Develop Bugs

IMEI and contracts

I have an O2 orbit.
I paid through the nose for it (on ebaY) and I'm getting a lot of hassle (its certainly stolen or contract blocked).
Is there any way to change the IMEI number so that I can use it again, using a different network sim? Or an unblock facility?
Also I dont know about this but as its a multi-use phone, could you still use the phone as a non-cell PDA once its blocked from the network? I know that some phones are completely dead once barred but then their only use is for a phone anyway. Is it the same for PDA phones? Like having it on flight mode? Or does it brick up as well?
Thanks.
edit: BTW Is there any way to check an IMEI number remotely to see if its blacklisted before buying on ebay?

deaddavey1 said:
Is there any way to change the IMEI number so that when I report the phone lost (Its insured of course), I can still use that phone as a backup later using a different network sim? Or an unblock facility?
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Are you trying to cheat the insurance? If the phone is to be 'broken', how do you reckon it will work on a different network sim?
Anyway, changing IMEI is possible but illegal, and theoritically, it can be traced if not done carefully. Search for the IMEI il-legal statement by VJ in this forum.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=276851&highlight=IMEI
Anyway, the PDA feature will still work as long as you don't stick in a SIM.

DeadDavy, whilst I realise your frustration what you are talking about is both insurance fraud and it is illegal to change the IMEI.
This is an open forum and not for that kind of talk. Please don't post anything more on the subject as it could bring this forum into disrepute.

i read that post and understand its illegal. But so is selling dodgy phones. I only want to change it to one of my old buggered phones imei's.
I alternatively could claim it lost soon on my insurance. Thats illegal as well. But with my first choice no one loses out. I just paid a lot of money for a paperweight.

ok thanks. no more posts on subject.

deaddavey1 said:
ok thanks. no more posts on subject.
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I presume you have exhausted all the "normal "channels to get your money back, e.g raised a dispute with eBay? Or did the scally close their account?
Edit:- just found this
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/A-database-of-stolen-mobile-phones-CheckMEND_W0QQugidZ10000000004188075
Dunno how effective it is though.

HTC S620 Sim Unlocking

hi, been looking through these forums for a while and cannot find the info im looking for. Basically i have a s620 on bt and want to sim unlock it. Is there any software to do this or do i have to use imei-check and pay £20. Also when ive entered my phones imei number on imei-check and clicked pay it asks me to send proof its my paypal account, the problem is i dont know where to send this to, or does it give you the information after ive paid.
Thanks in advance, andy

andy108uk said:
hi, been looking through these forums for a while and cannot find the info im looking for. Basically i have a s620 on bt and want to sim unlock it. Is there any software to do this or do i have to use imei-check and pay £20. Also when ive entered my phones imei number on imei-check and clicked pay it asks me to send proof its my paypal account, the problem is i dont know where to send this to, or does it give you the information after ive paid.
Thanks in advance, andy
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I haven't bothered with the stuff on www.imei-check.com. I'm with T-Mobile USA, so I just called the customer care line and simply asked for my SIM unlock code. They gave it up for FREE. I don't know how BT works, but you could attempt to speak with one of their customer service reps.

Rip Syntaxx said:
I haven't bothered with the stuff on www.imei-check.com. I'm with T-Mobile USA, so I just called the customer care line and simply asked for my SIM unlock code. They gave it up for FREE. I don't know how BT works, but you could attempt to speak with one of their customer service reps.
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ay Syntaxx im a newbie to this whole sim unlocking thing can you tell me what unlocking your sim does? and how it benifits you? i just got off the phone with t-mobile and asked them to give me a sim unlock code and they told me it would be e-mailed to me with in 7 days but i have no idea what im doing with this code lol. so tell me what sim unlocking does.

RussianSolja said:
ay Syntaxx im a newbie to this whole sim unlocking thing can you tell me what unlocking your sim does? and how it benifits you? i just got off the phone with t-mobile and asked them to give me a sim unlock code and they told me it would be e-mailed to me with in 7 days but i have no idea what im doing with this code lol. so tell me what sim unlocking does.
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Basically, it makes it possible for you to use other GSM carriers with your Dash. For instance, you can use an AT&T SIM card in your Dash and have their service should you choose to leave T-Mobile.
It benefits you if you decided to leave T-Mo for some reason or if you decided to go overseas and didn't want to be charged outlandish prices for coverage.
EDIT: To actually enter the code, you'll need to change your SIM card out for another from a different carrier. Once you do this, your phone will prompt you to enter the code.

