Hi all,
Can anyone give me advice as to if it is safe to buy a t-mobile gear s from someone on Craigslist? The device is brand new in box. I am afraid that they might report if stollen or something like that after i buy it. Can these be imei blocked
m69k69 said:
Hi all,
Can anyone give me advice as to if it is safe to buy a t-mobile gear s from someone on Craigslist? The device is brand new in box. I am afraid that they might report if stollen or something like that after i buy it. Can these be imei blocked
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Click to collapse
tmobile devices from craigslist are tricky. I wouldnt do it. You can finance tmobile devices now so they could still be paying for it, sell it to you, pocket the money and then stop paying for it. The device would then stop working.
I'd be very cautious. There would be no way of knowing whether the watch has suffered any type of serious water damage. Also, some people will buy a T-Mobile device on a payment plan and may try to sell the device before the device has been fully paid off.
Related
its a shame everytime i start a new thread, its usually about mishaps. i have only been lucky with my still kicking HTC TYTN. i luv and respect u a lot. anyway, just paid £300 for a brand new Ameo(HTC ADVANTAGE) yesterday. and just this morning, its been BARRED. tried ringing the seller, but i guess he know he pulled a fast one and his phone number is unreachable. i love the handset still. if anyone is interested in buying pls PM me. never buy a phone off anyone on gumtree. there are all dodgy.Tmobile Customer service has been quite helpful and they did say the will be waiting for the man to make an insurance claim before they deal with him.its a shame they wouldnt gimme back my money. i am guessing this phone wouldnt work in UK.
take out the sim and then change the imei number then put a different sim back in. it should would work
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=XDAmanipulator
hi, thanks a million mate. just a quick question. pls where can i purchase a serial cable from. i will pay anything for it.thanks loads
shelay said:
hi, thanks a million mate. just a quick question. pls where can i purchase a serial cable from. i will pay anything for it.thanks loads
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That won't work, the Ameo uses completely unsupported hardware unless I'm mistaken. I hate scumbags like that and I'm sorry to hear of your plight.
My Ameo's on Ebay if you wanna buy a cheap one with extras.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=130183931721&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=003
Your phone CAN be unblocked by T-Mobile by authority of the owner, so it might be worth coaxing them into putting pressure on this tosser.
[email protected] is your best port of call.
EDIT:
YOU might not be aware, but despite its blocked status you can still use the handset for Internet browsing. Blocked phones are only blocked against using voicecall/SMS functionality.
i think i just bidded on yours.. that is if its on ebay. So, vodafone texts work, and internet works? just calls that dont?
rory
x
yeap, its the same handset. you can only send txt with Vodafone but not receive. if you make a good sensible offer, i wouldn't mind ending the auction early for you. the only reason i am giving you preference is because we both belong to the same forum. like state b4, it wouldn't make or receive phone calls.
220? or wait til' the auction ends
for £255, we have a deal. its been unlocked with Olipro thingy and its got the official wm6 tmobile rom on it. its ur call mate. am already losing money on it if i sell it for £255. out of curiosity, how do you intend to pay?
no
Take it to a TMO store, I doubt anyone here will be too willing to help giving the possibility that you may have a stolen device.
If it is rooted there is a way, I don't have the link, but you use adb to pull and edit one of the db's , if it is not rooted, then most likely SOL ...
colaicee said:
i work at a cellphone repair shop. we also buy sale and trade phones. i use XDA a lot for the new android phones coming out when people have problems.
my coworker bought a vibrant from a customer that came into our store, the thing is that now the phone is patterned locked and we dont know the original email address. he said that it was working fine when he first purchased it. my guess is the customer unlocked it before my coworker played around with the phone.
anyways, no i didnt steal it. or any of that bs. we have a business license, a store front, and 99.9% feedback on ebay.
pm me if theres a way. willing to paypal for info.
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if you really did buy it, then call the person up and ask them.... unless i'm mistaken if any store buys stuff from customers they're supposed to document all information in case the item has been stolen
The phone is locked regardless. There is an android bug that doesn't allow the phone to verify the google credentials after you try the pattern lock too many times. Even if if was the OP's actual phone, he'd need to either factory reset, flash a new rom to the device, or get a replacement phone.
No one here will be able to help you get past it. There were security holes that allowed people to bypass it, but Google has sinec patched those, without fixing the fundamental issue (users, their children, their friends locking them out and basically "bricking" the device for all intents and purposes).
You got got, and it's probably a stolen device (not saying you stole it, someone else could have).
If you go to T-Mobile they will ask for you account information and check the IMEI against you account. T-Mobile uses different bands as AT&T so there aren't that many people buying Vibrants up front to unlock them and use them on different carriers, TBQH. If that IMEI belongs to someone else (it's even on you contract/reciept), they won't replace the phone. They will assume it's stolen.
Maybe if you start a contract/new line the reps in the store may help you out, though.
