Please help with this question since I can't find the info in this forum. After I transfer my line to ATT, are my Sprint phones reusable by someone else? When I look on ebay, phone descriptions often say clean ESN. How can a phone have a bad ESN? Sorry for this question since I've never sold or bought used phones before. Thanks.
caxiem said:
Please help with this question since I can't find the info in this forum. After I transfer my line to ATT, are my Sprint phones reusable by someone else? When I look on ebay, phone descriptions often say clean ESN. How can a phone have a bad ESN? Sorry for this question since I've never sold or bought used phones before. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can..they say clean esn because most of the time(not all the time) its their phone that they are selling. A phone would only have a bad esn if it was reported to a company as stolen/lost by the owner. The company will lock it so no one can use it but they can use it by using wifi.
coolwater22 said:
Yes you can..they say clean esn because most of the time(not all the time) its their phone that they are selling. A phone would only have a bad esn if it was reported to a company as stolen/lost by the owner. The company will lock it so no one can use it but they can use it by using wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! Thanks for your repsonse.
coolwater22 said:
Yes you can..they say clean esn because most of the time(not all the time) its their phone that they are selling. A phone would only have a bad esn if it was reported to a company as stolen/lost by the owner. The company will lock it so no one can use it but they can use it by using wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A bad esn can also be from not paying your bill or early termination fees.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
caxiem said:
Great! Thanks for your repsonse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jlmancuso said:
A bad esn can also be from not paying your bill or early termination fees.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Np..there is also a website that can tell u if a phone has a be esn. Sometimes sellers will say good esn when selling but they could be lying. If I find it ill post it..
Related
I wanted to see if somebody could explain to me the difference between the two. I was looking for a new phone on ebay and some stated Bad ESN. I think I know what the ESN is (hex or dec serial) but I don't know what's the difference between the two.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
How I understand is that the bad ESN are the ones marked by the provider as unable to be put on service. That can happen for various reasons such as being stolen, overdue accounts, and the like.
Good esn's are phones that may be put back on service with the original provider.
These records are all stored with the provider and there is no way to change them without corrected the original reason for them being marked as bad.
If for example you were looking at two phones, a bad esn epic and a good esn epic. If you wanted to put it on Sprint you would have to get the good esn epic, however if you were just interested in flashing to cricket or metro, then the bad esn epic would be just fine.
Bad esns, are phones as stated above - stolen or lost phones.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
LORDFIRE00 said:
Bad esns, are phones as stated above - stolen or lost phones.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also people who terminate contract and do not pay their bill. The ESN will be locked out until the bill is paid.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Yes, that too!
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
If you happen to be looking at an item on ebay and it doesn't say if it is a good or bad ESN, don't be afraid to ask the seller for the ESN and call Sprint to verify! It takes about 2 minutes, and is well worth not wasting your money on a phone that wont make calls!
Thanks all for the help
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
So I did the dumb thing and got a GN off of Cl for 100 bucks which to me was awesome but I found out that the imei was blocked. I know what ppl are going to say and I knew it was a bad idea myslef but it didn't cross my mind the whole imei thing. Now I have a perfect nexus that I can't use. Its a GSM unlocked version by the way. Does anyone know what I can do to fix this?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
Not discussed here. We don't talk about dealing with blacklisted IMEI's.
Freemantig said:
So I did the dumb thing and got a GN off of Cl for 100 bucks which to me was awesome but I found out that the imei was blocked. I know what ppl are going to say and I knew it was a bad idea myslef but it didn't cross my mind the whole imei thing. Now I have a perfect nexus that I can't use. Its a GSM unlocked version by the way. Does anyone know what I can do to fix this?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yup, attempt to get your money back.
2. Find out who it's blacklisted with and call them, they might actually give you some money towards a non-blacklisted one.
3. Be less then honest and use it as a glorified mp3 device.
Basically you're asking how to get a stolen phone working. How would you feel if you were the victim who had their phone stolen?