andy108uk said:
hi, been looking through these forums for a while and cannot find the info im looking for. Basically i have a s620 on bt and want to sim unlock it. Is there any software to do this or do i have to use imei-check and pay £20. Also when ive entered my phones imei number on imei-check and clicked pay it asks me to send proof its my paypal account, the problem is i dont know where to send this to, or does it give you the information after ive paid.
Thanks in advance, andy
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hi mate, i have the bt s620 also, and have just unlocked 2 of mine with no probs, admittedly i paid for the unlock i think it was about 9 quid.
and worked both times perfectly.
its an ebay seller.
i dont want to break any rules by posting the link but if you want to PM me i will gladly give you his details, i got both unlock links from him within a couple of hours too.

u can try t-mobile.. and tell them..

ok deleted link cause i paid for it and it was a report on how to do it promptly got my money back after threatening to come round lol

All I can say, Try it out for yourself and post the result. If it works out, I hope it does then leave some feedback for others. Oh by the way, that's pretty darn cheap so give it a shot, you don't got too much to lose

Just to know....
Here in Brazil we can't receive unlock code, from our carries, unless we stay in that carrier for at least 1yr (18 months in some cases) or pays somethink like 2 times the real cost of the phone (and receive a pre-paid sim card). Even if you stays in it for this time, carries try to charge for this code (US$ 150 in some carries).
That's because we, here in Brasil, search for free sim unlock!
Then I ask: no way for free unlock, right ?
Thanks and sorry for my english...

occurs in Peru as in brazil, you have q 2 years minimum contract, to complete the same not unlock the phone you have to keep using the same carrier. why we need to unlock the phone, thanks

If you want to use a differen't carrier's SIM, the phone needs to be unlocked. AT&T does it for free if you're subscribed to their services, T-Mobile you have to be a member for 6 months. How to unlock, ask your carrier when you get the unlock code. With most it's simple, you insert a differen't carrier's sim card, hit "Unlock" when it shows invalid sim, and enter the code. Simple as that.

help
I went to the unlock site, paid my money, got the files, loaded everything, and now the phone just says searching. Nothing else. If I put the original Vodafone sim in, it works, but with 02 it just says searching.
Any ideas,
Vic

Black93300ZX said:
If you want to use a differen't carrier's SIM, the phone needs to be unlocked. AT&T does it for free if you're subscribed to their services, T-Mobile you have to be a member for 6 months. How to unlock, ask your carrier when you get the unlock code. With most it's simple, you insert a differen't carrier's sim card, hit "Unlock" when it shows invalid sim, and enter the code. Simple as that.
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For you and all people here knows: In Brazil (and in Peru, as ****man said) we don't have AT&T!!!!!!
And our carries don't give us the unlock code, unless we pay much for that. Even if we stayed with 1 or 2 year contract!!!!!!!
And that's why we need a free unlock method!!!!!!!
So don't say to us to get unlock code from our carries, they don't give it to us.
The I ask again: somewere, somehow, exists any free unlock method ?

Gurx said:
For you and all people here knows: In Brazil (and in Peru, as ****man said) we don't have AT&T!!!!!!
And our carries don't give us the unlock code, unless we pay much for that. Even if we stayed with 1 or 2 year contract!!!!!!!
And that's why we need a free unlock method!!!!!!!
So don't say to us to get unlock code from our carries, they don't give it to us.
The I ask again: somewere, somehow, exists any free unlock method ?
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Click to collapse
there isn't one, i paid $39.99 for mine, it was super easy and i had my dash unlocked in about 5mins .
http://www.gsmliberty.net/shop/tmobile-dash-unlock-p-1313.html

Gurx said:
For you and all people here knows: In Brazil (and in Peru, as ****man said) we don't have AT&T!!!!!!
And our carries don't give us the unlock code, unless we pay much for that. Even if we stayed with 1 or 2 year contract!!!!!!!
And that's why we need a free unlock method!!!!!!!
So don't say to us to get unlock code from our carries, they don't give it to us.
The I ask again: somewere, somehow, exists any free unlock method ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You seem a little upset. I've been looking for a free method and I haven't found one. You can either try to pay 40 bux or stick with whatcha got. What can you do about it?

HTC (Unbranded) TP2; do I need to security unlock it?

I have an HTC, unbranded version of the phone. Sim cards from any network work in it. I have flashed to Hard SPL.
Do I need to CID unlock, Security unlock, or anything else unlock the phone?!?

Only if you want to try out radios from other devices.

Perhaps this is a dumb question, but isn't using radios from other devices [crazy / dangerous / insane / not for anyone but the elite]?

