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I am an AT&T employee but don't quite understand the whole activation and SIM scenario. Here is my situation.
I have a company provided phone and data plan. I want to get the Tilt 2 but the company won't spring for it. I am eligible for an upgrade through my personal account, but then I have to sign a new 2 year contract and it makes me select a data plan. Well, I don't currently have a data plan on my personal account and I don't want one (because I use my company phone exclusively). So I realize that I need to simply buy a phone outside of the AT&T retail loop. And I want it to be AT&T branded because I definitely want it to be compatible with the ATT 3G network.
My question is, is there any difference between buying a used or new AT&T branded Tilt 2 off eBay or similar place in regards to it working with my company provided SIM? Meaning, does a new phone require some kind of activation or can I just slip my SIM card in and go? If I get a used Tilt 2 is there a possible issue with the phone being registered to someone else and not working with my SIM? I am trying to avoid dealing with the AT&T CSR's because I am afraid that they will somehow screw up my company account just because I bought the phone myself. And lastly, since I know I will be using it with the ATT network, is there any advantage to getting an unlocked version? Thanks for your time.
ChasDun said:
I am an AT&T employee but don't quite understand the whole activation and SIM scenario. Here is my situation.
I have a company provided phone and data plan. I want to get the Tilt 2 but the company won't spring for it. I am eligible for an upgrade through my personal account, but then I have to sign a new 2 year contract and it makes me select a data plan. Well, I don't currently have a data plan on my personal account and I don't want one (because I use my company phone exclusively). So I realize that I need to simply buy a phone outside of the AT&T retail loop. And I want it to be AT&T branded because I definitely want it to be compatible with the ATT 3G network.
My question is, is there any difference between buying a used or new AT&T branded Tilt 2 off eBay or similar place in regards to it working with my company provided SIM? Meaning, does a new phone require some kind of activation or can I just slip my SIM card in and go? If I get a used Tilt 2 is there a possible issue with the phone being registered to someone else and not working with my SIM? I am trying to avoid dealing with the AT&T CSR's because I am afraid that they will somehow screw up my company account just because I bought the phone myself. And lastly, since I know I will be using it with the ATT network, is there any advantage to getting an unlocked version? Thanks for your time.
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You *could* buy it straight-out from a store, if they give you any crap about it tell them it's a gift and you will do the activation when the person receives it. You'll be paying $500ish this way, however. But they won't touch your data service. In the long run, it's cheaper this way. For me it would have cost $15 extra month to upgrade to the Tilt 2 so I figure the $360 over the 2 year contract and forevermore it was worth paying more for the phone up-front.
Thanks Kha for the response. What is the advantage to getting it at the ATT store vs ebay or somewhere similar? New ATT TP2s seem to be going for around $400 on ebay from reputable dealers and slightly used ones for around $350. Either way, can I drop my SIM card in without having to do anything else?
If you buy a Tilt 2 from AT&T, you get the benefit of the 1-year warranty and the piece of mind of knowing that it's un-soiled. If you purchase from eBay or some other used device avenue, you could get it from a decent discount, compared to the store purchase, but the device won't have the warranty (unless it's from a eBay store seller who offers a non-AT&T warranty) or it could be stolen and there might be a flag on the IMEI number. This is probably not the case if you buy from a seller with excellent feedback. If you purchase from eBay, you might want to consider the OEM branded HTC Touch Pro2. It has the front-facing camera, it's unlocked and won't be tracked by AT&T, a lot of people prefer the OEM housing to the Tilt 2's, I think the tolerances on the battery cover are tighter so the device is slightly slimmer, and it looks different than all the other TP2's you'll see around the US.
And about your SIM question, yes you should be able to insert your SIM and start using your phone. If you don't get a Tilt 2, you might have to configure the connection settings for the AT&T network first.
Dramacydle said:
If you purchase from eBay, you might want to consider the OEM branded HTC Touch Pro2.
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The only problem with buying the European/International unlocked version is that there will be no AT&T 3G support. That was the dealbreaker for me when I wanted the unlocked Rhodium.
_________________
OP: As long as the phone is sold from a reputable dealer (so it's likely not IMEI blacklisted) you should be able to pop in your SIM and be done. And most any firmware, whether cooked or stock AT&T, should be able to automatically configure all the data settings like apn, username & password, and data line type. There's no worry about the phone being registered to another person, unless it's blacklisted from the network because it was reported as stolen. A good reason to always buy from reputable people.
In my opinion, there's not a practical advantage to getting the unlocked version. The only thing I don't like about the Tilt2 versus the OEM Touch Pro2 would be the horrendous keyboard changes, but you get used to it eventually. Getting the unlocked version would cost more money, but be almost the same thing. The unlocked one also wouldn't support AT&T's 3G network, and AFAIK the front facing camera wouldn't work on AT&T's network regardless of 3G connection.
The only thing you might not like about the Tilt2 as opposed to the OEM Touch Pro2 would be the internal chipset; the Tilt2 uses the slightly weaker Qualcomm MSM7201A processor, which cannot record VGA video while the unlocked Touch Pro2 can because it uses the slightly more powerful MSM7200A. The screen on the Tilt2 is also said to be slightly less vibrant than the OEM version, but it's still a fantastic display and I didn't even notice it. If I were in your position, I would buy the Tilt2, as its benefits clearly outweigh its faults.
DaveTheTytnIIGuy said:
The only problem with buying the European/International unlocked version is that there will be no AT&T 3G support. That was the dealbreaker for me when I wanted the unlocked Rhodium.
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The OP mentioned that he has no intention of using the Tilt 2 for data, so I assumed that was a moot point. Good call about mentioning that though.
Hi All. Thanks for your replies. They have been very helpful. The Tilt 2 price just dropped in ATTs retail stores from $499 to $399. I was in 2 different stores today and saw the new price. I finally convinced them to sell me the phone at the no commitment price without trying to link my IMEI before I left (again, this is for my AT&T company provided phone (COU) and not my personal phone). Anyway, retail people cannot access ATT employees COU accounts even if they tried. So the gal at the store said I would have to call COU to get the IMEI linked to my COU account. Is this true? I thought I could just take the SIM out of my Treo 750 and pop it into my Tilt 2 and go.