Do the right thing man. And next time, if someone is selling something way cheaper than anyone else is, that tells you you're going to lose out in the end if you get it
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
greeced said:
1. Yup, attempt to get your money back.
2. Find out who it's blacklisted with and call them, they might actually give you some money towards a non-blacklisted one.
3. Be less then honest and use it as a glorified mp3 device.
Basically you're asking how to get a stolen phone working. How would you feel if you were the victim who had their phone stolen?
Do the right thing man. And next time, if someone is selling something way cheaper than anyone else is, that tells you you're going to lose out in the end if you get it
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 and this thread should be deleted
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
So in order for the OP (or any of us) to avoid this in the future. What is the best way to check if an IMEI is blacklisted before obtaining the phone? Can we call any random carrier and do it, is there a website we can use, or is it just a risk we all take buying used devices?
fbiryujin said:
So in order for the OP (or any of us) to avoid this in the future. What is the best way to check if an IMEI is blacklisted before obtaining the phone? Can we call any random carrier and do it, is there a website we can use, or is it just a risk we all take buying used devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Common sense tells me that a Galaxy Nexus listed for $100 is probably stolen
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
taappel said:
Common sense tells me that a Galaxy Nexus listed for $100 is probably stolen
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What if they list it for a regular price?
You can call the carriers customer service prior to buying, you may need to do this for each carrier as most carriers don't share black list databases. If the seller won't give you the imei to make the calls first, or the imei they gave you doesn't match the phone, don't buy it.
Also, turn the phone in. A 100 dollar loss is better than jail time, and yes it is possible if that phone is reported stolen, and you're caught with it - chances are if you tried to activate it and found out it's black listed, your carrier knows you have it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
tehgyb said:
You can call the carriers customer service prior to buying, you may need to do this for each carrier as most carriers don't share black list databases.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's easy to do with a CDMA Galaxy Nexus, since there are only 2 carriers.
(Verizon and Sprint)
However, the OP bought a GSM Galaxy Nexus. Wouldn't he/she have to call
every GSM carrier around the world to verify the IMEI? Or do GSM carriers
share IMEI blacklists with each other?
If you are in the US, then it will be fairly easy in the near future:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/09/us-carriers-agree-to-build-stolen-phone-database-and-blacklist/
Matridom said:
If you are in the US, then it will be fairly easy in the near future:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/09/us-carriers-agree-to-build-stolen-phone-database-and-blacklist/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That will be very useful
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Hi... This is my first post here. I have a sprint galaxy S3 and I want to swap it for a GSM galaxy s3. So what should I do? I just call Sprint and ask them to stop the service? how will the person buying my phone port his/her sprint number to the S3 I sell them?
Just sell it on eBay or something. If the account is in good condition, no problems. If not, Sprint will flash the phone. If you advertise it, make sure you post the esn is clean (assuming it is).
You want to be sure all your account info is wiped. It's more than a factory reset. I don't know how to do it, but I suspect Sprint could tell you how. They helped me when I was activating my last used phone (mopho).
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
studentjunk said:
Just sell it on eBay or something. If the account is in good condition, no problems. If not, Sprint will flash the phone. If you advertise it, make sure you post the esn is clean (assuming it is).
You want to be sure all your account info is wiped. It's more than a factory reset. I don't know how to do it, but I suspect Sprint could tell you how. They helped me when I was activating my last used phone (mopho).
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! but how do i find out if it has a good or bad ESN? I'm using the phone right now and I don't see any such message. But is there a specific way to find that out?
What's ESN? is it IMEI?
If you are using it, you have a good ESN. If you let the account with a debt Sprint will give you a bad ESN or easier, your phone will be blacklisted, and nobody would be able to use it, unless they flash to another carrier.
In other words
GOOD ESN = More money.
