Develop Bugs

My IMEI got blocked by T-Mobile

I bought my Samsung Galaxy S3 phone off craigslist 2 months ago brand new in box as of Saturday my IMEI has been blocked. This must have been a stolen phone or something. Yeah I was really mad but oh well.. Any suggestions at this point?? Can I unlock it and sell it that way??

HOw did you get notified. And it's good to check esnimei before buying
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

sell it on eBay or craigslist. Yes you can unlock it first and list that as one of the features
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 06:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:13 AM ----------
I have one more piece of advice. Such a phone was probably stolen by a T-Mobile employee. Why not call and ask for the customer retention center? They can hook you up.
When I bought 2 s3s and switched my mom to my Hercules they jacked all the 32 and 64 gb cards. They know they are not paying their employees enough.
Insinuate you feel the phone was sold to you by a T-Mobile employee. extremely likely
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bipoler said:
HOw did you get notified. And it's good to check esnimei before buying
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
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I didn't get notified..At first I thought I did a bad flash or something because I wasn't getting signal through out the day so I back tracked on everything I did. I went back to stock and started the process over again to root and ect.. I was still not getting signal or data so the next day I called T-Mobile and asked was something wrong with my account they said no all paid and up to date then they asked for the IMEI# and then the T-Mobile rep said " Oh I see what the problem is your imei/phone is blocked. Then right away I knew this must have been reported stolen.

Android_Monsters said:
sell it on eBay or craigslist. Yes you can unlock it first and list that as one of the features
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 06:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:13 AM ----------
I have one more piece of advice. Such a phone was probably stolen by a T-Mobile employee. Why not call and ask for the customer retention center? They can hook you up.
When I bought 2 s3s and switched my mom to my Hercules they jacked all the 32 and 64 gb cards. They know they are not paying their employees enough.
Insinuate you feel the phone was sold to you by a T-Mobile employee. extremely likely
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
This guy knows nothing of what he is talking about! Your phone was blocked because someone bought the phone and split it into payments on their account! Most likely their account was cancelled or couldn't pay it, so they figured they would sell the phone to offset what they owe. Only only only way to get it unblocked is to get a hold of the seller and have him reactivate the account or pay off what ever they owe for the phone on the account. This is starting to happen a lot now! So much everyone be careful! Another thing also is the guy did an insurance claim and sold you the phone that was supposedly lost. I would hit up the guy! Good luck!
You can unlock it and sell it for people to use on any other GSM service but T-Mobile!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

deviusdragger said:
This guy knows nothing of what he is talking about! Your phone was blocked because someone bought the phone and split it into payments on their account! Most likely their account was cancelled or couldn't pay it, so they figured they would sell the phone to offset what they owe. Only only only way to get it unblocked is to get a hold of the seller and have him reactivate the account or pay off what ever they owe for the phone on the account. This is starting to happen a lot now! So much everyone be careful! Another thing also is the guy did an insurance claim and sold you the phone that was supposedly lost. I would hit up the guy! Good luck!
You can unlock it and sell it for people to use on any other GSM service but T-Mobile!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
You may be right, however the OP is a paying customer who (hopefully) is in good standing with T-Mobile. If you have a _napkin_receipt (or invent one...) you could get with retention and email them your information.
OP, you made a purchase in good faith and hoped to pay for T-Mobile service in good faith. You want to continue paying T-Mobile and regardless if you were scammed, they could accommodate you.
Otherwise I would unlock the phone and try to sell it to a Wind subscriber. At least make a trade and get a decent phone in return, like a note. If you were honest with me and I was on Wind with a Note or GS2 or whatever they have, I would consider a trade.

You guys must think that T-Mobile is stupid, the invoices are all the same through all locations, and they track them and verify in their systems that the phone was paid. No way around, no matter what you do! You can call and cry and tell them you were ripped off! Phone will no get unblocked unless it shows in their system that the installment plan that was started on that device is paid off!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

And that's why you don't upgrade through T-Mobile... If you want a phone it's cheaper to go to like Wal-Mart or some other store (Not Best Buy) pay it in full.. It's screwed up people screw other people over like this...

konceptz said:
You may be right, however the OP is a paying customer who (hopefully) is in good standing with T-Mobile. If you have a _napkin_receipt (or invent one...) you could get with retention and email them your information.
OP, you made a purchase in good faith and hoped to pay for T-Mobile service in good faith. You want to continue paying T-Mobile and regardless if you were scammed, they could accommodate you.
Otherwise I would unlock the phone and try to sell it to a Wind subscriber. At least make a trade and get a decent phone in return, like a note. If you were honest with me and I was on Wind with a Note or GS2 or whatever they have, I would consider a trade.
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It don't matter how if he is in good standing with Tmobile, the phone he bought off the craigslist person account is not. That's what's scary about buying from CL. You can try to talk to customer Service, but I think you are screwed.

How i unblocked my imei from o2.
you may get lucky i had the same issue with o2, all i did was got lucky to be honest i unlocked the network and have since been useing a 3 sim works fine cheap to try like £1 so not breaking the bank if not try a few networks like vodafone as they dont piggyback from anyone so they may not get notified that your imei has been blocked.

