Database Users

Blocked IMEI

whats happen if one country block IMEI of the phone and you will take this phone to another country???
will work or not?

?
Why'd it get blocked? Blocked IEMI numbers are usually because they are stolen.

BOjaS said:
whats happen if one country block IMEI of the phone and you will take this phone to another country???
will work or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TC,
I will tell you the answer after you return the stolen phone.
Good day.

ok why already everyone think that is stolen??? be honest with you guys i have no idea why they blocked my phone... i send to service they conformed that the phone is blocked becouse it was stolen... on my question why they decided to block it after i was using it for 8 months they couldnt give me answere...
quuestion is what i can do about it if i bought phone on ebay??? i have all the detiles of transaction and they guy detiles, shall i go on the police station to say that they guy is selling stolen goods?

Relax man.
It is not your fault you bought an stolen device.
This things happen.However it is quite unpleasant to have your phone stolen.I think you would agree.
Since you can not use the phone you might as well give it back to the owner.
The phone was blocked probably because someone reported the phone to be stolen.The police will take the phone for sure, and maybe the seller from ebay did not know it was stolen.But who knows.
Did you get any documents,an invoice or something , when you got the phone on ebay?
Good luck.

berbecverde said:
Relax man.
It is not your fault you bought an stolen device.
This things happen.However it is quite unpleasant to have your phone stolen.I think you would agree.
Since you can not use the phone you might as well give it back to the owner.
The phone was blocked probably because someone reported the phone to be stolen.The police will take the phone for sure, and maybe the seller from ebay did not know it was stolen.But who knows.
Did you get any documents,an invoice or something , when you got the phone on ebay?
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As stated above I would return device as it sounds like its stolen. I would also report it to ebay as you appear to have a legit case which should be investigated by them. If you have kept copies of ducoments/trasnactions etc you could also possibly get refunded

Well don't return it unless you get a refund first. If you paid by PayPal try to file a dispute and tell them it's a stolen phone. If they refund your money, you can either take the phone to a local carrier store and let them return it to the original owner, or just sell it on eBay yourself. If you don't get a refund, just sell it on eBay so you can recover your wasted money.
As far as taking it to another country, I don't think they'd be able to block it internationally, that doesn't really seem plausible.

rpimps said:
Well don't return it unless you get a refund first. If you paid by PayPal try to file a dispute and tell them it's a stolen phone. If they refund your money, you can either take the phone to a local carrier store and let them return it to the original owner, or just sell it on eBay yourself. If you don't get a refund, just sell it on eBay so you can recover your wasted money.
As far as taking it to another country, I don't think they'd be able to block it internationally, that doesn't really seem plausible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We DO NOT encourage people to sell stolen goods, this is fraud!!
Consider this first and last warning!!

Fallen Spartan said:
We DO NOT encourage people to sell stolen goods, this is fraud!!
Consider this first and last warning!!
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Click to collapse
Sorry, I definitely don't support stealing or helping people steal. I'm just saying if there are no other options, he might as well sell it or else he's lost $600+ for nothing.

OK but still no answere for my question how came that someone (orange) blocking "stolen" phone after 8 months????

BOjaS said:
OK but still no answere for my question how came that someone (orange) blocking "stolen" phone after 8 months????
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Click to collapse
If it's stolen I'd assume it can be blocked indefinitely.

BOjaS said:
OK but still no answere for my question how came that someone (orange) blocking "stolen" phone after 8 months????
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Click to collapse
It's quite likely that the seller himself has reported the phone lost/stolen in order to make an insurance claim. It's even more likely if you bought it boxed and with the charger and all other bits. This is always a significant risk when buying a mobile phone from ebay. I suggest you contact the seller first of all and see what he says.
As people said here the right thing to do would be going to the police, which obviously means submitting the phone with no refund. And possibly helping to catch another thief (God knows we hate them!)
And if you go abroad (e.g. Poland) then yes your phone will work.

I think I may have bought my girlfriend a stolen HD2...

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...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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...
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

Xperia Play not reading any simcard - No service/no simcard?

