I finally got a new phone and I want to sell this one off eBay however I want to make sure this is sell ready. I went back to stock rom am I good to go or do I need to do anything else?
Well, you might be a little confused on what the ESN (Electronic Serial Number) actually is...
In short, if the phone can get voice and data service by signing up through the provider, the ESN is clean. If you are currently using it on a voice/data network with no issues, the ESN is clean. An ESN is only blacklisted by a service provider when reported stolen or you didn't pay your bill for too long. At that point, any attempts to sign up new service for the phone will be rejected, and the attempt to do so is usually reported by the provider.
The ESN is programmed into the firmware of the phone itself when it is manufactured; note that it is not programmed into the OS firmware ROM, but the firmware on the phone itself that contains things like the PRL (preferred roaming list) and other information the data modem needs to make a data connection. This firmware is independent from the OS and usually never changes except when updating the PRL or activating it for first-time use. The ESN is then linked to your phone service account with your provider unless you cancel service, report it stolen, or possibly if you stop paying your bill for too long.
The ESN can be changed with phone programming software (QPST, CDMA Workshop, etc). However, this is very illegal and I never advise attempting to do so. A change in the ESN is also detectable when it differs from the ESN/IMEI sticker usually under the battery. Because of the illegality of this, I will give no further details. If you stole the phone you are trying to sell, the ESN will come up as stolen when the purchaser of the phone attempts to register it with the service provider.
Hope that helps.
If you did steal the phone, karma will catch up with you
AlwaysLucky said:
Well, you might be a little confused on what the ESN (Electronic Serial Number) actually is...
In short, if the phone can get voice and data service by signing up through the provider, the ESN is clean. If you are currently using it on a voice/data network with no issues, the ESN is clean. An ESN is only blacklisted by a service provider when reported stolen or you didn't pay your bill for too long. At that point, any attempts to sign up new service for the phone will be rejected, and the attempt to do so is usually reported by the provider.
The ESN is programmed into the firmware of the phone itself when it is manufactured; note that it is not programmed into the OS firmware ROM, but the firmware on the phone itself that contains things like the PRL (preferred roaming list) and other information the data modem needs to make a data connection. This firmware is independent from the OS and usually never changes except when updating the PRL or activating it for first-time use. The ESN is then linked to your phone service account with your provider unless you cancel service, report it stolen, or possibly if you stop paying your bill for too long.
The ESN can be changed with phone programming software (QPST, CDMA Workshop, etc). However, this is very illegal and I never advise attempting to do so. A change in the ESN is also detectable when it differs from the ESN/IMEI sticker usually under the battery. Because of the illegality of this, I will give no further details. If you stole the phone you are trying to sell, the ESN will come up as stolen when the purchaser of the phone attempts to register it with the service provider.
Hope that helps.
If you did steal the phone, karma will catch up with you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I am a bit confused, I once tried selling my old S3 off eBay that my mothers boyfriend gave me but the buyer couldnt activated so i had to clean the ESN. I didnt steal this phone I bought it off eBay and used it for a month then got the Note 5. I just dont know if rooting and installing a custom ROM can mess everything up and the new owner won't be able to activate the phone.
I went ahead and unrooted the phone and reverted it back to stock ROM. So is it safe to sell this phone or is there more I need to do?
Also thank you.
Check the esn/IMEI on swappa. That will tell you if it is clean and sellable.
Frankenscript said:
Check the esn/IMEI on swappa. That will tell you if it is clean and sellable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nevermind I read it wrong.
Adamgm10 said:
Yeah I am a bit confused, I once tried selling my old S3 off eBay that my mothers boyfriend gave me but the buyer couldnt activated so i had to clean the ESN. I didnt steal this phone I bought it off eBay and used it for a month then got the Note 5. I just dont know if rooting and installing a custom ROM can mess everything up and the new owner won't be able to activate the phone.
I went ahead and unrooted the phone and reverted it back to stock ROM. So is it safe to sell this phone or is there more I need to do?
Also thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With that said, it sounds like to me your ESN is clean because it hasn't been reported stolen and is not associated with a delinquent account. It just sounds like you rooted the phone and installed a custom ROM. There is nothing wrong or illegal about that, but it usually does void the manufacturers 1-year warranty. There is no need to un-root and go stock when selling unless that is how you want to sell it or the buyer requests it.
Bottom line: Rooting the phone and installing a custom ROM has NO impact on the ESN, and vice-versa.