ChasDun said:
Hi All. Thanks for your replies. They have been very helpful. The Tilt 2 price just dropped in ATTs retail stores from $499 to $399. I was in 2 different stores today and saw the new price. I finally convinced them to sell me the phone at the no commitment price without trying to link my IMEI before I left (again, this is for my AT&T company provided phone (COU) and not my personal phone). Anyway, retail people cannot access ATT employees COU accounts even if they tried. So the gal at the store said I would have to call COU to get the IMEI linked to my COU account. Is this true? I thought I could just take the SIM out of my Treo 750 and pop it into my Tilt 2 and go.
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You can just put the SIM in and it will work.
Do you not have a data plan of any kind? AT&T is now adding data plans to the accounts of purchasers of its new branded smartphones. Don't be surprised if you get a text message from AT&T within as day or two that the smartphone data plan has been added to your account. I had the $15 Media Net plan with an unlocked Palm Treo Pro and my wife had PPU data with her Moto V3xx. I bought a Tilt 2 for me and a Bold 9700 for her and as soon as the phones were activated we each got text messages that the appropriate data plans had been added to our accounts. There were loopholes in the past to get around it (call in with the IMEI of a dumbphone) but AT&T is now tracking the IMEI's of its branded smartphones and adding data plans. Users with older devices and the $15 Media Net plan seem to be grandfathered in for now (there was a "Smartphone Exclusion" feature that showed up on people's feature lists when the policy chaged recently).
Thanks DW. I do have a data and voice plan on my SIM. It is paid for by the company. So from what I understand I can just put my same SIM card in the new phone and be done.
Recently I've been seeing a lot of T-Mobile USA & AT&T phones on eBay and such that have their IMEI blocked by the provider they are made for. I was thinking if there's a way to prevent getting scammed and buying one of these used phones where the IMEI ends up getting blocked (perhaps months later) because the original owner didn't make a phone or service payment & I was wondering if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would ever block the IMEI of a Galaxy Nexus GSM Unlocked Phone?
It obviously has an IMEI but does anyone know if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would block the IMEI of a phone like the Nexus that they don't sell themselves if someone reported it stolen, didn't make a bill payment of some kind, etc.?
LS1_01 said:
Recently I've been seeing a lot of T-Mobile USA & AT&T phones on eBay and such that have their IMEI blocked by the provider they are made for. I was thinking if there's a way to prevent getting scammed and buying one of these used phones where the IMEI ends up getting blocked (perhaps months later) because the original owner didn't make a phone or service payment & I was wondering if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would ever block the IMEI of a Galaxy Nexus GSM Unlocked Phone?
It obviously has an IMEI but does anyone know if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would block the IMEI of a phone like the Nexus that they don't sell themselves if someone reported it stolen, didn't make a bill payment of some kind, etc.?
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Not for missing a bill payment. The phone isn't sold or subsidized by them so they would have no right to block it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
I was wondering the same thing too. If I buy a used international Galaxy S3 i9300 would they block the imei if the previous owner report it stolen a short while after selling it? Also will the phone be block if the insurance is from third party?
These new imei blocking idea seems to create a whole new set of problems (for us consumers at least). The big carriers would probably benefit from sales of new device as people are too afraid to buy devices that can be blacklisted whenever.
whatsitsnamenow said:
I was wondering the same thing too. If I buy a used international Galaxy S3 i9300 would they block the imei if the previous owner report it stolen a short while after selling it? Also will the phone be block if the insurance is from third party?
These new imei blocking idea seems to create a whole new set of problems (for us consumers at least). The big carriers would probably benefit from sales of new device as people are too afraid to buy devices that can be blacklisted whenever.
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Don't blame the carriers . Blame criminals who benefit by reselling stolen phones on the used market. The theft of smartphones is huge right now as this is so easy and profits are huge. Anything that can slow this down is worth doing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
whatsitsnamenow said:
I was wondering the same thing too. If I buy a used international Galaxy S3 i9300 would they block the imei if the previous owner report it stolen a short while after selling it? Also will the phone be block if the insurance is from third party?
These new imei blocking idea seems to create a whole new set of problems (for us consumers at least). The big carriers would probably benefit from sales of new device as people are too afraid to buy devices that can be blacklisted whenever.
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Click to collapse
Never thought about the insurance aspect but when I called T-Mobile they said that any phone could be blocked if reported stolen including something like a Nexus...but who knows if it ever happens.
Its not about blaming who. I just think this is not very thought out solution. It puts a dent on phones that are actually stolen but does nothing to stop fraud. Example
I buy new Galaxy S3 from Att
I buy insurance for phone
I sell phone for $450 (good imei standing currently) on Craigslist or on Marketplace
One week later I report my phone stolen and pay my $100 deductible
Phone gets blocked and buyer gets screwed.
I receive new Samsung Galaxy S3
Next week I sell my new Galaxy S3 for $450 and start the whole process over again.
In this scenario there is no way to check for IMEI clean or not because at the time of sale the IMEI is clean.
Also CDMA phones are better protected against this scenario as the CDMA phone's ESN is link to the account holder.
whatsitsnamenow said:
Its not about blaming who. I just think this is not very thought out solution. It puts a dent on phones that are actually stolen but does nothing to stop fraud. Example
I buy new Galaxy S3 from Att
I buy insurance for phone
I sell phone for $450 (good imei standing currently) on Craigslist or on Marketplace
One week later I report my phone stolen and pay my $100 deductible
Phone gets blocked and buyer gets screwed.
I receive new Samsung Galaxy S3
Next week I sell my new Galaxy S3 for $450 and start the whole process over again.
In this scenario there is no way to check for IMEI clean or not because at the time of sale the IMEI is clean.
Also CDMA phones are better protected against this scenario as the CDMA phone's ESN is link to the account holder.
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I bought a G1 from eBay when they were first released (listed as new in box) and it was blocked after a month.
It took me 4 months to get my money back from the seller and I only succeeded because I got the police involved. Personally I just wouldn't buy a phone again from a private seller.