It probably wasn't stolen but purchased on an EIP and never paid for.. stop buying phones on craigslist unless you have a receipt and proof that it's not on an EIP

that is what happens when you buy second hand, trying to save money cost you alot more than you think. you better find out if it is stolen, first off.

sell it to some developer or someone .. that way you could recover some money

sorry man but now you have an expensive media player. but I see many ppl trying to sell their phone with IMEI blocked.

help ASAP
[hey my cusin locked up my phone{reason i told him im saling it an he wanted to buy it an i said no} its a tmobile galaxy s is there a way tht i can unlock it

Very scary. I bought mine on CL new in box also.

asr10user said:
Very scary. I bought mine on CL new in box also.
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Maybe legit, but keep in mind, alot of carrier employee's will steal phones, and those places are exactly where they can get rid of them, I have a friend that got burn twice....I told him stop looking on CL. Just becuase it is new in box, don't mean a damn thing. It may take 2-3mo for the carrier to do inventory, and bingo, that is when they will block it.

Ugh.. the chances of it being an employee are slim. The chances of it being a defaulted Value EIP are most likely.

jmares214 said:
I didn't get notified..At first I thought I did a bad flash or something because I wasn't getting signal through out the day so I back tracked on everything I did. I went back to stock and started the process over again to root and ect.. I was still not getting signal or data so the next day I called T-Mobile and asked was something wrong with my account they said no all paid and up to date then they asked for the IMEI# and then the T-Mobile rep said " Oh I see what the problem is your imei/phone is blocked. Then right away I knew this must have been reported stolen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
deviusdragger said:
This guy knows nothing of what he is talking about! Your phone was blocked because someone bought the phone and split it into payments on their account! Most likely their account was cancelled or couldn't pay it, so they figured they would sell the phone to offset what they owe. Only only only way to get it unblocked is to get a hold of the seller and have him reactivate the account or pay off what ever they owe for the phone on the account. This is starting to happen a lot now! So much everyone be careful! Another thing also is the guy did an insurance claim and sold you the phone that was supposedly lost. I would hit up the guy! Good luck!
You can unlock it and sell it for people to use on any other GSM service but T-Mobile!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Hey OP, what happened to this phone eventually? Did you get it to work? Do you know if it works on Straight Talk with Tmobile based SIM?
I am buying an S3 tomorrow off Craigslist and not sure what's is going to happen. I have a Tmobile based straight talk sim I don't know what happens when Tmobile blocks the IMEI does it affect the straight talk users too?
---------- Post added at 09:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:32 PM ----------
heygrl said:
Ugh.. the chances of it being an employee are slim. The chances of it being a defaulted Value EIP are most likely.
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Click to collapse
Do you know if tmobile blocked s3 phones work on straight talk with Tmobile based sim cards? (or AT&T)

Just unlock it and go to att or tell tmobile customer service there going to lose a paying customer.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

[Q] T-Mobile Blocked Phone!

I purchased a T-Mobile Galaxy S3 from Negri Electronics. I signed up with T-Mobile for service. It worked great for a few weeks. Then it suddenly stopped working, meaning no phone or data, the device itself of course works fine. So I called T-Mobile and they told me the phone has been blocked, that I should take it back to Negri. Negri is closed now. T-Mobile says if they block a phone it is for fraud or suchlike. What should I make of this? Is Negri selling stolen goods? Anyone here ever have a problem like this? What if Negri won't replace it?

Inb4 lock
Sent from my SGH-T999

sun365 said:
I purchased a Sprint Galaxy S3 from Negri Electronics. I signed up with Sprint for service. It worked great for a few weeks. Then it suddenly stopped working, meaning no phone or data, the device itself of course works fine. So I called Sprint and they told me the phone has been blocked, that I should take it back to Negri. Negri is closed now. T-Mobile says if they block a phone it is for fraud or suchlike. What should I make of this? Is Negri selling stolen goods? Anyone here ever have a problem like this? What if Negri won't replace it?
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Click to collapse
I would contact Negri Electronics first. But it sounds like the phone was stolen.

Yeah phone must of been reported lost or stolen but why are u posting on the t-mobile s3 forms ?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Cause this is a T-Mobile phone, I mistakenly wrote Sprint in the message (I now see).
slim1991 said:
Yeah phone must of been reported lost or stolen but why are u posting on the t-mobile s3 forms ?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Lmao what a troll this one. 1 u cant use sprint phone on tmobile and even if u were using it on tmobile and sprint blocked it still it would let u use it on tmobile(although thats technically impossible) and as it regards negri they are very clean and dont give a **** about those $600 you paid for that device so they would never sell stolen phone since they have been in business for so long. You sound more like those assholes that order something and switch it with some crap device purchased on craigslist then blame it on the seller which in this case is negri. If i was u i would not even try to commit fraud but if u do i hope negri reports u to the authorities and they kick ur ass in prison because fraud is illegal.

