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I'm stuck....

venomgt95

venomgt95

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 8, 2014
458
126
Michigan
Okay. Back story.

2 weeks ago i bought my cousins old iPhone 5C off her for 45$. But, due to it being a Sprint phone, I couldn't use it, because i need AT&T. So, I put an ad up on Craigslist asking to trade it for an AT&T iPhone 5. Well, about 4 days after posting the ad, i get an email from this guy saying that he has an AT&T iPhone 5 that he will trade, but it won't power on. And seeing that I love repairing electronics, I saw this as no issue.

So, i set up a time when we could meet and exchange phones. When the time came, we met, and exchanged devices. Turns out, what i thought was going to be just a regular iPhone 5, turned out to be a 5S. Now, this guy seemed respectable. He drove a Mercedes, he dressed nicely, so i didn't think of anything to be shady. What he told me is that the phone was given to him by his friend. It was his friends son's phone, and he gave it to him because it didnt work.

Anyway, i took the phone home, and upon opening the SIM card tray, i noticed a bit of corrosion. Meaning, there is most likely water damage, which is why there is no power. Wanting to know the phones details, (capacity, carrier, etc..) i checked the phones IMEI online, only to find out it has Find my iPhone on. Well this immediately upset me.

Now, i do not know if the phone is locked out completely, or if Find My iPhone is just on still, because there is no power. I do not think the phone is stolen, because its not blacklisted.

What my theory is, is that the kid dropped the phone in a pool or something, and the phone went completely dead, therefore having no way to access personal info. So, instead of fixing the phone, they just bought him a completely new phone.

What ive been thinking about doing is fixing the battery so it turns on again, that way if that IS the case, i can contact the original owners, and ask them to remove their info, that way i can use the phone.

And in the event that the phone IS stolen, I would in every right, like to return the phone to its rightful owners.

What do you suppose i should do..? I just want an iPhone :(
 
venomgt95 said:
Okay. Back story.

2 weeks ago i bought my cousins old iPhone 5C off her for 45$. But, due to it being a Sprint phone, I couldn't use it, because i need AT&T. So, I put an ad up on Craigslist asking to trade it for an AT&T iPhone 5. Well, about 4 days after posting the ad, i get an email from this guy saying that he has an AT&T iPhone 5 that he will trade, but it won't power on. And seeing that I love repairing electronics, I saw this as no issue. So, i set up a time when we could meet and exchange phones. When the time came, we met, and exchanged devices. Turns out, what i thought was going to be just a regular iPhone 5, turned out to be a 5S. Now, this guy seemed respectable. He drove a Mercedes, he dressed nicely, so i didn't think of anything to be shady. What he told me is that the phone was given to him by his friend. It was his friends son's phone, and he gave it to him because it didnt work. Anyway, i took the phone home, and upon opening the SIM card tray, i noticed a bit of corrosion. Meaning, there is most likely water damage, which is why there is no power. Wanting to know the phones details, (capacity, carrier, etc..) i checked the phones IMEI online, only to find out it has Find my iPhone on. Well this immediately upset me. Now, i do not know if the phone is locked out completely, or if Find My iPhone is just on still, because there is no power. I do not think the phone is stolen, because its not blacklisted. What my theory is, is that the kid dropped the phone in a pool or something, and the phone went completely dead, therefore having no way to access personal info. So, instead of fixing the phone, they just bought him a completely new phone. What ive been thinking about doing is fixing the battery so it turns on again, that way if that IS the case, i can contact the original owners, and ask them to remove their info, that way i can use the phone. And in the event that the phone IS stolen, I would in every right, like to return the phone to its rightful owners.

What do you suppose i should do..? I just want an iPhone :(
Click to expand...
Cut your losses and be a more thorough and responsible purchaser.

Also, include more paragraphs and try to be more succinct.
 
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willmtaylor said:
Actually, yeah. :) S rio sully though, sorry about that, but I do think you're SOL. While you said you like to tinker, that's a risk you had to know you were taking, and this time, it didn't pay off. (Hopefully) lesson learned.
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Worse comes to worse, I can buy a broken (BUT CLEAN) 5S off ebay, and use this one as parts. Right?
 
Phone the other person back and see if you can get your phone back, if that is even possible. Do not tell them why until you have you phone back in your hands. Obviously they lied to you. Otherwise it looks like you may be out of luck. No sense in sticking more money into it if it is still going to be a paper weight.

Anytime I have ever purchased a used iPhone, I have done it at my mobile carriers store. This way I can see the phone working and activated in my name before I hand over the cash. This tends to keep the seller honest. Scammers come in all kinds of dress.
 
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firedept said:
Phone the other person back and see if you can get your phone back, if that is even possible. Do not tell them why until you have you phone back in your hands. Obviously they lied to you. Otherwise it looks like you may be out of luck. No sense in sticking more money into it if it is still going to be a paper weight.

Anytime I have ever purchased a used iPhone, I have done it at my mobile carriers store. This way I can see the phone working and activated in my name before I hand over the cash. This tends to keep the seller honest. Scammers come in all kinds of dress.
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Yeah..the funny thing is, i did try to contact him again after finding it was iClouded. As expected, I got no response.