In the UK at least there is no process to appeal an IMEI block.
That said, I still think its a good way of reducing phone theft - they just really need some kind of escrow / transfer service for IMEIs
Blacklisting a Phone that's not lost or stolen
LS1_01 said:
Recently I've been seeing a lot of T-Mobile USA & AT&T phones on eBay and such that have their IMEI blocked by the provider they are made for. I was thinking if there's a way to prevent getting scammed and buying one of these used phones where the IMEI ends up getting blocked (perhaps months later) because the original owner didn't make a phone or service payment & I was wondering if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would ever block the IMEI of a Galaxy Nexus GSM Unlocked Phone?
It obviously has an IMEI but does anyone know if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would block the IMEI of a phone like the Nexus that they don't sell themselves if someone reported it stolen, didn't make a bill payment of some kind, etc.?
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Click to collapse
I just bought an HTC One X on ebay that the seller said was a return by someone who decided on a different phone. I can confirm that the device was unlocked because it worked for a day on Straight Talk before the phone was blacklisted with the message "This device has been blocked for network use". I contacted the ebay seller to let them know what the situation was and I called AT&T to see if I could figure out why the device was blocked, thinking that maybe it could be unblocked or returned to the original purchaser in case it had been lost or stolen.
When I talked to the AT&T rep they said that the phone was not lost or stolen, just that it wasn't eligible to be unlocked until November - but the device itself was unlocked. I suspected that the phone had been blocked for being unlocked and told them that I thought that that was unethical and maybe even ilegal. They refused to give me more information and I left a different, working phone number for my girlfriend for the original owner to contact just in case the phone was lost or stolen (they wouldn't confirm whether it was or not despite assuring me it wasn't before I talked with a manager).
Today, I just got this message back from the ebay seller "we received the phone , i tried getting another out to you but att will not unlock it unless its under contarct , its some new policy."
So, apparently if the phone isn't unlocked by the person with the contract AT&T will blacklist it even though the device is unlocked and they are abusing the "lost or stolen" blacklist to carry this out. This is nothing short of an attempt to kill off the market for used phones under the guise of protecting consumers from theft or lost phones. I can't believe this isn't ilegal and I can barely believe that AT&T is cynical enough to do this.
For the time being, be warned that in the US, a used phone now must be physically unlocked as well as blessed by the carrier to not be blacklisted. It seems like a fairly risky proposal to do something as straight forward as buying a used phone.
akr884 said:
I just bought an HTC One X on ebay that the seller said was a return by someone who decided on a different phone. I can confirm that the device was unlocked because it worked for a day on Straight Talk before the phone was blacklisted with the message "This device has been blocked for network use". I contacted the ebay seller to let them know what the situation was and I called AT&T to see if I could figure out why the device was blocked, thinking that maybe it could be unblocked or returned to the original purchaser in case it had been lost or stolen.
When I talked to the AT&T rep they said that the phone was not lost or stolen, just that it wasn't eligible to be unlocked until November - but the device itself was unlocked. I suspected that the phone had been blocked for being unlocked and told them that I thought that that was unethical and maybe even ilegal. They refused to give me more information and I left a different, working phone number for my girlfriend for the original owner to contact just in case the phone was lost or stolen (they wouldn't confirm whether it was or not despite assuring me it wasn't before I talked with a manager).
Today, I just got this message back from the ebay seller "we received the phone , i tried getting another out to you but att will not unlock it unless its under contarct , its some new policy."
So, apparently if the phone isn't unlocked by the person with the contract AT&T will blacklist it even though the device is unlocked and they are abusing the "lost or stolen" blacklist to carry this out. This is nothing short of an attempt to kill off the market for used phones under the guise of protecting consumers from theft or lost phones. I can't believe this isn't ilegal and I can barely believe that AT&T is cynical enough to do this.
For the time being, be warned that in the US, a used phone now must be physically unlocked as well as blessed by the carrier to not be blacklisted. It seems like a fairly risky proposal to do something as straight forward as buying a used phone.
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This is unacceptable and illegal.
You should ask them to show proof of documentation......
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
akr884 said:
I just bought an HTC One X on ebay that the seller said was a return by someone who decided on a different phone. I can confirm that the device was unlocked because it worked for a day on Straight Talk before the phone was blacklisted with the message "This device has been blocked for network use". I contacted the ebay seller to let them know what the situation was and I called AT&T to see if I could figure out why the device was blocked, thinking that maybe it could be unblocked or returned to the original purchaser in case it had been lost or stolen.
When I talked to the AT&T rep they said that the phone was not lost or stolen, just that it wasn't eligible to be unlocked until November - but the device itself was unlocked. I suspected that the phone had been blocked for being unlocked and told them that I thought that that was unethical and maybe even ilegal. They refused to give me more information and I left a different, working phone number for my girlfriend for the original owner to contact just in case the phone was lost or stolen (they wouldn't confirm whether it was or not despite assuring me it wasn't before I talked with a manager).
Today, I just got this message back from the ebay seller "we received the phone , i tried getting another out to you but att will not unlock it unless its under contarct , its some new policy."
So, apparently if the phone isn't unlocked by the person with the contract AT&T will blacklist it even though the device is unlocked and they are abusing the "lost or stolen" blacklist to carry this out. This is nothing short of an attempt to kill off the market for used phones under the guise of protecting consumers from theft or lost phones. I can't believe this isn't ilegal and I can barely believe that AT&T is cynical enough to do this.
For the time being, be warned that in the US, a used phone now must be physically unlocked as well as blessed by the carrier to not be blacklisted. It seems like a fairly risky proposal to do something as straight forward as buying a used phone.
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Click to collapse
Are you sure the phone is unlocked? Were you using a Straight Talk AT&T Compatible SIM or a Straight Talk T-Mobile Compatible SIM? If the AT&T one that will work on all AT&T phones even if it is not unlocked but if you put a ST T-Mobile SIM into an AT&T phone like AT&T's version of the HTC One X then it needs to be unlocked...