You gotta be careful buying your phone from Nigerian princesses.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

why don't you chill out.
no one can swap anything cause there is an IMEI number that on the invoice, and of course T-mobile has the IMEI number. They probably don't sell stolen phone knowingly but whomever they bought it from either tole it or reported it stolen.
And as I stated above there is not Sprint here, I miss-wrote Sprint (which I had for six years until this round with T-Mobile).
lazarat said:
Lmao what a troll this one. 1 u cant use sprint phone on tmobile and even if u were using it on tmobile and sprint blocked it still it would let u use it on tmobile(although thats technically impossible) and as it regards negri they are very clean and dont give a **** about those $600 you paid for that device so they would never sell stolen phone since they have been in business for so long. You sound more like those assholes that order something and switch it with some crap device purchased on craigslist then blame it on the seller which in this case is negri. If i was u i would not even try to commit fraud but if u do i hope negri reports u to the authorities and they kick ur ass in prison because fraud is illegal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Tmobile won't do anything so your better off calling negri.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

sun365 said:
why don't you chill out.
no one can swap anything cause there is an IMEI number that on the invoice, and of course T-mobile has the IMEI number. They probably don't sell stolen phone knowingly but whomever they bought it from either tole it or reported it stolen.
And as I stated above there is not Sprint here, I miss-wrote Sprint (which I had for six years until this round with T-Mobile).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahahaha sure hahahahahaha dude negri sells the latest smartphones in the market all people value negri for its customer service and its owner personally deals with every single order and out of who knows how many millions sales a year they make they need to sell u a stolen phone so can make a $600 straight profit? U remind me of this kid trying to screw with dailysteals and decided to post on xda saying he received an empty box and trying to make his claim kinda more believable. Anyway good luck i wont post again because iknow all u trying to do is grab some attention so that this becomes huge and possibly negri get scared that their image might get hurt if people hear about this

sun365 said:
I purchased a T-Mobile Galaxy S3 from Negri Electronics. I signed up with T-Mobile for service. It worked great for a few weeks. Then it suddenly stopped working, meaning no phone or data, the device itself of course works fine. So I called T-Mobile and they told me the phone has been blocked, that I should take it back to Negri. Negri is closed now. T-Mobile says if they block a phone it is for fraud or suchlike. What should I make of this? Is Negri selling stolen goods? Anyone here ever have a problem like this? What if Negri won't replace it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In all honesty, I think you're SOL if tmobile wouldn't do anything.
Do you have proof of purchase? Also does the receipt have the IMEI number? If so t-mobile ought to be able to help if you have this evidence.
and if that doesn't work..
I assume you're in MIAMI.. but if you happen to be in LA you can bring proof and your phone in person to the company.. not so sure how legit the location is but this is what pops up on google:
Address: 130 McCormick Ave, Suite 101, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: (888) 358-6358 x4
Hours:
Mon-Fri 7am–6pm
Sat-Sun Closed

Perhaps you work for Negri, or maybe you are just board and stupid but no one said that -
phone cost $600
that they would be making $600 profit if it was stolen
that they knew that it was stolen
The fact is that the phone has been reported stolen or something similar.
lazarat said:
Hahahaha sure hahahahahaha dude negri sells the latest smartphones in the market all people value negri for its customer service and its owner personally deals with every single order and out of who knows how many millions sales a year they make they need to sell u a stolen phone so can make a $600 straight profit? U remind me of this kid trying to screw with dailysteals and decided to post on xda saying he received an empty box and trying to make his claim kinda more believable. Anyway good luck i wont post again because iknow all u trying to do is grab some attention so that this becomes huge and possibly negri get scared that their image might get hurt if people hear about this
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Click to collapse

You checked "Yes this is a question"
Guess where it belongs?
Moved to Q&A
FNM

lazarat said:
Hahahaha sure hahahahahaha dude negri sells the latest smartphones in the market all people value negri for its customer service and its owner personally deals with every single order and out of who knows how many millions sales a year they make they need to sell u a stolen phone so can make a $600 straight profit? U remind me of this kid trying to screw with dailysteals and decided to post on xda saying he received an empty box and trying to make his claim kinda more believable. Anyway good luck i wont post again because iknow all u trying to do is grab some attention so that this becomes huge and possibly negri get scared that their image might get hurt if people hear about this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that necessary? This guy has enough problems. You ever think it is for real? Man xda and the flaming is out of control. Mods will you do something already.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

belial20xx said:
Is that necessary? This guy has enough problems. You ever think it is for real? Man xda and the flaming is out of control. Mods will you do something already.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Not disagreeing with your view if tmobike is not flaming.
OP, go straight to Negri. They will sort it out. Likely one of their distributors screwed up.
Sent from my SGH-T999

I am in touch with Negri, they claim they will resolve it but are dragging their feet. Apparently I'm the only Negri customer with whom this has occurred .
joshnichols189 said:
Not disagreeing with your view if tmobike is not flaming.
OP, go straight to Negri. They will sort it out. Likely one of their distributors screwed up.
Sent from my SGH-T999
Click to expand...
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sun365 said:
I am in touch with Negri, they claim they will resolve it but are dragging their feet. Apparently I'm the only Negri customer with whom this has occurred .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure I believe that. I am pretty sure I read somewhere that this had happened to someone else, but it was a while ago. Negri resolved it but still, that's ****ty business.
Sent from my SGH-T999

If they don't fix it, file a complaint with your credit card company and ask for you money back.

For sure.
They are saying they will fix it. First they wanted me to pay for return shipping! Hell no, you sell a faulty (stolen?) product and I pay for shipping it back! (Not saying they stole or knew it was stolen, but that the risk they take when they buy - if I wanted the risk I could have gone about it on Craigslist.) But I'm still very pissed off cause they finally sent me a label, and it was for FedEx Ground, very slow, so I have to be out for 2 weeks without a phone!
colorado_al said:
If they don't fix it, file a complaint with your credit card company and ask for you money back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

sun365 said:
I am in touch with Negri, they claim they will resolve it but are dragging their feet. Apparently I'm the only Negri customer with whom this has occurred .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are not the only one :`(

Protection against bad IMEI with t-mobile phones?

