Hello everyone,
My name is Samrina, my brother has broken my S3 it does not work any-more. He told network that he lost his phone, but he only lost his sim, and (PAY as you go) and they asked for imei number and he gave them the imei number for my S3. HE is so stupid so now my phone does not work, and he called them back and they will not take the imei off the block list, and also Samsung will not fix this because it is rooted and warranty is void. Now, the only other option is to send the phone to another country and they said it will work their and that they can also unlock it, they want £150 to unlock it by fixing the Imei number.
I don't know much about mobile phones but I already paid £500 when I bought the phone, now it is useless. Can anyone help? or is the only option to make sale in another country? stupid! they will not take off black list my imei number for a mistake. so unfair.
Samrina said:
Hello everyone,
My name is Samrina, my brother has broken my S3 it does not work any-more. He told network that he lost his phone, but he only lost his sim, and (PAY as you go) and they asked for imei number and he gave them the imei number for my S3. HE is so stupid so now my phone does not work, and he called them back and they will not take the imei off the block list, and also Samsung will not fix this because it is rooted and warranty is void. Now, the only other option is to send the phone to another country and they said it will work their and that they can also unlock it, they want £150 to unlock it by fixing the Imei number.
I don't know much about mobile phones but I already paid £500 when I bought the phone, now it is useless. Can anyone help? or is the only option to make sale in another country? stupid! they will not take off black list my imei number for a mistake. so unfair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
need to go to Samsung service centre with proof of purchase, id, etc and they may just do it, you can't change the imei as it is illegal
slaphead20 said:
need to go to Samsung service centre with proof of purchase, id, etc and they may just do it, you can't change the imei as it is illegal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done this, they will not change it. They said they want written letter from mobile company that blocked it, but the mobile company are so lame, they said they can't do anything about it, and will not answer further correspondence. And that I need to contact GSM imei blocking some nonsense. It is not illegal to fix your own imei number, also I will fix it in another country where it will be legal.
Just tell me one, thing if it is possible or not to fix the imei number with current tools? or is this impossible?
Samrina said:
I have done this, they will not change it. They said they want written letter from mobile company that blocked it, but the mobile company are so lame, they said they can't do anything about it, and will not answer further correspondence. And that I need to contact GSM imei blocking some nonsense. It is not illegal to fix your own imei number, also I will fix it in another country where it will be legal.
Just tell me one, thing if it is possible or not to fix the imei number with current tools? or is this impossible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What number would you be changing your imei to? Once you change the imei to anything other than what is on your phone's sticker is illegal. Since your brother reported the phone missing it's better he goes and solves the issue. This isn't something you can do on the phone he needs to do it in person.
No one on xda will help anyone with changing their imei.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
kofiaa said:
What number would you be changing your imei to? Once you change the imei to anything other than what is on your phone's sticker is illegal. Since your brother reported the phone missing it's better he goes and solves the issue. This isn't something you can do on the phone he needs to do it in person.
No one on xda will help anyone with changing their imei.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Can you just tell me is this possible or not, I am not asking it be done for me how show me how to do it, all I am asking is, is it possible, because a mobile phone repair guy wants £150 to change it for me. He is from Pakistan, over there it is legal for them to change imei numbers. But I don't know if this person is trust-able.
Samrina said:
Can you just tell me is this possible or not, I am not asking it be done for me how show me how to do it, all I am asking is, is it possible, because a mobile phone repair guy wants £150 to change it for me. He is from Pakistan, over there it is legal for them to change imei numbers. But I don't know if this person is trust-able.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it's not legal anywhere what you can do is, go to consumer court and file in a complain and send a copy of it to both your service provider and samsung. It will be solved as soon as possible or if you are lucky you can get a renumeration too
Nikhil'Da Devil said:
No it's not legal anywhere what you can do is, go to customer court and file in a complain and send a copy of it to both your service provider and samsung. It will be solved as soon as possible or if you are lucky you can get a renumeration too
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Click to collapse
how to do this? last time I went to court, the squerity guard touched me inappropriately they are perverts.
Why does this thread just seem completely wrong in everyway, maybe I'm hearing alarm bells, or maybe I'm just wrong!!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Whatever the reason. What you are asking to do is illegal. The network has black listed the phone because it was lost/stolen.
Suck up and get your 'brother' to call the network and unblock it. But is suspect this story is rubbish
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
This thread might be of interest you.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1815368
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Samrina said:
Can you just tell me is this possible or not, I am not asking it be done for me how show me how to do it, all I am asking is, is it possible, because a mobile phone repair guy wants £150 to change it for me. He is from Pakistan, over there it is legal for them to change imei numbers. But I don't know if this person is trust-able.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would imagine it is possible to change an IMEI but if someone over here finds out you have had it changed it looks to anyone like you have stolen the phone, the police will check the sticker IMEI and see that phone has been reported lost, they will then check the IMEI the software is reporting and see that it is different.
