I didn't see a thread on this so I thought I'd warn anyone who doesn't know.
AT&T now blacklisting stolen phones.
AT&T is now blacklisting all reported stolen phones, or devices they say were "Improperly scanned" out of inventory and major retailers such as Best Buy or Wal-Mart. What this means is that sometime after inserting your SIM card into one of these phones, AT&T will lock your SIM card and you will either get a message stating the device is blocked from the network, or the phone will only call AT&T's security division. Even if you put it back in another phone.
This lock is supposed to occur within minutes according to AT&T, however we have seen it take up to weeks for the lock to occur. This also applies to any pre-paid service such as Straight Talk and Red Pocket who use AT&T phones. If you are on one of these plans, you must call your carrier, not AT&T and request the account be unlocked.
Sounds like a good plan right? The only problem with this is, at this time, unlike Verizon, Sprint, and other carriers, there is no way to call in and check the IMEI before you purchase a used or refurb phone. Thus, if you buy a phone from Craigslist, Ebay, or a local used phone store, its imposable to check the esn like you would a CDMA phone to determine if it has been reported lost or stolen.
The best you can do is put your SIM in the phone and try it out before you buy it and, more importantly, make sure there is a return policy at the store you buy it from. At this time there seems to be no sure fire way to determine if a phone you buy from an individual or online has been reported lost or stolen, and AT&T will not unblock any phone reported stolen except by the person who reported it.
The only exception is if you have purchased a phone from a major retailer. In that case AT&T security division reports that if you take the phone back with the receipt, they will unblock it.
Just reading this reminds me about insurance scams where someone would sell their old phone on some site and then call in the phone as stolen. To me: this is just another risk for buying used phones now. Then again: I recall reading a very recent article about a iphone theft ring in San Francisco. Maybe it's better off this way.
Puts ATT in hard spot. They can either let the thieves sell the units and then the end customer's are unknowingly screwed or let the units work. I suppose their rationale is that if the unit stops working they can report who sold them the phone?
I think they very well should blacklist phones reported as stolen. They've been doing it in Europe for years. My problem is, unlike every other major carrier, you cannot verify if a phone is stolen or not before you buy it. This doesn't punish the thieves so much as the person who unknowingly buys it.
killgorian said:
I think they very well should blacklist phones reported as stolen. They've been doing it in Europe for years. My problem is, unlike every other major carrier, you cannot verify if a phone is stolen or not before you buy it. This doesn't punish the thieves so much as the person who unknowingly buys it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's reported stolen that's one thing - but what about the phones that somebody hasn't paid their bill to on the major carriers - the money owed goes on that person's SS# anyways for life until they settle up - I see bad esn's being sold on ebay all the time. I don't feel bad flashing a phone to cricket with a bad esn since it's tied to somebody's social. If it's stolen by thieves of course - lock em down. I'm just sayin'
mook_ said:
the money owed goes on that person's SS# anyways for life...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. 7 years max.
killgorian said:
My problem is, unlike every other major carrier, you cannot verify if a phone is stolen or not before you buy it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. This service should have been offered FIRST and then a couple of years later they should have introduced the banning practice. As it is I can see a lot of people making honest mistakes.
You can call into att and have them check the numbers on the phone ...I just did this a week ago with my one x after getting.burnt on one
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Some online stores have a very efficient and reliable pre-purchase customer care.
I bought my AT&T phone from europe from negrielectronics.com and I clearly asked to know the IMEI of the device before placing the ordere since we have some specific IMEI issues here n Europe.
They could immediately email me the code.
So just ask if you want to purchase on the internet; maybe you'll be lucky.
We can actually deactivate stolen / lost phones,
I`m not sure about blacklisting, savedesk knows that,
After we make reports on lost/stolen phones we just send them to savedesk
It has always been a long before practise to ask the customer to rescan again to where you have bought the phone in cases of phones tagged as warehouse are not deactivated
this post is approved by the national potato safety regulation
hey guys - so i just got taken. bought a phone on CL and turns out it's blacklisted. do you know if there's anyway for ATT to check who this phone belonged to based on IMEI? my long shot is maybe contacting original owner (i know ATT doesn't give out information) but could THEY possibly contact original owner and tell him someone found his device?
i figure this is better than me tossing the device?? any thoughts?
piotrus22 said:
hey guys - so i just got taken. bought a phone on CL and turns out it's blacklisted. do you know if there's anyway for ATT to check who this phone belonged to based on IMEI? my long shot is maybe contacting original owner (i know ATT doesn't give out information) but could THEY possibly contact original owner and tell him someone found his device?
i figure this is better than me tossing the device?? any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have any of the seller's info you can report it to authorities.
The only info i have is a cell phone number. Which was a pay as you go number. So i dont think they can do anything if sim card has been tossed right?
What will they authorities do? Dont they have more important things? Ill they confiscate the phone? I just realized i could sell it for use in Europe potentially?
piotrus22 said:
The only info i have is a cell phone number. Which was a pay as you go number. So i dont think they can do anything if sim card has been tossed right?
What will they authorities do? Dont they have more important things? Ill they confiscate the phone? I just realized i could sell it for use in Europe potentially?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's IMEI programmed.
so no matter what SIM you'll use it will still be blacklisted,
as long as a stolen phone can receive a signal and passes through AT&T's database it will automatically send out a code to lock out the phone,
it is n "as-is" basis though,
depends entirely on the phone
deathnotice01 said:
it's IMEI programmed.
so no matter what SIM you'll use it will still be blacklisted,
as long as a stolen phone can receive a signal and passes through AT&T's database it will automatically send out a code to lock out the phone,
it is n "as-is" basis though,
depends entirely on the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, my first post here.
