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iPhone 8/Plus I purchased a blacklisted iPhone 8...

D

d3v1l.cr0

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 24, 2012
88
6
Europe
Hi guys,

Long time reader, don't usually post much...

Long story short, I purchased a phone off eBay. The listing said factory unlocked, purchased from Apple, but upon receiving it and inserting my international sim card the phone won't activate for me.

I check the IMEI number and I find out the phone is not from Apple, but from AT&T and is blacklisted by them for some reason.

So does this mean the phone cannot be unlocked anymore? I've noticed when I insert my international sim card I get the signal bars in the top left corner and "3G" next to it, but still can't get through the activation screen.

Would this phone activate/work with a different carrier if I had a AT&T sim card just to get through the activation screen?

Also, I've seen a bunch of websites that are offering unlocking for $100+, but none of them can guarantee it'll work, so I'd basically be risking a lot of money and might not even get the result I'm after. Any of these websites legit?

Not much experience with blacklisted phones, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

(apologies if I've opened the thread in the wrong section)
 
The fact that it's blacklisted is a massive red flag. It means it's either not been fully paid off (been stolen from At&t) or it's been stolen from an individual who has reported that to the carrier. Return the phone and report the buyer on eBay.
 
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acorntoy said:
The fact that it's blacklisted is a massive red flag. It means it's either not been fully paid off (been stolen from At&t) or it's been stolen from an individual who has reported that to the carrier. Return the phone and report the buyer on eBay.
Click to expand...

Since I've been sent all the accessories (box, headphones, cable and charger), think it might still be under contract with AT&T. So you think there's no chance of unlocking the phone and being able to use it internationally?

Returning it back is sort of like a last resort option since I've already paid the import fees and shipping back would be costly as well... but if there's absolutely no chance of using it here, guess I'll have to just send it back.
 
d3v1l.cr0 said:
Since I've been sent all the accessories (box, headphones, cable and charger), think it might still be under contract with AT&T. So you think there's no chance of unlocking the phone and being able to use it internationally?

Returning it back is sort of like a last resort option since I've already paid the import fees and shipping back would be costly as well... but if there's absolutely no chance of using it here, guess I'll have to just send it back.
Click to expand...

0 chance of using it. Only way to have it unlocked and unblacklisted is by the original owner.

Return it ASAP.
 
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d3v1l.cr0 said:
Hi guys,

Long time reader, don't usually post much...

Long story short, I purchased a phone off eBay. The listing said factory unlocked, purchased from Apple, but upon receiving it and inserting my international sim card the phone won't activate for me.

I check the IMEI number and I find out the phone is not from Apple, but from AT&T and is blacklisted by them for some reason.

So does this mean the phone cannot be unlocked anymore? I've noticed when I insert my international sim card I get the signal bars in the top left corner and "3G" next to it, but still can't get through the activation screen.

Would this phone activate/work with a different carrier if I had a AT&T sim card just to get through the activation screen?

Also, I've seen a bunch of websites that are offering unlocking for $100+, but none of them can guarantee it'll work, so I'd basically be risking a lot of money and might not even get the result I'm after. Any of these websites legit?

Not much experience with blacklisted phones, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

(apologies if I've opened the thread in the wrong section)
Click to expand...

Why go through all that trouble and just buy the SIM free version from apple? I never buy phones off eBay or Craigslist because most of the time people are looking to scam you and sell you a device that’s either stolen or bricked
 
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Did you check seller feedback and make sure they were reputable. In all fairness you’ve only got yourself to blame. You take a massive risk any time you buy something like that off EBay. If you paid using PayPal they have buyer protection so contact they ASAP. Contact EBay and they may be able to cover postage fees etc if PayPal don’t sort that.

Moral of the story. Don’t buy a new iPhone off eBay. If you do, be extremely careful and always check seller feedback.
 
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Reminds me of the poster here who had his iPhone X stolen in the mail. The package was mailed uninsured from the U.S. to Germany. All that work to save less than $150. Poor risk/reward decision. Just buy it locally please.
 
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d3v1l.cr0 said:
Hi guys,

Long time reader, don't usually post much...

Long story short, I purchased a phone off eBay. The listing said factory unlocked, purchased from Apple, but upon receiving it and inserting my international sim card the phone won't activate for me.