<nudge> - Why would you want to use a radio rom from another device?

huh? location does not match your purchase address
WTF? I paid 24 USF by paypal and I get this via email after I run the program?
We have detected that your location does not match your purchase address, to protect you from card fraud, if you must unlock urgently, please reply and explain why your purchasing address is different from where you actually are, otherwise, simply wait 48 hours from purchase time.

maneve said:
WTF? I paid 24 USF by paypal and I get this via email after I run the program?
We have detected that your location does not match your purchase address, to protect you from card fraud, if you must unlock urgently, please reply and explain why your purchasing address is different from where you actually are, otherwise, simply wait 48 hours from purchase time.
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what is unclear about that message? it tells you about its purpose and tells you how to fix the problem. you just need to reply to the verification email to get unblocked

If this is the international version then it is a GSM device and fully unlocked by default. If it were one of the CDMA versions (Verizon/Sprint) then you would be S.O.L. as far as I am aware of.

Izagaia said:
If this is the international version then it is a GSM device and fully unlocked by default. If it were one of the CDMA versions (Verizon/Sprint) then you would be S.O.L. as far as I am aware of.
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why would you say SOL? those can be unlocked too.

cmonex said:
why would you say SOL? those can be unlocked too.
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As I stated, I wasn't aware. Not a big deal really. If you know how then kindly say as much and help out.

Izagaia said:
As I stated, I wasn't aware. Not a big deal really. If you know how then kindly say as much and help out.
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heh well Olipro and I made the unlocker for those phones. we do have a thread for it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=578659

Question Desperately need to carrier unlock my galaxy zfold3 SM-F926U Verizon locked

Even if I have to lose the camera

The camera loss has nothing to do with a service unlock.
You should call Verizon, give them the IMEI number, see if it's clean and the phone is paid off. If so, they can unlock it.
You can go with online services but they aren't cheap and there are few other variables. You can read more in the several posts about others' need to unlock a phone.

dirtybudha said:
The camera loss has nothing to do with a service unlock.
You should call Verizon, give them the IMEI number, see if it's clean and the phone is paid off. If so, they can unlock it.
You can go with online services but they aren't cheap and there are few other variables. You can read more in the several posts about others' need to unlock a phone.
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Click to collapse
It's not paid off, and one of the security breach results that happened to my phone left Verizon with the opinion that the symptoms on the phone were deliberate, and that I added a second phone line. So, they think that I added services that cost money and now I just don't want to pay for them. Which is not the case. So, if I don't pay them a substantial amount of money, they will suspend my service. I am definitely not paying for something that I didn't do or legitimately don't owe to them, or anyone else. Do you know if using the same method that is used to easily hack into any android could be modified to alter the source code that locks the device to a carrier? I don't mean specifically, better said, has anyone tried using Kali Linux , with metasploit/ Wireshark to get into an android and establish permissions, then try change the source code related to carrier locking?

Tech4fast said:
It's not paid off, and one of the security breach results that happened to my phone left Verizon with the opinion that the symptoms on the phone were deliberate, and that I added a second phone line. So, they think that I added services that cost money and now I just don't want to pay for them. Which is not the case. So, if I don't pay them a substantial amount of money, they will suspend my service. I am definitely not paying for something that I didn't do or legitimately don't owe to them, or anyone else. Do you know if using the same method that is used to easily hack into any android could be modified to alter the source code that locks the device to a carrier? I don't mean specifically, better said, has anyone tried using Kali Linux , with metasploit/ Wireshark to get into an android and establish permissions, then try change the source code related to carrier locking?
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Click to collapse
Thank you for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it

No worries, it's not an uncommon issue.
Nothing I'm aware of can be done to unlock it using Odin or anything like that. You might explore the other options, but I know nothing about them. Search the forums here and you'll find a lot that ask about unlocking. There is a discussion in one about services. Might give you a direction to go and check in.

Here's the rub. If it is not paid off and you want to take it to another service, you're going to have a bad time.
If they close your account and you don't pay them money (especially paying off the phone), then they will blacklist the IMEI and NO CARRIER will ever be able to activate it on their network. Blocked IMEI's, there is no way to flash anything or root whatever or unlock anything that will get you to have it active on a service carrier until the originator has it removed from the blacklist.
I think that is going to be your biggest hurdle trying to take it to another provider.

VZW should automatically unlock it after 60 days if you bought it from them. If third party purchase, 60 days after activated.

Unlockboot.com P.S your phone will go straight to collections unless you pay it off the proper way

Most people wouldn't give info on how to unlock it because it's unethical. It's doable but the phone price will go to collections.