I have a customer (I do computer repair, not cell phones) who unknowingly bought a "blacklisted" att phone an HTC one x from craigslist. Is there anything he can do? I told him I would look into it to try and help him out. But I know nothing of cell phones. The guy's like 60 trying to make a few bucks while in retirement buying and selling cell phones.
He used it for a day or so then it just stopped working. when his att sim was deactivated he went to att as he knows the folks who work in the local store. They cleared his sim card, but not the phone. They weren't interested in taking the phone from him either. They said it could be blacklisted for several reasons from non-payment, to stolen or some other reason, but they couldn't tell him the reason. Some advice or a point in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Would unlocking the phone make any difference (to use on another carrier) or is he just basically screwed with this one?
Thanks,
Chris
SIM unlock it and have it on T-Mobile.
Lil Chris said:
Hi, my first post here.
I have a customer (I do computer repair, not cell phones) who unknowingly bought a "blacklisted" att phone an HTC one x from craigslist. Is there anything he can do? I told him I would look into it to try and help him out. But I know nothing of cell phones. The guy's like 60 trying to make a few bucks while in retirement buying and selling cell phones.
He used it for a day or so then it just stopped working. when his att sim was deactivated he went to att as he knows the folks who work in the local store. They cleared his sim card, but not the phone. They weren't interested in taking the phone from him either. They said it could be blacklisted for several reasons from non-payment, to stolen or some other reason, but they couldn't tell him the reason. Some advice or a point in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Would unlocking the phone make any difference (to use on another carrier) or is he just basically screwed with this one?
Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T is very strict with matters pertaining to blacklisted phones,
reactivation of a valid sim card is possible but not the phone,
i never had actual experience with AT&T phones since i'm not in the US and we only had experience navigating them during our training at AT&T tech support,
but you can try flashing the stock generic firmware from a AT&T HTC one X and using a T-mo sim instead of a AT&T sim to prevent execution and authentication of IMEI protocols which are nessesarry to deactivate the blacklisted phone,
Welcome to the bad ESN world
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
cell128 said:
Welcome to the bad ESN world
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And corporate controlled america
--------------------------------------------------------------
By staring at this post you have waived your right to privacy
Complaints will be trolled accordingly
Im a bit confused. Maybe someone could shed some light. Can a at&t iphone that is not in good standing with at&t be used on straight talk. If so must it be a ST Tmobile sim?
Im buying my mom an at&t iphone 4s off CL and want to make sure it can be activated. Thanks!!
themow said:
Im a bit confused. Maybe someone could shed some light. Can a at&t iphone that is not in good standing with at&t be used on straight talk. If so must it be a ST Tmobile sim?
Im buying my mom an at&t iphone 4s off CL and want to make sure it can be activated. Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as it is not reported lost or stolen it can. If it has been blacklisted, no it cannot.
Related
so my friend got a vibrant, and he wanted to file a claim for a lost phone to get one for his brother. as far as I know this is illegal. can you guys give me some examples of things that might happen to him if he goes through with it or some possible consequences? "it's illegal" isn't seeming to convince him.
Insurnce fraud. He would go to jail most likely.
TMobile can track the missing phone using gps and cell towers. They'll see where the phone is and get it for him instead of giving him a new one.
Sent from my Samsung Vibrant using the xda app
gonintendo said:
so my friend got a vibrant, and he wanted to file a claim for a lost phone to get one for his brother. as far as I know this is illegal. can you guys give me some examples of things that might happen to him if he goes through with it or some possible consequences? "it's illegal" isn't seeming to convince him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well your friend is slightly dumb. First of all, the lost phone is blocked for life. Meaning if anyone ever tries to put a sim card in it, and use it, on any network, it won't work. It is permanently blocked from registering onto any network. So basically your friend is going to get 1 refurbished phone in the mail, and his new vibrant will be blacklisted for ever.
Next, if they find out about the fraud, well he can face fraud charges. If he is underage on a family plan, his parents will face fraud charges.
Good luck.
thanks guys!
Its cheaper to buy one from wal-mart than to file a claim (Wal-mart new two year contract is $98.99, asurion charges $130, not to mention you run the risk (more likely than not) you'd get caught.)
SamsungVibrant said:
Well your friend is slightly dumb. First of all, the lost phone is blocked for life. Meaning if anyone ever tries to put a sim card in it, and use it, on any network, it won't work. It is permanently blocked from registering onto any network. So basically your friend is going to get 1 refurbished phone in the mail, and his new vibrant will be blacklisted for ever.
Next, if they find out about the fraud, well he can face fraud charges. If he is underage on a family plan, his parents will face fraud charges.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i have to say this is a bunch of bs... i havent done this but known people that have and nothing happens to the other phone they work fine and they dont track you down or go on some sort of man hunt lol but if you say you lost your phone it would be best to not use it anymore get another phone and give the one you had to whoever as long as its not on your plan you should be good.
just so you know im not a fan of thieves but i believe in stealing from big companies cause they steal from people everyday so i would say its fair...
You can do whatever you wish. I found my g1 from a club. Used it for 2 years no prob. Its a gsm phone so whatever the case anyone can put a sim card and use it. How you do it as far as claiming to get a new one is your business
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
tribalb said:
You can do whatever you wish. I found my g1 from a club. Used it for 2 years no prob. Its a gsm phone so whatever the case anyone can put a sim card and use it. How you do it as far as claiming to get a new one is your business
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lucky guy... i need to start going to clubs to look for phones lol
They will not blacklist it and they will not track it down.lol
Insurance don't deal with the phone company. You can claim online without ever speaking to anyone .
Also they do blacklist the sim but a new sim will work, this isn't cdma where ya need to call the phone company to activate a new bought phone, just put in your sim...
Hell who says ya can't lose it, then find it a week later, what you supposed to do send it back?
