Hello all,
I want to change an imei, here is a background :
- one of my teammate bought a new in box used s3, with invoice and letter from the seller
- the seller declared it stolen to the carrier to get insurance money refund
- the carrier blacklist it on all network
- phone imei became 004, that means my friend won't be able to connect on any network
My friend claimed to the police, which recognised the illegal action of the seller, but now the carrier tells the S3 is lifetime blacklisted..
As a long procedure is initiated, my friend wants a new imei to use his phone until the lawsuit ends.
I trust my friend and want to help him, I've gave him my /efs folder but it doesn't help (or maybe we don't do that right)
Any advice would be great!
After my friend recover usability of its phone, we will start MyUI development for i9300 (already thousands user on i9000).
Please help!
Regards
RolluS
its illegal no matter what and not welcome on xda
RolluS said:
Hello all,
I want to change an imei, here is a background :
- one of my teammate bought a new in box used s3, with invoice and letter from the seller
- the seller declared it stolen to the carrier to get insurance money refund
- the carrier blacklist it on all network
- phone imei became 004, that means my friend won't be able to connect on any network
My friend claimed to the police, which recognised the illegal action of the seller, but now the carrier tells the S3 is lifetime blacklisted..
As a long procedure is initiated, my friend wants a new imei to use his phone until the lawsuit ends.
I trust my friend and want to help him, I've gave him my /efs folder but it doesn't help (or maybe we don't do that right)
Any advice would be great!
After my friend recover usability of its phone, we will start MyUI development for i9300 (already thousands user on i9000).
Please help!
Regards
RolluS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firstly this is not development!
more importantly it is illegal what you are doing. I've read numerous other threads regarding other samsung galaxy products which got deleted due to being illegal.
If there's a lawsuit, why wasn't the phone taken as evidence?
Irregardless if it was purchased and your mate had a receipt the police would confiscate the item as it is now evidence in a criminal matter...
Changing IMEI is ILLEGAL.
Wrong forum anyway.
Only the following topics are allowed in the DEVELOPMENT area:
[DEV] - Development for any projects or Apps.
[ROM] - Custom ROMs.
[KERNEL] - Custom Kernels.
[MOD] - Hack & Modifications for the phone. (See below for more details)
[FIX] - Fixes for known issues & bugs.
[R&D] - Research & Development for Devs only, when gathering data for a new projects.#
jje
This exact same thing happened to me after I bought my first GS3 from Gumtree, brand new in box but a month later it was blacklisted
Only way you can change the IMEI is through software that costs over £100 and its illegal so I wouldnt reccomend doing that
I had to take the hit and buy another S3 but this time from Carphonewarehouse as I learned a valuable lesson never to buy a phone from an unauthorized dealer, it is not worth the risk!
dannyc93 said:
This exact same thing happened to me after I bought my first GS3 from Gumtree, brand new in box but a month later it was blacklisted
Only way you can change the IMEI is through software that costs over £100 and its illegal so I wouldnt reccomend doing that
I had to take the hit and buy another S3 but this time from Carphonewarehouse as I learned a valuable lesson never to buy a phone from an unauthorized dealer, it is not worth the risk!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, better buy phone from legal store. If I would suggest don't buy second handed two, because first owner can track you by knowing your phone detail (specially the IMEI). So buy legal and official guarantee will make your sleep tight at night and not worry next morning your phone is blacklisted
But if you purchase from a store in brand new box then next morning it blacklisted. Just get axe and go to that shop
Closed, IMEI changing is illegal, and as such we don't allow the discussion of it on the site.
Related
hi people of xda.....
iv got a chance to buy a galaxy s3 that has been blocked through the network t-mobile is it possible for it to unblocked using odin or some other software??
I heard that it's possible using an app called voodoo.
Though i'm not so sure.
But it might be possible.
Search the forums
IF the phone is blocked by provider (not SIM-locked) - that usually means that it was claimed as stolen.
