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So my friend has a dilemma here. He bought a Galaxy S3 off craigslist a while back. Now one month later his phone was locked by AT&T because it was reported stolen by the person he bought it from. Is there anything he can possibly do? He has already called AT&T and they refuse to unlock the phone, he can't use it whatsoever on his AT&T service.
Unless I'm wrong, he's pretty much screwed.
Whenever a purchase on craigslist is made you must always insist on the person giving a receipt signed by both of you. Your friend seems to be Sol.
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Is there more to the story you're not telling? What is there incentive for doing this?
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I wasn't aware ATT blocked IMEI like VZW/Sprint block ESNs. That's unfortunate about your friend's phone.
Sell it to someone internationally if you can unlock it.
Similar Question
ferhanmm said:
Sell it to someone internationally if you can unlock it.
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A family member of mine in the caribbean, Trinidad to be specific purchased a factory unlocked TMO version Samsung Galaxy S3 from someone and now they seem to be having trouble with making and receiving calls on their network (Bmobile is the network there). I told my cousin that he may have purchased a stolen phone and the IMEI may have been blacklisted but I didnt think that was possible internationally? Could there be another reason like the network is not compatible; Bmobile is in the process of setting up HSPA+. The phone is also rooted. Could that be a problem also? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. Also he has been receiving a software update from TMO, the 94mb one. Could updating the software make it work?
Hi guys
Newbie question here
Im looking for a note 2 in Craigslist, some offers say "bad imei" and they have minor prices
For what I've read, the bad imei doesn't affect if I unlock the phone and use another carrier (I will use it in mexico)
am I correct?
Thanks in advance
Sent from my Vivid 4G using xda app-developers app
Thanks for the question. I too am curious about this.
As long as it's in another country and carrier, you will have no issues with a bad imei.
Keep in mind you're buying stolen goods, either directly or indirectly. Is that something you're comfortable with?
entropism said:
Keep in mind you're buying stolen goods, either directly or indirectly. Is that something you're comfortable with?
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Well, I didn't think about that
You're right
And no, I dont want to be a part of that
It really depends. Someone may interpret a bad imei as blocked/blacklisted or completely missing. If the first owner was inexperienced at flashing they may have not made a back up of the efs folder and lost the imei. If they didnt fulfill the contract with a carrier it could also get it blacklisted. And then also the possibility it was reported stolen.
Sent from my G Note 2!!!
A friend of mine told his carrier he were robbed to use the insurance and sell that phone
Here in Mexico, in 2012 the president made a law to block IMEIs in robbed cellphones
But most people its ignorant about the laws and rights -_-
So, that law isnt even working XD
Back in thread, Theres no way to know if my next Note2 its stollen or lost, etc
So im buying Used, but good imei
Carriers in the u.s. are going to start blocking imeis on all carriers. If u put ur sim in a stolen device on att ur service will be suspended. Right now they are in the process to stop stolen imeis from working on other carriers here and out of country.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
Sorry, I didn't want to pull the morality argument, because I usually hate people who do that. But yeah, even the phones that were blocked due to the contracts not being fulfilled? 75% of that is usually someone coming in, buying 5 phones on an ID where they don't care about their credit, and never paying the bill. Stolen phones.
Sago6 said:
Well, I didn't think about that
You're right
And no, I dont want to be a part of that
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Hi,
How can we report "phone stolen" in Mexico ? The phone was bought in Canada and thus is associated with a Canadian operator, however the phone was stolen as soon as I arrived in Mexico, that too inside the flight by a fellow passenger.
Can the Canadian operator blacklist my phone IMEI even though it is in Mexico ? Or can I call the Mexican Telefonica company and then can blacklist this IEMI so that the phone can never be used in Mexico ? Please guide me through this, I'd be eternally thankful.
I am really worried and I have had such a bad experience in Mexico, firstly at the international airport in Mexico City the shopkeepers tried to make me pay more than I should, then my phone is stolen.
Thanks in advance,
Sanjeev
sanjeev2612 said:
Hi,
How can we report "phone stolen" in Mexico ? The phone was bought in Canada and thus is associated with a Canadian operator, however the phone was stolen as soon as I arrived in Mexico, that too inside the flight by a fellow passenger.