LS1_01 said:
Recently I've been seeing a lot of T-Mobile USA & AT&T phones on eBay and such that have their IMEI blocked by the provider they are made for. I was thinking if there's a way to prevent getting scammed and buying one of these used phones where the IMEI ends up getting blocked (perhaps months later) because the original owner didn't make a phone or service payment & I was wondering if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would ever block the IMEI of a Galaxy Nexus GSM Unlocked Phone?
It obviously has an IMEI but does anyone know if T-Mobile USA or AT&T would block the IMEI of a phone like the Nexus that they don't sell themselves if someone reported it stolen, didn't make a bill payment of some kind, etc.?
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Click to collapse
No, I highly doubt T-mobile/ATT would block it because it's not sold, or covered by them.
Imei blocking
My phone was stolen 2 days ago, i then called att and have them block the imei but i would like to know if the phone still can be unlocked to work on another network abroad lets say in the Caribbean??? the phone in question is the samsung s 3 i747........please can someone verify if it is possible to work on a foreign network even though att has blacklisted the imei????
Fedz7 said:
My phone was stolen 2 days ago, i then called att and have them block the imei but i would like to know if the phone still can be unlocked to work on another network abroad lets say in the Caribbean??? the phone in question is the samsung s 3 i747........please can someone verify if it is possible to work on a foreign network even though att has blacklisted the imei????
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Click to collapse
Funny story.
I bought my gf an unlocked iPhone 3GS from gamestop as a refurbished unit a few months ago. Traded some games and got a good discount. Anyway I tried to unlock it through AT&T and was told it had a stolen IMEI.... although she was using it for like 6 months.
I called Gamestop corporate and they issued me a full refund of $185, after 6 months of use. I only spent like $60 on it after one of their 20-30-40-50% trade in bonus and 10% gamers club.
So you can use stolen IMEI phones on the carrier but probably not with new service. She used her existing service. Had she tried to activate it in a store it woulda been different. The phone still worked... they just wouldn't unlock it.
I turned around and bought a 4S from a buddy for $150 and profit!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
player911 said:
Funny story.
I bought my gf an unlocked iPhone 3GS from gamestop as a refurbished unit a few months ago. Traded some games and got a good discount. Anyway I tried to unlock it through AT&T and was told it had a stolen IMEI.... although she was using it for like 6 months.
I called Gamestop corporate and they issued me a full refund of $185, 6 months later. I only spent like $60 on it after one of their 20-30-40-50% trade in bonus and 10% gamers club.
So you can use stolen IMEI phones on the carrier but probably not with new service. She used her existing service. Had she tried to activate it in a store it woulda been different. The phone still worked... they just wouldn't unlock it.
I turned around and bought a 4S from a buddy for $150 and profit!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
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Ok thanks for that bit of info...
Fedz7 said:
Ok thanks for that bit of info...
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I would be very upset if I spent a few hundred on a phone and had it shut down or repossessed.
I've had my Nexus 7 stolen out of my car recently so it goes both ways. The only people getting hurt are the good guys who actually purchase things.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Fedz7 said:
My phone was stolen 2 days ago, i then called att and have them block the imei but i would like to know if the phone still can be unlocked to work on another network abroad lets say in the Caribbean??? the phone in question is the samsung s 3 i747........please can someone verify if it is possible to work on a foreign network even though att has blacklisted the imei????
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Click to collapse
As someone who lives in the Caribbean and works at a cell phone repair shop. I can say yes it will work over here but extremely limited. I live in Puerto Rico, technically we're US but you'd be surprised what flies around here. We have all the major carriers except for Verizon, and if att blacklisted your imei then it won't work on att or any of their prepaid companies who run on the same network (net10, straight talk, tracfone) but it will work on another carrier such as tmobile or a company we have over here called claro. A lot of people over here go crazy for iphones and when they buy a used one they're almost always stolen, then when they try and take it to our shop cause its not working or cause they want to unlock it, they're hit with a blacklist. Most of these people switch to claro, its not an American based company and they're aren't blacklisting phones. And then they end up with a perfectly good working stolen phone having effectively found a way around the original blacklist.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
oby2 said:
As someone who lives in the Caribbean and works at a cell phone repair shop. I can say yes it will work over here but extremely limited. I live in Puerto Rico, technically we're US but you'd be surprised what flies around here. We have all the major carriers except for Verizon, and if att blacklisted your imei then it won't work on att or any of their prepaid companies who run on the same network (net10, straight talk, tracfone) but it will work on another carrier such as tmobile or a company we have over here called claro. A lot of people over here go crazy for iphones and when they buy a used one they're almost always stolen, then when they try and take it to our shop cause its not working or cause they want to unlock it, they're hit with a blacklist. Most of these people switch to claro, its not an American based company and they're aren't blacklisting phones. And then they end up with a perfectly good working stolen phone having effectively found a way around the original blacklist.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
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Click to collapse
can it be unlocked outside the US via imei unlock code even though its blacklisted?
akr884 said:
I just bought an HTC One X on ebay that the seller said was a return by someone who decided on a different phone. I can confirm that the device was unlocked because it worked for a day on Straight Talk before the phone was blacklisted with the message "This device has been blocked for network use". I contacted the ebay seller to let them know what the situation was and I called AT&T to see if I could figure out why the device was blocked, thinking that maybe it could be unblocked or returned to the original purchaser in case it had been lost or stolen.
When I talked to the AT&T rep they said that the phone was not lost or stolen, just that it wasn't eligible to be unlocked until November - but the device itself was unlocked. I suspected that the phone had been blocked for being unlocked and told them that I thought that that was unethical and maybe even ilegal. They refused to give me more information and I left a different, working phone number for my girlfriend for the original owner to contact just in case the phone was lost or stolen (they wouldn't confirm whether it was or not despite assuring me it wasn't before I talked with a manager).
Today, I just got this message back from the ebay seller "we received the phone , i tried getting another out to you but att will not unlock it unless its under contarct , its some new policy."
So, apparently if the phone isn't unlocked by the person with the contract AT&T will blacklist it even though the device is unlocked and they are abusing the "lost or stolen" blacklist to carry this out. This is nothing short of an attempt to kill off the market for used phones under the guise of protecting consumers from theft or lost phones. I can't believe this isn't ilegal and I can barely believe that AT&T is cynical enough to do this.