I have no idea how'r you, but I'd never bought the item marked as stolen...
doesnt unblocking involve change of imei and that is very illegal which will attract the police
just try a different network and them sell the phone abroad untill its fully locked
The word blocked means someone has reported it lost or stolen the IMEI has had a block on and it will not work on any network.
Changing your IMEI is illegal and we cannot discuss it on XDA.
However if you mean locked it can be unlocked from t-mobile to work on any network, that is a SIM lock.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
i do mean blocked but i dnt wanna do owt illegal i.e change imei i dnt know how you do that anyway... reason asking is a friend of mine was cleaning his loft out and his fone died and he cudnt remember were he left it so he rang t-mobile who i presume blocked it through insurance and he got another one.... a few days later he found his fone... so thats the reason for asking bout unblocking etc.....
You ask the network to unblock it and return the new phone if asked to .
The IMEI is blocked by the network and XDA cannot help in any illegal practice as trying to change an IMEI .
Do not buy it as you are buying a stolen phone that belongs to the insurance company .
jje
So, in other words: you and your friend made a deal:
HE will claim it as missing/stolen, HE will take money from insurance, YOU will pay him some % of the price, right?
Well, I can assure you that this is illegal as well.
spamtrash said:
So, in other words: you and your friend made a deal:
HE will claim it as missing/stolen, HE will take money from insurance, YOU will pay him some % of the price, right?
Well, I can assure you that this is illegal as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no the phone was advertised on a facebook buy and sell site am not into illegal crap i just wanted to know if it was possible for it to be done
You need a court order for that. The block is not in the hardware or firmware, but in the network, and since you have no control of the network, there is nothing you can do.
If you want to play fair, your only choice now is to return the phone to your friend so he can give it to the real owners now: the insurance company. Only they can request the carrier to unblock the phone.
You may keep the USB cable, power supply and headphones!
---- side note:
BTW, your friend is a dimwit, isn't him? Not being able to find a phone - that features SamsungDive - is a very dumb argument.
And, since it is a S III it does have SamsungDive, so both the carrier and insurance company can easily find out where the phone is. Since the phone has been reported as stolen, don't be surprised if the cops knock on your door in a few hours.
galaxygaz said:
no the phone was advertised on a facebook buy and sell site am not into illegal crap i just wanted to know if it was possible for it to be done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That conflicts with your story about the friends, doesn't it?
HI all,
My Name is Morne. I live in RSA. and I am a new owner of a Galaxy S3.
I picked up this phone about a month and a half ago laying in front of a pub and I reported it to the police station who took my details and the phone details. the owner of the phone was still not found and they have made me the legal owner of the phone now. but there is one problem the imei is blocked and the police said that I should get samsung to change it. I have asked but they want me to ship it away to them and pay for the change. but unfortunatly Im a little broke. So I was wondering if it was possible that any of you GURU's could help me with this. I have read through your forums and I have noticed that XDA does not really like sharing this information. Due to stolen phones. But in my case is there anyone who is out there who could help as the phone was not stolen and is legally mine. you can private message me or send a link with video instructions. Its the Galaxy S3 32GB running on ICS(Ice cream Sandwich).
Thank you so much
S3Boi said:
HI all,
My Name is Morne. I live in RSA. and I am a new owner of a Galaxy S3.
I picked up this phone about a month and a half ago laying in front of a pub and I reported it to the police station who took my details and the phone details. the owner of the phone was still not found and they have made me the legal owner of the phone now. but there is one problem the imei is blocked and the police said that I should get samsung to change it. I have asked but they want me to ship it away to them and pay for the change. but unfortunatly Im a little broke. So I was wondering if it was possible that any of you GURU's could help me with this. I have read through your forums and I have noticed that XDA does not really like sharing this information. Due to stolen phones. But in my case is there anyone who is out there who could help as the phone was not stolen and is legally mine. you can private message me or send a link with video instructions. Its the Galaxy S3 32GB running on ICS(Ice cream Sandwich).
Thank you so much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Changing the imei yourself is completly illegal in most countries and you will not get any help with it here, all you can do is what the police have told you to do.
