Hi,
I've bought a samsung galaxy S3 Red version on kijiji (Canada) and realized that the IMEI of the software is different from the IMEI on the back of the phone.
I've checked the IMEI blacklist to see if any of those IMEI is blacklisted, but seems like both are fine.
I've tried using EFS Pro method without a luck.
I also tried doing NVreader-Writer to change it manually with no luck.
I was wondering if one of you guys can give me some help regards to this.
Let me know guys.
Thanks alot in advance!
Personally, i dont think you should be doing anything to the IMEI at this point. Obviously someone changed something along the way. Since both IMEI's appear to be good, theres a good chance someone replaced the motherboard at some point. If this is the case, write the IMEI down! TWICE! Keep it safe where you will not lose it.
If it was a motherboard replacement, DO NOT try to change or otherwise mess with the IMEI! Replacing it with anything but what belongs to that board is asking for problems.
If the mobo is original and the IMEI was changed for some reason, it might be a good idea to change back....maybe! But this doesnt make any sense if the original is still good. If you do somehow verify it was changed, i would wait before doing anything. Someone could wait another month or two and report it lost or stolen. It happens all the time! And then the IMEI would get blacklisted.
I think you should contact the seller and find out what is really going on. But regardless of the answers you may or may not get, do not change anything yet.
If its working fine right now, just leave it as it is. Messing with the NV Data is not to be taken lightly. Its not simple stuff like flashing roms. Make a mistake and it could cause irreparable harm to the device.
---------- Post added at 03:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:47 AM ----------
Oh, and there are several blacklists out there. Just because it isnt on one, doesnt mean it cant be on another. Check on swappa, but definately call the carrier the device originally came from. Ask if it is able to be activated on any network including theirs.
Hey, Thank you for your reply!
I just wanted to add in some story.
I've bought this about 1.5 months ago, and IMEI of the phone is fine(*) according to swappa, imei.info, and protectyourdata.ca.
Also, The software IMEI of the phone (according to imei.info) belongs to a samsung WAVE II and the original IMEI on the back of the phone belongs to the samsung galaxy s3.
I've contacted the seller when I first got it, this guy was fishy as ever and sounded like he was making sh1t up.
P.S swappa IMEI check came clean and my carrier does not support the IMEI.
What do you mean they dont support the imei? If its an I747, youd have to ask ATT about it.
The thing that bugs me is why would they have changed the imei in the first place if the original was still good? Makes me very suspicious tbh. I wouldnt try changing it for a while, if ever. As i said before, they could be planning to wait a few weeks and then report it lost or stolen.
DocHoliday77 said:
What do you mean they dont support the imei? If its an I747, youd have to ask ATT about it.
The thing that bugs me is why would they have changed the imei in the first place if the original was still good? Makes me very suspicious tbh. I wouldnt try changing it for a while, if ever. As i said before, they could be planning to wait a few weeks and then report it lost or stolen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea as why the seller would do so, but IMEI of the phone, Samsung galaxy wave II does not work with the Virginmobile Canada that I'm currently using. Should I get it fixed by a people who changes IMEI of the phone?
Just to be on the sure side, how do i check if the phone (sgs3 i747M) is carrier unlocked?
Thanks DocHoliday!
If its locked it will ask for an unlock code when you put a different carriers SIM in. I don't know how the different imei would affect this though because any unlock codes would be created using the imei.
I can try to help you change it back to the original if you like. But I make no guarantees. If it ends up being blacklisted you'll be out of luck. Changing from the original imei is called cloning and 99% of the time is highly illegal. It is the reason it is so hard to find out how to do and why we are not allowed to discuss it in public forums. Its also one reason why I will be unable to help you change it back. Also, The software and the device will reject the change unless done with special equipment I'm told.
So if you decide you still want to go through with that, you can PM me. Itll at least save you a lot of money for this part. Please include the details and a link to this thread so I don't have to come back and search for it again though. I fix tons of lost imei problems and it can get confusing without having the background included in the PM.