For the time being, be warned that in the US, a used phone now must be physically unlocked as well as blessed by the carrier to not be blacklisted. It seems like a fairly risky proposal to do something as straight forward as buying a used phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the htc one x att ? if so your phone does not have to be unlocked cuz st8 talk is att. Did you use a sim from an origanal st8 talk phone? some work but eventualy get kicked off the network.
So yeah, I have learned today to always be wary of where things come from, especially on Craigslist.
The story of how I got my Note 2. Normally I buy my phones full price and I found an incredible deal on a white iPhone 5 16GB for a mere $500 at launch date. Fast forward to a few months a so, I found someone selling a brand new wrapped T-mobile Note II. Offered the guy a direct trade, he agrees. Fast forward again to Dec. 26,
BAM!
Found out my phone has been blacklisted. Asked T-mobile about it, they says the owner defaulted on their bill so it was claimed lost or stolen.
Yeah, It was depressing. I though only CDMA carriers enforced the whole IMEI blacklisting thing, but I guess now GSM carriers in the US started blacklisting as well back in November. I never suspected the phone to be stolen or anything, and I was under the assumption that being a GSM phone I'd be ok. Guess not...
Moral of story: When buying phones even if its GSM, make sure its legit and you wont get screwed over somehow. Maybe ask for a receipt so you can track him down and beat his... I mean, have records to be safe and do business near a carrier store.
And now I come to the XDA gods, being that its been 18 hours without my beloved Note II, is it worth me dishing out money to buy full price (again, sorta) and buy another one at the T-Mo store? Or maybe look into newer and better options, if any? I'm leaning towards getting another one but yeah, I need the approval of the internet. :good:
FWIW I sold the Note on Craigslist for 300 ducks, clearly stating that it was blacklisted. Hate being scammed and I wont stoop down to that level.
Yeah, best thing is to call the carrier before purchase, or better yet have them meet you at a tmo store. Sorry ya lost out dude.
KillaHurtz said:
Yeah, best thing is to call the carrier before purchase, or better yet have them meet you at a tmo store. Sorry ya lost out dude.
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Doesnt matter, sure the phone might be good that date but the original owner can stop paying their bill then default on it later, days/weeks/months whenever...
The best thing you can do is get a signed bill of sale with the IMEI number written on there, most craiglist sellers wont do it. actually here... just listen to my story.
So I sold my asus padfone last thursday 12/20/12. And immediately after that I started surfing craigslist for a new note 2 for tmobile, they were running from 550-570 brand new. I contacted MANY MANY people. Maybe 20 or so, everyone first asking if the phone was brand new then telling them I have cash in hand ready and ready to pay if they will sign a simple bill of sale with the IMEI of the phone written on there. Every single one of those 20 declined to sign anything. Now after using a phone I found in my closet (nokia 6800 from 2005) I was getting ancy because I felt like my life was crumbling around me since I didnt have internet on my phone. I went into a small korean owned tmobile store and asked if I could buy a note 2 straight out and how much it would be. They said 700 + tax and I asked if they had any used ones or if they could give me a better price cash. It just so happens that the owner bought a note 2 to test it out like he does all the phones and would sell one for 650 cash with a actual printed bill of sale. So thats how I got mine... got an extra battery, 32 gb samsung micro sd, case and screen protector thrown in for free. So it really wasnt a bad deal...
Damn dude. I would have called the cops & gotten your original phone back.
It's not that they defaulted on the their bill, it's if they defaulted on their eip (financing over 12 or 20 months.) still a bummer!
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I also bought GS3 from craigslist that got blacklisted a week later. Luckily I tracked down the guy who sold it to me and got my money back.
If you could live without a sd slot and removable memory you might want to give Oppo Find 5 a try. If I didn't bought the Note 2 I would have probably gone with that phone.
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That's the risk you take when buying off craiglist or even ebay.
I've had good experience so far on craiglist but my expense never exceeded $300
I would for sure track the guy down with the phone number or email. Also I would file charges with the police. I would go after him with every means possible including small claims court. Sometimes it's not just about the money, but the principle of the matter. Make sure he NEVER does it to anyone else!
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I would try to take this up with Tmobile. If the phone was blacklisted then they know the address of the person that got it blacklisted. If it was stolen it would have been blacklisted when you originally got the phone. Not sure how you would legally go after TMobile but without a doubt if you had TMobile service with the phone and then they blacklisted it they are full of ****. Also you said the phone was "brand new wrapped" did it have the original sticker on the screen? too many times people allow big companies to rip them off thinking they have no recourse. sprint tried that **** with me and with a quick call from my lawyer my contract was ended and i didn't have to pay an etf. BTW i always get the plate number of teh person I buy a phone from. and recently started to take a photo of their DL.
Its a shame that you cant trust anybody these days. Ruins it for the few of us honest people left.
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bad4life07 said:
So yeah, I have learned today to always be wary of where things come from, especially on Craigslist.
The story of how I got my Note 2. Normally I buy my phones full price and I found an incredible deal on a white iPhone 5 16GB for a mere $500 at launch date. Fast forward to a few months a so, I found someone selling a brand new wrapped T-mobile Note II. Offered the guy a direct trade, he agrees. Fast forward again to Dec. 26,
BAM!
Found out my phone has been blacklisted. Asked T-mobile about it, they says the owner defaulted on their bill so it was claimed lost or stolen.
Yeah, It was depressing. I though only CDMA carriers enforced the whole IMEI blacklisting thing, but I guess now GSM carriers in the US started blacklisting as well back in November. I never suspected the phone to be stolen or anything, and I was under the assumption that being a GSM phone I'd be ok. Guess not...
Moral of story: When buying phones even if its GSM, make sure its legit and you wont get screwed over somehow. Maybe ask for a receipt so you can track him down and beat his... I mean, have records to be safe and do business near a carrier store.
