Develop Bugs

[Q] Should I check anything B4 buying from Craigslist?

Hi.
Just making sure. Anything I need to check in terms of stolen/reported or whatnot?
I am about to buy one, so just asking for your advice
thanks

Bring your SIM card and a sd card. Make a phone call then save something on the sd card.
If he let's you, download a benchmark app and check if the reported specs match to see if it's a fake or not.
At this point you've checked whether the phone is banned, has a working sd card slot and isn't fake. The only thing left is cosmetic damage.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

kr3w1337 said:
Bring your SIM card and a sd card. Make a phone call then save something on the sd card.
If he let's you, download a benchmark app and check if the reported specs match to see if it's a fake or not.
At this point you've checked whether the phone is banned, has a working sd card slot and isn't fake. The only thing left is cosmetic damage.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much (i thanked u)!!!
I would never in a million years think it could be a fake one.....
wow!

You can also if they're willing to, meet at a t-mo store to have them check the ESN for a stolen phone or not

You can't check if the phone is banned. I just lost 450 dollars as I bought s2 from Cl. I used the phone for 2 months and it quit working. I called T-Mobile and they told me it was reported lost or stolen. Imei got banned.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

theghazi said:
You can't check if the phone is banned. I just lost 450 dollars as I bought s2 from Cl. I used the phone for 2 months and it quit working. I called T-Mobile and they told me it was reported lost or stolen. Imei got banned.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
That's horrible! I am surprised that they can even do that (t-mobile, i mean)! But how is the IMEI related to their ability to shut it down? does the phone transmits this info to their servers? I was under the impression that only the CDMA phones can do that....

If your sim card on their network is in a phone, that phone has a specific number that is transmitted as your using the phone. If the number comes up as stolen or otherwise the network can stop that specific numbered phone from accessing the network.
Hence my above post.

I see.
But that means EVERY buyer is in risk!

That is what I though that only cdma phones. But since they signed the contract to get these phones. If they break the contract and don't pay their bills. They banned the imei number. The phone will not get any signal and it would say can't register to network. Same things happens when you claim the phone as lost or stolen. My first hand experience.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

theghazi said:
That is what I though that only cdma phones. But since they signed the contract to get these phones. If they break the contract and don't pay their bills. They banned the imei number. The phone will not get any signal and it would say can't register to network. Same things happens when you claim the phone as lost or stolen. My first hand experience.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
So how can one be protected?

benyben123 said:
So how can one be protected?
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Click to collapse
You can either have the ESN checked on the phone before making any final deals, buy brand new phones, or buy straight from the carrier or phone manufacture.

icepally said:
You can either have the ESN checked on the phone before making any final deals, buy brand new phones, or buy straight from the carrier or phone manufacture.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I had the money

theghazi said:
You can't check if the phone is banned. I just lost 450 dollars as I bought s2 from Cl. I used the phone for 2 months and it quit working. I called T-Mobile and they told me it was reported lost or stolen. Imei got banned.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually think that rep you talked to told you the wrong information. I highly doubt that the original owner could report a stolen phone that he has not used under his account after 2 months, I've played with a friend's t-mobile agents account and the IMEI of every phone you ever used is listed including the date used. It is most likely that asurion or t-mobile will not agree to do a insurance claim on a phone that he or she has not used for 2 months.
I actually believe that the original owner had a subsidized phone and stopped paying for it after he sold it to you, t-mobile probably warned him the first month and ended up banning the imei the 2nd month.
Now I am wondering myself, I thought T-mobile/asurion only bans a phone if it was reported STOLEN not LOST. Can someone clarify this for me? I use to buy a lot of phones off CL even though I bet many are reported "lost" and people filed insurance claims for them; however, I have yet to have a phone become "banned." Well I haven't bought any phones off CL since January.... sooo i guess things might have changed?

Phones can honestly be blocked for any reason, I usually have heard of them for non payment on the device or being stolen at the time of delivery

kylephillips66 said:
Phones can honestly be blocked for any reason, I usually have heard of them for non payment on the device or being stolen at the time of delivery
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Click to collapse
If it was indeed blocked, is that the final story for the device? That's it? Dead? Gone? Nothing to do about it? Can't one unlock it, use it with a different number of the same carrier (tmobile)?