Sent from my O=O
So how much are you asking and what color is it
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
csmasn said:
If you are using it, you have a good ESN. If you let the account with a debt Sprint will give you a bad ESN or easier, your phone will be blacklisted, and nobody would be able to use it, unless they flash to another carrier.
In other words
GOOD ESN = More money.
Sent from my O=O
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok I get that part... but this is my current active phone. if i sell it to someone he will be able to use my number and make/receive calls from this S3 right?
mcasas6969 said:
So how much are you asking and what color is it
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's white color. I don't know how much to ask
I used it for like 2 days and i got my nexus 4 shipped now. So I don't want this one.. I thought nexus will never get shipped. I will now go for tmobile $30 100 minutes plan.. that's why I'm selling it
You have to close your account with Sprint, and pay the current bill. Then you can sell the phone and the person have to make a account or change current device with Sprint, but not use the same number.
Sent from my O=O
Read the ESN (many programs that can do.this) and if it matches the number on the battery then you have yourself a 'good' ESN
If you have had it to days I would jyst return it. Cancellation is 350 if youve had it less than 6 months with sprint. You got a 14 day return policy. Or if you dont care about your credit put an old Sprint phone in place of the S3...that will free up the ESN to use for someone else and just not pay your bill.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
prvn133t said:
Thanks! but how do i find out if it has a good or bad ESN? I'm using the phone right now and I don't see any such message. But is there a specific way to find that out?
What's ESN? is it IMEI?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://checkesnfree.com
Open the dialer and hit *#06#. That's your imei
I was unaware of this. Alternatively there is ##786#
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Hey, I am from India. Desperately waiting for galaxy s4.
Its going to be about 950$ here.
I was thinking of buying a network locked phone from the us and have it sent here to India and then unlocking it.
I just wanted to know if this is possible, what are the challenges?
Breaking the network contract? Lock protection on the network on s4, etc
How exactly is it going to be done
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
this isnt the galaxy S4 forum section....
but, if you buy the device outright, AT&T will give you the unlock code..
Outright as in? Full price?
Also I know.. I am having the nexus right now so I posted here
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Pirateghost said:
this isnt the galaxy S4 forum section....
but, if you buy the device outright, AT&T will give you the unlock code..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats if he doesnt buy the headset under a two year contract meaning he would get the S4 at a discounted price. ATT will only issue unlock codes after the contract term has terminated and I know some carriers blacklist ESN's ( But that's only CDMA right?) and possibly IME's. If that's the case, the device will be useless wherever.
---------- Post added at 11:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 PM ----------
chintz24 said:
Outright as in? Full price?
Also I know.. I am having the nexus right now so I posted here
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, outright as in full price, without contract.
iLeopard said:
Thats if he doesnt buy the headset under a two year contract meaning he would get the S4 at a discounted price. ATT will only issue unlock codes after the contract term has terminated and I know some carriers blacklist ESN's ( But that's only CDMA right?) and possibly IME's. If that's the case, the device will be useless wherever.
---------- Post added at 11:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 PM ----------
Yes, outright as in full price, without contract.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is why i said if he buys it outright. if there is no contract, there are no contract terms....
ESN only applies to CDMA devices. Unless the device is stolen there is no reason for AT&T to blacklist the IMEI, which wouldnt matter anyway if there was a way to root and unlock it. IMEI blacklist doesnt have any jurisdiction in India...
Pirateghost said:
that is why i said if he buys it outright. if there is no contract, there are no contract terms....
ESN only applies to CDMA devices. Unless the device is stolen there is no reason for AT&T to blacklist the IMEI, which wouldnt matter anyway if there was a way to root and unlock it. IMEI blacklist doesnt have any jurisdiction in India...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, most of what I said was on par, good to have a clarification though.
In this situation it doesnt impact him, but it was my understanding that carriers can indeed blacklist IMEI's if they break contract to prevent acquisition of devices at a lower cost to be carried over to other carriers with cheaper plans.
Another note, aren't IMEI's used globally? In which case a blacklisted IMEI in the US would still be blacklisted in any other country with GSM carriers?