Hey all I am about to buy a new sealed note II off swappa or ebay, and I am wondering what is the best way to protect against bad imei issues.
I know retail is the only sure fire way, but I'd like to save a few $100, off what t-mobile charges if possible.
I've heard horror stories of phones getting blocked 30days after a sale, even when the imei was confirmed clean on the phone upon initial sale. And then having to deal with PayPal protection
Any better way to make sure this doesn't happen, or is it just luck of the draw?

Amd4life said:
Hey all I am about to buy a new sealed note II off swappa or ebay, and I am wondering what is the best way to protect against bad imei issues.
I know retail is the only sure fire way, but I'd like to save a few $100, off what t-mobile charges if possible.
I've heard horror stories of phones getting blocked 30days after a sale, even when the imei was confirmed clean on the phone upon initial sale. And then having to deal with PayPal protection
Any better way to make sure this doesn't happen, or is it just luck of the draw?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tell the seller to read the imei off the sticker or receipt. should be a label or something on the outside of the box. call the carrier to see if the imei is clean.

Re: Protection against bad in either with t-mobile phones?
Some don't go bad until months. The original owner decides 2 or 3 months down the road he or she doesn't want to make any more payments on the phone (EIP). Better make sure the phone is not on any payment plans.
Or they could still report phone lost or stolen 45 days later.
There really isn't much protection for buyers.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

Re: Protection against bad in either with t-mobile phones?
I bought from a seller off ebay cellstoreusa for $620 free shipping. Also check my other reply on xda about how to check imei numbers, the info came from a tmobile rep.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 08:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 PM ----------
I found my reply for you.
I just bought one off ebay from a individual that sells new phones for $620 and no tax free shipping. In the past you could buy off a phone off Craigslist and have no problem. That's what I was about to do til I heard how easy someone can sell a phone and then in a day or two, file claim that it was stolen to get another phone. That phone will work, till they blacklist the imei. I talked to a sales rep about that situation and one option is to get the imei number from the seller before u buy it, and call Tmobile to check it.Then as soon as you buy the phone register the phone in your name. The rep said it take less than 5min if they're not busy and can be done on the phone. If a seller can't give you the imei number to check don't buy it. I had a seller off Craigslist not finished the sale cause I wanted to check the imei number.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

Re: Protection against bad in either with t-mobile phones?
If you're on a monthly plan keep calling 611 and telling then you don't want to pay full price. I ended up getting mine for $300 and I wasn't even due for an early upgrade I was only with T-Mobile for 10 months.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

I must have bought 10 phones off Craigslist and 2 or 3 from Ebay. Never had an issue with a bad esn/meid/imei. I hear horror stories but never had a bad experience.
Now selling on Craigslist a different story, it's always an adventure. You post pictures and people text/call/email asking for pics. Tell them the price is firm and the first response will be will you accept half. Don't put firm in the price and only come down $25 and they ***** saying I should have put firm in the ad. My favorite, do you want to trade for anything on this list, it's a huge list of all old and worthless crap. Not to mention the no shows and the priests that want to make payments.

Re: Protection against bad in either with t-mobile phones?
Lol, that's funny as hell, I sell a lot on Craigslist, I'm running into the same problems. I told one buyer the price, he wanted it cheaper, so I lowered it more. When we met up he said he was short $20. Lol, i politely told him to take out his sim card out the phone and I left. Now I'm selling on ebay and getting more then I expect, I just sold my note n7000 for $371, I thought the most would be $250.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

Jack143 said:
I bought from a seller off ebay cellstoreusa for $620 free shipping. Also check my other reply on xda about how to check imei numbers, the info came from a tmobile rep.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 08:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 PM ----------
I found my reply for you.
I just bought one off ebay from a individual that sells new phones for $620 and no tax free shipping. In the past you could buy off a phone off Craigslist and have no problem. That's what I was about to do til I heard how easy someone can sell a phone and then in a day or two, file claim that it was stolen to get another phone. That phone will work, till they blacklist the imei. I talked to a sales rep about that situation and one option is to get the imei number from the seller before u buy it, and call Tmobile to check it.Then as soon as you buy the phone register the phone in your name. The rep said it take less than 5min if they're not busy and can be done on the phone. If a seller can't give you the imei number to check don't buy it. I had a seller off Craigslist not finished the sale cause I wanted to check the imei number.
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Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
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great advice on the timing of changing the imei ownership, never thought of that, I will do just that, thanks everyone

Re: Protection against bad in either with t-mobile phones?
T mobile rep here. The sad thing about this IMEI thing is buyers have no control over this. A customer can call T - Mobile years from now just to block an IMEI they have on file just because. It sucks, I know. Best interest these days to buy from people you know or with good ratings. Nothing less than.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