We don't share information about it because of the legal implications of doing it yourself, Samsung doing it would be legal because they have recognized you as the legal owner of the device.
delsus said:
Changing the imei yourself is completly illegal in most countries and you will not get any help with it here, all you can do is what the police have told you to do.
We don't share information about it because of the legal implications of doing it yourself, Samsung doing it would be legal because they have recognized you as the legal owner of the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im not sure if that is completely true in south africa. I know it is in UK and other countries. Hence why I asked if it was possible someone contacts me via PVM(private mail) instead. As I really would like to start using this phone.
S3Boi said:
Im not sure if that is completely true in south africa. I know it is in UK and other countries. Hence why I asked if it was possible someone contacts me via PVM(private mail) instead. As I really would like to start using this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a legitimate forum though, you will very rarely if ever get any information that could be illegal either publicly or via PM, we don't know the laws in every country so it's better to be safe than sorry.
delsus said:
This is a legitimate forum though, you will very rarely if ever get any information that could be illegal either publicly or via PM, we don't know the laws in every country so it's better to be safe than sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks alot. whats the quickest way to get hold of samsung?
You can go to the police to give you a legal document that said the phone is yours by law; with this document you can go to a samsung official service to unblock the phone, paying this service of course, so you will never have problems using this phone.
Personally i don´t believe your story....
S3Boi said:
Ok thanks alot. whats the quickest way to get hold of samsung?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would go to a service center because of what you need to get done, if you go to the Samsung website it will have a page for you to find a service center near you.
Remember to take any documents the police gave you to prove you are now the legal owner of the phone or they could refuse.
I hope you get it sorted.
Discussions like this are not allowed. Thanks for your cooperation.
So I bought a GS3 in july last year from Dubai (and thought its the best thing happened to me) then moved to Germany to stay permanently, the phone was mostly used for Android app development and had a luxurious treatment and was rarely used for other than that and navigation!
And starting at December random red hues started appearing around the screen, then a couple of weeks later the blue led was blinking so I tried to unlock it but it wouldn't, then I removed the battery, and it never booted again, no single reaction!
The real problem is that Samsung Germany refused to fix the phone saying:
thank you for your request.
According to our terms of warranty only mobile phones distributed within the EU are entitled to free warranty repair in Germany. Therefore please contact the local Samsung support center in Dubai. Thank you for your unterstanding.
If you have any further questions please contact us.
Kind regards,
Viktoria Grün
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I don't unterstand is that the dealer in Dubai assured it has international warranty. and the whole thing makes no sense since its the same phone and it wasn't my fault, and going all the way to dubai would cost several times what the phone is worth and if I ever buy a new phone it wont be Samsung or android at all!
So I desperately searched the net for a way or hint to fix it, and found some main boards that cost almost or more than half the price with no warranty.
now I went back to use my old S1 which feels like a calculator compared to the S3, and I could cry whenever I see the S3 lying on the desk:crying:
any ideas?
Code:
Model: GT-19300 (16MB)
FCC ID: A2LGTI9300A
SSN: -I93000GSMH
MADE IN VIETNAM
if I ever buy a new phone it wont be Samsung or android at all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly do Samsung and Google have to do with misinformations provided by your seller?
What I don't unterstand is that the dealer in Dubai assured it has international warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's incorrect and a misinformation from your seller. US-customers also cannot have the i9300 fixed locally.
Just because the phone is called "international" does not mean it has international warranty.
. and the whole thing makes no sense since its the same phone and it wasn't my fault
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung Europe is not Samsung Asia, is not Samsung US, ...
They are different subcompanies of the same mother-company.
By the way; Samsung is not and never was under any obligation to fix your phone. The term warranty is usually used completelty incorrectly by customers.
Warranty is a voluntary offer by the seller or manufacturer to fix or replace a device and can have arbitrary conditions (such as location specific, only so many hours of usage, ...)
Guarantee on the other hand is ONLY provided by the seller (not the manufacturuer!) and it's definition is provided by the law of the country you buy the product in.