Open and closed case you have a phone reported lost or stolen, with a falsified IMEI you look guilty and you will get arrested and have to prove it is your phone (contract doesn't count because that is tied to the sim)
Discussion of illegal IMEI cloning is banned on XDA OP please close this post .
jje
"Assuming" the story is legit its your brothers fcukup so give him your old phone and make him buy you a replacement. If he refuses kick his ass!!!! If you decide to let him off out of brotherly love put it down to experience.
Lol. Op is such a liar. Burn in hell you thieving prick.
Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk 2
Fact it is illegal to change imei numbers on your phone. It has to be the one on the sticker, if your story is true then all you have to do is go to the police station along with your proof of recipt and tell them you found your phone. They will make a call and unblock your phone in a matter of minutes.
I remember my sister left her handbag in nandos once here in the uk she had a Samsung d900i at the time. Me and my sister just the left the store and she remembered she left her handbag and went in to get it it was gone. cleaning lady said she didn't see it. So we went and reported it o the police. She had her contract phone credit cards bank cards cash. and sentimental stuff in it.
Anyway we reported the imei number to them and they blocked the imei on the phone. Next day we get a call that the cleaner lady had my sisters bag we went to pick up her bag and all was good the lady got the sack. We came home and the phone was blocked so i rang the company they couldn't do **** for me. So we took the recipt and the phone to the police station including the box and said a couple of days ago my sisters phone was stolen we got it back here is my proof. They made a call and instantly it was unblocked. That was 6 years ago. Maybe it is still the same.
If your story is legit this should work.
Samrina said:
Can you just tell me is this possible or not, I am not asking it be done for me how show me how to do it, all I am asking is, is it possible, because a mobile phone repair guy wants £150 to change it for me. He is from Pakistan, over there it is legal for them to change imei numbers. But I don't know if this person is trust-able.
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Click to collapse
NO, it isn't legal!!!!!!!!!!! What is wrong with you?
And that 'guard touching me inappropriately' sounds like a load of bollocks. I'm sorry but you're definitely lying. No one will help you.
Thread closed
Related
Hi i just bought a sgs2 thinking it just needed unlocking to find out its been blacklisted. but orange couldnt tell me by who. so the only other step i can think of is by changing my imei number so can anyone help please
its a stolen phone. no one will help and the thread will soon be locked.
And there is definitely no reason whatsoever for posting the exact same question on two parts of the board Mods won't be interested in any excuse you might come up with for same, so save it.
Unlucky.. but you wont get any help here.. i have an iphone in same state.. you could sell it however as in some countries the phone wont be blacklisted
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
well im not thief. is it possible to ring all the carriers to find out which one its blocked by and have it unblocked? or will that just get the police round
also doesnt mean its stolen. i read that people on contract who dont pay their bill get their phone blocked
You need to return your phone or file a fraud case with your Credit Card company, but we aren't going to help you circumvent a blocked IMEI
Closed
Hello folks.
I bought my SG3 via buy and sell forum. It was brand new in the box.
It seemed a little suspicious to me that the seller dropped the price by 200$ explaining his motive by saying that he wanted a quick sale.
I fell for his trap. Bought the phone. First few days it was working fine and i was able to make calls and messages, then one morning it showed a "No service" message on the home screen and since then i wasn't able to use it as a phone. I started looking for solution to my problem, then i was advised by a friend to check the imei of my phone to see if it was reported as stolen. When i checked, it turned out that this phone was reported as lost. And im guessing that the scumbag who sold me the phone , reported it as lost to his insurance company, who reacted to this by blocking my phone. I have no way of contacting this seller anymore to sort out this issue as i am in different country, but i was wondering if it is possible to do something about the "No service" issue. Is there any way i could make my phone function as a proper phone again and not just a multimedia device ?
msgbpx said:
Hello folks.
I bought my SG3 via buy and sell forum. It was brand new in the box.
It seemed a little suspicious to me that the seller dropped the price by 200$ explaining his motive by saying that he wanted a quick sale.
I fell for his trap. Bought the phone. First few days it was working fine and i was able to make calls and messages, then one morning it showed a "No service" message on the home screen and since then i wasn't able to use it as a phone. I started looking for solution to my problem, then i was advised by a friend to check the imei of my phone to see if it was reported as stolen. When i checked, it turned out that this phone was reported as lost. And im guessing that the scumbag who sold me the phone , reported it as lost to his insurance company, who reacted to this by blocking my phone. I have no way of contacting this seller anymore to sort out this issue as i am in different country, but i was wondering if it is possible to do something about the "No service" issue. Is there any way i could make my phone function as a proper phone again and not just a multimedia device ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you will have to put this down to a learning curve, or you could simply sell it overseas, chances are you can sell it to someone in another country for the same price, imei's aren't blocked globally,
Or you could do the right thing and contact the police and have it returned, if the person has reported it stolen and you can prove by any means that you bought it then maybe they can prosecute him / her for selling it to you and then reporting it stolen, i believe that is fraud.