And now I come to the XDA gods, being that its been 18 hours without my beloved Note II, is it worth me dishing out money to buy full price (again, sorta) and buy another one at the T-Mo store? Or maybe look into newer and better options, if any? I'm leaning towards getting another one but yeah, I need the approval of the internet. :good:
FWIW I sold the Note on Craigslist for 300 ducks, clearly stating that it was blacklisted. Hate being scammed and I wont stoop down to that level.
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Click to collapse
Man, you sold it WAYYY too cheap. If you would've put it on ebay you would've gotten at least 450 AFTER final value fees and shipping cost.
Hmm, now I'm worried. I did a trade from a guy who got it from a guy. Its unlocked. Been working fine for a month and a half...now I'm afraid it will eventually be reported as stolen or some other financial default due to it's shady past.
Great.
Sorry to hear that :/ Would it work on simple mobile if it's black listed on T-mobile? You could also try to unlock it and sell it to someone who uses AT&T...
bad4life07 said:
So yeah, I have learned today to always be wary of where things come from, especially on Craigslist.
The story of how I got my Note 2. Normally I buy my phones full price and I found an incredible deal on a white iPhone 5 16GB for a mere $500 at launch date. Fast forward to a few months a so, I found someone selling a brand new wrapped T-mobile Note II. Offered the guy a direct trade, he agrees. Fast forward again to Dec. 26,
BAM!
Found out my phone has been blacklisted. Asked T-mobile about it, they says the owner defaulted on their bill so it was claimed lost or stolen.
Yeah, It was depressing. I though only CDMA carriers enforced the whole IMEI blacklisting thing, but I guess now GSM carriers in the US started blacklisting as well back in November. I never suspected the phone to be stolen or anything, and I was under the assumption that being a GSM phone I'd be ok. Guess not...
Moral of story: When buying phones even if its GSM, make sure its legit and you wont get screwed over somehow. Maybe ask for a receipt so you can track him down and beat his... I mean, have records to be safe and do business near a carrier store.
And now I come to the XDA gods, being that its been 18 hours without my beloved Note II, is it worth me dishing out money to buy full price (again, sorta) and buy another one at the T-Mo store? Or maybe look into newer and better options, if any? I'm leaning towards getting another one but yeah, I need the approval of the internet. :good:
FWIW I sold the Note on Craigslist for 300 ducks, clearly stating that it was blacklisted. Hate being scammed and I wont stoop down to that level.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I would of done is contacted t mobile and told em you want to run the imei number before u bought it. And if they blacklist it still contact the better business Bureau and tell em your story and u will see how fast they change their tone. When someone breaks contract t mobile needs to go after them for all of it.they cant black list it if they gonna collect the retail price for it.
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tbukkos said:
Sorry to hear that :/ Would it work on simple mobile if it's black listed on T-mobile? You could also try to unlock it and sell it to someone who uses AT&T...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe tmo and att are gonna start cross checking their imei database. So if its blacklisted with either company, lets att, tmo's system will be able to see that its blacklisted for att or vice versa. Now im not sure when thatll take effect but I read it on one of the more popular tech blogs I.e engadget, verge..
When I deal with CL now, I request the person meet me at the store just like I did with sprint phones. No other way to do it. Then at that time maybe you can get the rep to document the his/her acciunt stating they sold the phone to you. Idk something...
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Man, now you're scaring me. I've always been super honest on all my Craigslist and eBay posts and done my best to offer tip top service even if I only meet them once. So far I've only been annoyed once by a buyer who negliged on wanting to buy some video cards and wasted my time, but other than that I've been pretty successful in selling things.
To all that are worried about buying phones off of Craigslist:
They only blacklist the phones that are purchased under the EIP. You can call T-mobile with the IMEI to verify that the phone was not purchased under EIP before you buy it. If the phone was purchased subsidized with a classic plan, they can't blacklist the phone for an unpaid bill, because you own the phone. If it was purchased under EIP, you would have to go with the seller to a T-mobile store to pay off the balance to guarantee it won't be blacklisted.
That's nothing I got a warranty replacement device from mdpa insurance which I got when I bought it through wire fly. Worked fine for about a month then It suddenly dropped from tmobile network went to store got three new simcards etc etc. Called customer support then they told me it was blacklisted from it being associated with somebody else's account and the didnt pay there bill so I got screwed. But wait I got if from my insurance company ? So I called them and they sent me out a new one after stating my case. Any ways I got screwed with one through my insurance company so really your not safe a times unless I you buy new straight from a source I.e. bestbuy, tmobile, walmart get me. Cool then buy buy.
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Mod Edit:
Selling, trading and exchanging devices or any item will no longer be permitted in any forum or via Private Messages.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/announcement.php?a=81
lowandbehold said:
To all that are worried about buying phones off of Craigslist:
They only blacklist the phones that are purchased under the EIP. You can call T-mobile with the IMEI to verify that the phone was not purchased under EIP before you buy it. If the phone was purchased subsidized with a classic plan, they can't blacklist the phone for an unpaid bill, because you own the phone. If it was purchased under EIP, you would have to go with the seller to a T-mobile store to pay off the balance to guarantee it won't be blacklisted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can have a phone blocked for many reasons. Not just lack of EIP payoff. It can be black listed even if the person got the 2 yr contract discount. And more importantly, people can sell a phone that works just fine the day of sale(passing all IMEI checks) then have it blacklisted days later. Buying on CL is a gamble. Also, there is no legal action you can take if someone sells you a phone and then does not pay the EIP. You bought a used phone. It's not stolen because you don't return the phone if you end your service. They just bill you for it. That's the cost of doing business.
Also, ATT and Tmobile are already using the cross check system on our phones. You would have to unlock it and use it on verizon or some network not att tmobile related.
I bought an almost new S3 LTE SGH-T999L for my son off CL. It checked OK on swappa and it worked for a week, then unable to connect to network. Swappa now says blacklisted. DOH!
It sucks to have a $350 paper weight! I tried to contact the seller with no luck.
Couple questions...
Any way to fix it?
Can this model be downgraded to 4.1.1 to use free unlock method and even then will it possibly work on anther carrier is the US. I know it will work outside the US if unlocked.