Related
im currently using aokp jb. the back of my phone says one imei while the imei in the phone says a different one. apparently the imei number 004999010640000 belongs to a non-existant 16gb iphone 3gs. i dont know what changed my imei but i do know that at&t has recently started blacklisting stolen/lost devices and the imei i listed above appears as stolen. i dont know if people have been having problems while going to make a phone call but i have and just wanted to share the info i learned at at&t.
Maybe call at&T or go to a store and ask them to look it up and verify that it's not an iphone nor is it stolen but I doubt you'll have any really problems as at&t really doesn't do much for a stolen phone once the customer buys a new one
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Where did you buy your Nexus? If you got it secondhand most likely the seller changed the IMEI but I dont know why that would matter as ATT doesnt sell the phone so they dont care if it was stolen. Pretty strange situation you find yourself in.
You might want to ask ATT to see if someone is using the IMEI on the back of your phone. If so, maybe they have the stolen iPhone. If you can get it straightened out, great. If you can't, send a pic of your phone's real IMEI and report it stolen. Then the crook (if there is one) can't use it, either.
my phone has two imei's one on the back and the one in the nv_data.bin the one in the nv_data is a generic one apparently which i dont know how it got there, most likely when my phone was sim unlocked cause i didnt buy it through the play store. and ive been trying to figure out how to restore imei's and have been following guide after guide to no avail. i know that imei changing is illegal and banned here but i dont know what else to do
tl;dr : my galaxy nexus has a generic imei in it and att is blacklisting my phone because of it
I purchased a phone off CL. I tried to put a SIM card in but it doesn't recognize one. So i realized the IMEI number on the back does not match the IMEI number in android OS. It doesn't say 000000 or one of those fake IMEI 049 numbers. It just has another IMEI number. My question is, is there a way to modify the numbers to match the IMEI number i have on the back of my phone?
I actually didn't know it didn't match until i sent it to samsung to fix. I thought it was just a problem with the SIM tray but they stated that the IMEI numbers don't match. As a result, they just sent my phone back without fixing anything.
Please help me out. It's on stock rom and not rooted
Again.. the phone is not blacklisted.. I want to change the IMEI number (software) shown in android OS to match the IMEI number (hardware) that i have shown on the back of my phone. I don't know why it's not the same.
Thanks for your help
when phones are refurbished, they change the imei number so its probably just a refurbished phone. Leave the imei alone. Im pretty sure the imei doesnt affect the phone recognizing the sim card anyway, but i could be wrong on that
TheAtheistOtaku said:
when phones are refurbished, they change the imei number so its probably just a refurbished phone. Leave the imei alone. Im pretty sure the imei doesnt affect the phone recognizing the sim card anyway, but i could be wrong on that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They do change the IMEI when they refurbish, but they also put a brand new sticker on it that shows the new IMEI. Also it's a different sticker than the one that comes on a new phone. It's a different size and it positioned differently. Makes it VERY clear if your phone is new or refurbished.
Aznn0, though you may not realize it what you bought is a stolen/blacklisted/insurance exchange/etc S4. It had a bad IMEI and the seller changed it (illegally) and then sold it to you without bothering to mention the device's history.
If you changed it to the IMEI listed on the back of the phone (And I am telling you in no undercertain terms that you should not!) I'd bet latge sums of money that the phone would go dead because the IMEI listed on the back is a blacklisted number.
So Samsung won't touch it ever again. They will never do a repair for you. If it breaks, you're on your own to fix it.
None of this is probably your fauly and I believe you didn't know what you bought. But it is what it is.
Regardless, asking questions about how to change an IMEI are expressly not permitted on XDA. I know you didn't know, so no hard feelings. But don't ask about how to change an IMEI here again.
Skipjacks said:
They do change the IMEI when they refurbish, but they also put a brand new sticker on it that shows the new IMEI. Also it's a different sticker than the one that comes on a new phone. It's a different size and it positioned differently. Makes it VERY clear if your phone is new or refurbished.
Aznn0, though you may not realize it what you bought is a stolen/blacklisted/insurance exchange/etc S4. It had a bad IMEI and the seller changed it (illegally) and then sold it to you without bothering to mention the device's history.