XCrazedxPyroX said:
T mobile rep here. The sad thing about this IMEI thing is buyers have no control over this. A customer can call T - Mobile years from now just to block an IMEI they have on file just because. It sucks, I know. Best interest these days to buy from people you know or with good ratings. Nothing less than.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't elaborate, you can't just can't and block a phone cause you can. Phone has to be reported stolen/lost and had to be a phone that was used within the past 30 days. Also if the phone was set up on a payment plan, and the customer cancels the account, if the phone isn't paid off, the IMEI will be blocked and only the original customer who bought it can unblock it once they submit proof that they fully paid the phone off to T-Mobile.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

gedster314 said:
I must have bought 10 phones off Craigslist and 2 or 3 from Ebay. Never had an issue with a bad esn/meid/imei. I hear horror stories but never had a bad experience.
Now selling on Craigslist a different story, it's always an adventure. You post pictures and people text/call/email asking for pics. Tell them the price is firm and the first response will be will you accept half. Don't put firm in the price and only come down $25 and they ***** saying I should have put firm in the ad. My favorite, do you want to trade for anything on this list, it's a huge list of all old and worthless crap. Not to mention the no shows and the priests that want to make payments.
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now this was rich! Lol so true and funny
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

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My My question is, I bought mine off craigslist a couple months ago, no problems at all. Did crack my screen so got a new phone through insurance. Obviously a different imei now so I shouldn't have any problems right? Say, if someone tried to blacklist the old phone, would that come back to me still?

deviusdragger said:
You didn't elaborate, you can't just can't and block a phone cause you can. Phone has to be reported stolen/lost and had to be a phone that was used within the past 30 days. Also if the phone was set up on a payment plan, and the customer cancels the account, if the phone isn't paid off, the IMEI will be blocked and only the original customer who bought it can unblock it once they submit proof that they fully paid the phone off to T-Mobile.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, he's technically right.
You are listing the procedures, but not every worker knows or follows them. Used to be you needed a police report. Now everything is all willy nilly.

I actually bought from Craigslist and according to a recent call to Tmo, this phone was reported stolen. I've got it on Straight Talk with an AT&T sim and its working fine for now. I have no way to get back to the seller...
Is there anything I might be able to do to get Tmo to un-blacklist the IMEI? Maybe activate it with them? Or do I just live with it and never know if its going to quit working?
Sent from my phablet.

LanceDiamond said:
I actually bought from Craigslist and according to a recent call to Tmo, this phone was reported stolen. I've got it on Straight Talk with an AT&T sim and its working fine for now. I have no way to get back to the seller...
Is there anything I might be able to do to get Tmo to un-blacklist the IMEI? Maybe activate it with them? Or do I just live with it and never know if its going to quit working?
Sent from my phablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read what I posted. With the nationwide program that tmo is now using to check imeis, the market for stolen phones will drop and the list of blocked Imeis will rise. There are no ways around to unblock a phone, NO MATTER WHAT! Only the original purchaser can unlock it once proof is submitted to T-Mobile that the debt for the phone was paid off. If the phone was lost and the original purchaser found it, he has to send it back to the insurance company. Imeis will not be unblocked for lost or stolen phones if an insurance claim was done on it.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

Thanks for the clarification or rather reiteration...
Why would the phone still be working? Is it that tmo & att aren't (yet) sharing blacklists? Or could it be that going through Straight Talk is whats saving me?
I hate that there is nothing to do about it but I guess I took my chances buying off craigslist without knowing to check the imei.
Sent from my phablet.

Last time i tried to see if there was anything a t-mobile rep could do for me i ended coming up short. As i was in the transaction of purchasing the phone, the t-mobile rep I called didn't mention ANYTHING about registering the IMEI under my account, all she said she could do was verify it wasn't blocked at the time and couldn't guarantee **** about the future. I got screwed for almost $500 the day after i bought the phone. It's up to you if you want to take the risk. =/
Jack143 said:
I bought from a seller off ebay cellstoreusa for $620 free shipping. Also check my other reply on xda about how to check imei numbers, the info came from a tmobile rep.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 08:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 PM ----------
I found my reply for you.
I just bought one off ebay from a individual that sells new phones for $620 and no tax free shipping. In the past you could buy off a phone off Craigslist and have no problem. That's what I was about to do til I heard how easy someone can sell a phone and then in a day or two, file claim that it was stolen to get another phone. That phone will work, till they blacklist the imei. I talked to a sales rep about that situation and one option is to get the imei number from the seller before u buy it, and call Tmobile to check it.Then as soon as you buy the phone register the phone in your name. The rep said it take less than 5min if they're not busy and can be done on the phone. If a seller can't give you the imei number to check don't buy it. I had a seller off Craigslist not finished the sale cause I wanted to check the imei number.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
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arctic84 said:
Last time i tried to see if there was anything a t-mobile rep could do for me i ended coming up short. As i was in the transaction of purchasing the phone, the t-mobile rep I called didn't mention ANYTHING about registering the IMEI under my account, all she said she could do was verify it wasn't blocked at the time and couldn't guarantee **** about the future. I got screwed for almost $500 the day after i bought the phone. It's up to you if you want to take the risk. =/
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Only relatively safe way is to have the person sign over the phone to you At tmobile. That way they can instantly switch the IMEI to you, and the other person can't go home and report it stolen.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk HD

mrbkkt1 said:
Only relatively safe way is to have the person sign over the phone to you At tmobile. That way they can instantly switch the IMEI to you, and the other person can't go home and report it stolen.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk HD
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Guess i'll give that a shot for next time, thanks.

Craiglslist safe?