I contacted T-Mobile and they said nothing I can do, only the original owner can have the blacklist lifted.
Any help or advice much appreciated!
Also let this be a lesson to all...just because it works when you buy it, don't mean it wont go belly-up in a week. :crying:
Sorry I didn't answer your PM before. Wasn't ignoring you. Unfortunately your options are extremely limited.
You will have to pay for an unlock code online (see the last couple pages of the unlock thread), and then sell overseas. Just please be honest about it to whoever you sell it to in case they plan on bringing it to the states.
Personally, I'd also file a police report. May not come to anything, but if the guy gets arrested for anything else, or enough people file a report against him for similar stuff, you may then have some recourse against him. But he has twice committed fraud, or theft by deception (or something like that). First against T-Mobile, then against you.
Once unlocked, it might work on other carriers here, but not for long. I'm told all US carriers will be sharing the same blacklist by year's end. I've also heard it may also be shared with Canadian carriers as well.
Sorry to hear that happened to you. You're definitely not alone! This happens all the time, unfortunately.
Never buy used unless you make the transaction in person at a T-Mobile store where the seller can prove they have paid for the device in full and are allowed to sell it. Also, have a note made on both accounts (preferably by a manager) that the sale is made so they can't report it stolen a few weeks later.
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I hear you, but it never goes down like that. I've bought and sold 30 or 40 smartphones. First time I've ever got burnt. I make small profit along, but this one is a stinger. I've had people want to meet me at Verizon, ATT and T-Mobile and every time I met them there all the store employees would say is if the sim card works it's ok.
Of course you could ask for a receipt...but what if it's a reseller like myself? I've had one receipt the whole time. Most of the time you can spot a fraud and steer clear. I check esn on swappa and/or Verizon site. I guess it's just a risky thing and I've been very lucky so far.
I did get a guy on ebay to unlock the phone for $10 last night. It works with a Lycamobile sim(T-Mobile reseller) and also works with a new LTE ATT Straight Talk sim...recieves LTE even. Maybe not for long...but it works fine now and it's been blacklisted about a month.
Guy on ebay unlocks clean phones for $5 & blacklisted for $10, he does remote into your pc to do it, but it only takes 2-3 minutes. He gave me the code, but it was never needed.
I'm a PagePlus dealer and I do alot of carrier flashing, not to beat blacklist, but to get more use from older 3G devices. Anytime I sell a phone I always give a 2 days return policy if they change their mind.
The seller of the phone should be able to get some sort of confirmation off of his own account showing he is not currently making payments on it. If the employees are only saying to see if the SIM works, they are just being lazy or ignorant! With the owners permission they can look it up, or call support from the phone and have him ask them to verify on speaker so you can hear. I'm just trying to say there's other ways to get the info before buying.
I'd say that if you've bought that many you are pretty lucky. But for the blacklisted one that worked on other carriers...expect it not to on AT&T very soon and all other US carriers around the end of the year. Right now T-Mobile and AT&T share their lists, but don't use the same one, so it'll often take a few weeks to catch up. As I understand it, once the national list is in place, all carriers will be using the same one so it'll be more instant.
I have spoken to a few people who bought their phone used and all seemed good, but then nearly 2 months later it got blacklisted! Some people are apparently selling it, but then waiting a month or two to report it stolen!
I just hope that if one of your customers gets blacklisted a few weeks after buying from you, you will be willing to at least exchange it.
But before you try and sell this one, please consider that it's practically a given that it's not gonna work for very long.
Also, (and I'm not sure of the ramifications here) keep in mind that you are knowingly in possession of stolen property. That by itself is probably not a big deal for you, legally speaking, since it happens to so many people and hardly no one knows what they are buying when this happens to them. But if you sell it, you will be knowingly selling stolen goods. If one of your customers gets blacklisted, you could be the one held liable.
Don't take it wrong, I'm just trying to help!
And I'm just curious, what do you mean by "carrier flashing"?
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I understand where you're coming from and I will not sell this phone except to one particular customer who takes them outside the country. My son is using it now on LycaMobile which is a UK based reseller using T-Molile towers. We will see how long it lasts...strange circumstance there since the provider is not from the US, will they also adhere to universal blacklist? I dunno...time will tell. At $30 per month they are cheapest unlimited I know of(Only 50MB 4G data, then 2G/3G).
I run a legitimate part time business and have rarely had phones returned, but always made the customer happy. Happy customers come back and most of my profit is selling refills and flashing/rooting/unlocking...not the actual phone sales.
Carrier flashing: Mainly I've flashed older Metro phones to work on PagePlus and GS3's from Sprint or Verizon must be flashed for pageplus because they don't yet allow 4G phones. I never do any ESN changes. I'm an old techie and I go way back to Nextel mods in mid 90's. lol
BTW I installed CM 10.1.2 RC2 right from the phone yesterday after originally flashing the CM10 linked in Doc's T999L thread. It flashed perfect right through CM update utility automatically and seems to run perfectly.
I just came back from T-Mobile store and question them why I cannot get any reception since I switched over to them from AT&T about 30 hours ago. I was doing well with my unlocked T-Mobile Note 3 with AT&T with LTE data signal for about 1 year. I bought the T-Mobile Note 3 from Negri Electronics with an unlocked code to unlock my phone so that I can use it with AT&T carrier.
Anyway, today the T-Mobile representative told me that I did not get any reception signal from T-Mobile is because the my Note 3 was a stolen phone and that the phone is black listed by T-Mobile.
Now I cannot use my phone at all.
When I checked back at Negri Electronics web site to make a complain, I found out that the site no longer exist. The phone number is also not working.
Is this company a scam company all these years?
Last year I bought a note 3 N900T from Negri. The first phone was IMEI blacklisted by tmobile after 3 days. The second replacement phone didn't boot normally (iy booted into download mode
directly). So I returned it again.
The third replacement note 3 is working perfectly.
Negri Electronics was sold by Negri to another private investment company at the end of last year.
Now the company seems have trouble and shutting down.
I think there is nothing you can do now.
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googlephone said:
Last year I bought a note 3 N900T from Negri. The first phone was IMEI blacklisted by tmobile after 3 days. The second replacement phone didn't boot normally (iy booted into download mode
directly). So I returned it again.
