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hey guys! i am looking to buy galaxy s2
The guy i wanna buy from apparently was attempting to use custom rom and has "altered" his IMEI to a generic one "It contains the IMEI so now its stuck to a generic IMEI of 004999010640000. "
According to him the phone is still fully functional, but I was wondering if I should be worried about this phone If i were to buy it
Not sure an imei number can be changed legally.
I think I would give a wide berth to a phone with a false imei number. It could mean that the phone has been stolen. You would not want your phone stolen and resold under a new imei number by some scumbag would you?
Its nicked my son, and so could you be
jojomojustin said:
hey guys! i am looking to buy galaxy s2
The guy i wanna buy from apparently was attempting to use custom rom and has "altered" his IMEI to a generic one "It contains the IMEI so now its stuck to a generic IMEI of 004999010640000. "
According to him the phone is still fully functional, but I was wondering if I should be worried about this phone If i were to buy it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be.Changing the IMEI of a device is illegal.It's also not allowed to speak of such matters on the forums.Not that I have a problem with what you're asking or something,as I had similar questions once,but a mod will probably close the thread.Which is right,XDA is a place for legal stuff only.Fortunately.
Anyway,dangers(if I can call it so) are that if the carrier or Samsung realise that the IMEI's been tampered with they can deny giving you phone service,so you end up with an expensive iPod-like device that can make no calls.Or you could be tracked and pay a fine or something.It also depends on the country where you live.
I'd say you don't buy it.I wouldn't for one.
Definitely stolen. Don't buy it.
jojomojustin said:
hey guys! i am looking to buy galaxy s2
The guy i wanna buy from apparently was attempting to use custom rom and has "altered" his IMEI to a generic one "It contains the IMEI so now its stuck to a generic IMEI of 004999010640000. "
According to him the phone is still fully functional, but I was wondering if I should be worried about this phone If i were to buy it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Up to 5 years in prison in the UK
[email protected]
Sent from my Samsung Galactic Crusader S II
i have the same issue with a samsung Galaxy S2 ,
the problem is that network will disappear when try to make a call ..
its IMEI has changed somehow ...
now its something like 004999010640000 (board IMEI is enterly different ,35xxxxx)
i approached the samsung service centre but they rejected ..
unfortunately the phone bought from UK ,
Is there any legal way to restore the orginal IMEI back ??
thanks & regards
Due to legal implications thread closed.
Sent from the valley of the shadows....
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.
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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
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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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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.
Click to expand...
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
Hi guys last week i sent my phone to be fixed due to a sound error. they said they changed the entire board so that imei number has changed. but i realized that they faked the imei number. i know that because when i checked my imei on internet, seems that its a gts8600 which is galaxy wave
now as the title i asked, does a brand new board come an imei in it or they write it themselves??
I believe the motherboard has its own generic imei number. Youll see this generic imei number instead of the shipped imei when the efs partition is formatted or corrupt. Meaning the imei that you see on your phone now is probably one that has been placed by the service center. Although what I don't understand is that why wouldn't they just input the imei no. that's mentioned underneath the battery instead.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
was it the official Samsung service center?
bushako said:
I believe the motherboard has its own generic imei number. Youll see this generic imei number instead of the shipped imei when the efs partition is formatted or corrupt. Meaning the imei that you see on your phone now is probably one that has been placed by the service center. Although what I don't understand is that why wouldn't they just input the imei no. that's mentioned underneath the battery instead.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here in Turkey you have to register all imei numbers to the carriers in order to use your phone. i think the generic imei wasnt registered so they needed a registered one to make it work. For the serial you mentioned about underneath the battery, i think they needed my old efs backup to replace and since they dont have that either.... but i also think and just poped up in my head right now, my old board was working fine but the sound card. they could have taken my efs from it. and that will be the first think im gonna say them on monday morning...
Glebun said:
was it the official Samsung service center?
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Click to collapse
of course they are not. could i complain this much if they were official. i would just give it back instead...