Can the Canadian operator blacklist my phone IMEI even though it is in Mexico ? Or can I call the Mexican Telefonica company and then can blacklist this IEMI so that the phone can never be used in Mexico ? Please guide me through this, I'd be eternally thankful.
I am really worried and I have had such a bad experience in Mexico, firstly at the international airport in Mexico City the shopkeepers tried to make me pay more than I should, then my phone is stolen.
Thanks in advance,
Sanjeev
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I've never had to deal with this, thank goodness, but you can try contacting your carrier (if you used the phone on your line, they should have a record of the device) and have it blocked on your carrier's network. However, since it's not an official phone sold by the carrier, they may not make your request a priority. It's worth trying though! It's also worth trying (if you actually have the phone info- imei/serial) to contact the Canadian carrier with a report so it can't be sold & activated on their network again in the future.
I know, it's old thread, but it came up in Google results while I was researching my questions. What do you guys think, buying a carrier locked blacklisted phone in Canada, can it be unlock, make it sim free? and why assume it is stolen phone. A person bought used iPhone from kijiji, totally working phone. In a few days, original owner claims it as stolen and carrier black lists the phone (in Canada). The buyer now has no use of it in Canada. He can try to unlock (sim free) the phone and send it overseas, like Europe, or Asia. I don't see anything wrong here, just looking for your opinion. Thank you.
I believe parts of Europe have a blacklisting system in place so the imei should be checked before trying to network unlock the phone for use in another country.
Many people assume that a phone has been stolen because the imei has been blacklisted and, as you pointed out, this is not always the case.
I'm not 100% sure but some unlockers will not or cannot unlock a blacklisted phone.
I've searched around for a definitive answer on this, but haven't found one.
I see a lot of N900T's advertised as unlocked with a bad IMEI. Does this mean that since it's unlocked I can use the phone with AT&T in the USA, just not with TMo? Does it depend on the specific N900T at hand or is there a uniform rule?
Thankful for any and all help.
Yes, you can use it on AT&T without issue. I am doing this for a few months. But, there is a chance AT&T and T-Mobile will someday share blacklists and it could be blocked by both networks.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
JJ2525 said:
I've searched around for a definitive answer on this, but haven't found one.
I see a lot of N900T's advertised as unlocked with a bad IMEI. Does this mean that since it's unlocked I can use the phone with AT&T in the USA, just not with TMo? Does it depend on the specific N900T at hand or is there a uniform rule?
Thankful for any and all help.
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What this means is the imei is block by tmobile. It will not connect to its network.
Now att and tmobile have started to share networks. So its possible that it will be block by att also.
Over sea carries dont share the same list. (at lest not for now.) so there good to go,
Also note that there is no way to remove the device from the blacklist. Also just because its fine right now on att it doesnt mean it wont get updated down the road.
Then you will be left with a phone that you cant use.
I stop buying phones online because its harder to trust people and when something goes wrong you get the bad part of it.
I know for a fact they have been sharing the same list for atleast a year or so if im correct. You might be able to use it,but chances are it wont work. sorry to burst your bubble. just sell it on ebay and you might be able to get more money off it! good luck
Hello:
I have a note 4 from sprint and needs to be unlocked to be used with a different Carrier
Can you please advise how to be able to do this ? additionally how can remove the sprint start up and sprint apps ?
ali.sulaiman1980 said:
Hello:
I have a note 4 from sprint and needs to be unlocked to be used with a different Carrier
Can you please advise how to be able to do this ? additionally how can remove the sprint start up and sprint apps ?
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on what carrier you are planing to use it? You cannot use sprint Galaxy note 4 on domestic GSM carriers like AT&T, T-mobile and their MVNOs (Straighttalk , etc). The phone can be unlocked for international GSM use (voice and 3G only, not LTE). Internationla unlock can be done officially through Sprint or unofficially via app in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/spr...print-samsung-unlocker-unlock-sprint-t2928250
My question is how did you come across a Sprint Note 4? Did you not do your homework before acquiring the Sprint Note 4? Maybe you somehow got the phone for free? Why would somebody actually pay for a nice phone (released only a month or so ago) without knowing if it will work on a completely different network/carrier... then turn around and look for help on how to activate it on a GSM carrier? This makes no sense to me.
Im curious too.
Can a Sprint phone be unlocked and set up for use on ANY other carrier in the USA,
ie: Verizon?