You could unlock the sim and go to at&t
Sent from next year on my CM 10ed G-Mobile Galaxy Note 2!

icepally said:
You can either have the ESN checked on the phone before making any final deals, buy brand new phones, or buy straight from the carrier or phone manufacture.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can get scammed with brand new phones too. there's the "equipment installment plan" with tmobile. the way the scam works is to put a loan out on a phone, then don't pay the monthly payments.the scammer sells the phone, and then tmobile bans that phone

ceejay83 said:
you can get scammed with brand new phones too. there's the "equipment installment plan" with tmobile. the way the scam works is to put a loan out on a phone, then don't pay the monthly payments.the scammer sells the phone, and then tmobile bans that phone
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Click to collapse
I respectfully have to disagree with you. I am a RSA with T-Mobile USA and the way the payment plan or the "equipment installment plan" works is that it is on your account so if your account gets cancelled due to non-payment it's gets charged off to your account including the ETF. One thing T-Mobile cannot do is ban your IMEI because it is unlawful, it is not different then you buying clothes on your macy's card and then not paying for it and them coming into your place to confiscate your clothes. the only time T-mobile will ban a IMEI is A. when it is stolen from a store i.e Demo phones or missing merchandise. or B customer calling in to report the phone missing. in the case where the gentleman stated his phone got banned after 2 months isn't because of a late insurance claim but much more likely due to a missing phone coming up in the quarterly inventory. the best way to ensure you are getting a legitimate deal is by calling 611 from your phone during the purchase and verifying the IMEI and then asking the rep to memo it in your account so if in the future the phone is reported missing the burden is on T-mobile and not you. I hope this helps you all.

willywonka84 said:
I respectfully have to disagree with you. I am a RSA with T-Mobile USA and the way the payment plan or the "equipment installment plan" works is that it is on your account so if your account gets cancelled due to non-payment it's gets charged off to your account including the ETF. One thing T-Mobile cannot do is ban your IMEI because it is unlawful, it is not different then you buying clothes on your macy's card and then not paying for it and them coming into your place to confiscate your clothes. the only time T-mobile will ban a IMEI is A. when it is stolen from a store i.e Demo phones or missing merchandise. or B customer calling in to report the phone missing. in the case where the gentleman stated his phone got banned after 2 months isn't because of a late insurance claim but much more likely due to a missing phone coming up in the quarterly inventory. the best way to ensure you are getting a legitimate deal is by calling 611 from your phone during the purchase and verifying the IMEI and then asking the rep to memo it in your account so if in the future the phone is reported missing the burden is on T-mobile and not you. I hope this helps you all.
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Click to collapse
interesting stuff, but there were a couple cases where reps told the customer that the phone is blocked because the owner stopped paying for the phone. I think there are a couple stories of that floating around this subforum.
But okay can you elaborate more on what you mean by the missing phone coming up in the quarterly inventory?

also make sure u plug the phone in and make sure it charges, bring a laptop and usb cable if u can too. If the microusb port doesn't work, u can't charge, root, or do anything else.

IMEI Blocking

Recently I've been seeing a lot of T-Mobile USA & AT&T phones on eBay and such that have their IMEI blocked by the provider they are made for. I was thinking if there's a way to prevent getting scammed and buying one of these used phones where the IMEI ends up getting blocked (perhaps months later) because the original owner didn't make a phone or service payment & I was wondering if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would ever block the IMEI of a Galaxy Nexus GSM Unlocked Phone?
It obviously has an IMEI but does anyone know if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would block the IMEI of a phone like the Nexus that they don't sell themselves if someone reported it stolen, didn't make a bill payment of some kind, etc.?

LS1_01 said:
Recently I've been seeing a lot of T-Mobile USA & AT&T phones on eBay and such that have their IMEI blocked by the provider they are made for. I was thinking if there's a way to prevent getting scammed and buying one of these used phones where the IMEI ends up getting blocked (perhaps months later) because the original owner didn't make a phone or service payment & I was wondering if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would ever block the IMEI of a Galaxy Nexus GSM Unlocked Phone?
It obviously has an IMEI but does anyone know if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would block the IMEI of a phone like the Nexus that they don't sell themselves if someone reported it stolen, didn't make a bill payment of some kind, etc.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not for missing a bill payment. The phone isn't sold or subsidized by them so they would have no right to block it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

I was wondering the same thing too. If I buy a used international Galaxy S3 i9300 would they block the imei if the previous owner report it stolen a short while after selling it? Also will the phone be block if the insurance is from third party?
These new imei blocking idea seems to create a whole new set of problems (for us consumers at least). The big carriers would probably benefit from sales of new device as people are too afraid to buy devices that can be blacklisted whenever.

whatsitsnamenow said:
I was wondering the same thing too. If I buy a used international Galaxy S3 i9300 would they block the imei if the previous owner report it stolen a short while after selling it? Also will the phone be block if the insurance is from third party?
These new imei blocking idea seems to create a whole new set of problems (for us consumers at least). The big carriers would probably benefit from sales of new device as people are too afraid to buy devices that can be blacklisted whenever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't blame the carriers . Blame criminals who benefit by reselling stolen phones on the used market. The theft of smartphones is huge right now as this is so easy and profits are huge. Anything that can slow this down is worth doing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

whatsitsnamenow said:
I was wondering the same thing too. If I buy a used international Galaxy S3 i9300 would they block the imei if the previous owner report it stolen a short while after selling it? Also will the phone be block if the insurance is from third party?
These new imei blocking idea seems to create a whole new set of problems (for us consumers at least). The big carriers would probably benefit from sales of new device as people are too afraid to buy devices that can be blacklisted whenever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never thought about the insurance aspect but when I called T-Mobile they said that any phone could be blocked if reported stolen including something like a Nexus...but who knows if it ever happens.