However, contacting Samsung may yield better results, but I think the Warranty is handled by T-Mobile, unless it's a hardware defect (hardware locked devices and pattern lockouts are both software issues).
"No i didn't steal it"
LOL
:/........
Nvm, lol
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
If it is rooted you could always try this ..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=485988
ookas said:
if you really did buy it, then call the person up and ask them.... unless i'm mistaken if any store buys stuff from customers they're supposed to document all information in case the item has been stolen
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yep, good call there. if the op purchased the phone he should have all of the sellers info on file.
Hello all,
Had a question I couldn't find the answer to. What if my girlfriend sold her Inspire to buy an Atrix?
Let's say she sells it and doesn't have enough money to buy the Atrix right away off contract and has to use a Motorola RAZR for a while. A few questions need answering:
1) Can we call AT&T and have them change our plan to non-smartphone?
2) Are they going to ask for the new phone's IMEI and allow the Inspire to be
activated under the buyer's account without any issue or do I have to let them know it's going to be sold to someone else?
3) Is it possible to get scammed buying a 2nd-hand phone that's been marked as lost or stolen and not being able to activate it?
4) If she got an unlocked, non-branded Atrix or any other smartphone will she be able to use the internet on the non-smartphone data plan without AT&T crying foul?
Thanks for your comments and help.
garekinokami said:
Hello all,
Had a question I couldn't find the answer to. What if my girlfriend sold her Inspire to buy an Atrix?
Let's say she sells it and doesn't have enough money to buy the Atrix right away off contract and has to use a Motorola RAZR for a while. A few questions need answering:
1) Can we call AT&T and have them change our plan to non-smartphone?
2) Are they going to ask for the new phone's IMEI and allow the Inspire to be
activated under the buyer's account without any issue or do I have to let them know it's going to be sold to someone else?
3) Is it possible to get scammed buying a 2nd-hand phone that's been marked as lost or stolen and not being able to activate it?
4) If she got an unlocked, non-branded Atrix or any other smartphone will she be able to use the internet on the non-smartphone data plan without AT&T crying foul?
Thanks for your comments and help.
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Click to collapse
1) dont rellay have to ..at&t will scan the imei and see you are using a non-smartphone plan and give you ( i believe ) medianet plan..
2) yes, at&t will allow that inspire to be used by another account ( new owner)..doesnt matter.
3) ?
4)again, as soon as that new smartphone is being used under your account..its only a matter of time before at&t scans your imei and sees you're using a "smartphone" ..and youll be upgraded to a smartphone plan.
Thanks for the help with the other questions, but to help explain the third question:
#3 tends to be an issue on Sprint/Verizon, where the ESN can be good or bad. Say the phone is marked as stolen, or you cancelled your account and didn't pay the ETF, you can't take that phone off your account and activate it again. It's blocked. I actually am trying to sell an Epic and Evo and had to find out for sure if everything was in the clear before trying to eBay them.
TL: DR Phone with bad ESN means you end up with an expensive PMP.
garekinokami said:
Thanks for the help with the other questions, but to help explain the third question:
#3 tends to be an issue on Sprint/Verizon, where the ESN can be good or bad. Say the phone is marked as stolen, or you cancelled your account and didn't pay the ETF, you can't take that phone off your account and activate it again. It's blocked. I actually am trying to sell an Epic and Evo and had to find out for sure if everything was in the clear before trying to eBay them.
TL: DR Phone with bad ESN means you end up with an expensive PMP.
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now i understand. yes you are correct..thats what stinks with sprint/verizon...someone may correct me if im wrong but..once those phones are marked as stolen/not paid...the ESN is bad. only then..to get that cell working again is to have it flashed to a 3rd party cell provider. here in san antonio, TX..we have a 3rd party cell provider..Cricket.
defnow said:
now i understand. yes you are correct..thats what stinks with sprint/verizon...someone may correct me if im wrong but..once those phones are marked as stolen/not paid...the ESN is bad. only then..to get that cell working again is to have it flashed to a 3rd party cell provider. here in san antonio, TX..we have a 3rd party cell provider..Cricket.
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Click to collapse
No your correct, it's one of the few advantages of GSM over CDMA...
Sent from my Milestone using XDA App
My car was stolen with my vibrant in it. 3 days later still not found so I filed a claim, paid the 130. today they found my car and my vibrant was under the seat!!!! Woo Hoo. Can I use the phone with a different sim or do I have a fancy paperweight?
Thanks
Ran
I say you have a fancy paperweight.
U can use it with different sim
So I can use a sim in the old vibrant? Does the sim activate the phone ?
The SIM makes the phone active against your account. Worst case the phones IMEI number will be blocked on the carriers side but the odds are against it... It should work fine. Nothing to lose by trying it. You did nothing wrong, it was in fact stolen.
just dont sell it....if u decide to sell, sell the replacement.
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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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
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That conflicts with your story about the friends, doesn't it?