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My gf's old phone broke, and I found a cheap HD2 on craigslist. I went ahead and bought it from the guy. He seemed ok, maybe a LITTLE shady. When I brought it home and told her how I got it, she became worried that if we put her sim card into it, and it IS stolen, a red flag will show up at T-mobile and she might get into trouble.
Is there any way T-mobile can tell who has the phone if it IS stolen? Also, if she ever has to send it in for a replacement through warranty, will she be screwed? I know I shouldn't have bought it off of Craigslist, but it's too late for that now...
Well, you could always call T-Mobile and ask them if it was reported stolen ....
Don't think they will call the police on you , If you tell them you are going to , but I bet they will want to take your name, just in case ...
Lol this whole thread seems shady as hell.
Sounds like the OP might be trying to fish answers for his own endeavors...
lol, i know. it sounds pretty bad, but i assure you, that's not the case.
they can tell if it's stolen. they can tell if more than one person has the same IMEI number. whoever was using the phone will have that IMEI on their account, and if your gf puts her sim card in it, they will be able to see the IMEI from the phone. that's done on purpose, so that if someone does report a stolen phone, and the IMEI turns up on another account, they can flag it. however if it was not reported stolen, then there isn't much they can do as they don't know whether or not the original owner sold it to you or a shady guy on craigslist sold it to you, so reporting to the authorities would be pointless for them, as it may have been a legal transaction. as for calling them, they're probably not going to give you the info if that IMEI is registered in their system, they may not even tell you if it is. but if it has been reported stolen, and the IMEI shows up under a different account it will probably be flagged, I'm not sure what would happen at that point. More than likely rather than calling the authorities they'll just cut off the service to the phone.
Try a prepaid sim card and see if it was IMEI blocked?
well, we put her sim card in it and nothing has happened so far. i suppose it was legit.
If you got it with box, supplies and cables its very low chance that it stolen. Actual price in my local craiglist is really low, but it doesn't mean that most of all are stollen
tmobile dont care if the phone stolen or not. it doesnt really matter.
Slash8915 said:
My gf's old phone broke, and I found a cheap HD2 on craigslist. I went ahead and bought it from the guy. He seemed ok, maybe a LITTLE shady. When I brought it home and told her how I got it, she became worried that if we put her sim card into it, and it IS stolen, a red flag will show up at T-mobile and she might get into trouble.
Is there any way T-mobile can tell who has the phone if it IS stolen? Also, if she ever has to send it in for a replacement through warranty, will she be screwed? I know I shouldn't have bought it off of Craigslist, but it's too late for that now...
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If that were possible I would like to think they would have told me when my TouchPro2 got stolen... The fact that they didn't mention anything like that leads me to believe they can't tell just by the sim card.
i buy/sell phones on craigslist almost weekly and put my sim in all of them
when i call t-mobile to change the internet plan they always ask me where i bought the phone. i always say from t-mobile and they never say anything about it. guess they cant really tell
hope this helps
Slash8915 said:
My gf's old phone broke, and I found a cheap HD2 on craigslist. I went ahead and bought it from the guy. He seemed ok, maybe a LITTLE shady. When I brought it home and told her how I got it, she became worried that if we put her sim card into it, and it IS stolen, a red flag will show up at T-mobile and she might get into trouble.
Is there any way T-mobile can tell who has the phone if it IS stolen? Also, if she ever has to send it in for a replacement through warranty, will she be screwed? I know I shouldn't have bought it off of Craigslist, but it's too late for that now...
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Click to collapse
Hi,
I'm not in the US but i always purchase phones from US and UK on ebay.
Always when i buy phones which are doubt to be stolen or reported as stolen i use this site www.checkmend.com.
They are even recommended by ebay. They claim to have a connection to a database that has all the information on Mobile Phones, Laptops, GPS navigators, etc. Which they can track by the serial number.