E.g. Most EU-countries have 2 years guarantee but you can still have only 1 year of warranty. Confusing...
Most manufacturers DO allow direct bring-in for 2 reasons;
1) customer service quality
2) they would get the device anyway through your seller so it does not make a huge difference
Multiple posts say it does not have an International warranty .
What I don't unterstand is that the dealer in Dubai assured it has international warranty.
The dealer is at fault nobody else .
The warranty as said is from the seller not Samsung .
Samsung's warranty is a secondary limited warranty .
Your warranty may well have been void anyway .
REF
phone was mostly used for Android app development .
tried to unlock it but it wouldn't,
if I ever buy a new phone it wont be Samsung or android at all!
Pointless posting here just to have a cry about Samsung users are never inclined to help in that situation .
jje
d4fseeker said:
What exactly do Samsung and Google have to do with misinformations provided by your seller?
That's incorrect and a misinformation from your seller. US-customers also cannot have the i9300 fixed locally.
Just because the phone is called "international" does not mean it has international warranty.
Samsung Europe is not Samsung Asia, is not Samsung US, ...
They are different subcompanies of the same mother-company.
By the way; Samsung is not and never was under any obligation to fix your phone. The term warranty is usually used completelty incorrectly by customers.
Warranty is a voluntary offer by the seller or manufacturer to fix or replace a device and can have arbitrary conditions (such as location specific, only so many hours of usage, ...)
Guarantee on the other hand is ONLY provided by the seller (not the manufacturuer!) and it's definition is provided by the law of the country you buy the product in.
E.g. Most EU-countries have 2 years guarantee but you can still have only 1 year of warranty. Confusing...
Most manufacturers DO allow direct bring-in for 2 reasons;
1) customer service quality
2) they would get the device anyway through your seller so it does not make a huge difference
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get me wrong, I am the biggset fan of Samasung since the S where all my electronics are samsung and I always recommended it to others, which is why I feel betrayed!
I think I'll try lumia 920 for now, nokia phones never failed me ... at least the old ones!
JJEgan said:
Your warranty may well have been void anyway .
REF
phone was mostly used for Android app development .
tried to unlock it but it wouldn't,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it was just used to test apps under underdevelopment, the phone was unlocked out of the box.
Dear XDA fellows,
i requested a provider unlock code for my simlocked samsung s2
Unfortunately the code does not work at all.
Now i wonder why,
i have rooted the phone with the old ICS and used the galaxy s unlock app on it to use other providers cards.
A few months later (now) i updated Android to 4.12 and tried to use the provider unlock code on it but it did not work.
Rooted the phone again and tried various unlock apps, but none of them work.
Now i wonder why the phone has become so defiant to my attempts to unlock it, after all i treated it good for all the time that i used it.
Maybe someone has any suggestions on how to unlock the phone after all?
IMEI blocked
Hello Everyone,
I don't know if this is the right place to post my issue. Briefly.... After having a Samsung Galaxy s II, GT-I9100, with a contract in Italy (VODAFONE), having paid the phone in full, suddenly after two years, I decide to close contract,
The Vodafone bastards tell me that I must pay 380.00 € (threehundredeigthy) because of some invoices. This obviously according to them. I always paid everything. I refuse to pay this sum and open a controversy with them demonstrating with facts and papers at hand that it is not right I pay this amount. Anyway, after a week, they block my IMEI.
I think this is absurd. I PAID THE PHONE IN FULL!!! They want 380.00 € of telephone calls related to the SIM card. I don't want to pay this money. The phone is no brand.
I went to a lawyer, and he told me it's not worth the hassle to go to court for such sum.
What I want to know is:
Why should I have a phone that doesn't work after I have paid for it?
You need to contact a guy called "gaston" on here.
He works for vodafone italy in the customer service dept.
-------------------------------------------
maybe your an iphone expert
------------------------------------------
If they IMEI block the phone, you're boned. Nothing anyone here can do to help. If they block it, the phone is blocked at the carriers end & in many countries on all networks in that country.