You pay the 130 you got 2 phones that work. My wife just lost her tp2 and we asked if whoever found it can just put on a new card and its now there phone, dude said yup, we can stop the sim but the phone is gone....
gonintendo said:
can you guys give me some examples of things that might happen to him if he goes through with it or some possible consequences? "it's illegal" isn't seeming to convince him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, tell your friend that when he dies god is going to know he did it and will definitely be really pissed off and condemn him to spend all eternity in Pittsburgh with an incurable case of crabs on his nuts.
Seriously though, tell your friend to stop being shady and just man up and buy another phone if he wants it.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App, bro
smashpunks said:
They will not blacklist it and they will not track it down.lol
Insurance don't deal with the phone company. You can claim online without ever speaking to anyone .
Also they do blacklist the sim but a new sim will work, this isn't cdma where ya need to call the phone company to activate a new bought phone, just put in your sim...
Hell who says ya can't lose it, then find it a week later, what you supposed to do send it back?
You pay the 130 you got 2 phones that work. My wife just lost her tp2 and we asked if whoever found it can just put on a new card and its now there phone, dude said yup, we can stop the sim but the phone is gone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually you can say you still have your sim but not the phone and they will be like ok? and you get to keep your sim still lol
T-Mobile can and most likely will block the IMEI number from being able to register on the network. They've done it multiple times for my sister when she has had the phone stolen or lost. They can insert another SIM card all they want and it won't work. It might work on AT&T, I don't know if the companies share blacklisted IMEI numbers.
Most likely, they would not go through the process of prosecuting a fraud case on something like this because the cost of the lawyers and other legal fees outweigh the cost of just paying the claim but you never know.
hockeyrcks9901 said:
T-Mobile can and most likely will block the IMEI number from being able to register on the network. They've done it multiple times for my sister when she has had the phone stolen or lost. They can insert another SIM card all they want and it won't work. It might work on AT&T, I don't know if the companies share blacklisted IMEI numbers.
Most likely, they would not go through the process of prosecuting a fraud case on something like this because the cost of the lawyers and other legal fees outweigh the cost of just paying the claim but you never know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No they don't black list IMEIs.
Well your "friend" meaning you is a complete moron and hopefully you get caught. People like you are the reason insurance deductibles are so expensive.
skater4690 said:
well i have to say this is a bunch of bs... i havent done this but known people that have and nothing happens to the other phone they work fine and they dont track you down or go on some sort of man hunt lol but if you say you lost your phone it would be best to not use it anymore get another phone and give the one you had to whoever as long as its not on your plan you should be good.
just so you know im not a fan of thieves but i believe in stealing from big companies cause they steal from people everyday so i would say its fair...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never said they were going to track you down on a man hunt.
HOWEVER, they do deactivate your lost phone permanently. You can never use it on any network.
speoples20 said:
No they don't black list IMEIs.
Well your "friend" meaning you is a complete moron and hopefully you get caught. People like you are the reason insurance deductibles are so expensive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for your information, they do blacklist the phone from working. If you file a claim the phone was lost/stolen, the phone will be blacklisted and no longer work when you try to register on a network.
smashpunks said:
My wife just lost her tp2 and we asked if whoever found it can just put on a new card and its now there phone, dude said yup, we can stop the sim but the phone is gone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
holly cow, you have a wife? with the comments you leave on here, I thought you were a 12 yr old.
they don't blacklist the IMEI because whoever finds it still has to have a service provider... its the same way with the iphone... Phone company is gonna get paid, regardless of whoever has the phone. I do think however that they lock the number associated with the simcard to prevent "fraudulent activities" i think its like 30 days i remember reading that at the tmobile website
google tmobile insurance replacement FAQs it lays it all out.
good luck, best to do it with a prepaid card so you don't lock a good number...
not that i would ever condone such behavior
Soooo not true.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I've been in the cell industry for the last 6 years and can tell you for a fact, with GSM phones they do not blacklist or lock IMEI's. Its not even possible. The only thing they might do is see if you are stupid enough to use the lost phone on your own plan.
SamsungVibrant said:
holly cow, you have a wife? with the comments you leave on here, I thought you were a 12 yr old.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I have a fan. Follow me on twitter douche bag...
And I'm the 12 year old sounding one.lol.
Hi all!
Well Googled my a.. off but I can't seem to get a straight answer.
So here it goes:
- Will a phone with "bad ESN", which you see often on Ebay, work in Europe?
(assuming it is a world capable phone)
As I understand it, ESN is the only used in the US when the phone is used in Europe it uses a different antenna and makes use of the IMEI code. So in theory it should work, different systems. But I can't seem to find anyone who can confirm this without a shadow of doubt.
And lets not go into the discussion about the ethical or legal side of things, I just want to know if it will be a problem or not?
Cheers,
Martijn
If we're referring to the Droid Pro or any other global Verizon phone, the bad ESN is only "bad" on Verizon's network. Verizon doesn't share it's ESN information with other carriers around the world, so there would be no way for them to know the phone has a bad ESN on Verizon. People have been able to use Verizon phones with a bad ESN on Page Plus without any issues. Since I've never tried to use a global Verizon device with a bad ESN overseas with a local SIM card I can't say 100% for sure, but logic would cause one to assume that as long as the SIM slot is unlocked (because they come locked to the Verizon/Vodafone SIM card the phones ship with), it should work just fine on other GSM carriers that have supported bands (which is pretty much everyone around the world...except AT&T and T-Mobile in the US).
I have the Droid Pro with a bad ESN works fine in GSM networks. It also flashed CDMA module under local CDMA operator. EVDO works fine.
it works!
A friend ob Mine does use a Bad esn droid pro with vodafone sim in germany
[/B]QUOTE=m.dekoning9;16603551]Hi all!
Well Googled my a.. off but I can't seem to get a straight answer.
So here it goes:
- Will a phone with "bad ESN", which you see often on Ebay, work in Europe?