Should I buy a note 3 off Craig's list or is it dangours. If its Eip I'm screw right?
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spodie said:
Should I buy a note 3 off Craig's list or is it dangours. If its Eip I'm screw right?
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it is safe as long as you meet in a public place like a Starbucks or something.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk now Free

You run the risk of buying a stolen devices or from a person who has been delequent on payments. For this reason, I would personally not buy and always will never buy any cellphones from craigslist. I see too many horror stories. But if you insist on buying Id make sure to ask the right questions before you buy and test the device before paying
Sent from my SM-N900T

When I buy phone off Craig's I meet only at T-mobile store and have store clerks check with T-mobile Customer Service to make sure phone is paid off and not reported stolen, then I ask to notate my account that I am the owner of the phone now and it being paid for.
This way old owner has no legal right to claim it stolen, since he is right there present with me along with store of other witnesses.

djpaul said:
When I buy phone off Craig's I meet only at T-mobile store and have store clerks check with T-mobile Customer Service to make sure phone is paid off and not reported stolen, then I ask to notate my account that I am the owner of the phone now and it being paid for.
This way old owner has no legal right to claim it stolen, since he is right there present with me along with store of other witnesses.
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Never thought of doing it that away. Smart

Just sold my Note 2 on Craigslist. Went very smooth. Nice young lady. Even made a little extra cash unlocking it for her.
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Bought my note 3 on Craigslist. Easy transaction at a local Starbucks.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

No because even if you go to t mobile the phone is legit the person can later say the phone is stolen n then your phone is messed up
Sent from my SM-N900T using Xparent Pink Tapatalk 2

atlprettygirl2145 said:
No because even if you go to t mobile the phone is legit the person can later say the phone is stolen n then your phone is messed up
Sent from my SM-N900T using Xparent Pink Tapatalk 2
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Not If the imei is transferred to a different account. Also, if this is a concern you can get a signed sales record.
Plus AFAIK, they don't blacklist stolen phones anyway. There's been some pressure from government officials to make this happen. But I don't think there's been anything yet.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Why not I bought one for 350 and I'm typing on it now lol
Sent from my SM-N900T using xda app-developers app

I bought one for 550 and this Tuesday my service went out, when I called they told me my phone was reported lost. I just told the guy, I have it right here. And he unblocked it.

TRUE STORY:
I bought a phone from CL, met at a TMobile location, ask them to transfer the IMEI to my line. so far so good??
No... I used the phone for a few month and one morning, no more network. I try my ATT SIM and it works. I call TMobile, they tell me I need to change the SIM what I do, still nothing. I send the phone to Samsung, they dont see any issue.
Call back to TMo, they tell me the phone was declared stolen and there is NOTHING I can do because I am not the original buyer!! a complete RIP-OFF.
The worst is that they wont take any responsability
At least ATT transfer the number to your account as long as you have the info of the previous owner so the phone really belongs to you while TMobile just say there is nothing they can do.
I first believe this blacklist system would be a great thing to avoid stolen phones, but the way it is implemented is so wrong that the only looser is the guy at the end of the food chain.
If you buy from CL, ALWAYS ask for the original receipt!!!! if they dont have it, it is fishy! and if you can have a bill of sale

CarpeNoctem said:
TRUE STORY:
I bought a phone from CL, met at a TMobile location, ask them to transfer the IMEI to my line. so far so good??
No... I used the phone for a few month and one morning, no more network. I try my ATT SIM and it works. I call TMobile, they tell me I need to change the SIM what I do, still nothing. I send the phone to Samsung, they dont see any issue.
Call back to TMo, they tell me the phone was declared stolen and there is NOTHING I can do because I am not the original buyer!! a complete RIP-OFF.
The worst is that they wont take any responsability
At least ATT transfer the number to your account as long as you have the info of the previous owner so the phone really belongs to you while TMobile just say there is nothing they can do.
I first believe this blacklist system would be a great thing to avoid stolen phones, but the way it is implemented is so wrong that the only looser is the guy at the end of the food chain.
If you buy from CL, ALWAYS ask for the original receipt!!!! if they dont have it, it is fishy! and if you can have a bill of sale
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Click to collapse
Seems like some folks are claiming insurance fraud then selling the phones then the IMEI becomes black listed - very bad ethically and morally.
I personally have sold a few of my old iphones and more recently Galaxy S4 with no paperwork. The person checks it out it works give me cash and then bye bye. I try and prevent giving them my receipts or documents as they contain personal information on them. However I would show them it if asked.
Just curious why would some people sell their note 3 craigs list and not return it under the 14 days? Perhaps they have an upgrade and want to cash it out for a profit?

rg1973 said:
Why not I bought one for 350 and I'm typing on it now lol
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350 for a note 3? that is crazy cheap. Must have purchased it under contract or something

Limeybastard said:
Seems like some folks are claiming insurance fraud then selling the phones then the IMEI becomes black listed - very bad ethically and morally.
I personally have sold a few of my old iphones and more recently Galaxy S4 with no paperwork. The person checks it out it works give me cash and then bye bye. I try and prevent giving them my receipts or documents as they contain personal information on them. However I would show them it if asked.
Just curious why would some people sell their note 3 craigs list and not return it under the 14 days? Perhaps they have an upgrade and want to cash it out for a profit?
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Click to collapse
Yeah, they sell it for cash, but that doesn't make sense at all with T-Mobile now. Since you end up paying $700 for a phone. There is no point in selling it for $500 on craigslist unless you plan to commit fraud or whatever. Now, if it's contract like the other carriers, it makes sense and you can make a little bit of money.
All I can say is meet at the T-Mobile store and verify the phone is paid off. Then if possible (not sure if they would allow this) ask a T-Mo rep to make a note on the seller's account that the phone is being sold to your account and vice versa on your account. If the seller is okay with this, then it should give you a hint that he's a somewhat honest person, but anything can still happen. I say just buy the phone from T-Mobile, authorized retailer, or Newegg/Amazon.

