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sorry this is slightly off-topic, and apologies if this forum is unsuitable. it's about a samsung e700 phone i also own.
I bought it secondhand from someone on ebay (stupid me) about 6 months ago (before i got the xda) and it later stopped working, first on o2 then soon after on all UK networks.
I enquired at an o2 shop and they said it is black-listed and nothing can be done about it.
My questions are:
1. will the imei block be global, or just UK? if not then i give it to a friend in tanzania when i go there next week
2. Is there any way to overcome the IMEI block?
hope someone can advise me, before it goes in the can!
cheers
International Mobile Equipment Identifier
I'd say from the first word that yes, it's probably not going to work in Tanzania either.
Blocked IMEI number usually just means one thing - stolen phone. Noting can be done about it either.
The identification is international, but blocking is operator dependant. except that often all the operators of the same country share their database of stolen devices. I guess that this database is not worldwide shared. So could de probably used in other country.
1. will the imei block be global, or just UK? if not then i give it to a friend in tanzania when i go there next week Smile
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Click to collapse
As far as i know the IMEI is only blocked in the UK (dont quote me on it though )
2. Is there any way to overcome the IMEI block?
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Click to collapse
On some phones you can change the IMEI number that is blocked on that phone, but bear in mind it is illegal in this country so not advisable.
I would take it to Tanzania and check if it will work ... if not then bad luck but if it does then your mates got a new phone
It will work outside of UK
Thanks to everyone for the advice, I will take it to Tanzania and see if it works. My friend will be very happy if it does, otherwise I'm sure he could find a shop with equipment to change the IMEI number - probably don't have laws abou it there!
cheers,
Paul
Good news! I am now in tanzania and the phone works fine on the network that my friend uses. He is very pleased with his "new" phone.
Nice, hot and sunny here, but no XDA to play with. Just my baby, friends and nice empty beaches and warm water to swim in. Oh how much I miss the UK :wink:
no one have any idea how to spoof or change the IMEI?
omega_ said:
no one have any idea how to spoof or change the IMEI?
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Click to collapse
Er....why?
Yes actually I do. Quite simply a physical way, which is not illegal in some areas and also you can do it by imei manipulation, but that requires playing with other peopels systems.
will defonatly work abroad.
the phone will only be blocked to UK networks
so should work abroad
I need a tool for changing my xda3's imei number. Why?
I bought a xda 3 a few months ago from ebay.co.uk,
a few days ago i learnt that there was a new law and that law says you cant use mobile phones which are not legallay import to turkey( this means i will never use phones that are not sell in turkey). if i bought my phone one day ago(before the date of law) my phone has been legal but for 1 day my phone is illegal in their opinion
You can say law is law and you must know that but the problem begins here, no one knows anything about this law and 2 MILLION CELL PHONES like mine will be blocked on 13th december
i found a solution for this, i will buy a cheap legal phone and i will clone its imei number to my xda 3 to use it (if i could)
Can anyone help me how to change the imei number.
Are you sure? A law like that would be really, really stupid. :?
As for IMEI - no you can't change it.
they do have some funny laws. our Turkish representative ordered a spare part which their customs refused the importation 'coz it was manufactured in 2004.
It's nonsense.
If they would start blocking IMEI numbers for instance, all tourist's cellphones would stop functioning.
The only way they could "enforce" this is to go to each individual cellphone user, take their GSM, press *#06#, write down the IMEI number and go through cellphones sold by all Turkish operators, lists that never will be upto-date, since new cellphones are sold very day.
For me this news is a hoax, utter BS.
Wiz said:
If they would start blocking IMEI numbers for instance, all tourist's cellphones would stop functioning.
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Click to collapse
This is not necessarily the case.
They could block "foreign" IMEI operating on local SIM cards but not block them on roaming.
But I doubt they will.
Sascha
The Turkish government would like Turkey to join the EU. If they want to then they'll have to stop doing very silly things like this. :evil:
When (if) they do join the EU then they be foreced to do other silly stuff instead. :roll:
SO.......IN THE END WHAT HAPPENED???
yeah yeah. ok. so in the end, to make a long story short --> did it happen? i mean, did they block the imei no's or not?????