And further talk about changing the IMEI will likely see the thread closed, given this is illegal in most countries & talk of same is against XDA rules. Go see a local mobile repair shop, some might be able to 'help'.
Re:
arsy82 said:
Why should I have a phone that doesn't work after I have paid for it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why should we care ?
MistahBungle said:
If they IMEI block the phone, you're boned. Nothing anyone here can do to help. If they block it, the phone is blocked at the carriers end & in many countries on all networks in that country.
And further talk about changing the IMEI will likely see the thread closed, given this is illegal in most countries & talk of same is against XDA rules. Go see a local mobile repair shop, some might be able to 'help'.
Re:
Why should we care ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've asked for help..If you come up with "What should we care", then I guess you shouldn't care of anything and not be on the site. I think this site other than an educational point of view, can also offer expertise and technical assistence as it is a really important internet forum. I really don't understand your rude answer..honestly it has no sense or help to me.
Why should he care.....hes not getting paid.You are involved in a civil dispute with vodafone or whoever,so this isnt the carriers complaints dept.
Then you start talking about an illegal method to help you out which is against xda rules.
So dont pay then,sell the phone and use the money towards buying another phone.Make sure it isnt a vodafone one......lol
-------------------------------------------
maybe your an iphone expert
------------------------------------------
bahmonkeys said:
Go on Ebay and look for faulty phones. Basically ones with broken screens. Stay away from water damaged ones and ones with the same problem you are having. Once you get it, you could swap out the motherboards and sell yours on Ebay. Sell yours outside of the country as it might work. This would be the easy way. It might cost you about 50 bucks but you could sell your motherboard and make it back.
Remember Google is your friend for changing IMEI. I would choose the option above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just have 1 technical question: if i get a ****ty alcatel phone i have home and get my imei blocked samsung galaxy s2. CAN I TAKE THE ALCATELS IMEI E SHOVE IT IN THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S2?
I DON'T THINK IT IS ILLEGAL TO TRY TO HAVE A PHONE I PAID FOR WORK.,
I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF IT IS POSSIBLE.
And which part of changing an IMEI is both illegal, and more importantly, discussion of same is against XDA rules aren't you clever enough to understand ? I've reported this thread, hopefully your posts are removed (because the OP had legitimate queries about unlocking it until you hijacked it).
MistahBungle said:
And which part of changing an IMEI is both illegal, and more importantly, discussion of same is against XDA rules aren't you clever enough to understand ? I've reported this thread, hopefully your posts are removed (because the OP had legitimate queries about unlocking it until you hijacked it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really sorry if I caused any sort of trouble to any member of the forum. Honestly it was the last of my intents. I will obviously put a stop to my curiosity, thoughts & problems regarding the IMEI related issue to avoid any sort of problems. Sorry once again.
Regardless of the circumstances changing the IMEI, discussing how to change the IMEI, and I believe in the UK even possessing tools capable of doing so, is all illegal and can get the site in trouble. This is an issue you would need to take up with your local representative or vodaphone and should not be discussed in anyway here.
This is non-negotiable.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Dear xda-community,
some months ago I dared myself to root my Samsung SHW-M250S (Korean Version of Galaxy S2) and lost my IMEI on that phone. I couldn't find it and forgot to make a backup of my efs partition because of stupidity and not really reading the manuals properly (I used to have a HTC Desire S which didn't have the efs partition so it's a bad habit thing). Today I found out that I luckily registered my phone with the original IMEI in my google Settings and the developer IMEI on my current Galaxy S2.
My question is: Is there any possibility to insert my old IMEI into my rooted Galaxy S2?
IMEI is device specific.....by law.
Sorry mate, but nobody here is going to help you break the law......
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Take it to a local mobile repair shop, some have the same equipment as Samsung service centres that can write the IMEI back to the device. Normally isn't very expensive (much cheaper than replacing a motherboard for example).
You could buy this equipment yourself, but it would cost twice as much (or more) as paying someone who knows what they're doing to fix it properly, you'd probably never use it again, and if you mess it up, your phone is probably a bin job.
keithross39 said:
IMEI is device specific.....by law.