If you changed it to the IMEI listed on the back of the phone (And I am telling you in no undercertain terms that you should not!) I'd bet latge sums of money that the phone would go dead because the IMEI listed on the back is a blacklisted number.
So Samsung won't touch it ever again. They will never do a repair for you. If it breaks, you're on your own to fix it.
None of this is probably your fauly and I believe you didn't know what you bought. But it is what it is.
Regardless, asking questions about how to change an IMEI are expressly not permitted on XDA. I know you didn't know, so no hard feelings. But don't ask about how to change an IMEI here again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea they do put a new sticker on it, but allot of sellers on ebay/craigslist remove the sticker so that they can sell it as "new" and get a few extra bucks. most sellers assume that buyers wont ever find out which is probably true 90% of the time
Thanks for all your replies.
It's weird because I put in both the IMEI numbers listed from the back of the phone and the one listed in android and they came back clean. I used one of those free esn checker websites. I know they aren't 100% reliable but damn..
I thought matching the IMEI number would do the trick.
It sucks...
I'm having the exact same problem! Mine is an s4 active and when I called my phone service provider they didn't tell me that mine was blacklisted or anything either...
error 119 your mobile phone's imei number not match, plz help me
Hey guys a friend of mine brought an Android 4.3 SGH-T999 with the imei null/null. I looked online and I can't access the qualcom menu it's blank or use QPST or NV-reader writer. Is there anyway to fix this? Tried an octopus box but it didn't work. can anyone give me other solutions. Even *#1234# doesn't work. Thanks.
next4nextel said:
Hey guys a friend of mine brought an Android 4.3 SGH-T999 with the imei null/null. I looked online and I can't access the qualcom menu it's blank or use QPST or NV-reader writer. Is there anyway to fix this? Tried an octopus box but it didn't work. can anyone give me other solutions. Even *#1234# doesn't work. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure someone else will chime in here too. But if he purchased it that way there's a problem. Did your friend buy it from an individual, or an authorized retailer? Because the way I understand it, if your imei got corrupted like that, then you're pretty much out of luck unless you have a backup. Take the phone back and see if you can get a replacement.
As requested in all other lost imei threads, if you need help with this, PM me specific details about the device and problem.
No guarantees though if you guys have no idea how it happened. The imei should always be the very first thing you check when purchasing a used device.
I do agree with Drashnar above though. If he bought it like that unknowingly you should first see if it can be returned.
DocHoliday77 said:
As requested in all other lost imei threads, if you need help with this, PM me specific details about the device and problem.
No guarantees though if you guys have no idea how it happened. The imei should always be the very first thing you check when purchasing a used device.
I do agree with Drashnar above though. If he bought it like that unknowingly you should first see if it can be returned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick replies, but I meant he brought it to me to check it out. I used to be a PC technician and sometimes I dabble with mobiles too, so he left it with me to fix. He originally got it in the US and used it on T-mobile for awhile and brought it to my country then the imei null/null happened. He had taken it to a mobile shop first where they stupidly upgraded the phone I believe from 4.1 .2 to 4.3. This imei null/null is becoming a huge problem in my country as I've seen several S3 and S4 both international and US variants having this issue in the past several weeks alone.
Is there a way of fixing this without a box? I have a an octopus box available to me if someone can walk me through the steps.
Sorry, misread brought as bought!
The information you are requesting is against the policies of just about every forum on the net. Its not allowed to be posted publicly which is why you cant find it anywhere.
My apologies, I mis-read as well.
Hey Guys!
Yesterday I bought an LG G3 D855 32/3 from second hand.
It's already running a Custom Rom I don't ask to restore it couse I'll bump the bl right after the buy.
Today I check some thing and I see my IMEI is 0.
But I have a network conenction. Gsm, 2G, 3G and 4G too.
What does this imei 0 means for me?
This is for the custom rom?
Can I backup this efs ?
Can I loss my network If I switch rom?
Regards!