Its not about blaming who. I just think this is not very thought out solution. It puts a dent on phones that are actually stolen but does nothing to stop fraud. Example
I buy new Galaxy S3 from Att
I buy insurance for phone
I sell phone for $450 (good imei standing currently) on Craigslist or on Marketplace
One week later I report my phone stolen and pay my $100 deductible
Phone gets blocked and buyer gets screwed.
I receive new Samsung Galaxy S3
Next week I sell my new Galaxy S3 for $450 and start the whole process over again.
In this scenario there is no way to check for IMEI clean or not because at the time of sale the IMEI is clean.
Also CDMA phones are better protected against this scenario as the CDMA phone's ESN is link to the account holder.

whatsitsnamenow said:
Its not about blaming who. I just think this is not very thought out solution. It puts a dent on phones that are actually stolen but does nothing to stop fraud. Example
I buy new Galaxy S3 from Att
I buy insurance for phone
I sell phone for $450 (good imei standing currently) on Craigslist or on Marketplace
One week later I report my phone stolen and pay my $100 deductible
Phone gets blocked and buyer gets screwed.
I receive new Samsung Galaxy S3
Next week I sell my new Galaxy S3 for $450 and start the whole process over again.
In this scenario there is no way to check for IMEI clean or not because at the time of sale the IMEI is clean.
Also CDMA phones are better protected against this scenario as the CDMA phone's ESN is link to the account holder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a G1 from eBay when they were first released (listed as new in box) and it was blocked after a month.
It took me 4 months to get my money back from the seller and I only succeeded because I got the police involved. Personally I just wouldn't buy a phone again from a private seller.
In the UK at least there is no process to appeal an IMEI block.
That said, I still think its a good way of reducing phone theft - they just really need some kind of escrow / transfer service for IMEIs

Blacklisting a Phone that's not lost or stolen
LS1_01 said:
Recently I've been seeing a lot of T-Mobile USA & AT&T phones on eBay and such that have their IMEI blocked by the provider they are made for. I was thinking if there's a way to prevent getting scammed and buying one of these used phones where the IMEI ends up getting blocked (perhaps months later) because the original owner didn't make a phone or service payment & I was wondering if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would ever block the IMEI of a Galaxy Nexus GSM Unlocked Phone?
It obviously has an IMEI but does anyone know if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would block the IMEI of a phone like the Nexus that they don't sell themselves if someone reported it stolen, didn't make a bill payment of some kind, etc.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just bought an HTC One X on ebay that the seller said was a return by someone who decided on a different phone. I can confirm that the device was unlocked because it worked for a day on Straight Talk before the phone was blacklisted with the message "This device has been blocked for network use". I contacted the ebay seller to let them know what the situation was and I called AT&T to see if I could figure out why the device was blocked, thinking that maybe it could be unblocked or returned to the original purchaser in case it had been lost or stolen.
When I talked to the AT&T rep they said that the phone was not lost or stolen, just that it wasn't eligible to be unlocked until November - but the device itself was unlocked. I suspected that the phone had been blocked for being unlocked and told them that I thought that that was unethical and maybe even ilegal. They refused to give me more information and I left a different, working phone number for my girlfriend for the original owner to contact just in case the phone was lost or stolen (they wouldn't confirm whether it was or not despite assuring me it wasn't before I talked with a manager).
Today, I just got this message back from the ebay seller "we received the phone , i tried getting another out to you but att will not unlock it unless its under contarct , its some new policy."
So, apparently if the phone isn't unlocked by the person with the contract AT&T will blacklist it even though the device is unlocked and they are abusing the "lost or stolen" blacklist to carry this out. This is nothing short of an attempt to kill off the market for used phones under the guise of protecting consumers from theft or lost phones. I can't believe this isn't ilegal and I can barely believe that AT&T is cynical enough to do this.
For the time being, be warned that in the US, a used phone now must be physically unlocked as well as blessed by the carrier to not be blacklisted. It seems like a fairly risky proposal to do something as straight forward as buying a used phone.