Going down that route will mean that you miss out on all angles, besides getting the satisfaction of knowing that that person will be getting a very suspect phone call from the plod.
unlucky buddy. I would agree with the above post and report it to the police
And installing a new Rom won't help ? Like there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it ?
msgbpx said:
And installing a new Rom won't help ? Like there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what carrier do you have? check your IMEI...is it a generic IMEI starting with 00? if so...just repair your EFS and it should work fine
What country are you in?
I know changing the imei number is possible in certain cases but in the UK it is a criminal offence if I'm not mistaken.
-JOSH-
-josh- said:
What country are you in?
I know changing the imei number is possible in certain cases but in the UK it is a criminal offence if I'm not mistaken.
-JOSH-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Illegal pal
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Report a fraud. With some luck you can have it extended to Interpol and thus have an international search warrant against him (it's not as uncommon as it sounds)
Should the seller be got hold of, you might (or rather should) be able to get your money back.
Selling stolen goods is illegal, additionally noone would buy it if you told them it was stolen.
I don't no how but there is a way to fix this....
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
I don't no how but there is a way to fix this....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue is NOT that the efs folder is corrupt but that the device has been reported stolen.
So no there is no fix.
The phone was bought from Ireland. I am located in Norway right now . Phone's imei starts from 353 which is an irish mobile phone calling code.
I contacted few friends in Ireland to see if they can do something about it for me. They went to the police but police said the couldn't do anything about it without actual proof of sale.
Imei isn't blocked globally, you should be able to use the phone in Norway.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
kofiaa said:
Imei isn't blocked globally, you should be able to use the phone in Norway.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
The problem is. When i insert a sim card , it works for about 24 hours fine but then the next day it gives me NO SERVICE , i tried with 3 sim cards and same thing happened but then again i was using sim cards of the same network.
Afaik it's just random chance that your IMEI starts with the prefix code for the country it was bought in.
Does it work again for a short time when removing hhe battery for a few minutes or changing the Sim to one you already tried? If no, then it simply takes some time for hhe carrier to actually recognize you're on the bad-people list.
Countries often work closely together to block stolen goods so you're more or less out of luck if that's true.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
In EU all the countries are working together and the database is general. How you bought the phone ? On internet ? If so, don't you have any receipt ? If you bought directly from that idiot, why don't you made a hand made proof with scanned ID and signed, so you could had something.
If you have nothing, try to check the databases who reported it as lost or stolen. A shop could help you. Try to check who reported the phone as stolen or lost and who added the phone on the blacklist. This way you can find the idiot or, better, the insurance company and report the fraud. Keeping the phone can attract you problems. Don't forget, Google is keeping all the IMEI when you add a phone, they can track you, Samsung Dive can find you...and some day you can have the police at your door. In Spain, for example, stealing something over 500 euros is considered criminal act and your chance to share a room with others for the next 3 years increases a lot.
Via XDA Portal .
IMEI code
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1857054
The first two numbers is RBI (Reporting Body Identifier)
next four numbers is TAC (Type Allocation Code)
So its not a location code at the beginning .
jje
demlasjr said:
In EU all the countries are working together and the database is general. How you bought the phone ? On internet ? If so, don't you have any receipt ? If you bought directly from that idiot, why don't you made a hand made proof with scanned ID and signed, so you could had something.
If you have nothing, try to check the databases who reported it as lost or stolen. A shop could help you. Try to check who reported the phone as stolen or lost and who added the phone on the blacklist. This way you can find the idiot or, better, the insurance company and report the fraud. Keeping the phone can attract you problems. Don't forget, Google is keeping all the IMEI when you add a phone, they can track you, Samsung Dive can find you...and some day you can have the police at your door. In Spain, for example, stealing something over 500 euros is considered criminal act and your chance to share a room with others for the next 3 years increases a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, it's better you report the incident or you remove your Gmail and use the phone as a media player.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
kofiaa said:
Exactly, it's better you report the incident or you remove your Gmail and use the phone as a media player.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
report it,,,, and assume the lesson it wont work again at least in a legal manner
firomero said:
report it,,,, and assume the lesson it wont work again at least in a legal manner
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Click to collapse
Trust me, if you act first is always better than being the last. In this case everybody, including the police and mobile providers will know your intentions and that somebody phished you. Being silent and searching for ways "to hide" the phone only will give you problems, unless you want to use the phone as an ipod. Trust me, an police and providers can help you. Phishing is a crime too, so that idiot can be caught before doing the same thing to others.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
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.