This happened to me on my d851. Unfortunately the IMEI is corrupt, but I was able to recover. After that, I made sure to back up my EFS. If you google "lost imei lg g3" you can find info on the recovery process with a little reading. Anyway I'd make sure you have the original IMEI still under the battery before proceeding. You also might want to check the IMEI to verify it is clean.
Do note, though, methods of writing the IMEI or supporting such are allowed on xda, though.
To answer your question on ROMs. When I had a 0 imei, I was able to connect to providers (att / tmobile) on multiple roms including stock. So in my case, it was just a nagging knowing it was 0. No ill effects. Your experience might be different, though.
theFume said:
This happened to me on my d851. Unfortunately the IMEI is corrupt, but I was able to recover. After that, I made sure to back up my EFS. If you google "lost imei lg g3" you can find info on the recovery process with a little reading. Anyway I'd make sure you have the original IMEI still under the battery before proceeding. You also might want to check the IMEI to verify it is clean.
Do note, though, methods of writing the IMEI or supporting such are allowed on xda, though.
To answer your question on ROMs. When I had a 0 imei, I was able to connect to providers (att / tmobile) on multiple roms including stock. So in my case, it was just a nagging knowing it was 0. No ill effects. Your experience might be different, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem with my d851, IMEI shows 0 but i am able to make calls, text, browse,2g,3g(Havent tried LTE yet). How do i get my imei to display.
Its not a problem tho as i am able to connect to network but it will be nice if it displayed.
mickeyasamoah said:
I have the same problem with my d851, IMEI shows 0 but i am able to make calls, text, browse,2g,3g(Havent tried LTE yet). How do i get my imei to display.
Its not a problem tho as i am able to connect to network but it will be nice if it displayed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's only a problem if you resell. You have two options.
1) Contact LG and tell them what happened was a bad flash and hope they will allow you to send it in to get fixed.
2) Do it yourself, as I did. This cannot be discussed on xda because it could be used to change an IMEI to one not assigned to your phone. I ill say it's possible and using the software required is a legal grey area, but I technically DID sign an NDA with Qualcomm during the time I fixed my phone. Work reasons, so it may not have covered it, but still. Also there seems to be one version of the stock ROM that works with the software. for D851s that is.
Edit: The problem is the EFS got corrupt. If you fix this by all means BACK UP YOUR EFS and store it 100000 places
Very good advice indeed!
Had this problem with my G2 once
theFume said:
It's only a problem if you resell. You have two options.
1) Contact LG and tell them what happened was a bad flash and hope they will allow you to send it in to get fixed.
2) Do it yourself, as I did. This cannot be discussed on xda because it could be used to change an IMEI to one not assigned to your phone. I ill say it's possible and using the software required is a legal grey area, but I technically DID sign an NDA with Qualcomm during the time I fixed my phone. Work reasons, so it may not have covered it, but still. Also there seems to be one version of the stock ROM that works with the software. for D851s that is.
Edit: The problem is the EFS got corrupt. If you fix this by all means BACK UP YOUR EFS and store it 100000 places
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
theFume said:
It's only a problem if you resell. You have two options.
1) Contact LG and tell them what happened was a bad flash and hope they will allow you to send it in to get fixed.
2) Do it yourself, as I did. This cannot be discussed on xda because it could be used to change an IMEI to one not assigned to your phone. I ill say it's possible and using the software required is a legal grey area, but I technically DID sign an NDA with Qualcomm during the time I fixed my phone. Work reasons, so it may not have covered it, but still. Also there seems to be one version of the stock ROM that works with the software. for D851s that is.
Edit: The problem is the EFS got corrupt. If you fix this by all means BACK UP YOUR EFS and store it 100000 places
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But as i have read in the past, replacing your imei with one that doesnt belong to ur device should cause a hardbrick. Also, i dont live in the US, i bought the D851 from a phone market i think it has been refurbished.
THis could mean that the imei at the back of the device might not belong to this device (I dont really know... at least, thats what friend suggested.) I checked IMEI.info for the imei at the back and it turned out with a no results. Then i checked it on the T-Mobile site and T-Mobile said the device has some bills and if the bills are not paid, it wont be able to be used with T-Mo.(I dont really care as we dont have T-Mo here. But atleast T-Mo recognizes the imei.) THen i checked the imei with one more imei database and it showed up.
