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*HELP* my mom bought a blacklisted iPhone

N

Nakiator

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 11, 2017
9
0
I didn't buy this used iPhone but my mom did, she doesn't know much about iPhones but she just wanted to give me a new iPhone, the iPhone model is the 7+, I tried to put my at&t sim card into the but it showed "Sim Not Supported" but it still showed signal and the LTE also worked. So I checked the imei and it was blacklisted but when I checked for at&t it says that it is clean on at&t but reported stolen/lost on T-mobile and Sprint. In the settings of the iPhone it says it belongs to at&t, I have no idea what to do. Please help out, Thanks

EDIT:
IMEI: 356694082743758
 
Last edited:
Nakiator said:
I didn't buy this used iPhone but my mom did, she doesn't know much about iPhones but she just wanted to give me a new iPhone, the iPhone model is the 7+, I tried to put my at&t sim card into the but it showed "Sim Not Supported" but it still showed signal and the LTE also worked. So I checked the imei and it was blacklisted but when I checked for at&t it says that it is clean on at&t but reported stolen/lost on T-mobile and Sprint. In the settings of the iPhone it says it belongs to at&t, I have no idea what to do. Please help out, Thanks
Click to expand...
Where did she buy it? From a store? Swappa? eBay? In person?
 
Nakiator said:
I didn't buy this used iPhone but my mom did, she doesn't know much about iPhones but she just wanted to give me a new iPhone, the iPhone model is the 7+, I tried to put my at&t sim card into the but it showed "Sim Not Supported" but it still showed signal and the LTE also worked. So I checked the imei and it was blacklisted but when I checked for at&t it says that it is clean on at&t but reported stolen/lost on T-mobile and Sprint. In the settings of the iPhone it says it belongs to at&t, I have no idea what to do. Please help out, Thanks
Click to expand...

Since you said your Mom bought it legitimately (not saying she didn't), you could go to the ATT store and explain what happened. They could probably trace down how the origin on how this happened and maybe be able to unlock it? Unless there was a glitch and it self fixes, I don't think there is anything else you can do without ATT taking it off the blacklist.
 
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QueenTyrone said:
Where did she buy it? From a store? Swappa? eBay? In person?
Click to expand...
On craigslist, we couldn't get in contact with the seller
[doublepost=1513045798][/doublepost]
Appurushido said:
Since you said your Mom bought it legitimately (not saying she didn't), you could go to the ATT store and explain what happened. They could probably trace down how the origin on how this happened and maybe be able to unlock it? Unless there was a glitch and it self fixes, I don't think there is anything else you can do without ATT taking it off the blacklist.
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my dad brought it to at&t but all he told me was that they said it was locked.
 
Nakiator said:
On craigslist, we couldn't get in contact with the seller
[doublepost=1513045798][/doublepost]
my dad brought it to at&t but all he told me was that they said it was locked.
Click to expand...

It's basically a dud, you're best off selling it to someone overseas to recoup costs. And report the number the seller used to the police and send them all the messages sent to the seller.
 
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QueenTyrone said:
It's basically a dud, you're best off selling it to someone overseas to recoup costs. And report the number the seller used to the police and send them all the messages sent to the seller.
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mmmm ok, i might just unlock it, i think it might just work
 
jav6454 said:
Not useable in the US... once blacklisted that is. Most likely the seller did not complete payment of installment plan and sold it as is.
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Op could call T-Mobile and see if it is and just pay the phone off. But that's risky
 
jav6454 said:
Yes they do... and guess what else? That blacklist extends to all carriers in the US and US Territories.
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No, it's international. The database is maintained by the GSMA.

That's why I don't quite understand people suggesting that the OP sell this internationally - you're telling them to SCAM someone else!!!

All GSM carriers are supposed to subscribe to the GSMA database, so blacklisted phones can't be used globally.

OP should call T-Mobile to confirm that the phone originated on their network and see if there's anything they can do to get the blacklist removed. Only the originating carrier can have a blacklist removed.
 
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Nakiator said:
On craigslist, we couldn't get in contact with the seller
Click to expand...
That should be all you need to know. You know why the seller is ignoring you now, right ?

Nakiator said:
my dad brought it to at&t but all he told me was that they said it was locked.
Click to expand...
They are going to avoid this situation as best they can. To be blunt, it's not their problem nor can they fix it. They will, and should, play dumb.
 
