one who opened it!
So, is there ANY way that I could get this to activate on a contract line without having it activated on a prepaid line for 6 months, or am I screwed? If not, is there a good way to bypass the activation and use it solely as a wifi "tablet" (for my girlfriend's kid)?
If I actually am screwed, anyone want this thing for $80 shipped in the continental US?

That's a lie about it being opened. I have returned prepaid phone there on several occasions. There is something either shady about your story or the person working but something isn't adding up here.
Sent from my XT1034 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

There is no SIM slot right?

big gulps huh? said:
That's a lie about it being opened. I have returned prepaid phone there on several occasions. There is something either shady about your story or the person working but something isn't adding up here.
Sent from my XT1034 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I thought something was fishy about that too. I'm going to try and take it back when someone else is working.
szymgio said:
There is no SIM slot right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, there is no SIM slot.

rngrdanny22 said:
If not, is there a good way to bypass the activation and use it solely as a wifi "tablet" (for my girlfriend's kid)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can bypass the activation easily, simply hit next 1 time, pull down the notification center, click on the multitasking button and swipe away the activation screen quickly, and boom! You have a $100 iPod touch alternative (which is why I bought it) I recorded a short video to show you, wiped it real quick because I just got it yesterday anyways
Code:
youtu.be/qhphsyRFEy4

rngrdanny22 said:
Yeah, I thought something was fishy about that too. I'm going to try and take it back when someone else is working.
Correct, there is no SIM slot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't make sense to buy device without SIM slot...

szymgio said:
It doesn't make sense to buy device without SIM slot...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why? CDMA phones have never used SIM slots. It's only with LTE now that Verizon and Sprint have used SIMs in their phones

wws12 said:
Why? CDMA phones have never used SIM slots. It's only with LTE now that Verizon and Sprint have used SIMs in their phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like to have choice.

uhm it was my impression that with bestbuy you can return prepaid phones opened within 14 days, the part you left out of your story is how long you waited to return the phone!
rngrdanny22 said:
So let me tell you how this went down...
First, I go to a local Best Buy Mobile store to check out the Moto G for my girlfriend. They tell me they can't sell me one in the store until Jan. 9th, but if I purchase one online and choose to pickup in the store, I could get one. So I stand in the store, buy the phone on my GS4, and pick it up at the counter. Weird process, but whatever.
So I bought the phone. The lady at the register assured me that I would be able to use this on her line (which is a contract line). Go to activate it, and find out that it can't be done until the 9th. That's cool, no problem. Once I get home, I find out that the phone will only work on a prepaid line and BestBuy did not inform me of this. I go back up to the store to return it, but they won't take it back because it's opened. Oh, I forgot to mention, the lady at the damn counter was the one who opened it!
So, is there ANY way that I could get this to activate on a contract line without having it activated on a prepaid line for 6 months, or am I screwed? If not, is there a good way to bypass the activation and use it solely as a wifi "tablet" (for my girlfriend's kid)?
If I actually am screwed, anyone want this thing for $80 shipped in the continental US?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Nice
skyhawk21 said:
uhm it was my impression that with bestbuy you can return prepaid phones opened within 14 days, the part you left out of your story is how long you waited to return the phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Verizon phone has only been available for 3 days. He's no way near the 14 day limit. Love the attitude.

szymgio said:
I like to have choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool story, brah. Nonetheless, I guess you missed the fact that he bought this for his girlfriend who is under contract with Verizon which is a CDMA carrier. You can't buy a GSM phone and use it on a CDMA carrier. The only time one would need a SIM card slot is if you're using it on Sprint or Verizon's LTE network and since this phone doesn't have LTE....