akr884 said:
I just bought an HTC One X on ebay that the seller said was a return by someone who decided on a different phone. I can confirm that the device was unlocked because it worked for a day on Straight Talk before the phone was blacklisted with the message "This device has been blocked for network use". I contacted the ebay seller to let them know what the situation was and I called AT&T to see if I could figure out why the device was blocked, thinking that maybe it could be unblocked or returned to the original purchaser in case it had been lost or stolen.
When I talked to the AT&T rep they said that the phone was not lost or stolen, just that it wasn't eligible to be unlocked until November - but the device itself was unlocked. I suspected that the phone had been blocked for being unlocked and told them that I thought that that was unethical and maybe even ilegal. They refused to give me more information and I left a different, working phone number for my girlfriend for the original owner to contact just in case the phone was lost or stolen (they wouldn't confirm whether it was or not despite assuring me it wasn't before I talked with a manager).
Today, I just got this message back from the ebay seller "we received the phone , i tried getting another out to you but att will not unlock it unless its under contarct , its some new policy."
So, apparently if the phone isn't unlocked by the person with the contract AT&T will blacklist it even though the device is unlocked and they are abusing the "lost or stolen" blacklist to carry this out. This is nothing short of an attempt to kill off the market for used phones under the guise of protecting consumers from theft or lost phones. I can't believe this isn't ilegal and I can barely believe that AT&T is cynical enough to do this.
For the time being, be warned that in the US, a used phone now must be physically unlocked as well as blessed by the carrier to not be blacklisted. It seems like a fairly risky proposal to do something as straight forward as buying a used phone.
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Click to collapse
This is unacceptable and illegal.
You should ask them to show proof of documentation......
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

akr884 said:
I just bought an HTC One X on ebay that the seller said was a return by someone who decided on a different phone. I can confirm that the device was unlocked because it worked for a day on Straight Talk before the phone was blacklisted with the message "This device has been blocked for network use". I contacted the ebay seller to let them know what the situation was and I called AT&T to see if I could figure out why the device was blocked, thinking that maybe it could be unblocked or returned to the original purchaser in case it had been lost or stolen.
When I talked to the AT&T rep they said that the phone was not lost or stolen, just that it wasn't eligible to be unlocked until November - but the device itself was unlocked. I suspected that the phone had been blocked for being unlocked and told them that I thought that that was unethical and maybe even ilegal. They refused to give me more information and I left a different, working phone number for my girlfriend for the original owner to contact just in case the phone was lost or stolen (they wouldn't confirm whether it was or not despite assuring me it wasn't before I talked with a manager).
Today, I just got this message back from the ebay seller "we received the phone , i tried getting another out to you but att will not unlock it unless its under contarct , its some new policy."
So, apparently if the phone isn't unlocked by the person with the contract AT&T will blacklist it even though the device is unlocked and they are abusing the "lost or stolen" blacklist to carry this out. This is nothing short of an attempt to kill off the market for used phones under the guise of protecting consumers from theft or lost phones. I can't believe this isn't ilegal and I can barely believe that AT&T is cynical enough to do this.
For the time being, be warned that in the US, a used phone now must be physically unlocked as well as blessed by the carrier to not be blacklisted. It seems like a fairly risky proposal to do something as straight forward as buying a used phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure the phone is unlocked? Were you using a Straight Talk AT&T Compatible SIM or a Straight Talk T-Mobile Compatible SIM? If the AT&T one that will work on all AT&T phones even if it is not unlocked but if you put a ST T-Mobile SIM into an AT&T phone like AT&T's version of the HTC One X then it needs to be unlocked...

LS1_01 said:
Recently I've been seeing a lot of T-Mobile USA & AT&T phones on eBay and such that have their IMEI blocked by the provider they are made for. I was thinking if there's a way to prevent getting scammed and buying one of these used phones where the IMEI ends up getting blocked (perhaps months later) because the original owner didn't make a phone or service payment & I was wondering if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would ever block the IMEI of a Galaxy Nexus GSM Unlocked Phone?
It obviously has an IMEI but does anyone know if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would block the IMEI of a phone like the Nexus that they don't sell themselves if someone reported it stolen, didn't make a bill payment of some kind, etc.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I highly doubt T-mobile/ATT would block it because it's not sold, or covered by them.

Imei blocking
My phone was stolen 2 days ago, i then called att and have them block the imei but i would like to know if the phone still can be unlocked to work on another network abroad lets say in the Caribbean??? the phone in question is the samsung s 3 i747........please can someone verify if it is possible to work on a foreign network even though att has blacklisted the imei????

Fedz7 said:
My phone was stolen 2 days ago, i then called att and have them block the imei but i would like to know if the phone still can be unlocked to work on another network abroad lets say in the Caribbean??? the phone in question is the samsung s 3 i747........please can someone verify if it is possible to work on a foreign network even though att has blacklisted the imei????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny story.
I bought my gf an unlocked iPhone 3GS from gamestop as a refurbished unit a few months ago. Traded some games and got a good discount. Anyway I tried to unlock it through AT&T and was told it had a stolen IMEI.... although she was using it for like 6 months.
I called Gamestop corporate and they issued me a full refund of $185, after 6 months of use. I only spent like $60 on it after one of their 20-30-40-50% trade in bonus and 10% gamers club.
So you can use stolen IMEI phones on the carrier but probably not with new service. She used her existing service. Had she tried to activate it in a store it woulda been different. The phone still worked... they just wouldn't unlock it.
I turned around and bought a 4S from a buddy for $150 and profit!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

player911 said:
Funny story.
I bought my gf an unlocked iPhone 3GS from gamestop as a refurbished unit a few months ago. Traded some games and got a good discount. Anyway I tried to unlock it through AT&T and was told it had a stolen IMEI.... although she was using it for like 6 months.
I called Gamestop corporate and they issued me a full refund of $185, 6 months later. I only spent like $60 on it after one of their 20-30-40-50% trade in bonus and 10% gamers club.
So you can use stolen IMEI phones on the carrier but probably not with new service. She used her existing service. Had she tried to activate it in a store it woulda been different. The phone still worked... they just wouldn't unlock it.
I turned around and bought a 4S from a buddy for $150 and profit!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
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Ok thanks for that bit of info...