I check the IMEI number and I find out the phone is not from Apple, but from AT&T and is blacklisted by them for some reason.

So does this mean the phone cannot be unlocked anymore? I've noticed when I insert my international sim card I get the signal bars in the top left corner and "3G" next to it, but still can't get through the activation screen.

Would this phone activate/work with a different carrier if I had a AT&T sim card just to get through the activation screen?

Also, I've seen a bunch of websites that are offering unlocking for $100+, but none of them can guarantee it'll work, so I'd basically be risking a lot of money and might not even get the result I'm after. Any of these websites legit?

Not much experience with blacklisted phones, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

(apologies if I've opened the thread in the wrong section)
Click to expand...

If you purchased it from ebay and used paypal, activate a return immediately. Let ebay know that about this phone. You should get your money back as this is the reason we use paypal.
 
A guy at work bought a couple of older iPhones a few years ago from another country, I think he said Dubai, and they worked fine for several years in the UK.

However, he’s just tried to sell them to a recycle company to buy another phone for his partner and the recycle company won’t accept them as AT&T have blacklisted them. He didn’t know they were blacklisted.

If I bought a phone that I found out later was blacklisted and I had the chance to return it, I would.
 
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Is it blackiisted by AT&T or are you just having issues activating it. I sold my old phone and the buyer had issues activating it, he got a “fraud” alert from AT&T. My phone was SIM Free paid in full and no way was it fraud. It turned out that both Apple and AT&T supports advice was right. He needed to restore the phone via iTunes using his Apple login and the phone was good to go.

This could be a totally different situation than yours but I thought I would toss this out.
 
macMD said:
Is it blackiisted by AT&T or are you just having issues activating it. I sold my old phone and the buyer had issues activating it, he got a “fraud” alert from AT&T. My phone was SIM Free paid in full and no way was it fraud. It turned out that both Apple and AT&T supports advice was right. He needed to restore the phone via iTunes using his Apple login and the phone was good to go.

This could be a totally different situation than yours but I thought I would toss this out.
Click to expand...

If it was grabbed off eBay I’m more inclined to believe it genuinely blacklisted.
 
macMD said:
Is it blackiisted by AT&T or are you just having issues activating it. I sold my old phone and the buyer had issues activating it, he got a “fraud” alert from AT&T. My phone was SIM Free paid in full and no way was it fraud. It turned out that both Apple and AT&T supports advice was right. He needed to restore the phone via iTunes using his Apple login and the phone was good to go.

This could be a totally different situation than yours but I thought I would toss this out.
Click to expand...

The phone just won't activate when I turn it on.

I insert my sim card and the signal bars appear with a "3g" icon, but when I try to set it up and activate it says "sim not valid". Tried both over Wifi and via iTunes (updating to the latest software version and restoring) but still no luck.

I've checked the IMEI on several sites online and all of them say blacklisted.

Even tried calling AT&T support and they say it's impossible to unlock it because it was reported as lost or stolen and only the original owner can do something about that. But, he's refusing to cooperate for some reason.

Is there a chance the phone would activate if I popped in a AT&T sim card? And when I got through the activation process it would work with my international sim? Asking because the signal bars appear before I try to activate...
 
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Can I ask which country you shipped it to?

I'd put an AT&T sim and see if you could activate it .

To be honest , contact the seller and tell them the situation, go from there. Also I'd be looking at a return and getting your import fees back.
 
Gaura Mohana said:
Get it replaced by Apple. As long as the iCloud account isn't on the device the ESN/IMEI clears when apple replaces the phone
Click to expand...

For that, you would need to get AC+ and make a claim?

Just trying to think how else you can get it replaced by Apple for a locked device ?
 
Your from Europe right ? Interesting that the blacklisting is enforced from US to EU, that kinda sucks .

Look - make an appointment at Apple , explain to them the situation , as it been shipped all the way from US and is a brick, they maybe able to help out. If they say nothing can be done, return it via eBay . Your best case is a replacement unit which will be unlocked in eu .
 
If it’s a stolen device or even falsely reported you shouldn’t be using it anyway. Likely the seller falsely reported so they could sell it and get out of paying off the contract. You got screwed dude. The longer you take to take any real action the less likely you are to reach a resolution.
 
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