I just received my brand new Xperia Play yesterday.
It was purchased from ebay and was brand new in the box.
It was advertised as an unwanted upgrade as well as being unlocked.
However, yesterday I tried my international simcard which did not work, vodafone simcard and even after taking it to carphonewarehouse & orange trying a further 2 simcards, it fails to read ANY simcard regardless of company.
I have just a week to solve this problem since I am on holiday in the UK and have to leave nexr weekend.
Based on the above problem, what do you experts think the problem is?
I tried factory resettings, default settings, etc, still not reading any simcards.
The phone obviously is no good to me since it cannot make/receive calls/texts.
Aside from this problem, everything else is working perfectly.
Could this be a hardware issue or software? How can I figure out the problem.
Since time is a factor I don't have time to send it back and wait for repairs or a replacement.
Should this fault be quick & easy to solve I don't mind paying £20 or so if it can be fixed, beats waiting weeks for a replacement.
Any ideas you guys have please feel free to give me any ideas to try to get this phone reading sim cards.
Thanks guys/girls...

EVERY time I turn on my phone I get the following message ''please insert simcard and restart your phone'' even though the simcard inside the phone is working perfectly fine...

It sounds like a H/W fault... contact the seller and/or paypal
Sent from my R800i using Tapatalk

AndroHero said:
It sounds like a H/W fault... contact the seller and/or paypal
Sent from my R800i using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did indeed contact the seller and am awaiting his answer...
Is the fault easy, quick and more or less cheap to fix from a local mobile phone shop?

If I was to download & use a custom rom, could this possibly fix the problem?
In the past I've had problems with bluetooth/wireless lan refusing to work even though everything else did.
After trying another rom it then worked.
This makes me wanna try another rom before returning the phone and waiting weeks for a replacement.
The seller however got back to me saying it was all working before, he has no idea why it's not reading simcards and to return it should it not work.
I will update the rom and report back.

kanej2006 said:
If I was to download & use a custom rom, could this possibly fix the problem?
In the past I've had problems with bluetooth/wireless lan refusing to work even though everything else did.
After trying another rom it then worked.
This makes me wanna try another rom before returning the phone and waiting weeks for a replacement.
The seller however got back to me saying it was all working before, he has no idea why it's not reading simcards and to return it should it not work.
I will update the rom and report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing a new ROM won't repair the problem. What country was the seller in when he sold it to you? Maybe it's still sim locked. Try to unlock it using a 3rd party.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab P-1000 using Tapatalk
_______________________________
WHEN IN DOUBT, XDA
wow, i like this slogan.

hiu115 said:
Flashing a new ROM won't repair the problem. What country was the seller in when he sold it to you? Maybe it's still sim locked. Try to unlock it using a 3rd party.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab P-1000 using Tapatalk
_______________________________
WHEN IN DOUBT, XDA
wow, i like this slogan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a UK seller to a UK buyer (me)
I've tried 4 different simcards of all different networks, not reading any simcard.
The phone appears to be unlocked according to the seller.
Can this issue be easily & cheaply fixed in a local mobile repair shop?

if its not been bootloader unlocked and then ota bricked then it sounds to me like its blacklisted in other words reported lost/stolen or fraudulant and so pretty much useless to anyone in the UK

mac_d4di said:
if its not been bootloader unlocked and then ota bricked then it sounds to me like its blacklisted in other words reported lost/stolen or fraudulant and so pretty much useless to anyone in the UK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm, how can I find out WTF is actually wrong with the phone?
The LAST thing I wanna do is return it, and then waiting ages for a replacement or refund.
Is it worth me taking the phone to a mobile repair place and asking them to look into this?

hiu115 said:
Flashing a new ROM won't repair the problem. What country was the seller in when he sold it to you? Maybe it's still sim locked. Try to unlock it using a 3rd party.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab P-1000 using Tapatalk
_______________________________
WHEN IN DOUBT, XDA
wow, i like this slogan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dont think its sim locked since its saying please insert sim card if it was locked more than likely itll say please enter network unlock code
does sound like a hardware issue do you have the battery cover on when your trying it?
i know my play when the battery cover is off the sd card wont work etc maybe its the same with the sim card
sure i dont have to ask your putting in the simcard correctly right?
shame nonetheless it might be more expensive to try and fix it since parts are not easily available