In your case you will need to provide them with the IMEI number of your phone and they will give a report on the status of the phone and past owners if they are registered. (they send this report by email instantly. they charge you USD 2.99 for this service. i thinks its quite worth than the risk.)
in my experience I've tried this service twice and a HD that i bought from the UK was returned with a report that said "This item has been blocked during its lifetime by one or more UK network(s)." which means it was reported lost or stolen.
and i even tried my HD2 which i'm using currently which i got from US cos i didn't get any box or accessory with it. But the report came out clear and i am in peace of mind.
Hope this helps.
ruwan7 said:
in my experience I've tried this service twice and a HD that i bought from the UK was returned with a report that said "This item has been blocked during its lifetime by one or more UK network(s)." which means it was reported lost or stolen.
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usefull site. does it give any detail? i blocked my last phone thinking i'd lost it, 4 weeks later it turned up in a friends sofa, so i had them un block it and used it for another 18months.
i guess that would give the response you gave above..
Someone mentioned the IEM number that is the way they can tell if its stolen. So when and IF you ever take your phone into the store to have the useless sales people help you solve some problem. That is how they will know if its stolen. If there is a way to tell by electronic signal Tmobile simply doesnt care. I asked when I bought mine and they told me to get insurance. I asked how do you know if I dont just keep the phone and get a new one for 100 bucks. IEM number shows up was their answer.
Your IMEI and sim info are constantly broadcast about the cell network, you don't have to go into a store for this information to be picked up.
http://www.numberingplans.com/?page=analysis&sub=imeinr is one of the most common websites for checking your IMEI number (it's free), but do be careful with posting your IMEI/Serial number online at any site. Some are looking for valid IMEI numbers to use illegally.
Damn those shady Craigslist guys...
c2tmdsn said:
when i call t-mobile to change the internet plan
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I could be mistaken but I believe that if you select the G1 unlimited data plan, then any smart phone you have after that will not need to be updated...I am using the G1 plan with my HD2 and it works fine. So maybe you can avoid lying to them.
So I found a person on Craigslist who had a Droid 2 for sale, good deal. So I met up with him, checked out the phone, everything looked good. I called Verizon before making the exchange for the phone and verified the ESN was clear. I get home and try to activate the phone and can't. I called Verizon back and this time I'm being told the phone is still allocated to an account but not active, probably someone who didn't pay a bill would be my guess. It's still early and I haven't tried contacting the person I purchased it from, but providing that falls through what are my options? Or are there any?
I've had verizon for almost 12 years now, can't say I've had the best experience but this just takes the prize. First guy says yes, second person says no, I'm probably out money. ><
Be careful. It could either be stolen or his and he could be filing a claim that the phone was stolen so document everything from the transaction to ensure you don't end up in the wrong. I'm not sure if anything can be done if you have a linked but not active ESN.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
newk8600 said:
Be careful. It could either be stolen or his and he could be filing a claim that the phone was stolen so document everything from the transaction to ensure you don't end up in the wrong. I'm not sure if anything can be done if you have a linked but not active ESN.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
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Yea I kinda figure that I'm out some cash and got a nifty paperweight now. I'm calling VZW to raise hell since one person told me it was clean, and the other told me the truth about it. Nothing will probably come of it, but at least I get to ***** at them for it. I did manage to get the guy I bought it from to tell me earlier today that it was on his wifes account and that she needed the money from getting rid of the phone to buy another and have it activated. Of course he hasn't returned any of my follow up calls asking when this is going to happen. Unfortunately this isn't someone I know, but do feel like giving him the ass beating of his lifetime.
Oh well, I should have tried to activate it myself on the spot so I guess you live you learn.
By the way, I've got this new thing called an Android Paperweight that runs OS 2.2 if you're interested in buying it let me know (j/k)
StirCwazy said:
Yea I kinda figure that I'm out some cash and got a nifty paperweight now. I'm calling VZW to raise hell since one person told me it was clean, and the other told me the truth about it. Nothing will probably come of it, but at least I get to ***** at them for it. I did manage to get the guy I bought it from to tell me earlier today that it was on his wifes account and that she needed the money from getting rid of the phone to buy another and have it activated. Of course he hasn't returned any of my follow up calls asking when this is going to happen. Unfortunately this isn't someone I know, but do feel like giving him the ass beating of his lifetime.