(assuming it is a world capable phone)
As I understand it, ESN is the only used in the US when the phone is used in Europe it uses a different antenna and makes use of the IMEI code. So in theory it should work, different systems. But I can't seem to find anyone who can confirm this without a shadow of doubt.
And lets not go into the discussion about the ethical or legal side of things, I just want to know if it will be a problem or not?
Cheers,
Martijn[/QUOTE]
Does a bad ESN necessarily mean that the phone was stolen? I always assumed that would be the only reason why a phone would have a bad ESN.
Also, If I purchase another phone and want to sell my Droid, does my droid pro have a "clean" ESN?
LeoBloom. said:
Does a bad ESN necessarily mean that the phone was stolen? I always assumed that would be the only reason why a phone would have a bad ESN.
Also, If I purchase another phone and want to sell my Droid, does my droid pro have a "clean" ESN?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stolen is one possibility. Another possibility is that the person who owned the phone didn't pay their bills, so the ESN of their phone was flagged.
Assuming you don't have anything outstanding on your account, your Droid Pro's ESN will be clean and clear for someone else to activate as soon as you activate a different phone on that line.
purchasing advice
Hi all - first post for me!
I'm in a position where I could do with some advice around buying a Droid Pro from the States. I have three options, and I'm struggling to find any definitive threads that allow me to buy with confidence using the first two options:
1) The cheapest (£100) is a bad ESN phone (unlocked).
I have asked the seller what the reason is for the bad ESN (He'll probably lie to me, but at least I have it in writing!) and whether he will accept a return if it won't work with a UK SIM.
The summary is from what I've read on here, it will work fine in the UK but I'm buggered if I ever venture to the USA. Fair enough I suppose.
Anyone got a view on selling the device on to someone like CEX in the future? Is it worth mentioning that it has a bad ESN in the states if I sell to a UK seller? (I think I know the moral answer to this already!)
2) Buy a used/locked Verizon phone (£150ish)and attempt to get it unlocked
I've read quite a few resources and from what I understand, it is pretty difficult to get the device unlocked by using third party vendors (The codes don't work). Is there a way to unlock the phone yourself using a new ROM or root?
3) Buy a new/unlocked phone (£270)
The price jumps massively here but still probably alot cheaper than a new Pro+ will be when it arrives in the next couple of months. Someone is selling a used/unlocked Droid on here from Birmingham, UK but the asking price is wildly optimistic. It just so happens I'm in Birmingham too!
Any views would be most appreciated.
mjgerrard said:
1) The cheapest (£100) is a bad ESN phone (unlocked).
I have asked the seller what the reason is for the bad ESN (He'll probably lie to me, but at least I have it in writing!) and whether he will accept a return if it won't work with a UK SIM.
The summary is from what I've read on here, it will work fine in the UK but I'm buggered if I ever venture to the USA. Fair enough I suppose.
Anyone got a view on selling the device on to someone like CEX in the future? Is it worth mentioning that it has a bad ESN in the states if I sell to a UK seller? (I think I know the moral answer to this already!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You shouldn't expect to be able to return a phone with a bad ESN. They're always sold "as is" because of the fact that it has a bad ESN. But yeah, it should work in the UK just fine. There's no reason that it wouldn't. As far as venturing to the USA, even if it didn't have a bad ESN, you still wouldn't be able to use it in the USA. The GSM bands for AT&T and T-Mobile are locked out in the USA, even if you're trying to roam on a foreign SIM. The only way to use a Droid Pro in the USA (short of paying a good chunk of change to Team Black Hat to flash the phone and unlock the GSM bands) is through Verizon, and you'd have to have an account with them to use it.
And I would mention the bad ESN if trying to resell it, if only for the probably very doubtful fact that someone might want to end up trying to activate it on Verizon. But of course, the ESN is only bad for Verizon and no other carrier.
You could also look around and try to find a used, unlocked Pro. I tried to sell my unlocked Pro a month or so ago and couldn't move it here or on any other forum, even at $200 US. Doesn't seem to be much interest these days. But, I'm glad I didn't end up selling it because I didn't care that much for the Droid 3 and was longing for my Droid Pro again.
bsweetness said:
You shouldn't expect to be able to return a phone with a bad ESN. They're always sold "as is" because of the fact that it has a bad ESN. But yeah, it should work in the UK just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup the reason why I asked about returning it was not for the fact that it had a bad ESN, but that the seller explicitly says in the advert that it can be used outside of the USA. It just made (hopefully) for a foolproof plan of activating it in the UK.
bsweetness said:
As far as venturing to the USA, even if it didn't have a bad ESN, you still wouldn't be able to use it in the USA. The GSM bands for AT&T and T-Mobile are locked out in the USA, even if you're trying to roam on a foreign SIM. The only way to use a Droid Pro in the USA (short of paying a good chunk of change to Team Black Hat to flash the phone and unlock the GSM bands) is through Verizon, and you'd have to have an account with them to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might be going mad, but I have gone over to the USA with a GSM only phone and it worked fine. Frankly, I'm never expecting these things to work when going State-side, but pleasantly suprised when they do. Sorry I can't remember what phone it was that I took over there though...
bsweetness said:
You could also look around and try to find a used, unlocked Pro. I tried to sell my unlocked Pro a month or so ago and couldn't move it here or on any other forum, even at $200 US. Doesn't seem to be much interest these days. But, I'm glad I didn't end up selling it because I didn't care that much for the Droid 3 and was longing for my Droid Pro again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a shame - I'd happily pay $250 (negotiable) if it was in good condition and clean ESN/Unlocked. Let me know if you wish to part with it!
Mike.