The sim card works without battery cover... If you inserted the card in properly... It should work.... If not then refund it.
Sent from my XPlay using XDA App.

kanej2006 said:
Hmmm, how can I find out WTF is actually wrong with the phone?
The LAST thing I wanna do is return it, and then waiting ages for a replacement or refund.
Is it worth me taking the phone to a mobile repair place and asking them to look into this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best thing to do is pop it into an orange shop and ask them to check the imei on the blacklisting website, if it comes up blocked you know for certain. If it not then it could be a hardware issue but i doubt it. Good luck

mac_d4di said:
Best thing to do is pop it into an orange shop and ask them to check the imei on the blacklisting website, if it comes up blocked you know for certain. If it not then it could be a hardware issue but i doubt it. Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a good idea.
Anyway I've just come back from a few mobile repair shops.
After checking the phone, the engineer said it appears to be blocked and will only work outside the country.
Should this be the case, it's not a major issue since I live in Dubai. I happen to be in London for a holiday.
The phone was bought from ebay, and if the handset is indeed blocked then the seller is taking the piss since he simply mentioned the phone being an unwanted upgrade as well as unlocked!
I will contact the seller now and see what he says.

it will work mostly everywhere except the uk

This is the only problem with buying phones off eBay, it happend to my sister twice. The good news is that it will work in other country's if it's ota blocked, as it just means that the imea number don't work with UK networks as they have a UK database with all phones that have been reported lost or stolen.
The problem with eBay/PayPal is you only have so many days to file a dispute, so the seller waits till times up then reports it lost or stolen then claims on there insurance, or in some cases take out a new contract just to sell the phone on eBay then not pay the bill. There's a chav lad near me that pays ppl to take out contracts and pays them so much for the phone, what these ppl don't realise is there ruining there credit rating.
Sent from my R800i using XDA App

DAVIDGBJONES said:
This is the only problem with buying phones off eBay, it happend to my sister twice. The good news is that it will work in other country's if it's ota blocked, as it just means that the imea number don't work with UK networks as they have a UK database with all phones that have been reported lost or stolen.
The problem with eBay/PayPal is you only have so many days to file a dispute, so the seller waits till times up then reports it lost or stolen then claims on there insurance, or in some cases take out a new contract just to sell the phone on eBay then not pay the bill. There's a chav lad near me that pays ppl to take out contracts and pays them so much for the phone, what these ppl don't realise is there ruining there credit rating.
Sent from my R800i using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've had quite bad experience using ebay even when buying from ebayers with high & perfect feedback.
Anyway the seller got back to me and swears it is a genuine phone that was claimed from an insurance company and is unlocked and sim free.
He said he tried 2 different sim cards with the phone before advertising it.
My question is how did it previously work yet now it refuses to read any sim?
I may take the phone to an alternative shop and ask them to look into this.
Could it be the sim/sim reader is faulty or damaged and therefore not reading sim cards?

if it was blocked by networks it would just scan for networks and not be able to register on one, it wouldnt say insert sim.
This has been badly flashed IMHO and to my knowledge there is no fix

Go into Service Menu and check Simlock Status:
Dial this:
*#*#SERIVCE#*#*
There are also different Service Tests. For me this problems sounds like the "faulty" method which was used to fix the OTA-Brick on unlocked bootloader!
If it is this problem, your phone will be simlocked (not network-locked!!!) to ANY sim card. And you have to unlock via Software -> Omnius/SE-Tool etc. etc.
Regards

Thanks everyone for your support.
As of now I have no idea of what the problem is.
All I can say is the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is in a repair shop.
It will cost me £45 and on tuesday it should be repaired regardless.
Should they be able to fix the item, great, otherwise if they are unable to fix it then I will get a refund.
I will get back to you lot on tuesday with the results!
My poor 24 hour old brand new Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is in for repairs already and it's still got all the front and back protectors still on...

I've had the simcard reading thing happen to me a few times. After a few reboots, it would be fine again.