Sorry mate, but nobody here is going to help you break the law......
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... Since I didn't backup my EFS and got the develeoper one, does it mean I am owning an illegal phone?
MistahBungle said:
Take it to a local mobile repair shop, some have the same equipment as Samsung service centres that can write the IMEI back to the device. Normally isn't very expensive (much cheaper than replacing a motherboard for example).
You could buy this equipment yourself, but it would cost twice as much (or more) as paying someone who knows what they're doing to fix it properly, you'd probably never use it again, and if you mess it up, your phone is probably a bin job.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gonna try that in the next weeks, see if it works
No, the device having the generic IMEI is not illegal, it's just in many countries these phones are essentially useless & have no connectivity (they will work in some countries with providers who use outdated telco equipment, though).
Most good phone repairs shops should be able to fix this for you, if not, service centre definitely will.
Edit to add - However, writing a different IMEI into a device is very much illegal in most countries (the EU in particular) and will result in both your device & the device the IMEI came from being blacklisted (rendered permanently useless). The only way you can legitimately get a different IMEI & use the phone OK is if you swap the motherboard with a 2nd hand board from a 'donor' device. When Samsung service centres replace motherboards to fix a whole host of things, in most countries they write the existing IMEI to the new board.
MistahBungle said:
No, the device having the generic IMEI is not illegal, it's just in many countries these phones are essentially useless & have no connectivity (they will work in some countries with providers who use outdated telco equipment, though).
Most good phone repairs shops should be able to fix this for you, if not, service centre definitely will.
Edit to add - However, writing a different IMEI into a device is very much illegal in most countries (the EU in particular) and will result in both your device & the device the IMEI came from being blacklisted (rendered permanently useless). The only way you can legitimately get a different IMEI & use the phone OK is if you swap the motherboard with a 2nd hand board from a 'donor' device. When Samsung service centres replace motherboards to fix a whole host of things, in most countries they write the existing IMEI to the new board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what if I can prove that the IMEI I wanted to recover is stored e.g. in my google account? Is it still illegal then?
You didn't comprehend what I said to you.
The original IMEI can definitely be written back to the phone by a Samsung service centre & likely many mobile repair shops; this is OK.
You cannot write a different IMEI to a device, this is illegal.
The end.
MistahBungle said:
You didn't comprehend what I said to you.
The original IMEI can definitely be written back to the phone by a Samsung service centre & likely many mobile repair shops; this is OK.
You cannot write a different IMEI to a device, this is illegal.
The end.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, that's what I wanted to know. Gonna search for a repair center in around me then... Thanks!
this is straight from a pageplus chat
nothing special just standard procedure for activating an "unknown device" that...well read below.
4G LTE devices (with MEIDs starting with 256 or 99000) are not compatible with our system.
They are able to be activated by dropping the last digit of the IMEI (99000)
they are not able to be programmed with OTA (*22890 or *228) and unable to be manually programmed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i might have chopped it i cant remember but i always keep the good parts
so are you saying a verizon network is breaking the law because it is their policy that dictates pageplus and straight talk in this procedure heck even verizon prepaid
dropping the last digit like they are telling me to do is what?
i dont think its illegal like you say.
no way they would tell 1000's of people to do it
i just tried to ota *22890 my note 3 after they gave me those directions along with my mdn/min/sid and "normally" i get voice/text/mms and data at this point
i just tried without successsfully changing mine and it wont OTA
the step in the directions above is REQUIRED i believe
Changing imei talk is not done on xda. :thumbdown: We all know what can be done with this but we can't talk about it here. Illegal or not info is out there, software is out there. but like I said on xda we don't talk about changing imei or modding it.
andrewwright said:
Changing imei talk is not done on xda. :thumbdown: We all know what can be done with this but we can't talk about it here. Illegal or not info is out there, software is out there. but like I said on xda we don't talk about changing imei or modding it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed
BTW at op. Don't go to a service Centre mate. If I go to a local shop they would only charge me £20 in the UK. Have a look as its much cheaper than ss.