DKYang said:
Yeah, they sell it for cash, but that doesn't make sense at all with T-Mobile now. Since you end up paying $700 for a phone. There is no point in selling it for $500 on craigslist unless you plan to commit fraud or whatever. Now, if it's contract like the other carriers, it makes sense and you can make a little bit of money.
All I can say is meet at the T-Mobile store and verify the phone is paid off. Then if possible (not sure if they would allow this) ask a T-Mo rep to make a note on the seller's account that the phone is being sold to your account and vice versa on your account. If the seller is okay with this, then it should give you a hint that he's a somewhat honest person, but anything can still happen. I say just buy the phone from T-Mobile, authorized retailer, or Newegg/Amazon.
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Good points raised. I was going to return mine and get a craigs list used T mobile version, but it ain't worth the 200 dollar or less saving for me. Like you mentioned why would they sell the t mobile one when they can get their money back from store minus 50 perhaps.

Bought mine for 600 yesterday it was still sealed I love this phone so much!
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

You have to take precautions.
Have something in writing when buying or selling. Include the serial number and IMEI number then both sign it.
I have sold and bought a handful of phones with no problems. Yes I do consider myself lucky because stuff does happen.
Avoid PayPal and high check amount transactions. They are scams.

phones
I didn't know tmo had changed like this... I thought you could just pop in a sim card and be done... so now there like sprint and verizon with a id per phone?

Ya, I've seen several times, someone pays the initial down payment on a phone (or 0 down), sells the phone for full price, then defaults on the payment. The buyer usually doesn't find out for 3 months. Definitely meet at a store.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk 4

Tips buying a T-Mobile note 3 on Craigslist?

Any tips or suggestions on how I can buy a tmobile note 3? How can I be sure it's a good esn/imei without it being reported stolen from tmobile?
Sent from my C6602

snoopycr said:
Any tips or suggestions on how I can buy a tmobile note 3? How can I be sure it's a good esn/imei without it being reported stolen from tmobile?
Sent from my C6602
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My best advice would be to ask the seller if he/ she would be willing to meet at a T-mobile location to make sure the handset is legitimate. Tell the seller a friend or relative of yours was ripped off in the past and you just want to make sure. Best of luck to you friend.
sent from my note 3

Meet in a Tmobile store and have the seller have the tmobile rep look at their account and verify the phone is not on an equipment installment plan and the imei is not reported as lost or stolen. Also get a signed recepiet (with both parties printed name and the description of the item sold)from the seller stating they sold you the phone. There are many stories where a phone is reported lost or stolen after the sale and after the imei was checked to be in good standing.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

If meeting at a store isn't possible you can call T-Mobile and have them switch it over to you over the phone while standing there with the guy before any money exchanges hands.

Shouldnt there be less problems with this now? I mean, even if someone cancels, they are charged the remaining value on the phone, right? So none of these phones should be blacklisted at all, ever. I mean, they cant make you pay if you leave and still blacklist the phone. Even if u never pay the final bill, if its even on your credit report, you're responsible for it. Is my train of thought here wrong?

tony yayo said:
Shouldnt there be less problems with this now? I mean, even if someone cancels, they are charged the remaining value on the phone, right? So none of these phones should be blacklisted at all, ever. I mean, they cant make you pay if you leave and still blacklist the phone. Even if u never pay the final bill, if its even on your credit report, you're responsible for it. Is my train of thought here wrong?
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Tmo will block the phone until the bill is paid in full. So if they never pay the bill with the phone balance due the phone bought will not work. And now tmo and att share a blcklist so cant use it on att network either. Also as stated even after the sale some people report the phone as lost or stolen and claim a warranty on it making the phone sold useless.
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blakkheartt12 said:
Tmo will block the phone until the bill is paid in full. So if they never pay the bill with the phone balance due the phone bought will not work. And now tmo and att share a blcklist so cant use it on att network either. Also as stated even after the sale some people report the phone as lost or stolen and claim a warranty on it making the phone sold useless.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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What happens when the bill goes to collections? Tmo gets paid by the collection agency but when the collectors get paid will they unblock the phone?
Besides, if they were to report it stolen 2 months later, who would believe you would wait 2 months to report a stolen $700 phone?

