[Q] Did I buy a stolen phone? - Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II

I bought a Sprint Note II off of eBay. It was advertised as a clean ESN and I assumed that the owner was simply upgrading since this is an older phone. I received the phone today and can't activate it with Sprint. I'm a newb and looking for ideas as to what has happened. A few notes:
The sticker on the back under the battery doesn't appear to have been tampered with.
The software IMEI matches the hex sticker. The IMEI is clean per swappa.
The software dec and hex meid do not match the sticker. The software meid has no result in swappa.
The network is listed as sprint and the sprint logo appears on start-up.
I am awaiting a response from the seller. I need a phone for work and bought this one after I busted my G2. What do you all see as my options?
I'm a newb. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.

jagriffinsf said:
I bought a Sprint Note II off of eBay. It was advertised as a clean ESN and I assumed that the owner was simply upgrading since this is an older phone. I received the phone today and can't activate it with Sprint. I'm a newb and looking for ideas as to what has happened. A few notes:
The sticker on the back under the battery doesn't appear to have been tampered with.
The software IMEI matches the hex sticker. The IMEI is clean per swappa.
The software dec and hex meid do not match the sticker. The software meid has no result in swappa.
The network is listed as sprint and the sprint logo appears on start-up.
I am awaiting a response from the seller. I need a phone for work and bought this one after I busted my G2. What do you all see as my options?
I'm a newb. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like the seller changed the meid (esn). If seller does not respond contact ebay and tell them. Ebay will refund if seller does not.
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Related

[Q] phone cannot be unlocked (IMEI unrecognized)

I recently got a refurbished Dinc 2. The GSM part cannot be unlocked. The unlock service said the IMEI couldn't be recognized by HTC. Is it possible that this phone has been tampered and the IMEI has been changed? I also found the serial numbers under the battery (beginning with HT) and from the phone settings (beginning with MB) are different. All other things seem normal. The ESN is clean since I activated on pageplus. I am concerned with the history of the phone.
Did you get the refurbished incredible 2 for a replacement from Verizon or from someone else?
nitsua98 said:
Did you get the refurbished incredible 2 for a replacement from Verizon or from someone else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from ebay. Thanks.
SIRTF said:
from ebay. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it like a "new" refurbished? Like, after it was refurbished had it been used?
nitsua98 said:
Is it like a "new" refurbished? Like, after it was refurbished had it been used?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is like a "new" refurbished. The condition looks very good, no any scratch/wear all over the phone. The screen protector with the words "remove before use" and "certified pre-owned" was still on. The verizon global sim card was in it. But I did find some photos in the micro sd card in the phone.
Okay idk much about this kind of stuff but I did some reading on this Wikipedia article and it seems to maybe your imei was changed or maybe someone changed another phones imei to yours. I honestly have no clue, just putting out suggestions.
Edit: maybe the box is not original box the phone came with.
nitsua98 said:
Okay idk much about this kind of stuff but I did some reading on this Wikipedia article and it seems to maybe your imei was changed or maybe someone changed another phones imei to yours. I honestly have no clue, just putting out suggestions.
Edit: maybe the box is not original box the phone came with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I´m having the exact same problem. I got a replacement phone from Best Buy, although the carrier was Verizon, the phones at Best Buy were 100$ cheaper. Anyway, I used their geek squad insurance thing, and I got a phone, minus battery, and a service receipt. The IMEI did not appear on the receipt, nor in on the sticker on the back of the phone. Now there may have been an IMEI that was valid at one point on the phone,but me, being a dumbass, either never took the time to copy it down, or did so on a computer I no longer have or a piece of paper I left somewhere else.
Is there any way we can root around and find the correct IMEI, or figure out the IMEI based on the MEID? Is this the sort of record they would keep in their database?
(I have a new thread describing my problem in more detail HERE:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2103068
Refurb phones will not be in standard htc database these unlockers have.
Most tell you if the phone is a refurb no code will be found. Some have unlockers will have the code but cost much more.
BTW XTC Clip will s-off and sim unlock your phone.

[Q] Flashed back to Sprint, 2 different HEX/DEC values...help

A shot in the dark here but I need some assistance regarding the reversal of flashing the Epic 4G to Virgin Mobile, and then back to Sprint. I have done pretty much everything I researched, from resetting settings via ##72786# and ##786#, even Odin'd the stock FC09 and selecting Phone EFS Clear, and everything seems to have reset. But the values of the DEC/HEX number are different on both the battery sticker, and under About Phone.
Is this normal? I've attempted this because I was hoping to sell my Epic 4G and the guy who purchased it said it wasn't activating for him. When I got it back I noticed that the values from the Virgin Mobile flash were still programmed under About Phone. So after resetting everything, the values seem to be back to the normal and doesn't display the Virgin Mobile values, but the DEC/HEX numbers differ from each other on the sticker and under About Phone.
Was just curious if the DEC/HEX number that are being displayed under About Phone are the correct, or incorrect. I checked with Sprint via chat support and asked them to check for me if the ESN is clean, and apparently the DEC/ESN number that is listed under About Phone is clear and ready to activate, but the DEC/ESN number located on the battery sticker is not clear. If I were to sell the phone, would the buyer be able to activate it on Sprint if they gave Sprint the DEC/ESN number listed under About Phone? Would they have any problems?
Hope somebody can help me, as I'm really confused by this. Thanks.
brian117 said:
I checked with Sprint via chat support and asked them to check for me if the ESN is clean, and apparently the DEC/ESN number that is listed under About Phone is clear and ready to activate, but the DEC/ESN number located on the battery sticker is not clear. If I were to sell the phone, would the buyer be able to activate it on Sprint if they gave Sprint the DEC/ESN number listed under About Phone? Would they have any problems?
Hope somebody can help me, as I'm really confused by this. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ESN on the sticker needs to match the ESN showing on About Phone. If the ESN on the sticker is bad, it's not going to activate on Sprint.