Any comments from anyone on option 2: Unlocking a Verizon phone using a 3rd party vs rooting the device?
mjgerrard said:
I might be going mad, but I have gone over to the USA with a GSM only phone and it worked fine. Frankly, I'm never expecting these things to work when going State-side, but pleasantly suprised when they do. Sorry I can't remember what phone it was that I took over there though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Generally GSM phones will work in the USA. But with Verizon devices, it's different (or I should say with several Verizon devices). Verizon doesn't have a lot of devices with a GSM radio since they're a CDMA network. The few devices they do have with a GSM radio are marketed as global devices, and the GSM radio is designed to be used outside of the US. Verizon doesn't want people using their devices (that they pay to carry exclusively in the USA) on other networks within the USA. So, they lock out the bands for the two GSM providers in the USA - AT&T and T-Mobile. Unless you go through the costly process of having those bands unlocked (which can't be done with every phone), the phones will generally only work on Verizon in the USA. In order to have it work with Verizon, it would have to be activated on their CDMA network. With a Verizon branded phone, that of course can't happen unless you're a Verizon customer and it certainly can't happen for a phone with a bad ESN.
So yeah, normally unlocked GSM devices will work just fine in the USA, but Verizon devices are a different story...most of the time (there are a few Verizon global devices that work in the USA, but the Droid Pro is not one of them).
As for your question about unlock codes, they have been hit or miss from most online vendors. Most of the reputable vendors will refund the money to you if the code doesn't work, but of course you're still stuck with a locked phone. Most of the posts I've seen recently have reported successful unlocks with the online codes however. I haven't seen anything about unlocking it via root though. That's not to say there isn't a way, but I've never seen anything for that.
Brilliant post on the USA networks pal, its difficult to appreciate the differences considering I live in the UK. Thanks for that, alot more of Engadget CDMA news posts make sense now!
As for the other point, I guess ill have to figure out whether I want to take the risk or not. The bad ESN phone on eBay has sold (not a major problem) so ill be trying to get a good price for a used/unlocked model.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Considering buying a bad esn phone for a kid to use as a media player. Trying to understand if there are any reasons this would NOT be evil before I do it, and I fully realize that the only way to know for sure is if the seller is willing to reveal the ESN somehow and ask the carrier. If the seller won't reveal, I will assume evilness and move on. SO here are the reasons I understand so far for a bad esn.
1. Stolen/Lost phone that needs to go back to the owner
2. Owner walked away from contract, carrier is out $$ and would presumably like the hardware back
3. unreturned warranty exchange unit (technically stolen too)
come to think of it, seems like there are no legit reasons for a bad esn, but i welcome thoughts anyway
btrcp2000 said:
Considering buying a bad esn phone for a kid to use as a media player. Trying to understand if there are any reasons this would NOT be evil before I do it, and I fully realize that the only way to know for sure is if the seller is willing to reveal the ESN somehow and ask the carrier. If the seller won't reveal, I will assume evilness and move on. SO here are the reasons I understand so far for a bad esn.
1. Stolen/Lost phone that needs to go back to the owner
2. Owner walked away from contract, carrier is out $$ and would presumably like the hardware back
3. unreturned warranty exchange unit (technically stolen too)
come to think of it, seems like there are no legit reasons for a bad esn, but i welcome thoughts anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Er, I'm using an Iphone 4 with a bad ESN (from Ebay). But not for cell service. I'm using it as a wireless internet phone ( Callwithus ) over wifi.
btrcp2000 said:
Considering buying a bad esn phone for a kid to use as a media player. Trying to understand if there are any reasons this would NOT be evil before I do it, and I fully realize that the only way to know for sure is if the seller is willing to reveal the ESN somehow and ask the carrier. If the seller won't reveal, I will assume evilness and move on. SO here are the reasons I understand so far for a bad esn.
1. Stolen/Lost phone that needs to go back to the owner
2. Owner walked away from contract, carrier is out $$ and would presumably like the hardware back
3. unreturned warranty exchange unit (technically stolen too)
come to think of it, seems like there are no legit reasons for a bad esn, but i welcome thoughts anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, wouldn't it be illegal, or unwise at least, to sell such a phone on Ebay then?
Id never buy a bad ESN mobile myself. Loads on ebay.com in the USA and afak, a bad ESN mobile phone or as they say in the USA, cell phone, it will NOT work in the UK. GSM or CDMA. Dont buya bad esn phone thinking you will save money or you will end up with an expensive brick. Android or IOS phones with bad ESNs DO NOT work in the UK
I am moving over to Straight Talk here in a month from Verizon, and will be using an AT&T SIM for service. I have been reading up on this "Blacklisting" that AT&T is doing with stolen/lost phones, and how some folks are being scammed from Craigslist/eBay.
My question, then, is if I were to meet someone at an AT&T store, have the IMEI checked, and it comes back clean, and make the transaction, with the seller still there, will AT&T be able to put a note on their account that the phone was sold, so the seller cannot go back a week later and claim the phone was lost or stolen (fraud)? By doing that, wouldn't the folks at AT&T who Blacklist, see that on their account, and you, as the buyer, would be in the free and clear?
Anyhow, I am just looking for thoughts and suggestions about this, and anything else someone might provide. Thanks!
You can get it checked but it always can be reported stolen later on. It's just like ESNs on Verizon/Sprint. But as long as you verify it you should be fine.
MrObvious said:
You can get it checked but it always can be reported stolen later on. It's just like ESNs on Verizon/Sprint. But as long as you verify it you should be fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess what I am asking, is while I am at the AT&T store, can I have the associate put a note on the seller's account that states the phone is being sold to me, while the seller is there in the store, and consents to this being put on his account? I would think that it would be impossible then to blacklist the phone, as its there.
I guess I am looking for the best way to protect myself from scam, without having to buy a retail phone at full price. Although, honestly my gut feeling is, is that most folks will not scam you... but, I could just see me being one of those unlucky few with a $300 paperweight!
You'd have to ask AT&T unless someone has that experience. Sorry.