I doubt it
jim
so do i. but got no info bout that so we'll just hv2wait n see. already the deadline passed, so it should b blocked by now. but i doubt it big-time puuhleeeaassse
we pass the dead line but the result is still unknown
my gsm operator turkcel said your imei number is cloned (someone uses my imei number ? ) and depend on this stuation they record my imei number to system and i paid 10 usd for registration fee, after that they said me you can use your phone
but today i checked my imei number from the goverments web site and i saw my phone is not regisered and will be bloced on unknown date.
I want to explain something
The intention of this law is prevent the tax decrement from unregistred phones ( there's about 18 million phones came to turkey without tax at last ten years approximately
100 usd tax for 1 phone X 18 million phone = 1.8 billion usd tax prevent for the goverment
Other reason is stolen phones at previous system gsm operators couldnt blocked the stolen phones becouse they had no imei database
The law is good but the problem is on dates
Goverment says the law is made on july 13th and the dead line for the unregistered phones (phones came to turkey without paid tax) is this date
But no one know anything about this law, i checked the forums on july and there is nothing at anywhere about this law at these days
so i bought a phone from outside turkey because i didnt know that was illegal and 2 million of people didnt know buying phone without paying tax is illegal because this wasnt illegal last 10years .....
etc. etc. etc....
I m still waiting a solution for changing imei please help
ogn said:
I m still waiting a solution for changing imei please help
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Click to collapse
It's simple: you cannot change IMEI
Sascha
SaBo said:
ogn said:
I m still waiting a solution for changing imei please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's simple: you cannot change IMEI
Sascha
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Click to collapse
Well actually, that is not strictly true. It is very possable, in the pursuit of science. However this is a clean site and I am happy for it to stay that way.
You are misinformed my friend. The law isn't to battle illegale imports but rather stolen phones, illegale imports are just a by product of it. As long as you have a receipt with your name and the IMEI code on it you can drop by your local phone store and have the IMEI activated. There is a charge of 10 YTL for this.
Changing the IMEI code of your device won't help you cause it still will be blocked, unless you hijack some elses activated IMEI.
How do I know? Cause I'm in Turkey rightnow for new years. My Dutch Vodafone card works in my phone but my prepaid Turkcell card does not. I droppped by the Turkcell shop and had it activated. Took the receipt with me when I left NL cause I knew abotu the law.
SaBo said:
Wiz said:
If they would start blocking IMEI numbers for instance, all tourist's cellphones would stop functioning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not necessarily the case.
They could block "foreign" IMEI operating on local SIM cards but not block them on roaming.
But I doubt they will.
Sascha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have just Landed in the U.K from Turkey and can confirm this is not a hoax.All foreign phones are blocked,on local simm cards!Foreign simm cards on roaming work,you must take the reciept and proof of purchase,if you missed the date.
And what about people who enjoy their holiday there?
Is Turkey allready joining the European Union?.
If the answer is yes, they will be very soon target by the Union rules :twisted:
If the answer is no yet, they will never get in with this manners
Cheers to every one and enjoy hollydais
User22 said:
Is Turkey allready joining the European Union?.
If the answer is yes, they will be very soon target by the Union rules :twisted:
If the answer is no yet, they will never get in with this manners
Cheers to every one and enjoy hollydais
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Click to collapse
The answer is "not yet".
They have a few human rights and free speech issues to sort out before the EU will even discuss membership with them.
Re: My xda will be blocked like 2 MILLION cellphones on 13th
ogn said:
I need a tool for changing my xda3's imei number. Why?
I bought a xda 3 a few months ago from ebay.co.uk,
a few days ago i learnt that there was a new law and that law says you cant use mobile phones which are not legallay import to turkey( this means i will never use phones that are not sell in turkey). if i bought my phone one day ago(before the date of law) my phone has been legal but for 1 day my phone is illegal in their opinion
You can say law is law and you must know that but the problem begins here, no one knows anything about this law and 2 MILLION CELL PHONES like mine will be blocked on 13th december
i found a solution for this, i will buy a cheap legal phone and i will clone its imei number to my xda 3 to use it (if i could)
Can anyone help me how to change the imei number.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try google
even if you did/could change the IMEI wont changing it be illegal ( i know its illegal to change the IMEI number here in the uk, not sure about turkey thou prob is thou)
so you would have an illegal phone cos it was import and would prob still be illegal cos the IMEI would have been changed
Unfortunately changing the IMEI number is illegal in Turkey with 3 years jail punishment. ("How will the government officers detect it?" is a question with no answer)
However for the guys like my friend from Turkey this law is completely nonsense! There was almost no announcement nor proper technical information about how everyone will be affected.