Fedz7 said:
Ok thanks for that bit of info...
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Click to collapse
I would be very upset if I spent a few hundred on a phone and had it shut down or repossessed.
I've had my Nexus 7 stolen out of my car recently so it goes both ways. The only people getting hurt are the good guys who actually purchase things.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

Fedz7 said:
My phone was stolen 2 days ago, i then called att and have them block the imei but i would like to know if the phone still can be unlocked to work on another network abroad lets say in the Caribbean??? the phone in question is the samsung s 3 i747........please can someone verify if it is possible to work on a foreign network even though att has blacklisted the imei????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As someone who lives in the Caribbean and works at a cell phone repair shop. I can say yes it will work over here but extremely limited. I live in Puerto Rico, technically we're US but you'd be surprised what flies around here. We have all the major carriers except for Verizon, and if att blacklisted your imei then it won't work on att or any of their prepaid companies who run on the same network (net10, straight talk, tracfone) but it will work on another carrier such as tmobile or a company we have over here called claro. A lot of people over here go crazy for iphones and when they buy a used one they're almost always stolen, then when they try and take it to our shop cause its not working or cause they want to unlock it, they're hit with a blacklist. Most of these people switch to claro, its not an American based company and they're aren't blacklisting phones. And then they end up with a perfectly good working stolen phone having effectively found a way around the original blacklist.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

oby2 said:
As someone who lives in the Caribbean and works at a cell phone repair shop. I can say yes it will work over here but extremely limited. I live in Puerto Rico, technically we're US but you'd be surprised what flies around here. We have all the major carriers except for Verizon, and if att blacklisted your imei then it won't work on att or any of their prepaid companies who run on the same network (net10, straight talk, tracfone) but it will work on another carrier such as tmobile or a company we have over here called claro. A lot of people over here go crazy for iphones and when they buy a used one they're almost always stolen, then when they try and take it to our shop cause its not working or cause they want to unlock it, they're hit with a blacklist. Most of these people switch to claro, its not an American based company and they're aren't blacklisting phones. And then they end up with a perfectly good working stolen phone having effectively found a way around the original blacklist.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can it be unlocked outside the US via imei unlock code even though its blacklisted?

akr884 said:
I just bought an HTC One X on ebay that the seller said was a return by someone who decided on a different phone. I can confirm that the device was unlocked because it worked for a day on Straight Talk before the phone was blacklisted with the message "This device has been blocked for network use". I contacted the ebay seller to let them know what the situation was and I called AT&T to see if I could figure out why the device was blocked, thinking that maybe it could be unblocked or returned to the original purchaser in case it had been lost or stolen.
When I talked to the AT&T rep they said that the phone was not lost or stolen, just that it wasn't eligible to be unlocked until November - but the device itself was unlocked. I suspected that the phone had been blocked for being unlocked and told them that I thought that that was unethical and maybe even ilegal. They refused to give me more information and I left a different, working phone number for my girlfriend for the original owner to contact just in case the phone was lost or stolen (they wouldn't confirm whether it was or not despite assuring me it wasn't before I talked with a manager).
Today, I just got this message back from the ebay seller "we received the phone , i tried getting another out to you but att will not unlock it unless its under contarct , its some new policy."
So, apparently if the phone isn't unlocked by the person with the contract AT&T will blacklist it even though the device is unlocked and they are abusing the "lost or stolen" blacklist to carry this out. This is nothing short of an attempt to kill off the market for used phones under the guise of protecting consumers from theft or lost phones. I can't believe this isn't ilegal and I can barely believe that AT&T is cynical enough to do this.
For the time being, be warned that in the US, a used phone now must be physically unlocked as well as blessed by the carrier to not be blacklisted. It seems like a fairly risky proposal to do something as straight forward as buying a used phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the htc one x att ? if so your phone does not have to be unlocked cuz st8 talk is att. Did you use a sim from an origanal st8 talk phone? some work but eventualy get kicked off the network.