We decided that we are going with new Nexus 4 (16gb) phones instead. This way, we can also use a T-Mobile SIM card if we decide AT&T service with Straight Talk isn't doing it for us. Better to have piece of mind!
why not a Xperia X8? haha
I didn't know where else to post this question...
I'm about to buy a NEW Galaxy S4 Active from a guy on Craigslist that's going to get one new from the ATT store today. The selling price to me? $400.
That's a great price, so I'm wondering...
Is there anything that I need to be aware of? Can I lose out on this deal? I'm assuming that he's going to get an upgrade and extend his contract, because that's the only way he can make money on this deal. But what if he cancels his contract or doesn't pay his bill, won't the phone get blacklisted and I'll end up with a brick in a few months?
No blacklisting on att phones. The only way you can lose out is if the guy has insurance on his phone, sell it to you, then calls att reports it stolen. Then the phone becomes a glorified paperweight.
Alot of people run this Craigslist scam, because the insurance deductible is cheap, and they make a large profit selling it, then reporting stolen and get a brand new device, meanwhile you get scammed.
To prevent that from happening you can meet the guy at an att store and let them know you are purchasing the phone from him, and they will transfer ownership to you and he can't file a stolen device.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
I would be very careful when buying an expensive phone from Craigslist. Tell him you only want to meet at an at&t store so they can make a note on his account that he sold you the phone. Then I would have them activate the phone there and then for you. If it's legit then he'll have no issue doing what you suggest. $400 is a good price for an active. But sometimes if it seems too good to be true, well you get the point.
Great advice you guys! That's what I'll do is meet him at the store and make sure I'm notated and the ownership is transferred to me. I didn't realize ATT would do that for me!
That is two good pieces of advice. Benefit of Craigslist over EBay is one-on-one contact. I would add, and you probably already decided, is if he doesn't want to meet with some excuse--don't buy it--
I just bought an iPhone for a family member. I met the seller at the AT&T store and I went in and had AT&t run the IMEI. they said it was not reported stolen but that is all they could do. According to the sales person there is no way to transfer an IMEI and that an original purchaser could theoretically still report the phone stolen.
I am not sure if I believe the second part but it could be. I can't see att trying to track every IMEI as phones change hands.
alphadog00 said:
I just bought an iPhone for a family member. I met the seller at the AT&T store and I went in and had AT&t run the IMEI. they said it was not reported stolen but that is all they could do. According to the sales person there is no way to transfer an IMEI and that an original purchaser could theoretically still report the phone stolen.
I am not sure if I believe the second part but it could be. I can't see att trying to track every IMEI as phones change hands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's wrong. Basically an imei cannot be on two accounts at the same time. So going in to a store with the seller they could remove it from their account and it would be put on yours. With ATT however, there is very little ways for them to "blacklist" a phone. Sure it may not be able to be placed on your account but a sim will still work just fine in it. Verizon is different due to the way their activations work.
sent from just the tip
imitenotbecrazy said:
Yeah that's wrong. Basically an imei cannot be on two accounts at the same time. So going in to a store with the seller they could remove it from their account and it would be put on yours. With ATT however, there is very little ways for them to "blacklist" a phone. Sure it may not be able to be placed on your account but a sim will still work just fine in it. Verizon is different due to the way their activations work.
sent from just the tip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure why you say they can't blacklist. They can and are now doing so. EU has done it for years. No one in the USA did it in the past but the carriers are doing it now, and they are working on a shared database. So once a phone is blacklisted it will be unusable on any carrier.
Today a blocked AT&T phone could still be used on t-mobile.
The phone sends its IMEI when it connects to the network and AT&T can easily block it if it is reported stolen. There are other threads about people buying notes and s4 that are blocked.
alphadog00 said:
I am not sure why you say they can't blacklist. They can and are now doing so. EU has done it for years. No one in the USA did it in the past but the carriers are doing it now, and they are working on a shared database. So once a phone is blacklisted it will be unusable on any carrier.
Today a blocked AT&T phone could still be used on t-mobile.
The phone sends its IMEI when it connects to the network and AT&T can easily block it if it is reported stolen. There are other threads about people buying notes and s4 that are blocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird. I've never seen a phone not connect to the network like that. I haven't told ATT I've switched phones since my OG Note a year and a half ago. That phone has long since been gone. The only thing that seems to be reporting to ATT is the sim. What happens when you use an imei from outside their database? How does it access their network then?
sent from just the tip
imitenotbecrazy said:
Weird. I've never seen a phone not connect to the network like that. I haven't told ATT I've switched phones since my OG Note a year and a half ago. That phone has long since been gone. The only thing that seems to be reporting to ATT is the sim. What happens when you use an imei from outside their database? How does it access their network then?
sent from just the tip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I switch phones all the time and I don't "tell" AT&T - this works fine without issue, but they do see the IMEI - this is easy to verify. Log into your AT&T account and look at your devices - it shows the actual phone that is being used on that number. I am not sure how often they update this, but it shows the system automatically sees the IMEI.
They only keep a database of Blocked or blacklisted IMEI. It is impossible for them to keep a database of approved phones, it just wouldn't work and it would piss people off. It is easier to keep a short block list.
On my account, I have 2 other family lines for dumb phones and they have data blocks. But these lines are using other smart phones, and they listed by brand and model when i log into my account. The IMEI can be used to detect brand and model. I still don't know why the CSRs ask for IMEI when this info shows up automatically, but i never give it to them.
And like I said, when i bought the last phone, I walked in the store and the guy knew what i wanted and looked it up to see if it was reported stolen. When it was not, he said everything was good. A few years ago, they would not have cared either way.
alphadog00 said:
I switch phones all the time and I don't "tell" AT&T - this works fine without issue, but they do see the IMEI - this is easy to verify. Log into your AT&T account and look at your devices - it shows the actual phone that is being used on that number. I am not sure how often they update this, but it shows the system automatically sees the IMEI.