Oh well, I should have tried to activate it myself on the spot so I guess you live you learn.
By the way, I've got this new thing called an Android Paperweight that runs OS 2.2 if you're interested in buying it let me know (j/k)
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Honestly, if it ends up being a bad ESN and you aren't ever able to activate it you could probably sell it to a developer to recuperate some of the cost. You probably wont get it all but I'm sure you could get a nice chunk back.
kwheel596 said:
Honestly, if it ends up being a bad ESN and you aren't ever able to activate it you could probably sell it to a developer to recuperate some of the cost. You probably wont get it all but I'm sure you could get a nice chunk back.
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I wouldn't even know where to start, but good suggestion, thanks.
I called VZW a few minutes ago to complain and found out that the person I spoke with last night didn't log anything in our account indicating a call and regarding what. The person I spoke with earlier today did. I just wish everyone knew how to do their job properly to make sure everyone in my situation ends up with the best possible results, and not out some money that could be used elsewhere.
So if life I guess
How much does it take to buy the phone..... paper weight
rdking said:
How much does it take to buy the phone..... paper weight
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At risk of being ridiculed over what I paid for the said item I'll take offers via PM For the time being I'm still holding out on the dream it will one day soon be functional.
put it on ebay you can still get a couple hundred bucks out of a droid 2 with a bad esn
Good luck man, I hope it will be activated soon!
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
First things first, never buy a CL phone unless you activate it on the SPOT. Regardless if the 'account is late on payment' or whatever that doesn't mean they can blacklist the phone from activating on the network.
If it is a insurance claim phone it can never be used and you are SOL, but if it's stolen I'd call Verizon again and have them contact whoever owns that phone to call you. You seem like an intelligent person, not some kid posting on here, and having VZW for 12 years confirms that. Do the right thing and contact the owner should it be stolen. Maybe work something out?
You could always use it with a different carrier or sell it to someone who wants to use it on a different carrier..
They flash over to cricket easily, probly to sprint or u.s. cellular also
Doesnt matter what the esn says in verizons system when going somewhere else
If you complain enough they will *SOMETIMES* allow you to swap it for a replacement with a clean ESN, though not always. You could also try going into a store and telling them you got ripped off and seeing if they have a carrier return laying that they might be willing to replace your bad one with, Verizon themselves doesn't care about blacklisted ESN's once they have them, they just simply remove it from the blacklist and sell it off
Streak 7 bad ESN
May be an stupid coment, but just by curiosity: when you change the ROM for some custom ROM , the STK7 is not by default unlocked?.
Mr. Cell Phone Unlocker
If you are willing to pay $75, I stumbled across this site that will do it.
Reputable company, but I make no guarantees of their effectiveness. Never tried it either.
Might be worth a shot
http://www.mrcellphoneunlocker.com/V2/products.php?product=Verizon_ESN
Two quick questions about the insurance terms an conditions.
1. If you report it stolen or lost or whatever, do they send you a brand new phone after you pay the deductible or is it a refurbbed one?
2. If report it lost and order a new one, and you find the lost one(or you never actually lost it) do they deactivate the original one somehow?..or track it somehow?....or do they just accept your deductible and let you do whatever you want with them?
They send you what they have in stock at the moment. The longer a phone has been out the more likely you are to get a refurbished one.
The insurance company can't track it or do anything with it, you can do what you want with it and T-mobile won't care.
I advise reporting it lost, if you say it's stolen you have to submit to them a police report.
Good luck, let us know your results.
T-Fanatic said:
They send you what they have in stock at the moment. The longer a phone has been out the more likely you are to get a refurbished one.