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

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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!
Sent from my SM-N900T using xda app-developers app

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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

My imei bad T mobile note 3 another craigslist sad story

If u can help me please pm me

I called tmobile and ask politely and said the right answers and they unblocked my imei

What were the right answers? I bought one off the craigs that stopped working a month later. Had to sell it on ebay and broke even.

pcm2a said:
What were the right answers? I bought one off the craigs that stopped working a month later. Had to sell it on ebay and broke even.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right answer? Perhaps giving his credit card number to pay off device outstanding amount.

sixk said:
I called tmobile and ask politely and said the right answers and they unblocked my imei
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did that work? I bought my Note 3 on Swappa, and after it was blocked, T-Mobile basically told me to go suck a duck. They wouldn't give me any info, except to tell me what I already knew (that the phone was blocked). They wouldn't tell me how much was owed either.
But please tell us what you said. There are many people who have been scammed and would like to be able to get their device unblocked.
---------- Post added at 10:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 PM ----------
Digitalx1 said:
If u can help me please pm me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went through something very similar, except Swappa, not Craigslist. Is the phone just blocked for non-payment of EIP, or is it reported stolen and blacklisted? That might affect your options.
You have a couple of choices, none of which are ideal.
1. Sell the phone on Ebay for a loss. If you sell it internationally, you might be better off since non-US buyers wouldn't care about it being blocked on T-Mobile.
2. Do what I did. Unlock the device (use Chainfire or something similar) and go to another carrier. I ended up going to Straight Talk (AT&T). All in all, it cost me about $10 to unlock and buy the SIM card. I lost my favorite T-Mobile plan, and now pay more for less data (I cry silently each night), but at least your phone will be usable again.
Hope that helps.

Sorry if I am a noob about this but can someone share some light what is happening exactly? I don't want to fall in this category.
People sell their phones to the customer (via Craigslist or Swappa) and the seller does not pay it off which causes T-Mobile to blacklist them?

Try use region unlock that might help you
Sent from my SM-N900T using xda app-developers app

Pedro2NR said:
Sorry if I am a noob about this but can someone share some light what is happening exactly? I don't want to fall in this category.
People sell their phones to the customer (via Craigslist or Swappa) and the seller does not pay it off which causes T-Mobile to blacklist them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think there has been at least one instance in which the phone seemed to have been reported as lost or stolen via insurance. That's based on a phone which was supposedly not on EIP being blacklisted by Tmo. Can't find the thread right now, so that's based entirely on vague recollection.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Pedro2NR said:
Sorry if I am a noob about this but can someone share some light what is happening exactly? I don't want to fall in this category.
People sell their phones to the customer (via Craigslist or Swappa) and the seller does not pay it off which causes T-Mobile to blacklist them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much. Most likely these people are getting their T-mo service cut off for non-payment and since the phone still has a balance, the IMEI gets blacklisted. Shady seller sells it anyway. Poor buyer gets home, finds out its blocked, and has very little recourse especially if it was a CL deal. People also frequently steal phones and try to sell them as well. I work as a phone tester for a popular "sell us your phone!" service that has commercials all over TV right now, and I see TONS of stolen phones. I open the package, turn it on, see the "you have entered the wrong pin too many times, phone locked" screen, and then the ESN/IMEI comes up blacklisted.
Bottom line- people are terrible and will think nothing of scamming you if they can make a quick buck. Trust no one. I won't buy high-end electronics anywhere but a brick & mortar store or a reputable online dealer who guarantees their products. Saving a couple hundred bucks is not worth the risk of getting scammed.

T-mobile has the best customer-service I've ever talked to. On the phone that is
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Right answer = lies
Im not sure if its the right place to say this.
My N3 was paid off
what I told them was I bought this phone off my girlfriend who wanted to stick with an iphone.
And while she changed back to her iphone there must have been a mistake which blocked the phone.
and after about an hour they said they would review this and call me back... but never got a call back.
So I called back a week later and talked to another person and asked about my phone's status and she told it was not blocked anymore.
Hope that helps.

sixk said:
Right answer = lies
Im not sure if its the right place to say this.
My N3 was paid off
what I told them was I bought this phone off my girlfriend who wanted to stick with an iphone.
And while she changed back to her iphone there must have been a mistake which blocked the phone.
and after about an hour they said they would review this and call me back... but never got a call back.
So I called back a week later and talked to another person and asked about my phone's status and she told it was not blocked anymore.
Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds so easy. I am assuming you bought the N3 used from a woman at least?

Was actually a guy.
everything was good and was easy to contact but after i bought it he turned off the phone and never heard from him again.
And yea it was craigslist I bought it from.

sixk said:
Was actually a guy.
everything was good and was easy to contact but after i bought it he turned off the phone and never heard from him again.
And yea it was craigslist I bought it from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you basically called T Mobile up and explained you bought this from your girlfriend and get angry and after splitting up black listed the phone or to that effect?