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Don't buy phones off craigslist.
Don't buy phones off eBay or Swappa from non-reputable sellers. Even with reputable sellers, be cautious.

Do buy phones from reputable places, such as an actual brick & mortar store, a carrier, Apple, or Amazon.
 
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fischersd said:
All GSM carriers are supposed to subscribe to the GSMA database, so blacklisted phones can't be used globally.
Click to expand...
Supposed to be and do are two different things. Just based on what I've read, and others have read as well, clearly not all carriers around the world use this service / database.
 
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fischersd said:
No, it's international. The database is maintained by the GSMA.

That's why I don't quite understand people suggesting that the OP sell this internationally - you're telling them to SCAM someone else!!!

All GSM carriers are supposed to subscribe to the GSMA database, so blacklisted phones can't be used globally.

OP should call T-Mobile to confirm that the phone originated on their network and see if there's anything they can do to get the blacklist removed. Only the originating carrier can have a blacklist removed.
Click to expand...

They are supposed to be blacklisted internationally but reality is most of the time its only blacklisted at the country the carrier that submits the lock. In some instances it even works on some US carriers but not others.
So the international blacklist database as an idea is great, but its not reliably implemented at all.
So once you take a blacklisted and unlocked AT&T iphone to Italy or Russia for example it works fine over there.
That's why some suggest that as an option.
 
@HallStevenson , @Applejuiced - yep, there's been hit and miss in terms of the carriers subscribing to the database, but I'd expect this to become fewer and fewer as global roaming standards are formalized (could also see the GSMA get some teeth on that regarding compliance).

Regardless, I somehow doubt people are putting in their ads that the phone in question is currently blacklisted in the US, so they're perpetrating the same scam on some other buyer. Pretty random whether they'll be able to use the phone or not.

Actually going back to the originating carrier may help them to get the matter resolved (as well, if the seller is no longer a T-Mobile subscriber, I could see T-Mobile willing to share that former subscriber's contact information for follow-up with the Police or for pursuing a small claims judgement.
 
Newbie account, first thread is about making a blacklisted phone work, poor grammar...

Smells fishy.

But all in all, you can’t do anything. It’s a brick.
 
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fischersd said:
@HallStevenson , @Applejuiced - yep, there's been hit and miss in terms of the carriers subscribing to the database, but I'd expect this to become fewer and fewer as global roaming standards are formalized (could also see the GSMA get some teeth on that regarding compliance).

Regardless, I somehow doubt people are putting in their ads that the phone in question is currently blacklisted in the US, so they're perpetrating the same scam on some other buyer. Pretty random whether they'll be able to use the phone or not.

Actually going back to the originating carrier may help them to get the matter resolved (as well, if the seller is no longer a T-Mobile subscriber, I could see T-Mobile willing to share that former subscriber's contact information for follow-up with the Police or for pursuing a small claims judgement.
Click to expand...


Yes, but as it stands currently the chances of a blacklisted US iphone to be blacklisted worldwide are very slim to none.
And I really doubt Tmobile or any carrier will go against their privacy policy to release a subscribers information over a sold iPhone. That would be illegal without a judges court order.
 
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Applejuiced said:
Yes, but as it stands currently the chances of a blacklisted US iphone to be blacklisted worldwide are very slim to none.
And I really doubt Tmobile or any carrier will go against their privacy policy to release a subscribers information over a sold iPhone. That would be illegal without a judges court order.
Click to expand...
Actually, I'd think the majority of the US carriers (certainly T-Mobile and AT&T, being long-standing members of the GSMA) would be populating their blacklists into the GSMA database.
As for releasing the subscriber information - I did say if it was a former subscriber - released to the police (if criminal action) or to the courts if pursuing in small claims court.
 
fischersd said:
Actually, I'd think the majority of the US carriers (certainly T-Mobile and AT&T, being long-standing members of the GSMA) would be populating their blacklists into the GSMA database.
As for releasing the subscriber information - I did say if it was a former subscriber - released to the police (if criminal action) or to the courts if pursuing in small claims court.
Click to expand...

You would think that they would add to an international database but not many carriers do.
And it doesnt matter if its current or former subscriber, such release of private information without a court order would be illegal and would open them up to potential lawsuits.
A small claims court cannot subpoena for such information. The burden of proof is on the individual filing the court case.
 
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