No no no
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
I am pretty sure that if the phone had a clean ESN that you can activate it on Ting Mobile. I have also saw a thread where someone had flashed a T-Mobile Rom to the Sprint note 4 but they where not getting LTE of course I'm sure in time someone will come out with something stable.
tx_dbs_tx said:
My question is how did you come across a Sprint Note 4? Did you not do your homework before acquiring the Sprint Note 4? Maybe you somehow got the phone for free? Why would somebody actually pay for a nice phone (released only a month or so ago) without knowing if it will work on a completely different network/carrier... then turn around and look for help on how to activate it on a GSM carrier? This makes no sense to me.
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Off topic here.
I came up for upgrade in June. I was gonna go Nexus 5 and then the Nexus 6 rumors started to fly. So I waited and along came the Note 4. After much research I ended up with arguably the best phone on the planet. Imo it is.
Unlock Code
I am in Canada, got this as xmas gift from my father in law
You can root and try Galaxy Tools 4 root users https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.idone.galaxymenu
Or you can use this app from the S5 thread you don't need root with this app http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2928250
Hope this helps a little
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
sliverr7x said:
No no no
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So...Sprint phones can ONLY be used on Sprint carrier here is the good 'ol U,S of A???..
if unlocked, then another Sprint user can use it.. but other carriers?? correct???
Once Sprint, Always Sprint???
thanks...
jimmbomb said:
So...Sprint phones can ONLY be used on Sprint carrier here is the good 'ol U,S of A???..
if unlocked, then another Sprint user can use it.. but other carriers?? correct???
Once Sprint, Always Sprint???
thanks...
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Which question would you like answered?
xxSTARBUCKSxx said:
Which question would you like answered?
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How about you answer what you can. Starbucks
see. I just answered your question,
so take a stab at answering too...
even if its a wrong answer, id like to hear .
thanks
jimmbomb said:
So...Sprint phones can ONLY be used on Sprint carrier here is the good 'ol U,S of A???..
if unlocked, then another Sprint user can use it.. but other carriers?? correct???
Once Sprint, Always Sprint???
thanks...
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Click to collapse
1. No
2. Customers can switch devices by calling on a different phone to CS or going into store and switch devices, no unlocking necessary.
3. Just switch Sim cards and edit and tweak where necessary or pay someone if you dont know how.
4. Correct, but no unlocking necessary.
5. That depends on the person.
Thank you for your answers
sliverr7x said:
No no no
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
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Yes yes yes it can be used with other carriers in the USA. Are people forgetting about flashing of modems and firmware. What decade are we in 1960? Our maybe 1950 when phone were still two way radios. Remember sprint can't stop everything Samsung does in making their phone. Ask the right questions to right people get right answer. If someone in XDA hasn't figured it out yet just wait & keep on looking. XDA is also not the only place to look for answers to everything Samsung, sometimes Samsung is were to look or Samsung blogs. All I hear is everyone that talks about Samsung first thing everyone says is it CAN'T be done. When are the tech, crackers, & hackers of this world going to stop saying everything is impossible & realize we are the ones that make everything possible. If we are going to do that why do we become techs or crackers or hackers or even developers in the every first place?.... LET'S STOP PUTTING LIMITS ON OU OURSELVES & SHOW SPRING WHAT WE CAN DO! Sprint is not GODZ. We created what sprint & Every carrier in the world uses to try to put limitations one everyone with. Are we going to let the carriers use or phones against us or are we going to use them the way the phone manufactures wanted the phones to be used ( without restrictions of the carriers of the world.)
after unlocking your sprint device you can only use it with carriers outside the USA. If you are planning to use it with local sim cards after unlocking like at&t and t-mobile (gsm) then you cannot.
rscooldesire said:
after unlocking your sprint device you can only use it with carriers outside the USA. If you are planning to use it with local sim cards after unlocking like at&t and t-mobile (gsm) then you cannot.