[Q] Help with imei number

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

IMEI Phone, Battery Housing, Box Not Matching

Like the title says!
Bought a phone listed as new on Ebay, the *#06* IMEI and Battery Housing IMEI Match so I know the phone is not fake... I hope lol, the retail packaging IMEI don't match though.
Question it, How do I tell if the phone was a new handset replaced with a new handset by AT&T or if it's had replacement parts put it?
The phone Housing does look new, but that obviously doesn't say much. Also it's running 4.3 and the initial set-up screen time zone was default to Seuol (South Korea). Can someone give me insight? or some extra things I could look into? Thanks!
drago10029 said:
Like the title says!
Bought a phone listed as new on Ebay, the *#06* IMEI and Battery Housing IMEI Match so I know the phone is not fake... I hope lol, the retail packaging IMEI don't match though.
Question it, How do I tell if the phone was a new handset replaced with a new handset by AT&T or if it's had replacement parts put it?
The phone Housing does look new, but that obviously doesn't say much. Also it's running 4.3 and the initial set-up screen time zone was default to Seuol (South Korea). Can someone give me insight? or some extra things I could look into? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other than an assessment of the physical & cosmetic condition, difficult to tell. Of course, there is always a risk when buying from that online auction site. The fact that the IMEI on the packaging does not match the phone shows evidence of tampering and who knows how far the tampering went? There are different sites you could go to check the IMEI (imei.info; imei-number.com etc) but these will only let you know if it's a valid ESN. You could, of course, call AT&T wireless support to find out if the phone has been previously activated on their network. You could tell them you want to switch to this handset but you'd like to find out if the ESN is clean.

Serial Number location?

I don't have the box and my screen is broken, where can I find the serial number? I need it for Kies and have already tried entering the HEX and DEC and it says that they are incorrect. Also, anyone know if cracked digitizer without broken glass would be covered under Samsung warranty? Any help would be appreciated.
Hello again, if you don't mind me taking a shot at this...
I'm looking at my phone, box and about device/status and what's missing is the IMEI number found only on the device screen. It appears to be the Hex number with a "1" added to the end.
Can anyone else verify this?
Have you try and look on the back under the battery?
http://support-us.samsung.com/cyber/popup/pop_modelserialnumberlocation.jsp
Oh, I see; the link in post above says Sprint serial number should be the Hex number as you say, (underneath the battery). But since that was rejected by Kies, maybe the phone was registered with the IMEI number, instead.
Also, noticed the about device/status shows "0x" in front of the Hex number.
samep said:
Oh, I see; the link in post above says Sprint serial number should be the Hex number as you say, (underneath the battery). But since that was rejected by Kies, maybe the phone was registered with the IMEI number, instead.
Also, noticed the about device/status shows "0x" in front of the Hex number.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I trued adding a 0 with no luck. I even shortened both Hex and Dec to 8 9 and 10 digits using numbers from under battery
thanks
If still under warranty, why don't you just exchange for another one.
KLPFL said:
If still under warranty, why don't you just exchange for another one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read online that this is an issue since the S4... the lcd digitizer is cracked under the glass and probably isnt covered by warranty. will check with Sprint tomorrow.
Good luck... i know my wife s1 was dead i called the carrier and they sendbher a replacement but that was tmobile.. dont know about sprint
kevg77 said:
I trued adding a 0 with no luck. I even shortened both Hex and Dec to 8 9 and 10 digits using numbers from under battery
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it helps, the HEX MEID is the IMEI without the last digit... So your IMEI is your HEX with with a digit 0 - 9 added on the end.
Since Sprint doesn't use the IMEI for nearly anything systems wise (in store or with customer care), I don't think its posted anywhere other than the back of their iPhones they sell. I only know this from working in a Sprint store
Edit: also, you should call Samsung rather than head to a sprint store. I doubt (though don't know for sure) that it is covered by Samsung's warranty. I know at the store level, even the digitizer cracked is considered physical damage and is flagged as damage beyond repair. If you have TEP, then that will be the only option they'll provide you or tell you to go through Samsung... Unless their technician is blind, he might order you a replacement for free, or for $75 as their service and repair fee if you don't carry TEP.

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