Qbnkelt said:
I'm truly sorry. I've bought things off eBay and a couple of times I've had seriously bad luck.
Click to expand...

This is my first (and hopefully LAST) time being scammed. I have to say, it feels pretty bad. :/
 
You bought a phone that you knew didn't work. You still have a phone that doesn't work. You didn't bother to do any checking (it sounds like) of the water damage sensors or IMEI number before handing over the other phone. Not sure what you were expecting...

You could take it to Apple, explain the situation, and ask if you qualify for an "out of warranty" replacement. If you're honest with them about everything and they allow you to do it, you're not committing fraud or ripping anyone off. Your out of warranty replacement cost would be $269. Not sure if you can buy a used one cheaper than that; depends on your local market.

C
 
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CNeufeld said:
You didn't bother to do any checking (it sounds like) of the water damage sensors or IMEI number before handing over the other phone. Not sure what you were expecting...
Click to expand...

As i noted, i thought it was going to be a regular iPhone 5, so i thought since it didn't work, maybe it qualifies for Apple's battery replacement program. That, or a replacement battery off iFixit is only 36$

CNeufeld said:
You bought
Click to expand...

Technically, received, but yeah.
 
venomgt95 said:
As i noted, i thought it was going to be a regular iPhone 5, so i thought since it didn't work, maybe it qualifies for Apple's battery replacement program. That, or a replacement battery off iFixit is only 36$



Technically, received, but yeah.
Click to expand...

You assumed (apparently) that it was a battery problem. Water damage or physical damage would have been my first concern personally, as that's much more common in my experience than a battery that won't even allow the phone to turn on. Battery problems are more likely to be that it will only last for an hour or two.

In any case... You're at where you're at. Live and learn.

C
 
I think apple stores could give you a new (not in a box) iphone replacement for something over $200, at least thats what they do here in the uk.
 
TheTom9 said:
I think apple stores could give you a new (not in a box) iphone replacement for something over $200, at least thats what they do here in the uk.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was noted earlier. Sadly, i don't have nearly 300$ for a replacement.


This sucks too because the outside of the phone is in pretty great shape.
 

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venomgt95 said:
Yeah, that was noted earlier. Sadly, i don't have nearly 300$ for a replacement.


This sucks too because the outside of the phone is in pretty great shape.
Click to expand...

How much would a 5s with a broken screen cost you locally? Even that's a crap shoot, as there's no guarantees there isn't water damage to the screen electronics...

Basically, I think you should not throw good money after bad. There's nothing saying that replacing the battery is going to let the phone power up, as (like above) water damage may be your root problem, and replacing the battery isn't going to fix that. There's no guarantees that you can harvest any usable parts off this phone; it's not like it's got a cracked display, so you can be reasonably confident the main board and battery are still good.

C
 
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CNeufeld said:
How much would a 5s with a broken screen cost you locally? Even that's a crap shoot, as there's no guarantees there isn't water damage to the screen electronics...

Basically, I think you should not throw good money after bad. There's nothing saying that replacing the battery is going to let the phone power up, as (like above) water damage may be your root problem, and replacing the battery isn't going to fix that. There's no guarantees that you can harvest any usable parts off this phone; it's not like it's got a cracked display, so you can be reasonably confident the main board and battery are still good.

C
Click to expand...


My plan is to take the phone apart, use rubbing alcohol or something to clean all the connections from any corrosion (if there is any) and see if that helps. If so, and i can actually access the phone, i'll try to contact the original owners, and ask them to remove the iCloud. And, if they want their phone back, they can have it.

If not, ill buy a clean 5S with a cracked screen or something, and (try to) take parts from this 5S.
 
venomgt95 said:
Yeah, that was noted earlier. Sadly, i don't have nearly 300$ for a replacement.


This sucks too because the outside of the phone is in pretty great shape.
Click to expand...


Damn that sucks, but at least you haven't wasted hundred of $ on the phone. Ive had my 128gb 6plus stolen last year a day after I bough it. Maybe that helps LOL. All we can do is learn from our naive mistakes and never do then again.
 
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TheTom9 said:
Damn that sucks, but at least you haven't wasted hundred of $ on the phone. Ive had my 128gb 6plus stolen last year a day after I bough it. Maybe that helps LOL. All we can do is learn from our naive mistakes and never do then again.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Sorry bout your phone though.

But, im not at a total loss. If it truely is just a power issue, then everything else on the phone is (possibly) good. Camera, (hopefully) the screen, even the rear casing. Only parts im assuming are junk are the battery and logic board. Also, if i do end up using this as a parts phone, i won't be able to use TouchID as each individual one is only compatable with the A7 chip in the original phone. But would i really use TouchID?
 
If you get it to turn on, still may be locked.

Personally I gave up on Craigslist. Gone way downhill, at least in my area. TOO many scammers.

Good luck :)
 
rugmankc said:
If you get it to turn on, still may be locked.

Personally I gave up on Craigslist. Gone way downhill, at least in my area. TOO many scammers.

Good luck :)
Click to expand...

Thanks, and yeah, if cleaning it up doesn't work, i'll just eventually get a broken 5S and swap parts. I guess I can live with my stupid Huawei for a bit longer lol (like i have a choice?)
 
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