AT&T Unlocked Phone Blacklisted on Tmobile

This might sound like a broken record with ebay/craigslist scams, you can add me to the list.
I'm going to keep it short and to the point.
- I'm a T-Mobile user, purchased an AT&T Phone (LG Optimus G) on Craigslist , which i then unlocked via ebay code.
- a couple weeks of use the phone was reported stolen, blacklisted.
> On the day of purchase I saved the craigslist ad on the computer, which contained the seller's number, and it had the date as well.
What should i do?
- Contact the seller?
- Contact AT&T Insurance Company?
- Sell it on Ebay, is it illegal?
Would greatly appreciate any help or info as I am stranded without a phone, so the sooner the better, thank you.

sasoq said:
This might sound like a broken record with ebay/craigslist scams, you can add me to the list.
I'm going to keep it short and to the point.
- I'm a T-Mobile user, purchased an AT&T Phone (LG Optimus G) on Craigslist , which i then unlocked via ebay code.
- a couple weeks of use the phone was reported stolen, blacklisted.
> On the day of purchase I saved the craigslist ad on the computer, which contained the seller's number, and it had the date as well.
What should i do?
- Contact the seller?
- Contact AT&T Insurance Company?
- Sell it on Ebay, is it illegal?
Would greatly appreciate any help or info as I am stranded without a phone, so the sooner the better, thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Contact the seller that would be common sense.... lol
If you contact or go to AT&T they will want to take the phone from you.....
you can sell it on eBay no problem , The Phone will ONLY work outside of the USA. Its not illegal to sell it on eBay if you look there are thousands of them just make sure you put it clear the the IMEI is bad

hyelton said:
Contact the seller that would be common sense.... lol
If you contact or go to AT&T they will want to take the phone from you.....
you can sell it on eBay no problem , The Phone will ONLY work outside of the USA. Its not illegal to sell it on eBay if you look there are thousands of them just make sure you put it clear the the IMEI is bad
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The number on the Ad was a fake number so can't get in any contact with them.
If I sell it on Ebay, wouldn't it be illegal since it was reported stolen?

sasoq said:
The number on the Ad was a fake number so can't get in any contact with them.
If I sell it on Ebay, wouldn't it be illegal since it was reported stolen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No... There are thousands of them on there. It would be illegal if you sold it without saying it had a bad IMEI.
How do you know it was reported Stolen? They are NOT allowed to tell you that. It can can either be reported stolen or lost.
They prob reported it lost, as if someone reports it stolen they have to make a police report.

hyelton said:
No... There are thousands of them on there. It would be illegal if you sold it without saying it had a bad IMEI.
How do you know it was reported Stolen? They are NOT allowed to tell you that. It can can either be reported stolen or lost.
They prob reported it lost, as if someone reports it stolen they have to make a police report.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I contacted t-mobile last week and they said it was reported stolen. How can i know if a police report has been made for it?
Thanks again for responding, there are alot of views on this and no one has advice or info.

sasoq said:
The number on the Ad was a fake number so can't get in any contact with them.
If I sell it on Ebay, wouldn't it be illegal since it was reported stolen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sasoq said:
I contacted t-mobile last week and they said it was reported stolen. How can i know if a police report has been made for it?
Thanks again for responding, there are alot of views on this and no one has advice or info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait.. T-Mobile said that? your best bet would to try and call AT&T as they would of had to of reported it to AT&T and not T-Mobile. But you wont know if someone filed a report. I`d just list it on eBay as a Bad IMEI phone, its not illegal and its not ripping anyone off as the phone can be used for parts and will work anywhere outside of the USA/Canada.

Your best bet would be to put it on eBay with a bad IMEI. As far as you know, it's simply a broken phone. You don't need to tell the buyers the circumstances.
Sent from my 3D FM pentesting smartphone... With Google!

hyelton said:
Wait.. T-Mobile said that? your best bet would to try and call AT&T as they would of had to of reported it to AT&T and not T-Mobile. But you wont know if someone filed a report. I`d just list it on eBay as a Bad IMEI phone, its not illegal and its not ripping anyone off as the phone can be used for parts and will work anywhere outside of the USA/Canada.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking the seller sold it to me then reported it stolen. And if it is reported stolen i wouldn't be able to sell it because it's stolen property.
Do you think at&t would want the phoned turned in if I contact them?