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Umm if its not under payments u can
Yep once the phone is paid for per new laws that went active in Feb or March if you ask the carrier to domestic unlock your phone they are required to do it by law. Some models this will not be possible but the note 4 should. I think the carriers have a grace period to make this available. Not sure how long. I could quote the legislation but Id have to search for it.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app
B to the S. If you can unlock a 720t a note 4 can be unlocked!! Period!! It picks up signal just no antenna for that signal because the phone antenna is tuned in the wrong station or radius degree. I think if the people who can unlock 720t s can try the same methods with busy box or Verizon modems. Like guy said earlier " Si se puede"!! It can be done!! Just need to tweak frequency angles and remove face security options a little.
By law you can have it unlocked for a limited time, but that will not make the LTE radio magically work on your carriers band unless they support the same band. Or unless you know someone who can JTAG flash the radio to another carrier as well you will not be able to use the LTE/DATA band on a carrier that does not support the frequency. This is nothing something that can be done over USB or by a new kernel. This will have to be done with JTAG and by someone who has access to the various carriers radio firmware which is tightly guarded. So basically you will be using a Note 4 on 3G only. Might as well just sign up with SPRINT then, you will get the same service speed.
Hi, I own Note 3 N900T bought from T-Mobile US and I'm using it in Macedonia with Chainfire's RegionLock Away App on Android 4.3. And now I want to update to Lollipop and do a factory reset but I checked my IMEI and it's Blacklisted. My question is can I unlock my phone with unlock code in Macedonia if I do a factory reset or I need to activate with T-Mobile SIM card?
Thanks in advance
Blacklisted IMEI.... ouch.
Yeah, you will need to have it unlocked somehow. I'm not sure if T-Mobile will do this for you, however. Give them a call.
Also, I thought that blacklisted IMEI's were only devices that people hadn't paid off, or something along those lines. You did in fact buy the device directly from T-Mobile? How long have you owned it now? Did you pay it off?
I only ask for the sake of connecting the pieces here to try and give you the appropriate advice.
411y0ur8453 said:
Blacklisted IMEI.... ouch.
Yeah, you will need to have it unlocked somehow. I'm not sure if T-Mobile will do this for you, however. Give them a call.
Also, I thought that blacklisted IMEI's were only devices that people hadn't paid off, or something along those lines. You did in fact buy the device directly from T-Mobile? How long have you owned it now? Did you pay it off?
I only ask for the sake of connecting the pieces here to try and give you the appropriate advice.
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I bought it from a guy in the US and maybe he is not paying the bills there, I don't know. I will buy the unlock code from ebay but I don't know if I can insert it after factory reset. Do I need to activate the phone after factory reset?
stavrov said:
I bought it from a guy in the US and maybe he is not paying the bills there, I don't know. I will buy the unlock code from ebay but I don't know if I can insert it after factory reset. Do I need to activate the phone after factory reset?
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Honestly man, this really sucks. It sounds like he ripped you off.
T-Mobile blacklists IMEI's that are associated with an unpaid balance on a device. They do this to prevent people from getting a discounted phone, then taking it somewhere else.
You will need to call T-Mobile and talk to them about it. Not good. Usually they don't "unlist" them after they have been flagged.
411y0ur8453 said:
Honestly man, this really sucks. It sounds like he ripped you off.
T-Mobile blacklists IMEI's that are associated with an unpaid balance on a device. They do this to prevent people from getting a discounted phone, then taking it somewhere else.
You will need to call T-Mobile and talk to them about it. Not good. Usually they don't "unlist" them after they have been flagged.
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As I heard you cannot use the phone in the US but you can use it in other countries, but I'm not sure. And now I don't know if I should perform a factory reset, if I need to activate the phone in the US (or with T-Mobile SIM card) I will end up with unusable phone.
stavrov said:
As I heard you cannot use the phone in the US but you can use it in other countries, but I'm not sure. And now I don't know if I should perform a factory reset, if I need to activate the phone in the US (or with T-Mobile SIM card) I will end up with unusable phone.
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You're confusing a Carrier lock with a Region lock. There is no region lock on the N900T, just carrier lock. You can purchase an unlock code from some place like cellunlocker.net and follow their instructions to unlock and use it with any carrier's sim.
toastido said:
You're confusing a Carrier lock with a Region lock. There is no region lock on the N900T, just carrier lock. You can purchase an unlock code from some place like cellunlocker.net and follow their instructions to unlock and use it with any carrier's sim.
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So if I purchase an unlock code I can use the phone in my country?
stavrov said:
So if I purchase an unlock code I can use the phone in my country?