The insurance company can't track it or do anything with it, you can do what you want with it and T-mobile won't care.
I advise reporting it lost, if you say it's stolen you have to submit to them a police report.
Good luck, let us know your results.
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Click to collapse
Thank you. Helpful information. Have you personally reported lost phone before?
T-Fanatic said:
They send you what they have in stock at the moment. The longer a phone has been out the more likely you are to get a refurbished one.
The insurance company can't track it or do anything with it, you can do what you want with it and T-mobile won't care.
I advise reporting it lost, if you say it's stolen you have to submit to them a police report.
Good luck, let us know your results.
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Click to collapse
I'm not sure but I'd be surprised if T-Mobile didn't blacklist lost /stolen phones.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Jaskwith said:
Thank you. Helpful information. Have you personally reported lost phone before?
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I have not personally, but I worked at T-mobile up until a couple of weeks ago.
Your insurance isn't through t-mobile, so they don't care if you now have another one all of the sudden. Your insurance will only allow two phone replacements in a year because they can't actually blacklist or stop the phones.
T-Fanatic said:
I have not personally, but I worked at T-mobile up until a couple of weeks ago.
Your insurance isn't through t-mobile, so they don't care if you now have another one all of the sudden. Your insurance will only allow two phone replacements in a year because they can't actually blacklist or stop the phones.
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Click to collapse
Wrong! The phones can be blacklisted. Honestly if you do find its best to report it BC if you start using that old one or sell it then asurion can and will prosecute for insurance fraud.
sk337sk337 said:
Wrong! The phones can be blacklisted. Honestly if you do find its best to report it BC if you start using that old one or sell it then asurion can and will prosecute for insurance fraud.
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I just have a question, cause I'd like people to be clear about what they're saying.
How would Ausrion even know if you sold it?
I mean, I could understand you finding the phone and using it again..cause maybe that could be tracked. (Maybe.)
But what could be done about selling it? That makes no sense.
Unless you try to sell it by posting "Selling my supposedly lost phone" on the TMobile forums.
nguyendqh said:
I just have a question, cause I'd like people to be clear about what they're saying.
How would Ausrion even know if you sold it?
I mean, I could understand you finding the phone and using it again..cause maybe that could be tracked. (Maybe.)
But what could be done about selling it? That makes no sense.
Unless you try to sell it by posting "Selling my supposedly lost phone" on the TMobile forums.
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Click to collapse
I am not sure what they actually do, but in theory it's pretty easy.
You claim the phone is lost
TMobile blacklists the phone's IMEI
Someone tries to register the phone on the TMobile network
TMobile and/or Asurion go after the account holder for the associated SIM
They show they bought it from you
No profit
chrisjs81 said:
I am not sure what they actually do, but in theory it's pretty easy.
You claim the phone is lost
TMobile blacklists the phone's IMEI
Someone tries to register the phone on the TMobile network
TMobile and/or Asurion go after the account holder for the associated SIM
They show they bought it from you
No profit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone can be unlocked to use on any provider.
So...wouldn't selling it as an unlocked phone give you a better chance?
And you could sell it to a friend and have them say they bought it from off the internet or at a pawn shop or anything.
I just don't think it's that precise. (Who knows maybe it is.)
Anyway. I'm not trying to prove there's ways around it. I just wanted to understand the statement better.
And is blacklisting a phone's IMEI a new thing? Cause I've had phones stolen in the past that ended being in use by other people. Nothing ever happened there. (And I know that because I found out who stole the phone.)
*Just curious by the way, not trying to start a heated conversation or anything.
Thank for the info!
The insurance companies are NOT as dumb as you think they are. Insurance fraud is a booming business and companies are always looking to minimize their losses against fraud.
I know this because one of my specialty fields includes loss prevention and fraud. They can and will blacklist your IMEI number and despite your noble efforts to sell to a friend who magically ends up buying that very same phone off craigslist [unbeknownst to you ] will get you in trouble.