You're very welcome, sir.
Related
I just got my phone back today after it was stolen. During the time i didnt have it i deactivated the service on it. Would it be possible to activate it even though its on a whole other ROM?
Specifically Its on Mik-G RC1
EDIT: I decided to call *2 on my Evo and talked to the customer service rep and I got service back on it. Thanks jesuspgt for suggesting it!
Should be possible to activate it. If not, there's no reason that you couldn't just flash it back to stock, activate it, and then flash back to whatever you prefer.
The more important thing to worry about would be to make sure that you get the Lost/Stolen flag taken off that phone if you called and reported it stolen. To get it taken off you'll have to call customer care and ask them to remove it.
you should be able to without any problems. It's still the same phone with all the same S/N's and what ever other numbers they need to activate.
I would do that but the problem is that my SD card was stolen. I'm going to buy a new one in a while and i have a backup of the card on my PC, but I just want to activate it as soon as possible.
Scrub Life said:
I just got my phone back today after it was stolen. During the time i didnt have it i deactivated the service on it. Would it be possible to activate it even though its on a whole other ROM?
Specifically Its on Mik-G RC1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You most likely will need to flash a Sence based rom. I think if you did it over the phone you would have to enter a few things throgh the dailer app.
And most definitely if you took it to a Sprint store.
Few questions though, when you say "deactivate" do you mean you had your account put on hold or canceled?
Did you report it to Sprint as stolen? I ask this cause if you reported it stolen Sprint would/should have flashed the ESN on the phone. If they did it wont work.
Sent From The Tree House Out Back!
Hi,
Is there anyway to repair the esn on this device? Looking to get it working on Virgin.
Thank you
We usually don't talk about changing blacklisted ESN's on devices as it is usually associated with stolen phones.
some sort of via tools are required rather than the usual qpst/cdma workshop.
we have diag.. and we have est/vpst.. but i am not sure of the procedure. i do know it has been done tho.. at least on the sprint version.
From what I have read on here and other forums, changing ESN on a phone is illegal. Not so much "$20 fine" illegal, but more "pound me in the ass prison" illegal...
I would highly recommend not changing the ESN.
HI everyone im new here but I wanted to see If I can get help with this issue.So basically 2 weeks ago I bought a Note 2 T889 from Craigslist.Everything checked out fine(except for not having wifi but fixed it by flashing a custom rom) but anyways I went to Tmobile and got a prepaid plan.Everything was working fine until suddenly I lost all service(CALLING,WIFI etc).So I went back to my mobile setting to register it back to Tmobile but It kept saying"Your sim card does not allow a connection to this network"after many trys i had a feeling the owner reported it lost/stolen.So I went on the Tmobile Imei checker page to find out it was blocked with a bad imei reported lost/stolen.I tried contacting the owner but i was unable to get in contact with him.Without much funds left i went to Best Buy and bought a Simple Mobile $40 starter kit plan too see if that would work but once i inserted the sim card i was getting the same message "not able to connect to network message" so i read online i could unlock it so what i did i downgraded to android 4.1.1 and unlocked it via the *#197328640# method and inserted a AT&T sim card and was not able to connect to the network and got the "Your sim card does not allow a connection to this network" notification again.I've played around with settings and roms and havent had any success.I dont have funds for another phone and im waiting for a call back for a job so i really need to take care of this issue.Im on stock 4.1.1 rom and have tried Tmobile,Simple Mobile,At&T and Metropcs sim cards and still not able to connect to anynetwork.I really want to get this fixed but i have no idea what to do know.My last resort would be going the Imei hacking route which i know is not correct but i have limited funds.Someone please help!!!!!!
I
SickSkillz22 said:
HI everyone im new here but I wanted to see If I can get help with this issue.So basically 2 weeks ago I bought a Note 2 T889 from Craigslist.Everything checked out fine(except for not having wifi but fixed it by flashing a custom rom) but anyways I went to Tmobile and got a prepaid plan.Everything was working fine until suddenly I lost all service(CALLING,WIFI etc).So I went back to my mobile setting to register it back to Tmobile but It kept saying"Your sim card does not allow a connection to this network"after many trys i had a feeling the owner reported it lost/stolen.So I went on the Tmobile Imei checker page to find out it was blocked with a bad imei reported lost/stolen.I tried contacting the owner but i was unable to get in contact with him.Without much funds left i went to Best Buy and bought a Simple Mobile $40 starter kit plan too see if that would work but once i inserted the sim card i was getting the same message "not able to connect to network message" so i read online i could unlock it so what i did i downgraded to android 4.1.1 and unlocked it via the *#197328640# method and inserted a AT&T sim card and was not able to connect to the network and got the "Your sim card does not allow a connection to this network" notification again.I've played around with settings and roms and havent had any success.I dont have funds for another phone and im waiting for a call back for a job so i really need to take care of this issue.Im on stock 4.1.1 rom and have tried Tmobile,Simple Mobile,At&T and Metropcs sim cards and still not able to connect to anynetwork.I really want to get this fixed but i have no idea what to do know.My last resort would be going the Imei hacking route which i know is not correct but i have limited funds.Someone please help!!!!!!