I had an issue like this with my note 3, i purchased it back around October 15 off swappa, then 2 months and about 3 days later my phone stopped working, i looked up the imei and it said it was stolen, conveniently just 3 days too late to file a claim with paypal, I called up tmobile, told them I purchased the phone used, and the date i had started using the phone on their service and said it was now saying it was stolen more than 2 months after this and the person told me they were going to unblock the phone for me, and it would take about 24 hours, it actually took closer to 48 hours but they did unblock it and I've had no problems since.

this is why you do trades at a t-mobile store to verify that it works.

guaneet said:
this is why you do trades at a t-mobile store to verify that it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That only helps if you are SURE to ask the rep to verify nothing is owed........a simple imei scan just states that at the moment it's not flagged. ....had this happen. ..met seller at tmobile. ..rep scanned said it was good to go....literally as I started to hand the money to the dude he mentioned that he owed $500 but had arranged to make payments and that no way he would let his credit get messed up because of it.....I said..."can't do it" and ended up just getting a brand new one from tmobile the next day......glad to not have to deal with the nightmare....
---------- Post added at 07:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:11 PM ----------
louforgiveno said:
That only helps if you are SURE to ask the rep to verify nothing is owed........a simple imei scan just states that at the moment it's not flagged. ....had this happen. ..met seller at tmobile. ..rep scanned said it was good to go....literally as I started to hand the money to the dude he mentioned that he owed $500 but had arranged to make payments and that no way he would let his credit get messed up because of it.....I said..."can't do it" and ended up just getting a brand new one from tmobile the next day......glad to not have to deal with the nightmare....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah and the rep had to look up more info to see that money was owed......the guy had left tmobile but his billing hadn't cycled yet so to anyone checking it all seemed legit....be careful guys....even to this day I see Craigslist postings and when you ask if they will meet at store to confirm no money owed...no response. ....use that as a litmus test if you must dabble

you can ask the t mob rep to check it. they arent restricted at doing that with the owner there, you just have to be polite and get the right person.

guaneet said:
you can ask the t mob rep to check it. they arent restricted at doing that with the owner there, you just have to be polite and get the right person.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I'm trying to point out is that generally the question is whether the imei is clean.....the "Yes" answer is not a guarantee at all....it may take tmobile 30 days to realize non - payment before it gets flagged....just make sure to also ask whether all handset fees have been payed off as well as imei status.

well basically this is what happens in craigslist, and very rarely on ebay,....
Someone sells there phone, then they report is lost or stolen, then they probably receive another at a cost of $150 pr $175 for a replacement phone.
If you buy this on ebay, call ebay up a tell them to look at the seller of this phone, they will see that it was sold by the seller claiming this imei is in good standards, they should reimburse you... or paypal....
in craigslist you can make sure you print out the add, keep it in a safe place, so when they sell you the phone and you get scammed, try going to the police and let them know you purchased this, they can probably trace everything back to the seller, and probably arrest them, if they claim a good imei and then they have reported it stolen. to receive another phone from the insurance company.
because when someone reports it stolen and does an insurance job, they have to usually get a police report number, then they have to give Assurance or Assurant (insurance company for the cell phones) the police report number then the insurance company... now if they falsified information to the police they can get in trouble. this will really work for the people that sell there phone to do an insurance job. they sell their phone, call the insurance company and get another one.

Bought a stolen Pixel 2 xl

So I bought a phone that was working until today and all of the sudden it is a reported stolen phone and I can't get in touch with the seller. It was a Verizon Pixel 2 xl. I was using it on MetroPCS successfully until today. Can this be unlocked somehow?

I think you better report to the police. Possession of stolen property is a crime

Unless it belonged to the seller and he didn't pay it off..... Thanks for the lack of help.

Can you go to a Verizon or Metropcs store to check it out...

You are out of luck unless you can straighten it out with Verizon.

Nickdroid86 said:
So I bought a phone that was working until today and all of the sudden it is a reported stolen phone and I can't get in touch with the seller. It was a Verizon Pixel 2 xl. I was using it on MetroPCS successfully until today. Can this be unlocked somehow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Seller will not immediately refund the purchase, the Only thing to do with a stolen phone is tell local police the entire story about Seller.
You can't get a stolen phone to function once blacklisted. If you could find a shady character to "flash" something, you would sooner or later be found out.
Not worth it.

michaelbsheldon said:
If Seller will not immediately refund the purchase, the Only thing to do with a stolen phone is tell local police the entire story about Seller.
You can't get a stolen phone to function once blacklisted. If you could find a shady character to "flash" something, you would sooner or later be found out.
Not worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this doesn't help now, but you have to keep it in mind about a deal that is too good to be true -- it usually isn't.
But let me ask you this; how exactly do you know that its been reported stolen? If you're trying unsuccessfully to connect a stolen phone to a network using your sim card, that would alert your service provider to the fact that you have a stolen phone, and so I would suspect that you can expect the police to knock on your door shortly.