Do the smart thing and heed the advice given here by people who know. Don't try to fool businesses or people who have been around the block way longer than your ingenious plan of trying to net an extra phone.
You're better off slipping in the Taco Bell parking lot and claiming an injury.
CBConsultation said:
The insurance companies are NOT as dumb as you think they are. Insurance fraud is a booming business and companies are always looking to minimize their losses against fraud.
I know this because one of my specialty fields includes loss prevention and fraud. They can and will blacklist your IMEI number and despite your noble efforts to sell to a friend who magically ends up buying that very same phone off craigslist [unbeknownst to you ] will get you in trouble.
Do the smart thing and heed the advice given here by people who know. Don't try to fool businesses or people who have been around the block way longer than your ingenious plan of trying to net an extra phone.
You're better off slipping in the Taco Bell parking lot and claiming an injury.
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Click to collapse
Think I could get some more detail about slipping in the parking lot of Taco Bell?
Asurion watches your account and tracks people down if they see someone you talk/text has the imei of your "lost" phone. Trust me don't lie to insurance companies
But if you sell it on Cl and report it lost at a bar...? What can they prove?
sk337sk337 said:
Asurion watches your account and tracks people down if they see someone you talk/text has the imei of your "lost" phone. Trust me don't lie to insurance companies
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Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread
So they actually blacklist imei numbers?
Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread
Jaskwith said:
So they actually blacklist imei numbers?
Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread
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Click to collapse
Yes they do.
Sent over HSPA+ using XDA app.
Jaskwith said:
So they actually blacklist imei numbers?
Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread
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Click to collapse
I also noticed your sig says your MT4G is running Gingerbread. Wanna explain?
Sent over HSPA+ using XDA app.
Well its cm7... basically gingerbread.
CBConsultation said:
I also noticed your sig says your MT4G is running Gingerbread. Wanna explain?
Sent over HSPA+ using XDA app.
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Click to collapse
Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread
Better not do that. Just don't lie to insurance companies
I'm not advocating fraud, but last time I checked the two big US GSM providers (AT&T and T-Mobile) don't utilize an IMEI blacklist. I checked because I had a phone stolen from me and I asked T-Mobile to blacklist the IMEI and they told me that they can't (or won't) do that. They said the best they could do was deactivate the SIM card to prevent the thief from running up my bill. After doing some digging, I discovered reports of many AT&T customers with the same experience.
moto211 said:
I'm not advocating fraud, but last time I checked the two big US GSM providers (AT&T and T-Mobile) don't utilize an IMEI blacklist. I checked because I had a phone stolen from me and I asked T-Mobile to blacklist the IMEI and they told me that they can't (or won't) do that. They said the best they could do was deactivate the SIM card to prevent the thief from running up my bill. After doing some digging, I discovered reports of many AT&T customers with the same experience.
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that is absolutely true. USA gsm carriers have 0 interest in blacklisting for obvious reasons = more money in their pocket. You get to buy a new phone for more money and whoever steals/find the phone gets to pay the company even more money.
I have no idea what insurance companies will do, though, but I've reported a lost phone, which I'm sure someone is still using, got a replacement and never heard word of it being tracked down or something.
Best advice I have is call assurion and ask if, in case your phone gets lost, if they'll do anything to retrieve it. My guess would be a resounding NO unless you have a police report, a subpoena and a lot of time to waste on this.
So I got a new phone right from bell a month ago via their insurance thing when I broke mine. Worked great for a month. This morning it said something about incorrect sim and to contact bell.
Call them and they tell me it's stolen.
I take my receipt and the warranty thing in but the serials don't match and they want to keep the phone. I grab it and leave. I've taken my stuff off it. And been on the phone it bell for like an hour.
Has anyone heard of this before? Do I have any options besides smash this with a hammer and buy a nexus 5?is it possible to get a resolution from bell customer support?
Since when have they been able to disable a phone remotely like that. I don't like that they can do that.