I
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may not have unlocked the device properly.
The main issue I see is that you are trying to use a blacklisted phone. That phone is blacklisted for the whole country (including AT&T's network) not just Tmo.
And you are right, IMEI hacking is wrong.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
Coug76 said:
You may not have unlocked the device properly.
The main issue I see is that you are trying to use a blacklisted phone. That phone is blacklisted for the whole country (including AT&T's network) not just Tmo.
And you are right, IMEI hacking is wrong.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to try Straight Talk but at this point im not sure if I should even waste my money.I just thought for some reason unlocking it would let me use it on another network but I guess now they Ban it from all networks im guessing.If I dont find a solution than I guess ill have to pay someone on ebay to repair the imei.BTW how do I know if its fully unlocked since im not prompted to enter any unlock code when I insert a non tmobile sim card.
SickSkillz22 said:
I was going to try Straight Talk but at this point im not sure if I should even waste my money.I just thought for some reason unlocking it would let me use it on another network but I guess now they Ban it from all networks im guessing.If I dont find a solution than I guess ill have to pay someone on ebay to repair the imei.BTW how do I know if its fully unlocked since im not prompted to enter any unlock code when I insert a non tmobile sim card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the sim card is not based on tmo's network, and you are running a TW ROM, and you are not getting the prompt - unlocked.
I encourage you to avoid attempting an IMEI "repair". It may be physically possible, but it's not ethical. Don't let your mistake of buying a phone from a scumbag turn *you* into a scumbag.
The carriers don't block IMEIs for no reason. Either the phone was not paid for, or it was outright stolen. Other people have an actual ownership or unfulfilled financial claim to it.
IMEI "repair" is in essence similar to changing the plates on a stolen car so it can be used without catching the eye of the police.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
Coug76 said:
If the sim card is not based on tmo's network, and you are running a TW ROM, and you are not getting the prompt - unlocked.
I encourage you to avoid attempting an IMEI "repair". It may be physically possible, but it's not ethical. Don't let your mistake of buying a phone from a scumbag turn *you* into a scumbag.
The carriers don't block IMEIs for no reason. Either the phone was not paid for, or it was outright stolen. Other people have an actual ownership or unfulfilled financial claim to it.
IMEI "repair" is in essence similar to changing the plates on a stolen car so it can be used without catching the eye of the police.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wasnt stolen he just reporeted it lost and scammed me.Im just going to keep it and figure something out.I wont be scamming anyone by selling it unless I clearly state the condition its in.Anyways thanks for the tip.
SickSkillz22 said:
It wasnt stolen he just reporeted it lost and scammed me.Im just going to keep it and figure something out.I wont be scamming anyone by selling it unless I clearly state the condition its in.Anyways thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to a Corporate Tmo store with your Bill of Sale and tell them of your predicament.
I've read of such instances ending up with the scammed phone being removed from the blacklist and the douches new phone being put in it's place. Screw that guy. Scumbag shouldn't play the insurance game.
Hell, go to Asurion and let them go after him for insurance fraud.
Just don't let it drop. You are righteous until you drop to that jackhole's level.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
Coug76 said:
Go to a Corporate Tmo store with your Bill of Sale and tell them of your predicament.
I've read of such instances ending up with the scammed phone being removed from the blacklist and the douches new phone being put in it's place. Screw that guy. Scumbag shouldn't play the insurance game.
Hell, go to Asurion and let them go after him for insurance fraud.
Just don't let it drop. You are righteous until you drop to that jackhole's level.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude I called Tmobile and they didnt even care that they were being scammed but again Asurion are the real losers so ill call them and tell them whats going on.
rgeriu persons
Wow I just called Asurion and they had no idea what to do or less yet care.I straight foward told them that this person was commiting fraud and the lady had no clue or could refer me anywhere.Tmobile or Asurion could care less so now ill have to take a different route to get it working again.