Found this article: http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile...ported-cellphones-with-invalid-imei-20090622/
iLeopard said:
OK, most of what I said was on par, good to have a clarification though.
In this situation it doesnt impact him, but it was my understanding that carriers can indeed blacklist IMEI's if they break contract to prevent acquisition of devices at a lower cost to be carried over to other carriers with cheaper plans.
Another note, aren't IMEI's used globally? In which case a blacklisted IMEI in the US would still be blacklisted in any other country with GSM carriers?
Found this article: http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile...ported-cellphones-with-invalid-imei-20090622/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no central database of blacklisted IMEI's.......yet
Though not covered explicitly in the documentation, there appears to be a glaring loophole which could potentially nix the ‘terrorist’ argument; as there appears to be no central list of ‘valid’ IMEIs maintained that networks can authenticate against. There may be nothing to stop a potential villain reprogramming a device with a valid-looking IMEI. According to the DoT’s edict, calls or texts from a device will still be accepted as long as there is some value there. What’s to stop a criminal reprogramming his IMEI with all 1s instead of all zeros?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pirateghost said:
There is no central database of blacklisted IMEI's.......yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright. If there's a will, there's a way I guess
Thanx for the replies.
I guess no other option except getting it at 579$ right?
I mean 579$ is the price for s4
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
chintz24 said:
Hey, I am from India. Desperately waiting for galaxy s4.
Its going to be about 950$ here.
I was thinking of buying a network locked phone from the us and have it sent here to India and then unlocking it.
I just wanted to know if this is possible, what are the challenges?
Breaking the network contract? Lock protection on the network on s4, etc
How exactly is it going to be done
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can buy it factory unlocked from most online sites an have it shipped anywhere in the world, why the hell would you want to buy it from america anyway unless you want an iPhone, every handset can be bought outright factory unlocked unless you want to go into a contract.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
slayr76 said:
You can buy it factory unlocked from most online sites an have it shipped anywhere in the world, why the hell would you want to buy it from america anyway unless you want an iPhone, every handset can be bought outright factory unlocked unless you want to go into a contract.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know about such sites. Thanks sir.
Is there any you could point me to
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
chintz24 said:
I didn't know about such sites. Thanks sir.
Is there any you could point me to
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mobicity is just one of them.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Well it seems that CL may have finally gotten the best of me...
I bought a TMO GS3 T999 from a CL seller. I went to the TMO store and got the microsim. I got home to realize that the sim was still not registered so I contacted TMO. I was informed that the phone was blacklisted for being reported stolen.
What are my options now? Can the phone be unlocked and used with StraightTalk?
jayeggs said:
Well it seems that CL may have finally gotten the best of me...
I bought a TMO GS3 T999 from a CL seller. I went to the TMO store and got the microsim. I got home to realize that the sim was still not registered so I contacted TMO. I was informed that the phone was blacklisted for being reported stolen.
What are my options now? Can the IMEI be changed and used?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks but....
Changing IMEI is illegal and can not be asked about how to change on XDA.
Sell it for parts is the only thing I can think of.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
joemm said:
That sucks but....
Changing IMEI is illegal and can not be asked about how to change on XDA.
Sell it for parts is the only thing I can think of.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply. I did not realize it was illegal. I will move on from that topic then.
Can the phone be unlocked and used with StraightTalk or a similar service?
jayeggs said:
Thanks for the quick reply. I did not realize it was illegal. I will move on from that topic then.
Can the phone be unlocked and used with StraightTalk or a similar service?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im not sure but I know Tmobile and AT&T share there blacklisted phone lists so I'm not sure if they share it with other companies... maybe someone else can answer.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
jayeggs said:
Thanks for the quick reply. I did not realize it was illegal. I will move on from that topic then.
Can the phone be unlocked and used with StraightTalk or a similar service?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another problem with that, as of Jan 26 in the US it is illegal to unlock a phone unless the Service Provider sends you the unlock code.