Ok, so let's get the 800-lb gorilla out of the way here. The phone has been blacklisted. Why has it been blacklisted? Either the seller cancelled their service and refused to pay the ETF fee, or the device was stolen. Regardless of why, both options lead to the same end result: an unusable device.
If the device is blacklisted due to the seller refusing to pay the ETF, the only way to resolve the issue is to pay the ETF fee.
If the device is blacklisted due to being stolen, nothing will resolve the issue. The P2XL would need to be sold, either as a parts device, or to a buyer out of the country.
Unlocking a device will not help here, and in the case of Verizon is moot: Verizon does not SIM lock their devices. A few years ago it was possible to switch carriers and get around the blacklist, but that has changed. The carriers all access the same blacklist, and a device blacklisted on one carrier is blacklisted on all of them. The one loophole in the blacklist is if the device is transported outside of North America. The blacklist in the US is not used worldwide, and thus devices outside of the country will work.
Now that we've covered the issue of blacklisting, let's touch on the theft issue. It's very unlikely that Verizon is going to send anyone to retrieve the device. Even though the device costs a fair amount of cash, the carriers cannot pinpoint exactly where the device is, except to note that it's using a specific cell tower. By blacklisting the device they have rendered it unusable and have already written it off.

if you bought it via swappa or something like that you can file a claim against the user
if via craigslist or in person, you have no real recourse

96carboard said:
I know this doesn't help now, but you have to keep it in mind about a deal that is too good to be true -- it usually isn't.
But let me ask you this; how exactly do you know that its been reported stolen? If you're trying unsuccessfully to connect a stolen phone to a network using your sim card, that would alert your service provider to the fact that you have a stolen phone, and so I would suspect that you can expect the police to knock on your door shortly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked yesterday when i first added it to my ascot. Today, this afternoon it stopped working and when i checked the IMEI, it was reported lost or stolen. It wasn't yesterday when I checked it. Seller is MIA. Can I order a motherboard or something for it that will fix the issue?

Nickdroid86 said:
It worked yesterday when i first added it to my ascot. Today, this afternoon it stopped working and when i checked the IMEI, it was reported lost or stolen. It wasn't yesterday when I checked it. Seller is MIA. Can I order a motherboard or something for it that will fix the issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, if it is listed as stolen you are done. You can give it to the cops, and the info you have on the seller if you want.

Couple of concerns here.
If I give up the phone, I am out both my money, and the phone. In which case the police will literally do nothing. The phones already been written off and likely replaced.
If I keep it, I have seen multiple claims of company's that can clear a bad IMEI for a fee.
However, I thought that my phone being a Verizon variant, just wouldn't work on Verizon but would work on gsm still? What ever happened to that?

Nickdroid86 said:
Couple of concerns here.
If I give up the phone, I am out both my money, and the phone. In which case the police will literally do nothing. The phones already been written off and likely replaced.
If I keep it, I have seen multiple claims of company's that can clear a bad IMEI for a fee.
However, I thought that my phone being a Verizon variant, just wouldn't work on Verizon but would work on gsm still? What ever happened to that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was explained for you in an earlier post. YOUR PHONE WILL NOT WORK IN THE USA BECAUSE ALL USA CARRIERS USE THE SAME BLACKLIST. YOU WOULD HAVE TO MOVE OUT OF THE COUNTRY OR FIND SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY TO PURCHASE IT OFF OF YOU.

twiz0r said:
It was explained for you in an earlier post. YOUR PHONE WILL NOT WORK IN THE USA BECAUSE ALL USA CARRIERS USE THE SAME BLACKLIST. YOU WOULD HAVE TO MOVE OUT OF THE COUNTRY OR FIND SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY TO PURCHASE IT OFF OF YOU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ok, well now that you say it in all caps lock, it makes sense.......

Nickdroid86 said:
Oh ok, well now that you say it in all caps lock, it makes sense.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you didn't understand when someone typed it normally so...

twiz0r said:
Well you didn't understand when someone typed it normally so...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right but it still doesn't explain if you're just saying that because it's unethical, or actually impossible. Because like I said there's companies out there with decent reviews that claim they can fix this issue....

Nickdroid86 said:
Right but it still doesn't explain if you're just saying that because it's unethical, or actually impossible. Because like I said there's companies out there with decent reviews that claim they can fix this issue....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know anything about bypassing IMEI bans, but I would *assume* that there's some sort of rule on XDA about discussing things of that nature.

This is simple. Be sure you have all your info together about the seller. Print out all correspondences, screen shot and print out any communications (texts, call logs, etc), write down all of the phones info clearly (IMEI, model, etc, etc). Bring that paperwork to the police (don't bring the phone at this time) and file a report. Take said report and contact Google. Email them all of the info including the police report. Wait to hear from Google. Chances are good they will offer some form of assistance, possibly an offer to send in the phone for full reformatting if no one has made claim to that phones IMEI. They may offer a discount on another device. They may tell you to go pound sand. Either way, that's your best/only option at this point.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs

Nickdroid86 said:
Right but it still doesn't explain if you're just saying that because it's unethical, or actually impossible. Because like I said there's companies out there with decent reviews that claim they can fix this issue....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are now venturing into territory that is very much frowned upon by XDA moderators. Not giving you a hard time, just a heads up.

I agree, if anyone has info please pm me. Feel free to close the thread.