Thanks for the responses guys! I'll try the unlock method later tonight when I have the phone in hand again (girlfriend still has it at the moment).
As for the return policy, I agree with y'all. I probably should be able to take it back, but the lady at the counter seemed like she might have been new or something. I actually tried to take it back about 4 hours later, so way within the 14 day window mentioned earlier.
On a side note, I won't be using the phone either way as I just went ahead and bought a like-new GS3 from a friend that she is going to use (wish I would have known he was selling it PRIOR to all this). If I can use it as a tablet, I'll just let her kid have it, but if not, I'll try and take it back again.
Will keep everyone posted!

keep us posted guy, I might take you up on that offer.
Good luck.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

sicembaylor said:
Cool story, brah. Nonetheless, I guess you missed the fact that he bought this for his girlfriend who is under contract with Verizon which is a CDMA carrier. You can't buy a GSM phone and use it on a CDMA carrier. The only time one would need a SIM card slot is if you're using it on Sprint or Verizon's LTE network and since this phone doesn't have LTE....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you use this phone with other CDMA carrier?

So I can buy one at best buy at 99 usd and use or not? No need anything like an active line or anything else?
Sent from my Moto G

Lay295 said:
You can bypass the activation easily, simply hit next 1 time, pull down the notification center, click on the multitasking button and swipe away the activation screen quickly, and boom! You have a $100 iPod touch alternative (which is why I bought it) I recorded a short video to show you, wiped it real quick because I just got it yesterday anyways
Code:
youtu.be/qhphsyRFEy4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alejandrissimo said:
So I can buy one at best buy at 99 usd and use or not? No need anything like an active line or anything else?
Sent from my Moto G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
read post above. I my self haven't bought one yet. buy looks like we can
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Alejandrissimo said:
So I can buy one at best buy at 99 usd and use or not? No need anything like an active line or anything else?
Sent from my Moto G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. After being told they didn't have any at my local store I was happy to inform them that they had 8 of them in stock which was very easy to find out online, and a little arguing about whether or not they could sell it yet, as well as a call to their Verizon rep, I finally was able to procure a Moto G without activating it. Hoping to find out this will work immediately with PagePlus.

Good news everyone, I was able to bypass the activation screen and unlock the phone for "tablet" use (using the methods mentioned in this thread). After playing with the phone for a little while, I gotta say, I actually like the thing! While we won't be using this as a phone, I will probably keep it to use as a MP3 player for the house.
I played around with the features a little and the only real disappointment that I saw was the camera. Maybe I'm use to the 13MP on the GS4, but the picture quality just didn't seem very good. Better than my girlfriend's old iPhone 4, but lacking nonetheless.

Willieumm said:
Correct. After being told they didn't have any at my local store I was happy to inform them that they had 8 of them in stock which was very easy to find out online, and a little arguing about whether or not they could sell it yet, as well as a call to their Verizon rep, I finally was able to procure a Moto G without activating it. Hoping to find out this will work immediately with PagePlus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know how that works out. I tried and the pageplus rep said that the phone was unable to work, and it needed to be 'unlocked.' I wonder if I just got someone who didn't know what to do.

I returned my Verizon prepaid moto g today to BB. I did not have any issues. They did check to see if it had been activated. They turned the phone on and seeing the activate wizard appear turned it off. They only thing I didn't get back was the $0.70 for a 911 fee.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

Note 3 blocked by T-Mobile, need advice

Hey guys, i've got a problem and I need some advice/options.
Long story short, as some of you may know, I bought my T-Mobile branded Note 3 on Swappa in November. Of course, Swappa says that they check IMEIs and the seller assured me that the phone was fully paid for, but a few days ago my Note 3 was blocked/blacklisted (whatever you call it) by T-Mobile for non-payment of EIP.
I have tried to resolve the issue through communicating with the seller and Swappa, but there's really nothing to be done. The seller won't refund my money, Swappa is powerless, and Paypal says the transaction is past their 45 day dispute period. The phone isn't even unlocked, so I can't even try and use it on another carrier right now.
So at this point i'm trying to minimize my losses. I am open to any suggestions as to how I can either:
1. find a way to get the phone unlocked and use it on another carrier (I know that when a T-Mobile phone is blocked or blacklisted, they share that info now with AT&T, but i'm hoping I can use it on Simple Mobile or Straight Talk or Walmart's service)
or
2. sell the phone internationally (with full disclosure of the fact that the phone is blocked on T-Mobile/AT&T of course, but it shouldn't matter if someone wants to use it outside of the US, right?)
or
3. sell the phone as a 'dev' device (at a substantial loss i'm sure), but I have no idea how to do this or even whether a dev would want a phone that is blocked (don't they need to test network stuff?).
I'm trying to find a way to make the best of a bad situation. Any one who reads this post and wants to give me some decent advice is welcome. But if you just want to start trolling PLEASE JUST GO AWAY. I have enough problems as it is right now.
In any case, i've learned my lesson. No more Craigslist, no more Negri, no more Swappa. I'm just gonna pony up the money and get my phones directly from T-Mobile. The money I thought I was saving doesn't look like such a deal anymore.