Now, my problem is that i know of Qualcoms Program that allows the IMEI to get reassigned but i was wondering that was for devices that are not able to connect to network at all. With mine it seems the IMEI is there. Its just that the OS is unable to read it. Dont you u think using the Qualcomm process would be a little harsh?
Also since its able to connect to network, i think my ISP is able to read my IMEI. Could i call them and ask them to tell me my imei? So that i could compare it with what is written at the back of the g3?
EDIT: I just got off the phone and the ISP/Mobile Network agent said they are unable to see IMEIs from their end.(Not just mine but everyones). I dont know, maybe she just might not know how its done. I will still keep trying tho.
Restoring using Qualcomm software IS hard, overkill and VERY RISKY. At the moment since your provider doesn't care, I say ignore it. Also I have no idea what would happen if you tried to change an IMEI to one not meant for your device as I've not ever attempted such. You phone sounds like it has a bad IMEI, but that would only as you said blacklist it on TMO. The IMEI afaik is only used to track stolen phones and deadbeats on bills. So as the saying goes "If it ain't broke don't fix it". If I were you, I would question the person you got it from about the bill delinquency, but you don't really have to. Just seems fishy to me.
I purchased this phone unknowingly that it was a demo version.
I removed the demo version from it via the code, reset and then flash and update.
The dual imei numbers are both 0000 when I typed some code ( cant remember it showed that the imei is ok)
I wanted to get it repair via some of those remote box services. I dealt with very rude unpleasant person who was impolite, told me to install quite old xsg rom which is different csc compared to my original rom. When I flashed under imei there is UAE csc and new lines added under: TRA ID :
and TA : , and these two were not there before, device also shows just as a52 instead as a52s as previously. The person suggested the rom based on the build number that I sent him.
Afterwards he was asking for pictures and then blocked me.
Im wondering If I can fix this unit to usable cellular state with working real imeis
I thought xposed modules would help, but it seems they only help with apps and only change imei on them.
I highly doubt that this device has banned imei.
I would be happy to help you to root it and I would appreciate if someone can help me.
I searched many threads without success, I know the efs/qcb is probably corrupted
What route I should go to fix this device?
If it is a demo version and has no IMEI this tells you that this legally is no mobile device that is approved to use with operators. Inserting a new IMEI can not be legal in normal countries. IMEI is a device identifier sent with all phone traffic to ensure that the device is a legitimate one and is not stolen and black (do not work at all) or grey (works but flagged to be traced) listed.
Go back to the seller and demand your money back!
I hoped that someone with more experience with this would chime in, on these new galaxy devices the imeis still seems to suppose to be there, in galaxy 8 or older galaxy version there was no 4g module and antenna removed, I think this is what you are talking about right ? and it was purchased on ad.
Im wondering if these services like chimera can fix it.
I thought it's unrootable. How did you do it?
gerhard_wa said:
If it is a demo version and has no IMEI this tells you that this legally is no mobile device that is approved to use with operators. Inserting a new IMEI can not be legal in normal countries. IMEI is a device identifier sent with all phone traffic to ensure that the device is a legitimate one and is not stolen and black (do not work at all) or grey (works but flagged to be traced) listed.
Go back to the seller and demand your money back!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it off an add, impossible, so Im trying to at least fix it, one person here popped in my messages, trying to help... I think he recovered my damaged imei partition and stole it and sold it. Xda what a wonderful place of helpful people.
lucas_54 said:
I thought it's unrootable. How did you do it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats bs, my firmware is older but cam is working,The method described in a52 thread, patching file through odin.
ftaqh said:
I bought it off an add, impossible, so Im trying to at least fix it, one person here popped in my messages, trying to help... I think he recovered my damaged imei partition and stole it and sold it. Xda what a wonderful place of helpful people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must be joking; demo phones have no imei. They are not phones they are dummies. Throwing around inane accusations will do you no god around here.