Essential PH-1 Black 128GB Wi-Fi only model

I'm attempting to pull the trigger on this version. It's only $150 and brand new sealed in box. With T-Mobile Digits and Wifi everywhere I go, it's quite cheap to use this as a secondary phone.
Essential PH-1 Black 128GB Wi-Fi Smart Device (WI-FI ONLY)
WI-FI DEVICE ONLY - NO MOBILE CELLULAR RADIO CONNECTION
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Essential-PH-1-Black-128GB-Wi-Fi-Smart-Device-WI-FI-ONLY-Brand-New-Sealed/323185478833?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649
Does anyone know if I can update or manually flash Oero on it?
Thank you,

You should be able to update through OTA. I did mine purely on Wifi so being able to connect to a sim card shouldn't matter for update.
What I'm curious on is how is it wifi only? Is it a Sprint device with a blacklisted IMEI?

mgear2 said:
You should be able to update through OTA. I did mine purely on Wifi so being able to connect to a sim card shouldn't matter for update.
What I'm curious on is how is it wifi only? Is it a Sprint device with a blacklisted IMEI?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking they are like those Samsung demo phones in Best Buy stores. These might be demo phones in Sprint stores. Maybe.... Also not sure about the warranty on these "phones".

ttn1185 said:
I'm attempting to pull the trigger on this version. It's only $150 and brand new sealed in box. With T-Mobile Digits and Wifi everywhere I go, it's quite cheap to use this as a secondary phone.
Essential PH-1 Black 128GB Wi-Fi Smart Device (WI-FI ONLY)
WI-FI DEVICE ONLY - NO MOBILE CELLULAR RADIO CONNECTION
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Essential-PH-1-Black-128GB-Wi-Fi-Smart-Device-WI-FI-ONLY-Brand-New-Sealed/323185478833?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649
Does anyone know if I can update or manually flash Oero on it?
Thank you,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is your intention to only use WiFi?
You Should be able to flash it but it might have a bad ESN or no mobile radio.

tech_head said:
Is your intention to only use WiFi?
You Should be able to flash it but it might have a bad ESN or no mobile radio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just Wifi only.

ttn1185 said:
Just Wifi only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bet is its stolen or a fake. The listing says no cellular connection, not that it doesn't have a cell radio. Probably blacklisted as a result so they don't want to sell with that expectation.

It could be stolen but that doesn't automatically mean that it's blacklisted. The phone is supposedly new so it would never have been registered on any network. But if it's a Sprint phone why not sell it as a Sprint phone? There's definitely something wrong. Essential doesn't make a wifi only device. I personally wouldn't even consider it.

"Brand new in sealed box"
"WI-FI DEVICE ONLY - NO MOBILE CELLULAR RADIO CONNECTION"
These statements seem a bit contradictory. How does anyone know the phone is WiFi only unless it's been opened and tested? Unless it's stolen.
You will get what you deserve if you buy this phone.

I pulled the trigger anyways. Will report back once I receive it next Tuesday.

If it is stolen, you can have it confiscated as stolen property if it gets traced back to you. Maybe charged. Not sure.

gk1984 said:
If it is stolen, you can have it confiscated as stolen property if it gets traced back to you. Maybe charged. Not sure.
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I don't think that's a legitimate issue because of Ebay Buyer Protection. I don't understand what the deal is with that item but it looks like a legitimate seller. It's not a new Ebay account and the seller has a high feedback rating with no negatives.

Lol I saw this listing earlier. Must be a bad IMEI
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daniel4653 said:
Lol I saw this listing earlier. Must be a bad IMEI
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If by bad IMEI you mean stolen, then yeah. It's in a sealed, unopened box, so activation was never attempted. The only way it could be a bad IMEI in my limited experience would be for to be blacklisted if it were reported as stolen. If it were a Sprint phone, you could potentially still activate it on their network and then transfer after 90 days. If it "fell off the back of a truck" and were part of a delivery to store inventory, ie., Best Buy, Verizon, AT&T, then it could be blacklisted and reported as missing/stolen. Could have been a shipment to a residence and delivered to the wrong place or stolen from a doorstep or in transit. Whatever, it's certainly fishy. It'll be interesting to hear how this plays out.