TheWaLeK said:
Here in Turkey you have to register all imei numbers to the carriers in order to use your phone. i think the generic imei wasnt registered so they needed a registered one to make it work. For the serial you mentioned about underneath the battery, i think they needed my old efs backup to replace and since they dont have that either.... but i also think and just poped up in my head right now, my old board was working fine but the sound card. they could have taken my efs from it. and that will be the first think im gonna say them on monday morning...
of course they are not. could i complain this much if they were official. i would just give it back instead...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That could explain why they added some other imei. If I'm not mistaken in Turkey they usually give you 2 weeks to register your imei before suspending it? In that case I would advice you to push the service center to place your old imei number and register your phones actual imei with the network. At least so that you don't face difficulty with updating through KIES or any other situation.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
bushako said:
That could explain why they added some other imei. If I'm not mistaken in Turkey they usually give you 2 weeks to register your imei before suspending it? In that case I would advice you to push the service center to place your old imei number and register your phones actual imei with the network. At least so that you don't face difficulty with updating through KIES or any other situation.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
yes you are right about two weeks. my old imei number was registered. but there are some answers i need
1) what is corrupted efs? if i temper with the orijinal imei even placing my old one instaed, does the phone thinks corrupted anyway?
2) if that's so, im gonna tell them to register the new imei number that comes with the board. my present imei that im using now when i searched it from internet it seems 8600 not 9300 but also registered too.
TheWaLeK said:
yes you are right about two weeks. my old imei number was registered. but there are some answers i need
1) what is corrupted efs?
Its is the EFS folder that contains the IMEI.
if i temper with the orijinal imei even placing my old one instaed, does the phone thinks corrupted anyway?
Yes and its illegal .
The service centre should sort all the IMEI stuff not you .
jje
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Click to collapse
My friend bought a samsung galaxy s3 i9300 from a thief. After he reached home and checked that phone he come to know that this phone is actually a display phone which is just like a normal i9300 but only cannot be used for GSM purposes becz the imei number of that phone is some thing like 00XXXXXXXXX0000/01 otherwise it works like a charm. i think if only its imei is changed than it can work for GSM purpose. Is there any way to change its imei number with only its data cable. without using any other Z3X like products??
Sorry for my bad english....
Changing the IMEI number is usually, in many countries illegal. Also illegal is buying/handling stolen goods/merchandise
mmannanmasood said:
My friend bought a samsung galaxy s3 i9300 from a thief. After he reached home and checked that phone he come to know that this phone is actually a display phone which is just like a normal i9300 but only cannot be used for GSM purposes becz the imei number of that phone is some thing like 00XXXXXXXXX0000/01 otherwise it works like a charm. i think if only its imei is changed than it can work for GSM purpose. Is there any way to change its imei number with only its data cable. without using any other Z3X like products??
Sorry for my bad english....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't expect a lot of help with this here.
Firstly, you mentioned the phone was bought from a thief; I've never had a phone stolen, but I have friends who have, and anybody involved is the lowest of the low.
Secondly, IMEI changing might be legal where you are (I'm not sure which country you're in), but it's highly illegal in many countries, including the one which hosts this site. Helping you do this could get this site an its operators in a lot of trouble.
If your friend thought he was buying a stolen phone, and got scammed with a non-working display model, I'd say he's had a valuable learning opportunity...
mmannanmasood said:
My friend bought a samsung galaxy s3 i9300 from a thief. After he reached home and checked that phone he come to know that this phone is actually a display phone which is just like a normal i9300 but only cannot be used for GSM purposes becz the imei number of that phone is some thing like 00XXXXXXXXX0000/01 otherwise it works like a charm. i think if only its imei is changed than it can work for GSM purpose. Is there any way to change its imei number with only its data cable. without using any other Z3X like products??
Sorry for my bad english....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If any buddy can help plz email me on my id... [email protected] . i just wanted to make it use able for me. . I owned a s3 which was water damaged... i want to use the imei of my damaged set over that phone.
display phones don't even have the GSM phone or antenna, there is absolutely nothing you can do. Oh, and you're breaking the law, too
mmannanmasood said:
If any buddy can help plz email me on my id... [email protected] . i just wanted to make it use able for me. . I owned a s3 which was water damaged... i want to use the imei of my damaged set over that phone.
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Click to collapse
Cannot be done its illegal do not post such questions .
jje
JJEgan said:
Cannot be done its illegal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and impossible
Changing the IMEI is illegal in most countries so discussion of it is not allowed on XDA.
Thread closed.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.