GTWalling said:
Another problem with that, as of Jan 26 in the US it is illegal to unlock a phone unless the Service Provider sends you the unlock code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meh that's a bunch of be and its getting overturned though.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
GTWalling said:
Another problem with that, as of Jan 26 in the US it is illegal to unlock a phone unless the Service Provider sends you the unlock code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meh. How will thebcarrier know?. There is no way to track when and how it was unlocked. They only want ypur service.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
monkeypaws said:
Meh. How will thebcarrier know?. There is no way to track when and how it was unlocked. They only want ypur service.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely agreed if you have no other option do it how you can forget that bs just another way trying "scare" people. Companies just want you get a new phone if you already have one and not unlocked.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
GTWalling said:
Another problem with that, as of Jan 26 in the US it is illegal to unlock a phone unless the Service Provider sends you the unlock code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well lock me up! What a bunch of malarkey! ^^^^
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Look guys I think the law is a bunch of Bull also. I was not trying to come off as a bad guy, just point out some of the problems. Yes it will be overturned but it has not been done as yet. All you guys jumped at me like some kind of Gang. Meant no harm was just passing on information.
The TMO chat agent actually suggested that I get it unlocked and use it elsewhere. She even gave me a website to try so Im guessing they arent that concerned about it.
Anyways, back on topic. If it is unlocked, can it be used with StraightTalk? Or because I would be using a TMO StraightTalk sim would it be blocked?
GTWalling said:
Look guys I think the law is a bunch of Bull also. I was not trying to come off as a bad guy, just point out some of the problems. Yes it will be overturned but it has not been done as yet. All you guys jumped at me like some kind of Gang. Meant no harm was just passing on information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not our intention and I wasn't directing at you its just we are speaking on how we dislike that particular law
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Due to site rules I can't tell you how but everything else I gotta say is legit so please no haters. You could change your imei (which I've been actually
thinking about getting a bad imei gs3 and test this out) and should be able to get service but I don't know about 4g. Technically since tmobile doesn't
use aaa passwords but sim cards you should be good. I would suggest you back up the nv items and so fourth then test it out.
P.S I'm not attacking anyone with this but did want to say people that made comments like unlocking is illegal or similar remarks do nothing but waste time and don't help anything. also it's a moderators job to handle those situations. p.s I won't be back in this thread for awhile if ever so please don't troll it up to prove a point to me. Good luck jayeggs
jayeggs said:
Well it seems that CL may have finally gotten the best of me...
I bought a TMO GS3 T999 from a CL seller. I went to the TMO store and got the microsim. I got home to realize that the sim was still not registered so I contacted TMO. I was informed that the phone was blacklisted for being reported stolen.
What are my options now? Can the phone be unlocked and used with StraightTalk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got screwed by T-Mobile. They sent me a warranty replacement S3 with a bad IMEI. They told me that my phone was reported stolen from the past and asked if I stole it. They have some gaul if you ask me.
jayeggs said:
Well it seems that CL may have finally gotten the best of me...
I bought a TMO GS3 T999 from a CL seller. I went to the TMO store and got the microsim. I got home to realize that the sim was still not registered so I contacted TMO. I was informed that the phone was blacklisted for being reported stolen.
What are my options now? Can the phone be unlocked and used with StraightTalk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go back to where you bought the phone and knock the guy out lol nobody is honest anymore you cant buy phones on cl with out testing them and even if you test it he can call he carrier after you leave and report it stolen
evil1art said:
Go back to where you bought the phone and knock the guy out lol nobody is honest anymore you can buy phones on cl with out testing them and even if you test it he can call he carrier after you leave and report it stolen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm the guy probably won't respond lol
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Same issue bought the Phone last week from craigslist , trying flashing different roms I think might help it , flashing roms today , maybe i'm gonna flash at&t rom
Sent from my LT30p using xda app-developers app