Jank4AU said:
If by bad IMEI you mean stolen, then yeah. It's in a sealed, unopened box, so activation was never attempted. The only way it could be a bad IMEI in my limited experience would be for to be blacklisted if it were reported as stolen. If it were a Sprint phone, you could potentially still activate it on their network and then transfer after 90 days. If it "fell off the back of a truck" and were part of a delivery to store inventory, ie., Best Buy, Verizon, AT&T, then it could be blacklisted and reported as missing/stolen. Could have been a shipment to a residence and delivered to the wrong place or stolen from a doorstep or in transit. Whatever, it's certainly fishy. It'll be interesting to hear how this plays out.
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It would be amazing if it ended up being a clean IMEI and works without a hitch. Would be great score for the buyer. lol

It's also possible they are liquidated stock from a Sprint partner or reseller.
In a previous job we used to bulk buy a few hundred devices to send to the public and quite often our supplier sourced a mix from various places, such as bankrupt / closed stores, etc. So you'd end up with a load of ex-TMO devices, for example.
Despite selling these, the supplier had no idea about unlocking them or updating them.
My point being... If they are locked to Sprint, it's quite likely the seller simply banged an AT&T or TMO SIM in one, found it had no service and decided to offload them cheap, buy still at a profit.
It likely isn't worth their time to try and unlock N amount of devices when selling them for $150 probably still gives them a decent profit.

Jank4AU said:
If by bad IMEI you mean stolen, then yeah. It's in a sealed, unopened box, so activation was never attempted. The only way it could be a bad IMEI in my limited experience would be for to be blacklisted if it were reported as stolen. If it were a Sprint phone, you could potentially still activate it on their network and then transfer after 90 days. If it "fell off the back of a truck" and were part of a delivery to store inventory, ie., Best Buy, Verizon, AT&T, then it could be blacklisted and reported as missing/stolen. Could have been a shipment to a residence and delivered to the wrong place or stolen from a doorstep or in transit. Whatever, it's certainly fishy. It'll be interesting to hear how this plays out.
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The seller had 25 of them so they couldn't have been stolen from a resistance. Things have been known to disappear from Best Buy but selling stolen phones wouldn't seem to be worth the risk for an Ebay seller with a good account that's been open for years. On top of that unless the transactions are fake the seller already sold 18 of these and has received no negative feedback yet.

jhs39 said:
The seller had 25 of them so they couldn't have been stolen from a resistance. Things have been known to disappear from Best Buy but selling stolen phones wouldn't seem to be worth the risk for an Ebay seller with a good account that's been open for years. On top of that unless the transactions are fake the seller already sold 18 of these and has received no negative feedback yet.
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Good points, I just can't for the life of me figure out any other reason why a new, sealed in box phone would be sold as wifi only.

Jank4AU said:
Good points, I just can't for the life of me figure out any other reason why a new, sealed in box phone would be sold as wifi only.
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See my post above.
Assuming they aren't fake or stolen, they are likely Sprint phones. The seller will have tried a TMO or ATT SIM, found it didn't work and then decided to offload them cheap, but still profitable.
Likely isn't worth the time (man hours) trying to unlock them, which may or may not work.
Edit: Especially when the seller seems to be selling mostly accessories, rather than devices. They may not be that technically inclined.
Guess we'll all see...

Interesting
ttn1185 said:
I'm attempting to pull the trigger on this version. It's only $150 and brand new sealed in box. With T-Mobile Digits and Wifi everywhere I go, it's quite cheap to use this as a secondary phone.
Essential PH-1 Black 128GB Wi-Fi Smart Device (WI-FI ONLY)
WI-FI DEVICE ONLY - NO MOBILE CELLULAR RADIO CONNECTION
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Essential-PH-1-Black-128GB-Wi-Fi-Smart-Device-WI-FI-ONLY-Brand-New-Sealed/323185478833?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649
Does anyone know if I can update or manually flash Oero on it?
Thank you,
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Even at $150, for a 128gb WiFi device that's not bad. Could be a great mp3 player. I'd buy one

i bought one.. ot the insurance with it for 25$..lol
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