I'm sure some people in Turkey is buying cheap legal phones and copying it to their htc smartphones but the question is how they are doing that?
since I do not believe the necessity of this law I'll definetely find a way to broke it. If anyone could help that would be great under these circumstances.
I'm another guy who has a LEGAL pda2k (bought from USA with legal invoice) but waiting it to be blocked any time.... I don't really like the feeling of waiting it to be blocked on an unknown date/time. At least I want to know if there is a way to change the IMEI no in case of my pda2k's is blocked. I know IMEI can be changed and want to learn how (or where I can get this information). Any help will be appriciated. Thanks all.
Hi guys
Newbie question here
Im looking for a note 2 in Craigslist, some offers say "bad imei" and they have minor prices
For what I've read, the bad imei doesn't affect if I unlock the phone and use another carrier (I will use it in mexico)
am I correct?
Thanks in advance
Sent from my Vivid 4G using xda app-developers app
Thanks for the question. I too am curious about this.
As long as it's in another country and carrier, you will have no issues with a bad imei.
Keep in mind you're buying stolen goods, either directly or indirectly. Is that something you're comfortable with?
entropism said:
Keep in mind you're buying stolen goods, either directly or indirectly. Is that something you're comfortable with?
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Well, I didn't think about that
You're right
And no, I dont want to be a part of that
It really depends. Someone may interpret a bad imei as blocked/blacklisted or completely missing. If the first owner was inexperienced at flashing they may have not made a back up of the efs folder and lost the imei. If they didnt fulfill the contract with a carrier it could also get it blacklisted. And then also the possibility it was reported stolen.
Sent from my G Note 2!!!
A friend of mine told his carrier he were robbed to use the insurance and sell that phone
Here in Mexico, in 2012 the president made a law to block IMEIs in robbed cellphones
But most people its ignorant about the laws and rights -_-
So, that law isnt even working XD
Back in thread, Theres no way to know if my next Note2 its stollen or lost, etc
So im buying Used, but good imei
Carriers in the u.s. are going to start blocking imeis on all carriers. If u put ur sim in a stolen device on att ur service will be suspended. Right now they are in the process to stop stolen imeis from working on other carriers here and out of country.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
Sorry, I didn't want to pull the morality argument, because I usually hate people who do that. But yeah, even the phones that were blocked due to the contracts not being fulfilled? 75% of that is usually someone coming in, buying 5 phones on an ID where they don't care about their credit, and never paying the bill. Stolen phones.
Sago6 said:
Well, I didn't think about that
You're right
And no, I dont want to be a part of that
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Click to collapse
Hi,
How can we report "phone stolen" in Mexico ? The phone was bought in Canada and thus is associated with a Canadian operator, however the phone was stolen as soon as I arrived in Mexico, that too inside the flight by a fellow passenger.
Can the Canadian operator blacklist my phone IMEI even though it is in Mexico ? Or can I call the Mexican Telefonica company and then can blacklist this IEMI so that the phone can never be used in Mexico ? Please guide me through this, I'd be eternally thankful.
I am really worried and I have had such a bad experience in Mexico, firstly at the international airport in Mexico City the shopkeepers tried to make me pay more than I should, then my phone is stolen.
Thanks in advance,
Sanjeev
sanjeev2612 said:
Hi,
How can we report "phone stolen" in Mexico ? The phone was bought in Canada and thus is associated with a Canadian operator, however the phone was stolen as soon as I arrived in Mexico, that too inside the flight by a fellow passenger.
Can the Canadian operator blacklist my phone IMEI even though it is in Mexico ? Or can I call the Mexican Telefonica company and then can blacklist this IEMI so that the phone can never be used in Mexico ? Please guide me through this, I'd be eternally thankful.
I am really worried and I have had such a bad experience in Mexico, firstly at the international airport in Mexico City the shopkeepers tried to make me pay more than I should, then my phone is stolen.
Thanks in advance,
Sanjeev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never had to deal with this, thank goodness, but you can try contacting your carrier (if you used the phone on your line, they should have a record of the device) and have it blocked on your carrier's network. However, since it's not an official phone sold by the carrier, they may not make your request a priority. It's worth trying though! It's also worth trying (if you actually have the phone info- imei/serial) to contact the Canadian carrier with a report so it can't be sold & activated on their network again in the future.