They only keep a database of Blocked or blacklisted IMEI. It is impossible for them to keep a database of approved phones, it just wouldn't work and it would piss people off. It is easier to keep a short block list.
On my account, I have 2 other family lines for dumb phones and they have data blocks. But these lines are using other smart phones, and they listed by brand and model when i log into my account. The IMEI can be used to detect brand and model. I still don't know why the CSRs ask for IMEI when this info shows up automatically, but i never give it to them.
And like I said, when i bought the last phone, I walked in the store and the guy knew what i wanted and looked it up to see if it was reported stolen. When it was not, he said everything was good. A few years ago, they would not have cared either way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See that's where I'm having this issue. I log into my ATT dealer site and it still shows me on the OG Note. When I log into my account it shows OG Note. My account doesn't update with what phone I'm using currently. Not sure if mine is an anomoly or not. AFAIK though ATT told us there was nothing that could be done when one of our ATT display phones was stolen. That's part of where my assumption that blacklisting was not a real thing with ATT.
sent from just the tip
Please read forum rules before posting
Questions and Help issues go in Q&A and Help section
Thread moved
Thank you for your cooperation
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
imitenotbecrazy said:
See that's where I'm having this issue. I log into my ATT dealer site and it still shows me on the OG Note. When I log into my account it shows OG Note. My account doesn't update with what phone I'm using currently. Not sure if mine is an anomoly or not. AFAIK though ATT told us there was nothing that could be done when one of our ATT display phones was stolen. That's part of where my assumption that blacklisting was not a real thing with ATT.
sent from just the tip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I admit I never blocked a phone. But there is thread that has lots of details of a few users experience:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2315935
According to AT&T only the original owner can report a phone stolen - so maybe only new activations get treated this way. The AT&T rep said i could not add the IMEI of the used phone to my account to prevent someone from reporting it stolen, so their system has lots of limits.
I wish I knew more, but AT&T is not the most forthcoming with how things work.
alphadog00 said:
Today a blocked AT&T phone could still be used on t-mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read just the other day that Tmo and ATT are sharing their blacklists. And once a phone has been blacklisted on one carrier, the other will follow suit.
I purchased a Verizon Galaxy Note 3 from a guy off Craiglist and checked the ESN, it was clean then and I proceeded to use with T-Mobile. Everything was working fine, HSPA and such. But now, after waking up, the phone has not signal, so I went online to check to see if anything happened to the ESN, and noticed it now has changed from Good to Bad. I've tried to contact the guy but no response.
I tried to remove the sim and inserted it in a different phone and everything was fine.
Is there anyway I can still use the Verizon Galaxy Note 3 with T-Mobile even though the ESN is bad?
I've tried to change the APN settings (epc.tmobile.com) and even (fast.t-mobile.com) on the device but nothing is working for me. It keeps showing No Service - Selected Network (T-Mobile) not available.
The device model is SM-N900V, Android 4.3.
Please help !
Waw I did not think that happened . he called the phone lost stolen after he sold it . sorry this happened to you . did you call up Verizon to explain the situation ?, they are the ones that issued the lock on the ESN They might be able to help . please keep is posted
ttav9216 said:
I purchased a Verizon Galaxy Note 3 from a guy off Craiglist and checked the ESN, it was clean then and I proceeded to use with T-Mobile. Everything was working fine, HSPA and such. But now, after waking up, the phone has not signal, so I went online to check to see if anything happened to the ESN, and noticed it now has changed from Good to Bad. I've tried to contact the guy but no response.
I tried to remove the sim and inserted it in a different phone and everything was fine.
Is there anyway I can still use the Verizon Galaxy Note 3 with T-Mobile even though the ESN is bad?
I've tried to change the APN settings (epc.tmobile.com) and even (fast.t-mobile.com) on the device but nothing is working for me. It keeps showing No Service - Selected Network (T-Mobile) not available.
The device model is SM-N900V, Android 4.3.
Please help !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may also want to try to set your network settings to global rather than to lte. For some reason, if you have it set to global it uses a different radio and will work just fine on tmobile.
jmichaels1982 said:
Waw I did not think that happened . he called the phone lost stolen after he sold it . sorry this happened to you . did you call up Verizon to explain the situation ?, they are the ones that issued the lock on the ESN They might be able to help . please keep is posted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have called both T-Mobile and Verizon.
I called Verizon first to explain the situation and the representative transferred me to Tech Support, and then the Tech Support asked me for the ESN, which I gave him. He then told that indeed the ESN is bad, but he could not find the reason why. He recommended me to call T-Mobile.
I then called T-Mobile and told them about the situation. It's funny because for reasons T-Mobile found out that the reason ESN is bad is because, exactly what you said, the phone has been reported lost/stolen. The phone is now blocked from accessing any US carriers. The representative from T-Mobile told me that Verizon was the one who put the lock on it, so I would need to call Verizon to get the problem fixed.
I called Verizon again, and this time, I spoke with a really friendly representative, she listened to the whole situation, and tried to fix the problem for me. She even tried to look up the phone numbers that I used to contact the guy with. But unfortunately, none would work. I feel really bad because she tried all she could. The conversation went on for almost an hour.
Long story short, the phone is now locked from being able to use with any US carriers. I'm stuck with a very expensive brick. Both T-Mobile and Verizon could not do anything about my situation. Pretty frustrated now.
Learned my lesson, I will never buy any phones from anyone on Craiglist ever again !
Certain people will buy it for parts . dont give up on selling it . try swappa next time . they have PayPal protection . although anyone can do what just happened to you . to protect yourself against this in the future : put the phone under your account either by calling or in a verizon store . I believe that once the ESN is registered under your name they can't report it lost or stolen . popping the Sim in , I think , without calling just puts the phone on your account but doesent register the ESN . these are all.just speculations . I could be way off. There is a verizon rep on these forums . he is very friendly ... Look up his forum and ask away !