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Click to collapse
You should be able to, yes. There is no region lock, only Carrier/SIM lock, so an unlock code should allow it to operate anywhere, and it would be a permanent unlock, so you can factory reset even and not worry about it getting re-locked to tmo usa.
The region lock away app seems to also remove the sim lock, so I don't think you'll need an unlock code...
toastido said:
You should be able to, yes. There is no region lock, only Carrier/SIM lock, so an unlock code should allow it to operate anywhere, and it would be a permanent unlock, so you can factory reset even and not worry about it getting re-locked to tmo usa.
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I would say this is bad advice.
Why would you purchase anything without first giving them a call and finding out what is going on. IMEI stands for... ready....
INTERNATIONAL mobile equipment identity... not carrier specific. If T-Mobile flags a GSM device for "theft", as in, somebody not paying it off, it is essentially the property of T-Mobile's, and I promise you they have gone through the hoops to protect themselves from a product sales perspective.
It would be simple to give them a call. You should do it, and not spend any more of your money until A) You know why it was blacklisted, B) Know whether or not T-Mobile can fix this problem for you (maybe it was a mistake, but I doubt it), C) You call that idiot back that sold you the phone and find out why he sold you a device that was blacklisted (he knew).
That's all I really can say about it. And I hate to say it, but I think you are going to be SOL man. Sorry.
411y0ur8453 said:
I would say this is bad advice.
Why would you purchase anything without first giving them a call and finding out what is going on. IMEI stands for... ready....
INTERNATIONAL mobile equipment identity... not carrier specific. If T-Mobile flags a GSM device for "theft", as in, somebody not paying it off, it is essentially the property of T-Mobile's, and I promise you they have gone through the hoops to protect themselves from a product sales perspective.
It would be simple to give them a call. You should do it, and not spend any more of your money until A) You know why it was blacklisted, B) Know whether or not T-Mobile can fix this problem for you (maybe it was a mistake, but I doubt it), C) You call that idiot back that sold you the phone and find out why he sold you a device that was blacklisted (he knew).
That's all I really can say about it. And I hate to say it, but I think you are going to be SOL man. Sorry.
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No, it's not bad advice
It's a widely known FACT that tmo USA and AT&T, who share blacklists) ONLY blacklist within the USA.
OP it's up to you, but based on others experiences (Google is your friend) and KNOWN FACTS, you should be fine
toastido said:
No, it's not bad advice
It's a widely known FACT that tmo USA and AT&T, who share blacklists) ONLY blacklist within the USA.
OP it's up to you, but based on others experiences (Google is your friend) and KNOWN FACTS, you should be fine
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I would assume that if they had blocked an IMEI, it would be borked indefinitely. If not, good for you OP.
If you have heard of somebody having a blocked IMEI, toastido, and then taking a device to another country and successfully using it, then there is hope for him.
stavrov said:
Hi, I own Note 3 N900T bought from T-Mobile US and I'm using it in Macedonia with Chainfire's RegionLock Away App on Android 4.3. And now I want to update to Lollipop and do a factory reset but I checked my IMEI and it's Blacklisted. My question is can I unlock my phone with unlock code in Macedonia if I do a factory reset or I need to activate with T-Mobile SIM card?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the chainfire region lock away only works on 4.3... so if you update the phone to Lollipop or any other 4.4, I do believe it won't work for you anymore....
if you get the sim unlock from ebay or anyone else, you can use it anywhere except Tmobile USA...
I do not think tmobile cares enough to feel sorry that you got ripped off, but sometimes, only sometimes, I heard they have pardon 1 or 2 people..
411y0ur8453 said:
I would assume that if they had blocked an IMEI, it would be borked indefinitely. If not, good for you OP.
If you have heard of somebody having a blocked IMEI, toastido, and then taking a device to another country and successfully using it, then there is hope for him.
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Click to collapse
If it's blocked in the USA, then they are borked in the USA indefinitely, but fine outside of it. Now I can't speak for the European Union or Asia, but unless they have been blacklisted in the region they're trying to use it, should be good to go once it's unlocked - add long as its outside the us of a.
In Macedonia they can unlock it for you some small shops not Tmobile stores, it's like $10 and try One the carrier, you got nothing to loose, i srekno. IMEI is only blocked in USA.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Free mobile app