I know, it's old thread, but it came up in Google results while I was researching my questions. What do you guys think, buying a carrier locked blacklisted phone in Canada, can it be unlock, make it sim free? and why assume it is stolen phone. A person bought used iPhone from kijiji, totally working phone. In a few days, original owner claims it as stolen and carrier black lists the phone (in Canada). The buyer now has no use of it in Canada. He can try to unlock (sim free) the phone and send it overseas, like Europe, or Asia. I don't see anything wrong here, just looking for your opinion. Thank you.
I believe parts of Europe have a blacklisting system in place so the imei should be checked before trying to network unlock the phone for use in another country.
Many people assume that a phone has been stolen because the imei has been blacklisted and, as you pointed out, this is not always the case.
I'm not 100% sure but some unlockers will not or cannot unlock a blacklisted phone.
[Q] Newbie here - unlocked i317 "MM#6 Phone not allowed" for overseas network
hi all,
I'm new to this forum and its great to be associated with such a wonderful group
I bought an unlocked AT&T note2(i317, android 4.1.1 and firmware- i317UCALJ2) off ebay.com and got it to India a month back from WA.
I have been trying to configure mobile network on Indian carriers but always got these errors :
- " your sim card doesnt allow connection to this network" and "MM#6 phone not allowed"(MM#6 appears only since yesterday)
- the network bar(i.e. signal strength icon on home screen) doesnt capture the local networks at all which is quite surprising.
- Phone's IMEI(35700..) doesnt match IMEI on the back panel(35542..)
I heard about cases where phones purchased from ebay/craigslist getting blocked ( for example, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2341622) but I guess that shouldn't stop it from using overseas? Also, I heard IMEIs of such blocked phones look like "null", "0"s etc. but IMEI of my phone looks good and doesn't showup in the list of blacklisted IMEIs on swappa or CheckEsnfree. Lastly, I also checked the GSM bands of i317 and they are definitely compatible in India.
Can someone kindly help?
Many thanks in advance.
Chaitanya.
I would like to add that I have tested SIMs from multiple carriers but failed to locate networks and APNs. All other features like WIFI, Bluetooth etc are working like a charm so I suspected if it got to do something with the IMEI.
I request some guidance from the experts in pointing to the issue so that I can try the workaround(Sorry..Im a novice at troubleshooting android )
Kindly let me know or redirect me to a forum if already exists.
Thanks,
Chaitanya.
Could you please say your baseband? It's in settings> about> phone.
rangercaptain said:
Could you please say your baseband? It's in settings> about> phone.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply mate.
Here are the details:
baseband - I317UCALJ2
CSC - i317ATTALJ2
Bootloader - i317UCAMH3
The good news is your phone is clean stock.
The bad news is your phone is blacklisted, and the IEMI was hacked/changed.
The only legal way to solve this is to contact the original carrier (I'm guessing AT&T USA), give them your IEMI, tell them you bought it legally in the USA, and ask them to unblock it. The blacklist is all US carriers and their overseas versions, all European carriers and their subsidiaries. Like Orange or Voda or t-mobile.
rangercaptain said:
The good news is your phone is clean stock.
The bad news is your phone is blacklisted, and the IEMI was hacked/changed.
The only legal way to solve this is to contact the original carrier (I'm guessing AT&T USA), give them your IEMI, tell them you bought it legally in the USA, and ask them to unblock it. The blacklist is all US carriers and their overseas versions, all European carriers and their subsidiaries. Like Orange or Voda or t-mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad..I should have checked the status beforehand in detail. Till now I was only aware that bad IMEI phones arent allowed majorly in US only (saw many such phones being sold on ebay intended for international use ).
As far as I know, i317 is only the at&t version of note2 in US and it differs a lot from its International versions (gt 7100, 7105 etc). Do you still think this blacklisted issue holds good in countries where i317 isnt available?
Since sending the product back to US is highly unlikely, can you kindly let me know the best way I can get the issue fixed?
Answered in my post above. From India you can probably use the tech chat from AT&T website.
It's a blacklist of disallowed IEMI's so the model is irrelevant.
rangercaptain said:
Answered in my post above. From India you can probably use the tech chat from AT&T website.