It's unfortunate. I had a friend who ran into the same thing about two months ago with a note 2 on verizon. Not to mention I had been scammed on an ATT phone. Unfortunately att phones they dont block the phone for a couple hours, so when I was purchasing the phone I was able to make a test call then I got blocked in the morning. This was few months after tmobile, att and verizon instituted that co-network nationwide ban.
I'm not sure if it would help, but next time it might be a good idea to do a transaction instore. Possibly having one of the employees transfer over the phone and issuing a new sim card, might deter the would be thief from doing an insurance claim. Since you would be able to prove that you did everything in store, hopefully with the aid/witness of the verizon rep that helped you.
You can use blacklsted note 3 on att and t-mobile. However, u need to add apn into the phone yourself in order to get data. I don't need you need to root it or not to change it. Go switch to GSM I think there people who able to get lte on T-mobile in band 4 , but i don't know how. I had a blacklisted note 3 currently running on ATT. Only get H+ .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2582747
I wonder what could be the motivation of a seller to report a phone stolen after selling it? Fraudulent insurance claim afterwards? Or maybe it was a stolen phone but the owner was out of town and was unaware of the theft? (Strange scenario.) Or maybe Verizon blacklists phones for non-payment on an account?
Sorry this happened to you, but I am sort of curious if you got a "too good to be true" deal off of CL... do you mind me asking how much you paid for a $700 phone?
Performing the sale right in a carrier's retail store with an immediate account transfer does seem to be a really good idea - if the seller gets cold feet about that, you'll know that things are not on the up and up.
A sure fix is replacing the motherboard with one from a shattered unit.
Check the IMEI number before purchasing.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
raginmonkey said:
You may also want to try to set your network settings to global rather than to lte. For some reason, if you have it set to global it uses a different radio and will work just fine on tmobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did OP try this?
That's very unfortunate. I've dealt many times over craigslist I'm fortunate that the phones I've bought were from good people.
I hope you get something out of it.
I trade phones alot, and thats why I swap sims wherever I meet someone.
brex91 said:
I trade phones alot, and thats why I swap sims wherever I meet someone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you elaborate?
xdadevnube said:
Can you elaborate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i mostly trade even up, went from a note 2 to a s4 to a note 3 and only spent money on gas to meet the person with the phone.
So when we both arrive I look at the phone for physical damage, then power both down, swap sims and power back up. If I get a signal it's activated. (on verizon at least)
(I think theres a limit to how many times you can do this in a certain period of time, but for me it's only every 6 months or so, so no problems)
And of course in my situation I'm doing trades locally off craigslist.
brex91 said:
i mostly trade even up, went from a note 2 to a s4 to a note 3 and only spent money on gas to meet the person with the phone.
So when we both arrive I look at the phone for physical damage, then power both down, swap sims and power back up. If I get a signal it's activated. (on verizon at least)
(I think theres a limit to how many times you can do this in a certain period of time, but for me it's only every 6 months or so, so no problems)
And of course in my situation I'm doing trades locally off craigslist.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose after a trade you can call in your old phone lost/stolen if the other guy does it to your "new" phone. If you just buy a phone, then I can see what happened to the OP being much more likely.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 2
xdadevnube said:
I suppose after a trade you can call in your old phone lost/stolen if the other guy does it to your "new" phone. If you just buy a phone, then I can see what happened to the OP being much more likely.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
possibly, but like i said, that's why I swap sims. After that the phone is activated on my account, they can't report it stolen. I make sure I have a signal before the trade is done.
brex91 said:
possibly, but like i said, that's why I swap sims. After that the phone is activated on my account, they can't report it stolen. I make sure I have a signal before the trade is done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I'm confused. So in the case of the OP, he should have activated it with Verizon first (Verizon phone)?
He said it was working with T-Mobile, then it stopped working.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 2
Never heard of a Verizon phone being blocked from the other carriers. I bought a bad esn Verizon note 3 for my girlfriend off eBay and she still using it on AT&T. Please update on the situation if you're able to use with AT&T
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda app-developers app
so OP, did anything work out for you?
This just happend to me too..
I lost my AT&T S4, and since i had over a year left on the contract i sought craigslist for a new phone.
I purchased a used Verizon s4 for $380 from a person claiming to be the original owner, he said he upgraded and was selling the current phone.
I put my AT&T sim in the phone and it was all good.. i had signal and tested it by making a call to the sellers phone.. I did other physical check to make sure no water damage etc.
I purchased the phone and switch the SIM back to my temp dumb phone. when i reach home i was googling APN settings for AT&T when i came accross a link that mentioned bad ESN, so just for the heck of it, i plugged in the ESN of the new phone and turns out it was reported Stolen!!
i am little scared to put in my SIM back into the phone... is it OK to put the SIM back? will it work? is there any other issues i may face?
Ofcourse i tried contacting the seller,, but as exected, he has not responded yet.
I checked ESN on checkesnfree.com, as well as the verizon site and they all report it as stolen.
I checked same ESN on tmobile site and used the ESN # as IMEI, and even tmobile site said it was stolen.
I did the same thing on Swappa.com and they were not able to determine ESN status..
on AT&T, if i go in as a new buyer, add SIM card to my cart, it asks me to enter device IMEI and it accepts it.. the AT&T rep told me that this was a good way to check if IMEI is clean or not.. so i am assuming IMEI is clean on AT&T, but for how long??
Sorry i know i am asking Too many questions.. but this has been so sudden and unexpected.. kind of feeling like a fish out of water!
If a phone is reported stolen, it will not work on T-Mobile or AT&T. If it is bad esn/imei for non payment, then it will only be blocked on Verizon.