Jeffrey000 said:
So I got a new phone right from bell a month ago via their insurance thing when I broke mine. Worked great for a month. This morning it said something about incorrect sim and to contact bell.
Call them and they tell me it's stolen.
I take my receipt and the warranty thing in but the serials don't match and they want to keep the phone. I grab it and leave. I've taken my stuff off it. And been on the phone it bell for like an hour.
Has anyone heard of this before? Do I have any options besides smash this with a hammer and buy a nexus 5?is it possible to get a resolution from bell customer support?
Since when have they been able to disable a phone remotely like that. I don't like that they can do that.
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Click to collapse
This is something you need to contact either the insurance company where you got your replacement phone or your carrier. They've been able to block ESN's for a while now....I know that they were doing it on Verizon, and I think AT&T does it now too...its probably just a matter of time before all do it. Helps prevent people from stealing phones if they know it can be disabled remotely by the carrier.
Heard there was a way to block ESN. but no way to unblock it. ...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
erstad said:
Heard there was a way to block ESN. but no way to unblock it. ...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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This is basically what I'm being told.
Being given a run around. Basically they may or may not have made a mistake and I'm out of luck. All my different paperwork has three different serial numbers and none of them match the phone.
So how the f does that happen?
I wish *****ing to bell got any kind of results, I feel bad for the poor workers I am highly frustrated at even though they have no power.
I don't know what to do. The one lady said to sell it to Europe. Or make it a toy for my kid.
I dunno what to do.
Jeffrey000 said:
This is basically what I'm being told.
Being given a run around. Basically they may or may not have made a mistake and I'm out of luck. All my different paperwork has three different serial numbers and none of them match the phone.
So how the f does that happen?
I wish *****ing to bell got any kind of results, I feel bad for the poor workers I am highly frustrated at even though they have no power.
I don't know what to do. The one lady said to sell it to Europe. Or make it a toy for my kid.
I dunno what to do.
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Click to collapse
How did you pay for it? Maybe you can dispute it if you used a credit card...other than that you are out of luck I guess
Hello friends,
So I have bought Galaxy S7 edge from Craigslist few weeks ago and was using it for prepaid SIM till I found out last night that my phone was blocked due to someone reported this phone was stolen. Is there a way someone can guide me the process to let AT&T know that the phone was not stolen, unless original owner wanted to make money from the insurance or At&T, not sure. Thanks in advance for your help.
The guy you bought it from probably isn't the original owner of the phone you bought from him. He probably stole it in the first place from somebody else. No matter how good his excuses are, there are plenty of maggots out there who dont give a damn about anyone else but just want your money.
P.S That is why he waited a few weeks before reporting it just to make it look good for him.
That sux. But thats a gamble u take being used and craigslist.
Go back to the seller and demand your money back.
I wish I could but seller is not picking up his phone or replying to my calls. I am dead in the water...
Out of curosity, If someone help me unlock the bootloader, and flash a new ROM , Can I be able to use it in USA?
Some knobhead did exact same to me after paying £500 in an ideal world ID at least have been able to beat the **** out of the scumbag
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
iali76 said:
Out of curosity, If someone help me unlock the bootloader, and flash a new ROM , Can I be able to use it in USA?
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Click to collapse
Your IMIE is blacklisted. Unlocking will not change this, nor will loading a new rom. If this is an AT&T phone, then it's not even an option anyway, as you can't unlock them.
No offence, but your screwed.....
Yup, no recovering from this. You are screwed.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Unfortunately, this sounds like it's an expensive lesson learned.
In future, when buying a used phone from someone on Ebay, Craigslist, Swappa, etc, ALWAYS ask for the IMEI number of the phone. Then call the service provider that the phone belongs to and verify that the IMEI number is in good standing and has not been blacklisted.
You need to ask for they I'd so that way you can find them or report them ppl can sell you a phone then later on block it they can get a new one happen to me but you can try getting the Sim unlock and trying a small class phone company to see if they would give service anything like tmobile att they not going to do it