It's a blacklist of disallowed IEMI's so the model is irrelevant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Rangercaptain for your clarification. I tried AT&T's live chat but it seeks registered contact details to login. Is there any email support?
Not sure if these kind of questions are allowed here but I heard there are tools that help to retrieve lost IMEIs (which work on rooted phones).
In case it gets tough to get hold of AT&T, can I try any of such tools on my phone since it is not registered in my county anyway and doesnt come with any warranty?
P.S:I know changing IMEI is illegal but I guess retrieving it is not :fingers-crossed:
chaitanyapatwari said:
Thanks Rangercaptain for your clarification. I tried AT&T's live chat but it seeks registered contact details to login. Is there any email support?
Not sure if these kind of questions are allowed here but I heard there are tools that help to retrieve lost IMEIs (which work on rooted phones).
In case it gets tough to get hold of AT&T, can I try any of such tools on my phone since it is not registered in my county anyway and doesnt come with any warranty?
P.S:I know changing IMEI is illegal but I guess retrieving it is not :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started to think may be the motherboard got changed(since S/N also looks different and the phone looks absolutely new with no wear at all)?
I'm being forced to think that IMEI is clean because some followup with AT&T and US Samsung care have confirmed that the phone's back IMEI and S/N are definitely good with warranty till 2015 and don't show up in any of the blacklisted lists.
I'm sorry for posting different questions but please note that I'm not much aware about this phone's history and I'm trying to openly share the results from my extensive findings. Thanks!!
If you're sure everything is clean are you sure your Sim card is correctly provisioned for the network? The easiest way to find out is to trade cards with a working phone.
Before you think about trading main boards (I did that because the gps connector was broken) go to www.mobiletechvideos.com and see what they can do for you.
rangercaptain said:
If you're sure everything is clean are you sure your Sim card is correctly provisioned for the network? The easiest way to find out is to trade cards with a working phone.
Before you think about trading main boards (I did that because the gps connector was broken) go to www.mobiletechvideos.com and see what they can do for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I have been trying this on a working sim with an active data plan which is currently working on my xperia.
Over the last 2-3 days, I have learnt that flashing a wrong ROM sometimes might corrupt EFS folder that stores IMEI,serial number etc., and reinstalling firmware through ODIN(which requires to download original stock ROM separately) or KIES software might restore the lost EFS folder.
I thought of giving this a try and accordingly reinstalled the official firmware but without any success.
Can someone redirect me to any such guides/threads that might help? If it doesnt happen then I would like to close this thread and create a new one for EFS related troubleshooting.
If efs is corrupted there is no s/n or imei shown. It displays null
Hi
I bought the phone almost 2 years ago. Unfortunately the seller bought the phone in installment plan. Now he stopped paying installments and Operator blocked IMEI.
This results that I can not use mobile services while WiFi is working and I can use device normally. In practice I can use it at home.
Is there any way to unlock bootloader without sim card inserted in the phone. I can go to Mi Unlock Status --> but I can not Add your Account (If you have not already) and device since sim card is not working.
Can you suggest any solutions?
gszych said:
Hi
I bought the phone almost 2 years ago. Unfortunately the seller bought the phone in installment plan. Now he stopped paying installments and Operator blocked IMEI.
This results that I can not use mobile services while WiFi is working and I can use device normally. In practice I can use it at home.
Is there any way to unlock bootloader without sim card inserted in the phone. I can go to Mi Unlock Status --> but I can not Add your Account (If you have not already) and device since sim card is not working.
Can you suggest any solutions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlocking the bootloader won't change anything.
Prove to the operator that you bought this phone and maybe he will unblock the situation.
If the seller left the phone on their Xiaomi account, you will also need to contact them to remove it.
You can also file a complaint.
Thanks NOSS8 for quick answer. Operator is deaf when I send invoice.
I have two solutions - sell the phone outside my country or find solution (i.e. imei change) . In order to do that I need bootloader unlocked. Can you tell me how to unlock bootloader?
gszych said:
Thanks NOSS8 for quick answer. Operator is deaf when I send invoice.
I have two solutions - sell the phone outside my country or find solution (i.e. imei change) . In order to do that I need bootloader unlocked. Can you tell me how to unlock bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot unlock bootloader without sim and Xiaomi account.
Changing the IMEI yourself is prohibited.
I don't doubt your honesty but what you ask, someone who found or stole the phone will ask the same.
Try to see with a repair center.