Ah damn, yeah seems a lot of people have fallen into the same trap you have unfortunately.
Well you could try another network. . However the chances are high that it'll be blocked all over the US. - yes you could sell it internationally and disclose the issue but the frequency has a different range(?) - this would probably be your best option.
If not then you'd just have to take the hit on it, toss it away or use as a media device. And put it down to a very bad lesson learnt the hard way :-/
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

radicalisto said:
Ah damn, yeah seems a lot of people have fallen into the same trap you have unfortunately.
Well you could try another network. . However the chances are high that it'll be blocked all over the US. - yes you could sell it internationally and disclose the issue but the frequency has a different range(?) - this would probably be your best option.
If not then you'd just have to take the hit on it, toss it away or use as a media device. And put it down to a very bad lesson learnt the hard way :-/
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciate the response, but now way I could toss $650 away. It took me a few months to save that up. That's why i'm trying to salvage whatever I can of this situation.
Perhaps there's a Canadian carrier uses the same frequencies as T-Mobile? Anyone know a site that would help me compare GSM bands/frequencies to see which countries would be the best option for reselling?

You could have a scan on gsmarena they detail frequencies on the different models.
Yeah it's definitely an expensive error for sure, assume T - Mobile aren't too keen to help at all then?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

radicalisto said:
You could have a scan on gsmarena they detail frequencies on the different models.
Yeah it's definitely an expensive error for sure, assume T - Mobile aren't too keen to help at all then?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, T-Mobile won't give me any info because i'm not the original account holder for the phone. T-Mobile will probably go after that person, but it's probably just a tax write off for them.

Try RegionLock away on Play store or buy an unlock code then try with a pre-paid service. GL

RMXO said:
Try RegionLock away on Play store or buy an unlock code then try with a pre-paid service. GL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Won't help.... Phone has been blacklisted...
Unless you can get the carrier to take it off the blacklist it won't be allowed to connect to any network in that country (theoretically)...
Just a thought though - if the phone hasn't been paid for to the carrier, it's on the blacklist and you are caught trying to use it, you may find yourself charged with possession of stolen goods... Unless you have a receipt that states it was sold to you. Either way though you will loose the phone...

Techngro said:
Hey guys, i've got a problem and I need some advice/options.
Long story short, as some of you may know, I bought my T-Mobile branded Note 3 on Swappa in November. Of course, Swappa says that they check IMEIs and the seller assured me that the phone was fully paid for, but a few days ago my Note 3 was blocked/blacklisted (whatever you call it) by T-Mobile for non-payment of EIP.
I have tried to resolve the issue through communicating with the seller and Swappa, but there's really nothing to be done. The seller won't refund my money, Swappa is powerless, and Paypal says the transaction is past their 45 day dispute period. The phone isn't even unlocked, so I can't even try and use it on another carrier right now.
So at this point i'm trying to minimize my losses. I am open to any suggestions as to how I can either:
1. find a way to get the phone unlocked and use it on another carrier (I know that when a T-Mobile phone is blocked or blacklisted, they share that info now with AT&T, but i'm hoping I can use it on Simple Mobile or Straight Talk or Walmart's service)
or
2. sell the phone internationally (with full disclosure of the fact that the phone is blocked on T-Mobile/AT&T of course, but it shouldn't matter if someone wants to use it outside of the US, right?)
or
3. sell the phone as a 'dev' device (at a substantial loss i'm sure), but I have no idea how to do this or even whether a dev would want a phone that is blocked (don't they need to test network stuff?).
I'm trying to find a way to make the best of a bad situation. Any one who reads this post and wants to give me some decent advice is welcome. But if you just want to start trolling PLEASE JUST GO AWAY. I have enough problems as it is right now.
In any case, i've learned my lesson. No more Craigslist, no more Negri, no more Swappa. I'm just gonna pony up the money and get my phones directly from T-Mobile. The money I thought I was saving doesn't look like such a deal anymore.
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Click to collapse
bad luck for you.
But i can tell you a thing or 2 about selling phone internationally.
your t-mobile fone can be used here in SEA region and for the N3 its probably multi band.so selling it internationally shouldn't be an issue for you.but you'll probably want to sell it at a huge discount.
from past experience,t-mobile's GSM frequency is the same as those in my country and i have no issues using T-mo fone here.my signature should tell you what t-mo fones i had.but i cannot say if the 4g band is the same though.so dun worry about the GSM band being compatible or not,that's the buyer's responsibility.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_frequency_bands)
i am not sure if there is a way to sim unlock your fone without having to buy a unlock code(i noe the sensation 4g had a way to remove sim lock altogether),if you do find a way,there is no harm testing to see if you can still use the fone on other networks.
take it as a hard lesson learned bro but dun give up trying other ways to use your fone,i am pretty sure the journey is educational.like how i tried to make t-mo fones work in my country.