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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?
i just bought a ultra off craigslist ....
it was fine for 2 days ... now the phone is blocked .. cant call out ...no service...
i checked on the imei canada website .. it says this phone is stolen ... wtf .....
cant get hold of the guy who sold me the phone ... not sure that was him report it stolen or not ...
dont think i call Bell and they will do anything about it ....
i read online about changin imei ... and that should work .... in theory
any idea how do i do that?? i dont want to weast my 500$$$$
or any other suggestion ....
madsatan said:
i just bought a ultra off craigslist ....
it was fine for 2 days ... now the phone is blocked .. cant call out ...no service...
i checked on the imei canada website .. it says this phone is stolen ... wtf .....
cant get hold of the guy who sold me the phone ... not sure that was him report it stolen or not ...
dont think i call Bell and they will do anything about it ....
i read online about changin imei ... and that should work .... in theory
any idea how do i do that?? i dont want to weast my 500$$$$
or any other suggestion ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an easy way to chnge the IMEI, just downgrade from .290 to any older firmware :laugh:
Wont solve the outgoing acll problem as the IMEI will be all 0's, but it will have changed.
Other than that file a Police report for the fraud, return the phone to the person who had it stolen and clame the $500 back with creditcard protection?
so change imei wont work ??
return the phone to the person who had it stolen.... ya right ... thats mean i lose out 500$$ just like that ....
what does it do for me when i go file a police report... they gonna take the phone away .. i still lose 500
if there no way to fix this problem
i might as well just keep it and use it as a very expensive tablet ...
damn it ....
blueether said:
There is an easy way to chnge the IMEI, just downgrade from .290 to any older firmware :laugh:
Wont solve the outgoing acll problem as the IMEI will be all 0's, but it will have changed.
Other than that file a Police report for the fraud, return the phone to the person who had it stolen and clame the $500 back with creditcard protection?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
madsatan said:
so change imei wont work ??
return the phone to the person who had it stolen.... ya right ... thats mean i lose out 500$$ just like that ....
what does it do for me when i go file a police report... they gonna take the phone away .. i still lose 500
if there no way to fix this problem
i might as well just keep it and use it as a very expensive tablet ...
damn it ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
was it a direct credit?
If so then the bank will require police authorisation to contact the other bank for a reverse transaction. This is very difficult to do as police will probably deferred it to the digital fraud squad. and they are always busy.
If it was credit card you have 20 days to contact them to reverse it. After that you'll need to contact them saying you have been defauded. Credit card companies are insured against this. and you will get your money back.
Paypal. Easiest option. You will always win with proof i.e. photos / video of the device not working.
hamdogg said:
Paypal. Easiest option. You will always win with proof i.e. photos / video of the device not working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was a craigslist transaction
Just a heads up, it's not allowed to discuss IMEI changing/manipulation on XDA. I would edit that part out of the OP so the thread doesn't get locked. We can discuss what you can do to solve this whole debacle though.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
how can i change the title of this thread??
LordManhattan said:
Just a heads up, it's not allowed to discuss IMEI changing/manipulation on XDA. I would edit that part out of the OP so the thread doesn't get locked. We can discuss what you can do to solve this whole debacle though.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
madsatan said:
how can i change the title of this thread??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use the advanced editor. Click edit on the first post and then advanced.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
As said previously imei changes are illegal and definitely not discussed on xda.
Personally I would call Bell immediately and let them know so it's on record, then I'd contact the police. Police are pretty good when someone's doing the right thing.
Show them the Craigslist transaction and leave the rest up to the powers that be.
The only way you'll definitely get your money back is by selling it on and leading some other poor unsuspecting person down the same path which let's face it would be a crappy thing to do.
Sent from my C6833 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
SpyderTracks said:
As said previously imei changes are illegal and definitely not discussed on xda.
Personally I would call Bell immediately and let them know so it's on record, then I'd contact the police. Police are pretty good when someone's doing the right thing.
Show them the Craigslist transaction and leave the rest up to the powers that be.
The only way you'll definitely get your money back is by selling it on and leading some other poor unsuspecting person down the same path which let's face it would be a crappy thing to do.
Sent from my C6833 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember reading a post where someone had a similar experience and called Bell to find out whether or not their phone was on a blacklist - the representative apparently admitted to the guy that it was indeed on a blacklist and then asked him if he'd like it removed from the list.
The user claimed that after that conversation his phone started working perfectly.
I think I also recall him saying he'd called in around noon - and that it may have been his second call to them - his claim was that they don't get a lot of calls around the time he called in and so it was an inexperience rep who was able to remove the hold on the handset.
I don't know where I read this - but you could try searching the forum with keywords like Bell, Stolen, IMEI, Change, Rep - etc.
Good luck - that sucks balls.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.