tony yayo said:
What happens when the bill goes to collections? Tmo gets paid by the collection agency but when the collectors get paid will they unblock the phone?
Besides, if they were to report it stolen 2 months later, who would believe you would wait 2 months to report a stolen $700 phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently people do. Just search on xda for phone stop working or phone doesnt get service after working for a few months (there were a lot of threads like that in the tmo note 2 forum). Many said tmo wont unblock it until the original owner pays it off. They wont even allow you to pay it off if you wanted to. So its better to have all the evidence as possible that the phone was sold to you.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I personally wouldn't buy new T-Mo phone on craigslist nowa days, and I would be super careful and do due diligence when purchasing on eBay. Even eBay is subject to these issues, just look at how many people are selling Note 3(s) on eBay that are listed as having bad IMEI(s). Why do you think that is? People are are doing multiple different scams and such that involve the IMEI getting blacklisted after a while.
One involves people selling the phones and then not paying their bill after it was purchased on a payment plan. Once they don't pay their bill they blacklist the IMEI. The ONLY way to unblacklist the IMEI is for the original purchaser to pay their payment plan bill. Even if you legitimately purchased the phone they will not unblock it for you. I know of more then one person that has tried to resolve this with ZERO success. Going to a T-Mobile store to do the transaction will not help in this situation because often the account is not in a negative standing yet and doesn't happen till a later date. The only thing a T-Mobile store can help with is identifying if the phone is stolen or not, which doesn't help with these latest scams.
The only way to avoid this is to 100% make sure that the phone you purchased was paid for in full at full price and not on a payment plan. Even then I have heard of sellers providing photoshopped receipts to buyers only to get their phones blacklisted months or weeks later because the phones were not really paid off. One might think that eBay is safer from a seller that has feedback but no not really. Often by the time you get blacklisted you cannot leave bad feedback or file a dispute. However with that said, most card companies (VISA, MC, ETC) allow you to do a chargeback within six months of a purchase if its some type of fraud that happened as a result.
The other way involves a more scammy way that I will not explain, with again the outcome being a blacklisted phone that the 2nd purchaser cannot resolve. However these are happening all over the place and there's not a sure fire way to avoid it. The best way to avoid this is to simply buy a phone directly from a authorized seller like T-Mo, or to trust your buyer 100%.
Just saying.

There is no way to be 100% sure that a T-Mobile phone is a safe bet, unless it is coming from someone you trust.
Even if you go to a store with the seller and verify that the phone is fully paid for, they still have 30 days from the incident date to report it stolen or lost if they have insurance or JUMP! Yes it is fraud, but it is almost impossible to combat. Police will record your incident and file it, but will not actively pursue a situation such as this in most cases. T-Mobile will suggest that you contact your local police and will not do anything to help you.
Another note: If you call or go into a store and ask them to check the IMEI number, they can't give you information regarding financing unless the phone is being financed under your name or a authorized account manager. You will need the phone seller to go in to the store to verify this information for you.
I'm sure there are plenty of people out there trying to sell their TMO phones honestly, but do you want to take a high percentage chance that you are being ripped off? That percentage rises if the phone is brand new selling at a huge discount. EX. Craigslist in my city shows a guy selling 4 TMO Note 3's brand new for 550.00 each. I can almost guarantee that those phones will be blacklisted sooner or later.

buy it on swappa

There is a certain amount of risk involved. It all depends on how good of a deal you get. I've bought quite a few phones from CL then sold later on Ebay. Right now I'm using a Note 3 bought on CL for $400. I could sell it with a bad IMEI on Ebay and still make a good profit. I always disclose in my auction that the phone has been verified as clean at the time of sale but that could change in the future since I don't know the history of the phone. it doesn't seem to stop people from buying the phones.
Just last weekend I found a great deal on a S4 international version, or so I thought. After getting home and messing with it I found out it was a fake! The owner never answered my calls or texts, go figure. I was able to sell it on Ebay fully disclosed as a fake and only take about a $40 hit. If you're going to use CL you better be willing to take some risk.
Also my research leads me to belive that Tmo and att do not SHARE blacklist info for phones that the bill is not paid on, only units reported lost or stolen. Nobody had been able to prove to me they do. Since I use Straight Talk with att sim card that eliminates some risk of my phone becoming blacklisted. In my mind anyhow it makes me feel better!
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snoopycr said:
Any tips or suggestions on how I can buy a tmobile note 3? How can I be sure it's a good esn/imei without it being reported stolen from tmobile?
Sent from my C6602
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Best way to buy it is to PRESUME the phone you are buying is ALREADY blacklisted. Next is to buy it at the lowest price you think it fair. For example, I bought a Note 3 T-Mobile from craighstlist for 525. The guy said it had a clean IMEI but I was skeptical of it but since it was at 525, I could not have cared less since I was planning on using it with AT&T. I later unlocked it using RegionLock Away and everything is SMOOTH. Love the phone.

i wouldnt trust craigslist.. i had bought a phone on it that i thought worked. when i came home it bricked.

Just thought I'd share my craigslist experience this morning. I wanted to post a screenshot but cannot for some reason so copy and pastiing.
Me: you still got the note 4 for sale?
Him: yes
Me: Can you provide a reciept to show that its fulky paid for and a bill of sale with your name and id number? I'm just trying to avoid insurance scammers.
Him: It's not fully paid off. I just got the phone because it came with the line which is all i needed at no additional cost to me.
Him: But I'm not eligible for insurance because I've used my two for the year up already.
Me: Well if you're selling a phone that isn't fully paid off tmobile will block it when you stop making payments. Which makes the phine useless and you're trying to sell it is fraud.
Me: lol good luck man
Him: Umm your wrong
Him: but ok
Funny how his insurance is already used up, i wonder what became of those phones hmmm. So I would encourage anybody buying off craigslist to ask the same questions i did. They're are some genuine sellers i buy and sell from Craigslist all the time.

Make sure the box is a genuine t-mobile box the phone will set in a recessed form fitted area and not just on top of flat paper.