The problem is the phone can be blacklisted by the carrier themselves. If i get a phone on contract and then sell my phone to another person, and then dont pay my bills and my account is suspended the carriers can blacklist the phone. People have bought used phones that work for a month a two and then get blacklisted.
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iPhone 5 - How can I know if Imei will be clean forever?
- Thread starter itzmemike
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The problem is the phone can be blacklisted by the carrier themselves. If i get a phone on contract and then sell my phone to another person, and then dont pay my bills and my account is suspended the carriers can blacklist the phone. People have bought used phones that work for a month a two and then get blacklisted.
I got my iPhone 4S stolen about a year ago. And I checked CL, so I can get one since I was still on my contract. And I saw some ridiculously low prices on CL. And quickly put it all together. That these phones were probably stolen, and the seller is just trying to get rid of it quickly to make a quick buck. So I ended up getting a partially subsidized iPhone 4S. I just didn't want to buy on the "black market". It's sorta sad stuff like that happens. When I know their are plenty of legitimate sellers out there that really are just trying to sell their phones.
I also get a little weary of people selling their phones because you have no idea where that phone has been. Like what if they dropped it into the toilet they already pissed in? They can easily the outside, dry it out and make it work properly. But then again you could get any thing second hand that could have had urine on it at one point in it's life.
I also get a little weary of people selling their phones because you have no idea where that phone has been. Like what if they dropped it into the toilet they already pissed in? They can easily the outside, dry it out and make it work properly. But then again you could get any thing second hand that could have had urine on it at one point in it's life.
I think the rep you spoke to gave you bad information.
Once the phone is purchased factory unlocked it is not on any carriers database to have the ability to lock, unlock it or blacklist it. Its like saying AT&T can blacklist or factory unlock a Sprint iphone. Not possible.
Its not their phone or even in their system to do that.
Ohs Alright actually i got everything together now, i got all my information and was able to find out that actually if the iphone itself have any active contract/plans with the phone. But what gave me an headache again just now was that i heard you can get an iphone 5/note 2 device without contract and still order the insurance lost/stolen service with it. How is that possible? let say i purchase an iphone 5/note both from at&t, and i dont have an contract with them, then where will the insurance monthly bill charges go to? because if they can get insurance without contract then even if i find out the phone dont have an active contract attached to it but they can get the insurance still without contract then its getting me hard to understand how to fix this.
You can get insurance because you are using the phone on att and paying a monthly bill even though you don't have a contract. You can't get the insurance if you dont have service with att.
That's not how it works...or at least not how it should work. Once someone has the phone and activates it on their account it's no longer associated with the seller's account so if the carrier suspends the seller's account or anything like that it won't affect the phone since it's no longer tied to that account.
So explain how a phone purchased on eBay or craigslist, worked for a while for the buyer, only to get blacklisted later? Also I could sell you my phone today and then report it stolen in two weeks.
If I activate the phone with the same carrier then you can't really report the phone as being stolen as it would no longer be a phone associated with your account when you call the carrier to report it. I'd the carrier still allows you to do it--essentially report a phone that isn't yours as being stolen--then they are not doing something right.
But how is that possible? iphone/AT&T blacklisted the phone, if it's still show warranty after blacklisted then that means the person with the iphone can bring it in apple and have it warranty covers, meaning purposely cracking it and exchange for new phone.
Yep they do that.
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How isn't it mine? You stole my phone and put your sim in it and it works. Three days later I file an insurance claim that my phone is missing, att will blacklist the phone period. Search the net, it happens.
Ok i was actually going to use the strategy of using the serial # to check with warranty check if the phone is blacklisted, but since no differrence can be tell in this case, what is another way to tell if an phone is blacklisted and with very accurate information as false information can cause a very big trouble. Wait how about putting in the sim in the tray? i dont think blacklisted phone can work with an active sim right? but if this work is there any other way to check? just in case i love to double check.
Why not photocopy the persons ID and have them Sifn a bill of sale that states they are the owner of iPhone 5 with Imei X and serial number Y etc. date it, sign it, and photocopy their ID or write down their drivers license or ID number and exp date. You can prepare this in 5 minutes and maybe if they pull a trick on you then you will either know where to find them or have something to show the carrier so that they unblock it.
I once sold a MacBook on CL to a lawyers son and they had me sign such a bill of sale. Thought it to be strange for a CL transaction but I was ok with it as I wasn't scamming them.
I once sold a MacBook on CL to a lawyers son and they had me sign such a bill of sale. Thought it to be strange for a CL transaction but I was ok with it as I wasn't scamming them.
if someone else already activated it in their account how would it still be listed on your account for AT&T to know you still own it and blacklist it? If they do it like that then they aren't doing it right as the phone is not associated with your account anymore and you therefore can't tell AT&T what to do with it (since in their eyes it's no longer associated with your account).