Hey, I am exactly in the same boat. I night s Verizon Fold 3 from someone on craigslist, they told me it was fully paid for, later I found out that it was not. Also it was not unlocked after 60 days. I know the phone cannot be used in the US, but I just want to unlock it for international use.

Did you guys found a solution? Same as Mjatta, i got f*cked on eBay, the even post that accepted returns, but got no response, and eBay didn't help either.

If anybody have a solution for this please reply I am also having the same issue and I can't even contact Verizon because I am in Nigeria.
I hope a paid service will be available soon for this to help owners who are not in the USA

banjicom said:
If anybody have a solution for this please reply I am also having the same issue and I can't even contact Verizon because I am in Nigeria.
I hope a paid service will be available soon for this to help owners who are not in the USA
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You're just out of luck. There isn't anything anyone here can do. You will just have to bite the bullet and take the hit on the phone and get another one. It's going to get blacklisted as soon as it's in collections and no carrier's network, that is legitimate, will activate the device.

Question [CLOSED] Help! Bought dodgy phone

I new it was to good to be true, the reason my phone keeps saying cannot use voice or connot use sim 1, is due to someone selling me a phone that was previously on a contract! And of course there is no trace of this guy, I contacted Google, they need proof of perchase! Yeah that's not going to be simple to get, it's there any way of unlocking this device? I haven't tried any other sim, apparently it's a Three network phone but iv been using my EE sim this hole time for a long time to, can I root to fix this or?
I do not want to lose this phone because of some scammer

Contact the carrier and negotiate a pay off price to unlock it... if it isn't stolen.

blackhawk said:
Contact the carrier and negotiate a pay off price to unlock it... if it isn't stolen.
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My network is EE and they wore able to un blacklist my IMEI three network for free, pritty handy

kevinireland11 said:
My network is EE and they wore able to un blacklist my IMEI three network for free, pritty handy
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You got lucky this time. Don't ever put yourself in that position again.

blackhawk said:
You got lucky this time. Don't ever put yourself in that position again.
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Definitely not! I honestly think the adviser that done it was an understanding guy, because if that was anyone else I don't think they would have done that for me, but yes, if y'all are buying phones look up the IMEI this will tell you everything you need to no about the phone

blackhawk said:
You got lucky this time. Don't ever put yourself in that position again.
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You can actually pay 7.99 to unblacklist or 13.99 for a new IMEI apparently

kevinireland11 said:
You can actually pay 7.99 to unblacklist or 13.99 for a new IMEI apparently
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That's illegal in the US especially to change the imei.

blackhawk said:
That's illegal in the US especially to change the imei.
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Actually illegal in most of the world, not simply the US.

How does that pay work? I though the reason to blacklist IMEI's was because they were reported stolen. Not much point if you can just pay a small ammount to own a stolen phone?

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Actually illegal in most of the world, not simply the US.
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Unjustifiably.

96carboard said:
Unjustifiably.
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Explain?
IMEI is there to protect the legitimate owner of the device.

kevinireland11 said:
You can actually pay 7.99 to unblacklist or 13.99 for a new IMEI apparently
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Click to collapse
IMEI changing is illegal.

Sorry I forgot there are allot of IMEI police on here

$cronos_ said:
IMEI changing is illegal.
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Oh there's a parot in the room lol, did you also not see those other comments that everyone else saw or?

kevinireland11 said:
I new it was to good to be true, the reason my phone keeps saying cannot use voice or connot use sim 1, is due to someone selling me a phone that was previously on a contract! And of course there is no trace of this guy, I contacted Google, they need proof of perchase! Yeah that's not going to be simple to get, it's there any way of unlocking this device? I haven't tried any other sim, apparently it's a Three network phone but iv been using my EE sim this hole time for a long time to, can I root to fix this or?
I do not want to lose this phone because of some scammer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much did you pay for this device?

kevinireland11 said:
Sorry I forgot there are allot of IMEI police on here
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I'd rather call the grammar police reading your stuff.

Thread closed since the OP's question has been answered and XDA Rule #9 violations for changing IMEI's.
9. Don't get us into trouble.
Don't post copyrighted materials or do other things which will obviously lead to legal trouble. If you wouldn't do it on your own homepage, you probably shouldn't do it here either. This does not mean that we agree with everything that the software piracy lobby try to impose on us. It simply means that you cannot break any laws here, since we'll end up dealing with the legal hassle caused by you. Please use common sense: respect the forum, its users and those that write great code.
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-Regards: Badger50