I might be wrong but its only blacklisted IMEI NUMBER? in UK its illegal to change it. But I think you end up selling it OK on ebay
with NO RETURNS OR REFUND!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

ultramag69 said:
Won't help.... Phone has been blacklisted...
Unless you can get the carrier to take it off the blacklist it won't be allowed to connect to any network in that country (theoretically)...
Just a thought though - if the phone hasn't been paid for to the carrier, it's on the blacklist and you are caught trying to use it, you may find yourself charged with possession of stolen goods... Unless you have a receipt that states it was sold to you. Either way though you will loose the phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I do have a receipt from both Paypal and Swappa. But I think would only work if it has been reported lost or stolen by the original owner. I don't think that's the case. T-Mobile said it was blocked for non-payment of EIP. Guess the guy just flipped the phone as soon as he signed the contract. People suck.
frostmore said:
bad luck for you.
But i can tell you a thing or 2 about selling phone internationally.
your t-mobile fone can be used here in SEA region and for the N3 its probably multi band.so selling it internationally shouldn't be an issue for you.but you'll probably want to sell it at a huge discount.
from past experience,t-mobile's GSM frequency is the same as those in my country and i have no issues using T-mo fone here.my signature should tell you what t-mo fones i had.but i cannot say if the 4g band is the same though.so dun worry about the GSM band being compatible or not,that's the buyer's responsibility.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_frequency_bands)
i am not sure if there is a way to sim unlock your fone without having to buy a unlock code(i noe the sensation 4g had a way to remove sim lock altogether),if you do find a way,there is no harm testing to see if you can still use the fone on other networks.
take it as a hard lesson learned bro but dun give up trying other ways to use your fone,i am pretty sure the journey is educational.like how i tried to make t-mo fones work in my country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, very educational. I used to buy my phone on Craigslist. I never once got scammed. But then Craigslist turned into Scam Central Station. So I went to Swappa because they use Paypal and I thought that would give me some protection. Turns out, the only way to ensure that you won't get a phone that will be blocked or blacklisted later is to get it directly from the source. It's turning out to be an expensive lesson. :crying:
How much of a discount do you normally get when you purchase a T-Mobile phone? I don't want to lose $200. It would make more sense to just get a cheap 4G phone and tether it to my Note 3 and use it as a little tablet.
jowett69 said:
I might be wrong but its only blacklisted IMEI NUMBER? in UK its illegal to change it. But I think you end up selling it OK on ebay
with NO RETURNS OR REFUND!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I would have to do it that way, but i'm worried now about losing too much money trying to sell it. If I sell it internationally, I don't see why I should lose that much, since the T-Mobile block only applies to the US.

Another option?
I really don't want to lose my $30 5GB plan. I've been looking on Amazon and saw that they have some cheap T-Mobile 4G phones like this Nokia Lumia 521: http://goo.gl/KgvOgR
My thought is, I can purchase that, tether my Note 3 to it and keep using it. 90% of what I do on my Note 3 is data/browsing, gaming, etc. So if I can tether to the Lumia, I guess it would work.
Any thoughts?