It's not associated with my account because you stole it and put your sim in it.
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No way I'm giving a copy of my id to some stranger. Bill of sale may work, but as a seller I wouldn't do that for a phone though.
What you are describing is fraud in most jurisdictions of the United States and is a criminal offense.
As others have mentioned, you can either meet at a carrier's corporate store and have the phone activated on your account, or you can copy down the seller's driver's license info at time of sale.
If the iPhone was bought directly through Apple, then the true owner's name will be in Apple's database. So you can also do the transaction at an Apple store to confirm you are dealing with the true owner of the iPhone.
One other recommendation I would make is to do a transaction where seller must drive to and then copy down the vehicle tag number that the seller is driving.
Again selling stolen items over $200 is a felony in most places in the U.S. and will usually get the attention of your local law enforcement if you can give them enough information to find the perpetrator.
What incentive does a seller have to block a phone after they sell it if the phone is 100% legit and not stolen?
wait guys.
Does testing the sim card port of the iphone 5 tells if an iphone is blacklisted or not? for the moment
since if an phone is blacklisted them no sim will work on the phone, that should be one way to test it out since warranty test won't work.
By the way i heard from people that factory unlock iphone 5 purchased after jan 26th is against the law and will be fine, is that true? then i heard that iphone 5 sim slot tray will turn red if it have water damage n stuff.
Does testing the sim card port of the iphone 5 tells if an iphone is blacklisted or not? for the moment
since if an phone is blacklisted them no sim will work on the phone, that should be one way to test it out since warranty test won't work.
By the way i heard from people that factory unlock iphone 5 purchased after jan 26th is against the law and will be fine, is that true? then i heard that iphone 5 sim slot tray will turn red if it have water damage n stuff.
Or buy it from a friend or relative.
I gave my 4 to my brother in law. I'm not going to report it stolen or lost (unless it was stolen from him or lost by him).
It is perfectly legal to purchase a non-contract, factory-unlocked iPhone (or any phone) if you pay full retail price or it (or buy it used). What is illegal presently is to use a third-party service (or hack it yourself) to unlock a subsidized, carrier-locked phone without carrier approval.
There is a water-sensor in the SIM slot, as well as one at the bottom of the headphone port. They turn red/pink when exposed to water.
Hi everyone, I'm a new user to this forum and this post exactly describes what I have just gone through.
I bought an AT&T iPhone 5 off Craigslist for a pretty low price. Now being new to the USA and having no idea about all these CL scams, I thought I had gotten an excellent deal. The phone worked fine for about a week or two, after which I was suddenly unable to connect to the network.
I first phoned AT&T, and after checking my IMEI no, they informed me that the phone had been blacklisted and that there was nothing could do to help me. I tried to contact the CL seller but, surprise surprise, he wouldn't respond.
Yes, I know, I really should have been more careful when buying from craigslist, but like I said, I'm new to this country and I really had no idea until after I got scammed. Lesson learned.
Now luckily, I'm not completely screwed over, since a cousin has come along with me on his vacation and he's buying the phone to use back in his home country. I'll get it unlocked through SwiftUnlocks for just $2 (thanks MacRumors for the tip).
My only question is, when my cousin upgrades his firmware later on, will he face any problems? I was searching online and came across this link, which says that after a firmware upgrade, blacklisted iPhones may get stuck at the activation process.
Anyone have any experience of this? Considering that the initial activation (where the user has to enter the SS no and ZIP code) had been carried out (which I know since I had been using the phone for a couple of weeks), after I get the phone unlocked, is there any chance I could get stuck at the activation screen after a firmware upgrade?
I bought an AT&T iPhone 5 off Craigslist for a pretty low price. Now being new to the USA and having no idea about all these CL scams, I thought I had gotten an excellent deal. The phone worked fine for about a week or two, after which I was suddenly unable to connect to the network.
I first phoned AT&T, and after checking my IMEI no, they informed me that the phone had been blacklisted and that there was nothing could do to help me. I tried to contact the CL seller but, surprise surprise, he wouldn't respond.
Yes, I know, I really should have been more careful when buying from craigslist, but like I said, I'm new to this country and I really had no idea until after I got scammed. Lesson learned.
Now luckily, I'm not completely screwed over, since a cousin has come along with me on his vacation and he's buying the phone to use back in his home country. I'll get it unlocked through SwiftUnlocks for just $2 (thanks MacRumors for the tip).
My only question is, when my cousin upgrades his firmware later on, will he face any problems? I was searching online and came across this link, which says that after a firmware upgrade, blacklisted iPhones may get stuck at the activation process.
Anyone have any experience of this? Considering that the initial activation (where the user has to enter the SS no and ZIP code) had been carried out (which I know since I had been using the phone for a couple of weeks), after I get the phone unlocked, is there any chance I could get stuck at the activation screen after a firmware upgrade?