I bought a used Note 3 on ebay and wondering if
1) The seller claims the esn is clean. Is there a way that I can verify that this phone is clean (i.e.: not stolen)?
2) The phone is also rooted. I'm concerned that it's possible that rooted phone could have hidden spyware apps installed. Is there some app or tools I can use to check for possible spyware?
Thanks!
TruongKy said:
I bought a used Note 3 on ebay and wondering if
1) The seller claims the esn is clean. Is there a way that I can verify that this phone is clean (i.e.: not stolen)?
2) The phone is also rooted. I'm concerned that it's possible that rooted phone could have hidden spyware apps installed. Is there some app or tools I can use to check for possible spyware?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.
The should be able to provide you the IMEI before purchase. Many e-bay sellers put it directly in the listing. Once you have it you can check it here :
http://www.checkesnfree.com/
2.
Whenever you get a phone, rooted or not, flash it to stock. No spyware will survive a clean flash.
TruongKy said:
I bought a used Note 3 on ebay and wondering if
1) The seller claims the esn is clean. Is there a way that I can verify that this phone is clean (i.e.: not stolen)?
2) The phone is also rooted. I'm concerned that it's possible that rooted phone could have hidden spyware apps installed. Is there some app or tools I can use to check for possible spyware?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, even if you called t mobile and they told you the phone esn is clean, it can still be blocked later for probably one of the following reasons:
The person who bought this phone on contract and sold it on ebay and later for some reason, he decided not to keep paying the installment.
The person who sold you that phone just want to screw you and can later falsely report to t mobile that his phone is stolen.
Either of the situation happens, you might end up with a phone with blaskliested imei.
wzhao14 said:
To be honest, even if you called t mobile and they told you the phone esn is clean, it can still be blocked later for probably one of the following reasons:
The person who bought this phone on contract and sold it on ebay and later for some reason, he decided not to keep paying the installment.
The person who sold you that phone just want to screw you and can later falsely report to t mobile that his phone is stolen.
Either of the situation happens, you might end up with a phone with blaskliested imei.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read that there's a way to avoid this. If its a T-Mobile device the imei can be registered on your account and in your name. Then the device can't be blacklisted later on. Granted if its a different carrier this doesn't really matter
icenight89 said:
I've read that there's a way to avoid this. If its a T-Mobile device the imei can be registered on your account and in your name. Then the device can't be blacklisted later on. Granted if its a different carrier this doesn't really matter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great tip, thanks
icenight89 said:
I've read that there's a way to avoid this. If its a T-Mobile device the imei can be registered on your account and in your name. Then the device can't be blacklisted later on. Granted if its a different carrier this doesn't really matter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be as long as the phone is paid off.
Just want to verify this:
My daughter lost her cell and I’m told by Sprint rep that she can put a restriction/flag on the phone so it can’t be use or activated. Now here is my issue; after I told her that I have a backup phone that I want to activate on that account she ask me if I had a screen look on my old phone because once she removed it from the account it can be activated on any other account with no restriction. Pretty much a clean ESN after the swap.
To my understanding once a phone is flag only the owner can call sprint and have the flag remove. This doesn’t make sense to me because people can just steal ur phone wait few days until you put a phone on your account and then activate it under their name and have a free phone.
If this is true is another reason to not pay for insurance because people will still take ur phone if they know they just have to wait couple of days and
You were told wrong, or more probable, you were told poorly. Once a phones serial number (ESN) has been flagged as lost/stolen, the only way to make that phone work on a network again is to flash it with another ESN (which usually a thief would not know how to do).
arunningpir8 said:
You were told wrong, or more probable, you were told poorly. Once a phones serial number (ESN) has been flagged as lost/stolen, the only way to make that phone work on a network again is to flash it with another ESN (which usually a thief would not know how to do).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i lost my phones more then ones and they are all without screen locks and bad esn by sprint
and as for as my experience with sprint customer service
i'm not surprised that someone gave you wrong information
it looks to me that they all get paid minimum wage
arunningpir8 said:
You were told wrong, or more probable, you were told poorly. Once a phones serial number (ESN) has been flagged as lost/stolen, the only way to make that phone work on a network again is to flash it with another ESN (which usually a thief would not know how to do).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't think thieves don't use these forums as well