The third replacement note 3 is working perfectly.
Negri Electronics was sold by Negri to another private investment company at the end of last year.
Now the company seems have trouble and shutting down.
I think there is nothing you can do now.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So now my Note 3 is a micro tablet since all I can do now is use Wi-Fi to access the internet and play android games?
I think I will give it to someone who has AT&T or Straight Talk service since the phone was working fine 2 days ago when I was with AT&T.
That sucks, but guess if you can't sell, you can use it as a trade in device for credit? all they seem to care about on trade-ins is that it powers on.
Earthbrain said:
So now my Note 3 is a micro tablet since all I can do now is use Wi-Fi to access the internet and play android games?
I think I will give it to someone who has AT&T or Straight Talk service since the phone was working fine 2 days ago when I was with AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have heard some people have success with region lock away app. Can't say for sure, but I know a buddy of mine had his shut down. Don't know if it was just not payed or reported stolen. (Nasty divorce) anyways, We used region app and it was working again.
Since you were using it on AT&T, that means it's only blocked from T-Mobile, not blacklisted from all GSM carriers.
If you don't want to go back to AT&T, you can try MVNOs, which are smaller carriers that rely on a parent company for a network. Parent companies in the US are AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint. There are over a hundred MVNOs. You can only use the ones that run on AT&T's network. I've been using Net10 for 2 years. I'm on the $50 plan which has unlimited talk/text + 2.5GB 4G LTE data. Pretty great deal. Other carriers you could go for: Straight Talk, H2O, Airvoice, Red Pocket, GoPhone, etc
Earthbrain said:
Is this company a scam company all these years?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everyone was screaming scam last year when they had backorder issues with the Note 3 here on XDA. A few people on here who got theirs were the only ones defending them. There were at least 2 threads here.
Anyways, either sell it as T-Mobile blacklisted or use it on another carrier, there's nothing T-Mobile will do unless you received a blacklisted device from warranty exchange (which happened to me once).
Earthbrain said:
So now my Note 3 is a micro tablet since all I can do now is use Wi-Fi to access the internet and play android games?
I think I will give it to someone who has AT&T or Straight Talk service since the phone was working fine 2 days ago when I was with AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are best off selling it because At&T will blacklist it very soon because T-Mobile and AT&T now share the blacklist database now. A friend of mine had purchased a stolen phone on Craigslist, it was a T-Mobile Galaxy Note 3, it worked fine for a few hours after buying it but then it was blacklisted. He then had the phone SIM unlocked to use on AT&T. It worked for about 2 weeks until AT&T then blacklisted it too. Pretty much, since you inserted a T-Mobile SIM that is not the original one that came with the stolen phone when it was activated will result in the phone being flagged on AT&T because you previously used AT&T, now AT&T will block your phone because T-Mobile gave them a heads up. Sell it before it's blacklisted on AT&T.
It's been known since late 2012 that both T-Mobile and AT&T share the blacklist database along with Sprint and Verizon now, so that means even the smaller carriers that use any of the 4 major cell towers will also blacklist the phone sooner than later.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/1/3584466/att-t-mobile-stolen-cellphone-database
So yes, you now have an expensive wifi-only mini tablet in the US, your only hope of using it for cell service is to move and use the cell internationally or sell it to someone internationally.
Spartan 363 said:
You are best off selling it because At&T will blacklist it very soon because T-Mobile and AT&T now share the blacklist database now. A friend of mine had purchased a stolen phone on Craigslist, it was a T-Mobile Galaxy Note 3, it worked fine for a few hours after buying it but then it was blacklisted. He then had the phone SIM unlocked to use on AT&T. It worked for about 2 weeks until AT&T then blacklisted it too. Pretty much, since you inserted a T-Mobile SIM that is not the original one that came with the stolen phone when it was activated will result in the phone being flagged on AT&T because you previously used AT&T, now AT&T will block your phone because T-Mobile gave them a heads up. Sell it before it's blacklisted on AT&T.
It's been known since late 2012 that both T-Mobile and AT&T share the blacklist database along with Sprint and Verizon now, so that means even the smaller carriers that use any of the 4 major cell towers will also blacklist the phone sooner than later.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/1/3584466/att-t-mobile-stolen-cellphone-database
So yes, you now have an expensive wifi-only mini tablet in the US, your only hope of using it for cell service is to move and use the cell internationally or sell it to someone internationally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just use the 45 dollar plan from straight talk
Spartan 363 said:
You are best off selling it because At&T will blacklist it very soon because T-Mobile and AT&T now share the blacklist database now. A friend of mine had purchased a stolen phone on Craigslist, it was a T-Mobile Galaxy Note 3, it worked fine for a few hours after buying it but then it was blacklisted. He then had the phone SIM unlocked to use on AT&T. It worked for about 2 weeks until AT&T then blacklisted it too. Pretty much, since you inserted a T-Mobile SIM that is not the original one that came with the stolen phone when it was activated will result in the phone being flagged on AT&T because you previously used AT&T, now AT&T will block your phone because T-Mobile gave them a heads up. Sell it before it's blacklisted on AT&T.
It's been known since late 2012 that both T-Mobile and AT&T share the blacklist database along with Sprint and Verizon now, so that means even the smaller carriers that use any of the 4 major cell towers will also blacklist the phone sooner than later.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/1/3584466/att-t-mobile-stolen-cellphone-database
So yes, you now have an expensive wifi-only mini tablet in the US, your only hope of using it for cell service is to move and use the cell internationally or sell it to someone internationally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not selling, it called sticking it to someone else. He was burned so now burn someone else?
Live and learn, don't gamble big money for small gains. Buy from someone or some place, where you can return it if it's not right. I bought mine from T-Mobile.
Thread cleaned and respectfully, I understand your frustration.
However there isn't much that XDA folks are going to be able to offer in the way of assistance in this matter.
As a result I'm going to go ahead and close the thread off before it gets derailed by illegal discussions a second time.
You may want to contact your local police department though to see if you need to file a report for receiving stolen goods.