Was the Paypal transaction a credit card one? If so, I would contact them directly (you may have recourse for up to 3 months?). I use Paypal but always use my credit card to pay for items and never my bank account because Paypal will not stand behind the purchase if they have a way out.

FedUpx2 said:
Was the Paypal transaction a credit card one? If so, I would contact them directly (you may have recourse for up to 3 months?). I use Paypal but always use my credit card to pay for items and never my bank account because Paypal will not stand behind the purchase if they have a way out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, unfortunately, it was a bank account. Sigh...

UPDATE
So here's an update on my situation.
After considering my options, I ordered a Straight Talk AT&T sim card a few days ago. It was only $7 with free shipping, so I figured I might as well give it a try. It got here today, so I got Chainfire's RegionLock Away app and followed the instructions here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2471742) to unlock my Note 3 using the Straight Talk sim card. Didn't have a single problem getting it unlocked. Total cost to unlock ~ $10.
Once it was unlocked, I signed up for the $45 Straight Talk plan (which ends up around $50 with taxes/fees), and after a couple of reboots, I have service. The service seems pretty fast, but I don't want to do a speedtest because it's just a waste of my limited data allotment. It shows as being 4G LTE, but I don't know if that's the case.
So, I pay $20 more for half the data, and I have a Note 3 that is worth considerably less than what I paid for it only a couple of months ago on Swappa. I've definitely learned a valuable lesson here. But at least I have a working phone, so there's that.
Thanks for all of the suggestions guys.

That's awesome and glad you are able to use the phone normally.

Techngro said:
So here's an update on my situation.
After considering my options, I ordered a Straight Talk AT&T sim card a few days ago. It was only $7 with free shipping, so I figured I might as well give it a try. It got here today, so I got Chainfire's RegionLock Away app and followed the instructions here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2471742) to unlock my Note 3 using the Straight Talk sim card. Didn't have a single problem getting it unlocked. Total cost to unlock ~ $10.
Once it was unlocked, I signed up for the $45 Straight Talk plan (which ends up around $50 with taxes/fees), and after a couple of reboots, I have service. The service seems pretty fast, but I don't want to do a speedtest because it's just a waste of my limited data allotment. It shows as being 4G LTE, but I don't know if that's the case.
So, I pay $20 more for half the data, and I have a Note 3 that is worth considerably less than what I paid for it only a couple of months ago on Swappa. I've definitely learned a valuable lesson here. But at least I have a working phone, so there's that.
Thanks for all of the suggestions guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear about your problems. Even though a couple people had the same issue with phones from Negri Electronics, mine purchased from Negri still says that the IMEI is not recognized when checked and it works fine on T-Mobile or AT&T (tested with sister's T-Mobile SIM and daily use with AT&T grandfathered Unlimited) with LTE. I am very happy. T-Mobile was going to make me spend $791 + at least 45 days of unwanted service before I could even request an unlock and they have 7 days to respond (52 days of unwanted service?). That's not a deal.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

CZroe said:
Sorry to hear about your problems. Even though a couple people had the same issue with phones from Negri Electronics, mine purchased from Negri still says that the IMEI is not recognized when checked and it works fine on T-Mobile or AT&T (tested with sister's T-Mobile SIM and daily use with AT&T grandfathered Unlimited) with LTE. I am very happy. T-Mobile was going to make me spend $791 + at least 45 days of unwanted service before I could even request an unlock and they have 7 days to respond (52 days of unwanted service?). That's not a deal.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Well, i'm glad that Negri made someone happy. There were plenty of people on this forum who felt they were getting scammed by them and had to cancel preorders after waiting 3 weeks for a shipment that never happened.
You might feel you're getting a deal, and maybe you are, and i'm glad for you. But for me, as I said, I learned a very expensive lesson from my experiences with both Negri and Swappa. It's only a deal when it works out the way you want it to. When you get screwed like I did, it stops being a deal. Not only did my phone get blocked, I now pay more money for less service. The extra $100 in savings isn't worth the risk for me anymore.